A prefeasibility study (PFS) into the expansion of the Matilda/Wiluna gold operation, in Western Australia, has confirmed robust economics for ASX-listed Blackham Resources.
The expanded operation will be developed through the construction of a new crushing and grinding circuit to increase throughput by 1.5-million tonnes to 3.3-million tonnes a year, the construction of a new flotation circuit, the refurbishment of the existing sulphide treatment plant, and the construction of a new carbon-in-leach circuit.
Platinum group metals (PGMs) mining company Northam Platinum has increased its contribution to the industry’s funding of the marketing of platinum jewellery. In the 12 months to June 30 next year, its contribution will be $900 000, 80% up on the $500 000 contributed in the financial year just past. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video).
The High Court of Ireland has approved the acquisition of Minco by Dalradian Resources, which gives the project development company control of the 2% net smelter royalty on its Curraghinalt gold deposit, in Northern Ireland.
The transaction entails TSX- and Aim-listed Dalradian buying Aim-listed Minco in a recommended share-for-share transaction.
Base metals developer Heron Resources has broken ground at its Woodlawn zinc/copper project, in New South Wales.
The company on Tuesday announced that construction of the 1.5-million tonne processing plant and associated infrastructure was expected to take 15 months to complete, with commissioning scheduled for late 2018, ahead of first production in early 2019.
The Western Australian government will provide a further A$5.26-million in funding towards round 15 of its co-funded exploration drilling programme, as part of its Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS).
Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Johnston said this week that 43 recipients would be included in Round 15 of the EIS, with projects planned to be drilled in the 2017/18 financial year.
Mining services provider Ausdrill was hoping to raise some A$100-million through a share placement to institutional and sophisticated investors to fund its future growth opportunities, particularly in Africa.
The ASX-listed company told shareholders that it would issue up to 46.8-million fully paid shares, at a price of A$2.14 each, to raise the funds. The issue price represented an 8.9% discount to Ausdrill’s last closing price on the ASX, and a 5.3% discount to the company’s five-day volume weighted average price.
Gautam Adani says he plans to import 60 million tonnes of coal from Australia’s controversial mine each year, in a move that contradicts the Indian Government’s policy of coal self-sufficiency.
The Chamber of Mines on Tuesday extended its “heartfelt sympathies” to the families, friends, and colleagues of the three employees who died in a fall of ground accident at Harmony’s Kusasalethu mine near Carletonville. Five miners were trapped underground on Friday after a fall of ground at the gold mine. Three bodies have been brought to the surface. Rescuers continue to search for the remaining two mine workers.
In a new era of ever-advancing technology and increased legal certainty, ocean floor mining is set to take off in the next decade as several juniors jostle to be first to exploit the wealth hidden on the deep ocean floor.
DeepGreen Resources chief development officer Anthony O’Sullivan believes it too is in the running to reach the ocean depths, with access to prime base metals tenure in a prospective region of the Pacific ocean floor.
Buenaventura, a Peruvian miner, will look for a partner to develop a plant that reduces the arsenic level in copper, the firm’s chief executive said on Tuesday.
The company plans to locate the installation next to its existing Rio Seco manganese plant, in the Peruvian province of Huaral, Buenaventura CEO Victor Gobitz said at a mining conference in Santiago, the Chilean capital.
The world’s largest publicly traded copper miner Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) has agreed in principle to divest its flagship asset to give Indonesia a 51% stake of the massive Grasberg copper/gold mine, the Phoenix, Arizona-based miner announced on Tuesday.
The announcement sent the company’s NYSE-listed stock falling nearly 6% on Tuesday to $14.43 apiece in early trading.
TORONTO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Almonty Industries Inc. (TSX-V:AII): NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES Almonty Industries Inc. (TSX-V:AII) (“Almonty”) announces that it reached an agreement with Deutsche Rohstoff AG (“DRAG”), an existing shareholder of and lender to Almonty, to convert (the “Conversion”) into common shares of Almonty (“Common Shares”) a non-transferable secured convertible debenture held by DRAG in the principal amount of CAD$4,000,0
Canada’s newest potash producer K+S Potash Canada (KSPC) has opened its new state-of-the-art potash handling and storage facility at partner Pacific Coast Terminals’ Port Moody terminal, in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The port facility is the western port destination for potash from KSPC’s new $4.6-billion Bethune mine, in southern Saskatchewan, the first new potash mine in Canada’s best potash belt in nearly 50 years.
HOUSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–DXP Enterprises Announces New ABL Revolver and Term Loan B
Iron-ore mine redeveloper Champion Iron Ore has secured a funding commitment and a ten-year offtake agreement from global commodities giant Glencore International, the junior announced on Monday.
The TSX- and ASX-listed firm, whose subsidiary Quebec Iron Ore (QIO) is restarting the high-grade Bloom Lake iron mine, near Fermont, Quebec, has secured a conditional financing commitment of $25-million from Glencore in return for the non-brokered sale of a subordinated unsecured mandatory convertible debenture, on a private placement basis.
Gold producer McEwen Mining has signed a binding definitive agreement with Primero Mining to buy the Black Fox Complex, in the historic Timmins mining camp of Ontario, for $35-million, the company announced on Tuesday.
In combination with McEwen’s earlier $54-million acquisition of Lexam VG Gold, the Black Fox acquisition is seen as a significant expansion of the junior miner’s production footprint in Canada, adding about 50 000 oz in 2018, and significantly lifting the company’s existing gold resources in the Timmins region.
A contractor employee has died on site at Vancouver-based miner Eldorado Gold’s Skouries project, in Greece, the company announced on Tuesday.
The company, which maintains equity listings on both the TSX and the NYSE, advised that the employee was struck by a branch from a falling tree, resulting in fatal injuries.
WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#coppertheft–Scrap Theft Alert, a tool for law enforcement created by the recycling industry to fight materials theft, will now be available on the LEEP.
The chairperson of Chilean state-owned copper company Codelco said on Tuesday that he is cautious about a recent rally in copper prices, even as he is more optimistic in the medium- and long-term.
“I’m a little skeptical…in the short-term,” Oscar Landerretche said a mining conference in Chilean capital Santiago. “It’s true that all of the fundamentals are good in the medium- and long-term…but I would be very cautious.”
Gold rose to the highest this year after North Korea fired a ballistic missile over Japan, boosting haven demand and extending a rally fuelled by declines in the dollar. An index of precious-metals mining stocks touched a four-month high.
The greenback fell for a third day to its lowest since January 2015 and stocks slumped around the world as North Korea’s ballistic missile test rattled markets. Palladium extended gains and platinum rose above $1 000/oz for the first time since March.
ASX-listed Yancoal Australia’s pro-rat renounceable entitlement offer to raise funds for the acquisition of mining major Rio Tinto’s Coal & Allied assets, has failed to gain traction with shareholders, with only 42.8% of the shares on offer being taken up.
The 23.6-for-1 entitlement offer was launched in early August, and Yancoal’s holding company Yanzhou had committed to subscribe for A$1-billion of its entitlement under the offer.
ASX-listed Cooper Energy on Tuesday announced a final investment decision (FID) for the A$533-million Sole gas project, offshore Victoria, after securing a fully underwritten finance package.
The finance package includes a A$250-million senior secured bank debt facility underwritten by Australia and New Zealand Banking Group and Natixis, a A$15-million senior secured working capital facility, and a fully underwritten accelerated non-renounceable entitlement offer that will raise some A$135-million.
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) has taken legal aim at State-owned power utility Eskom’s suspended CFO Anoj Singh following revelations that the power utility had allegedly lied about some of the payments made to Gupta-linked firm Trillian. Outa COO Ben Theron on Tuesday said charges of corruption and financial misconduct were laid against Singh at the Randburg police station, with an affidavit delivered by Outa head of legal affairs advocate Stefanie Fick outlining the case.
Gold producer DRDGold on Tuesday expressed disappointment that the Bench Marks Foundation (BMF) had not engaged with the company when compiling its latest report ‘Waiting to Inhale’. The report found that communities living near Johannesburg’s mine dumps are at greater risk of respiratory illnesses than those of the city’s northern suburbs. The report focusses on the communities of Riverlea, Diepkloof, Meadowlands and Doornkop, all of which are situated close to one of the most intensely mined areas in the world.
Gold miner Regis Resources has reported a solid 2017 financial year, on the back of higher gold production and revenue.
The ASX-listed company on Tuesday announced that profit after tax for the full year ended June 30, had increased by 24% on the previous financial year, from A$111.7-million to A$138.1-million.
The Botswana government has assured potential renewable-energy investors that it will follow through with the implementation of a proposed 100 MW utility-scale solar project, for which it received 166 responses to a call for expressions of interest (EoI) released earlier this year. The Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) has been appointed as government’s implementation agent for the project and the State-owned utility has indicated that it plans to issue a tender in the coming weeks to a short-list of companies selected from the list of EoI respondents.
Iron-ore miner Atlas Iron has swung back into black during the full year ended June, with the company reporting after-tax net profit of A$48-million, compared with a net loss of A$159-million in 2016.
Revenue for the full year rose by 11% to A$871-million, while net operating cash flows increased from A$31-million to A$154-million.
Selected preliminary field work at gold exploration and development company Kefi Minerals’ Tulu Kapi mine, in Ethiopia, will start as soon as the wet season ends in September. The preliminary field work will include geotechnical drilling of the planned sites for the plant and dams.
Precious metals miner Polymetal has increased its revenue by 15% to $683-million in the first half of 2017, but the strong Russian rouble has eaten into its profit.
Adjusted earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) decreased by 12% year-on-year to $257-million in the first six months of the year, which Polymetal said was the result of higher costs incurred owing to a stronger rouble.
De Beers is planning to spend more money advertising diamonds than any time in the past decade to win back wealthy shoppers. The company, a unit of Anglo American Plc, boosted its marketing budget to $140-million this year, the most since 2008, according to a statement on Tuesday. Its three biggest markets, the US, China and India, will be the main focus, the company said.
Aim- and ESM-listed Conroy Gold and Natural Resources has appointed two new nonexecutive members to its board of directors.
The company, which is in a dispute with shareholder Patrick O’Sullivan, appointed Dr Karl Keegan and Brendan McMorrow to its board, after shareholders voted to remove six directors at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) earlier this month.
PHOENIX–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE: FCX) today provided an update on PT Freeport Indonesia’s (PT-FI) negotiations with the Indonesian Government regarding PT-FI’s long term operating rights. FCX and the Government of Indonesia have reached an understanding on a framework to support PT-FI’s long-term investment plans in Papua. This framework, which will require definitive documentation and FCX Board and partner approvals, includes the following key terms: PT-FI will convert it
A former adviser to the president of the Romanian National Agency for Mineral Resources (NAMR) has joined project developer Euro Sun Mining as public relations manager.
TSX-listed Euro Sun, which is the first non-State-owned entity to have been issued a mining licence in Romania, announced Eugen Popitiu’s appointment on Tuesday.
DALLAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE:JEC) was selected by Southern Peru Copper Corporation (SPCC) to provide engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for its No. 1 Acid Plant upgrade project. SPCC operates one of the world’s largest copper smelting/refinery facilities in Ilo, Peru, which is located approximately 600 miles south of Lima. Under the terms of this lump sum EPC contract, Jacobs will perform modifications to the existing acid plant, decreasing
Aim-listed Edenville Energy, which is developing the Rukwa coal project, in Tanzania, has entered into a nonexclusive two-year coal marketing agreement with a UK firm. The firm, which will be responsible for introductions, liaison and, where appropriate, management of coal sales and delivery, has links to African energy and commodities trading and has been sourcing potential customers for the coal produced at Rukwa. Now that the start of production of washed coal from Rukwa’s on site wash plant is imminent, it has allowed Edenville and the UK firm to start pursuing advanced negotiations with groups who have shown an interest in the Rukwa coal.
