TORONTO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–$TMMFF #HopeBay–TMAC Resources Inc. (TSX: TMR) (“TMAC” or the “Company”) has entered into a term sheet with Sprott Private Resource Lending (Collector), LP (“Sprott”) to provide for total borrowings of US$160 million. The approximately US$30 million of additional funds allow TMAC to finance the significant, seasonal expenses incurred during the summer sealift period and the revisions to the term and repayment schedule of the existing senior secured term loan facility Credit Agreement
While Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba’s new economic action plan has been welcomed, the Chamber of Mines (CoM) believes that more must be done to stabilise an industry in crisis. With some 70 000 jobs lost over the past five years, and declines in net and gross investment over the past two years, National Treasury’s action plan, as it currently stands, did not effectively deal with the critical challenges facing the mining sector, CoM said in a response statement to the action steps announced on Thursday.
The small country of Luxembourg has become the first European nation to pass a space mining law, which recognises that private owners have rights to the resources extracted in space.
The new law, which will enter into force on August 1, also establishes procedures for authorising and supervising space exploration missions.
Despite South Africa’s rich chromite endowment, the low chromium oxide (Cr2O3) grades in its orebodies and the high cost of electricity are significant barriers to the country becoming the dominant player in the global industry. Mintek metallurgical project development consultant Dr Nic Barcza highlighted that the estimated global chromite produc- tion last year was about 30-million tons, with South Africa leading the charge at 14-million tons, followed by Kazakhstan at 5.5-million tons.
ASX-listed Highlands Pacific and its joint venture (JV) partner at the Frieda River copper/gold project, in Papua New Guinea, have started arbitration proceedings to resolve a funding dispute.
The parties were in dispute regarding their respective obligations under the JV agreement, including whether Highlands is obligated to start funding of project expenditures.
ASX- and TSX-listed gold miner Teranga Gold has reported record gold production for the second quarter ended June, from its Sabodala mine, in Senegal.
During the June quarter, the mine produced 57 557 oz of gold, taking the first-half production to 114 460 oz.
Even if you’d heard of this year’s best-performing metals, betting on them would probably have been a struggle.
Ruthenium, iridium and the somewhat better known rhodium – used mostly in specialised products like hard disks, spark plugs and autocatalysts – have trounced almost all major commodities tracked by Bloomberg. Prices are up at least 33% this year as demand improved for raw materials that are among the world’s rarest and collected as byproducts of mining the precious metals platinum and palladium.
An ugly year for diamonds in the vital US market is piling pressure on Europe’s historic center of the $80-billion global trade.
Diamond trading companies in the Belgian port city of Antwerp, which has been the industry’s trading capital for five centuries, were already feeling the pinch from a tightening credit bubble and thin margins.
Gold miner Acacia Mining Plc on Friday said the company would meet the increased royalty rate of 6 percent imposed on metals such as gold, copper and silver under new Tanzanian natural resources legislation. The rate has been raised from 4 percent and is in addition to the recently imposed clearing fee of 1 percent on exports out of the country.
Gold miner Millennium Minerals has reported an increase in gold production during the three months to June, compared with the previous quarter, from its Nullagine operation in Western Australia.
During the June quarter, the ASX-listed company produced 18 983 oz of gold, compared with the 16 543 oz of gold delivered in the March quarter.
ASX-listed junior Musgrave Minerals has flagged a potential enlarged operation at the Cue gold project, in Western Australia, after a resource update at the Break of Day and Lena deposits.
The two deposits are estimated to host a combined mineral resource of 3.55-million tonnes, grading 3.09% gold for 352 000 oz of gold, with the Break of Day deposit estimated to host some 199 000 oz and the Lena deposit some 153 000 oz.
Commissioning of the Davyhurst mill, in Western Australia, has been completed, with ASX-listed Eastern Goldfields on Friday reporting that continuous ore processing had started.
First gold pour from the gravity circuit is expected on July 19, and the first leach circuit gold pour is scheduled for July 21.
Primary Industry and Resources Minister Ken Vowles has officially opened the Edna Beryl gold mine, in the Northern Territory, bringing the government’s plans to create a resources hub at Tennant Creek one step closer.
Edna Beryl is one of many small mines in the Tennant Creek area and will potentially be the first of many new projects that go into development and production in the region.
Elon Musk’s intervention in Australia’s energy crisis is widening a divide over the future of coal.
The billionaire Tesla Inc. founder, who has promised to help solve an Australian state’s clean energy obstacles, sees no place for the fossil fuel. That conflicts with the national government’s push for it remaining a mainstay source of electricity generation, as well as the “clean, beautiful coal” technologies that US President Donald Trump sees helping to save American mining jobs.
South Africa’s headline mining production grew 3.6% year-on-year in May, but contracted -0.2% from the downwardly revised month-on-month decrease in April over March, of -1.4%. The three largest positive contributors to the headline improvement in mining activity came from iron-ore production, which increased by 28.6% year-on-year and 4.1 percentage points; diamond production, which increased by 61% year-on-year and 1.7 percentage points; and manganese production, which increased by 18.1% and one percentage point, said BNP Paribas Securities South Africa economist Jeffrey Schultz on Thursday.
An independent panel is warning that water and land needs to be effectively managed and Aboriginal people will need to be fully informed if a moratorium on fracking in the NT is to be lifted.
HOUSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The California Coastal Commission today approved the agreement CEMEX negotiated with Commission Staff regarding the continued operation of the CEMEX Lapis sand plant at a meeting in Seaside, Calif. This agreement is part of a settlement of disputes with the Commission, the State Lands Commission and the City of Marina over the historical operations of the more than 110-year-old Lapis sand plant. The sand provided by the Lapis plant has been used in countless California
Tahoe Resources, whose flagship Guatemalan mine has been suspended, is taking steps to cut costs, including possibly slowing an expansion of a project in Peru and trimming exploration.
The Reno, Nevada-based company may also discuss halting its dividend at an August board meeting and might slow down the payment of bills, CEO Ron Clayton said Thursday in a telephone interview.
Midtier gold producer Leagold Mining has reported on Thursday that ongoing drilling of the Bermejal Undergound deposit at its Los Filos mine, in Mexico, has returned consistent high-grade mineralisation that hold the potential for a significant near-term resource upgrade.
The TSX-V-listed company, which will soon graduate to the TSX main board, reported programme highlights, including intercepting 7.2 g/t over 18.8 m, 6.8 g/t over 13.3 m and 26.3 g/t over 2 m from the oxide zone of the Bermejal Undergound deposit.
Base metals producer Nevsun Resources has reported a strong recovery of copper concentrate production, lifting second-quarter output to 5.7-million pounds.
It is a sharp recovery for the Eritrea-focused company, which resorted to producing a bulk zinc/copper concentrate late last year owing to plant issues at the Bisha mine.
Canadian project developer Prophecy Development Corp has secured a third vanadium-focused project in 2017, announcing on Thursday that it has signed a lease on the Louie Hill vanadium project, in Nevada
With the acquisition of the Louie Hill project, together with the previously acquired Gibellini (Nevada) and Titan (Ontario) projects, Prophecy is positioning itself as an important vanadium explorer in North American.
US-based gold producers recorded less output in May than in April, yet production was 12.6% higher when compared with the same period a year earlier.
According to analysis by the US Geological Survey in its latest Mineral Industry Survey, US gold mines produced about 20 300 kg of the yellow metal in May.
Mining giant Adani’s strategy to ensure the survival of an endangered bird in the Galilee Basin is “grossly inadequate”, researchers say, and they have called on the Federal Environment Minister to intervene.
LIMA, Peru–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Compania de Minas Buenaventura S.A.A (NYSE: BVN; Lima Stock Exchange: BUE.LM) will hold its Second Quarter 2017 earnings conference call on: Friday, July 28, 2017 11:00 AM (Eastern Time) 10:00 AM (Peru Time) Participating on the call to review Buenaventura’s Second Quarter 2017 financial and operating results will be Victor Gobitz, Chief Executive Officer, as well as other members of the senior management team. Second quarter results will be issued o
GILLETTE, Wyo.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Cloud Peak Energy Inc. (NYSE:CLD), one of the largest U.S. coal producers and the only pure-play Powder River Basin (“PRB”) coal company, plans to announce its second quarter and first six months 2017 financial results on July 27, 2017, after the markets close. A conference call with management is scheduled at 5:00 p.m. ET on July 27, 2017 to review the results and current business conditions. The call will be webcast live over the Internet from www.cloudpeakene
LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#MetalsandMinerals–Technavio has announced the top five leading vendors in their recent global aluminum composite panels market report until 2021.
In the five months to July, the Tshipi manganese mine in the Northern Cape exported more than 1.3-million tonnes of manganese ore, making it the largest exporter of manganese ore from South Africa, Jupiter Mines said on Thursday. Tshipi remains on track to achieve its record production target of three-million tonnes for the 2018 financial year, the Pallinghurst group company added.
Concerned about newly enacted legislation in Tanzania, gold mining major AngloGold Ashanti is seeking a “constructive dialogue” with the Tanzania government to gain assurance that its operations will not be affected by newly enacted legal and fiscal changes to the country’s mining legal regime. AngloGold noted on Thursday that its indirect subsidiaries, Samax Resources and Geita Gold Mining were parties to a Mine Development Agreement (MDA) in relation to the development and operation of the Geita gold mine, in Tanzania, which governs the relationship between the subsidiaries and the Tanzania government in relation to Geita mine.
Mining production data released by Statistics South Africa on Thursday revealed a second consecutive month of production contraction. The -0.2% contraction in April and the -1.4% contraction in March are viewed as concerning by Chamber of Mines of South Africa chief economist Henk Langenhoven, owing to their erosion of the 5% production improvement of the first five months of this year. Production is now stuck at 2016 levels, which were 5% down on 2015, with the decline largely attributable to a combination of commodity price uncertainty and a nigh-17% stronger rand.
Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba on Thursday unveiled a series of aggressive interventions and action steps to stimulate economic recovery after South Africa’s fall into recession in the first quarter. His address revealed two main outcomes – dodge another downgrade and reignite economic growth. The ambitious 14-point plan and its attached action steps demonstrated a “sense of urgency and action-oriented intervention”, with clear timelines. This would bind government to commit to “what needed to be done” to stave off any further downgrade, the new Finance Minister explained at a media briefing at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
Gold edged higher on Thursday on a weaker dollar and lower US yields, with investors wagering that policy tightening in the United States would be glacial at best, though gains were capped by surging global stock markets. The dollar was steady against a currency basket, having fallen to its lowest since last October after US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen struck a less hawkish than expected tone in testimony before Congress on Wednesday.
JSE-listed Harmony Gold’s South Africa and Papua New Guinea operations achieved a milestone fatality-free quarter in the June 2017 quarter. Moreover, gold production for the financial year ending June 30 is estimated to be 1.09-million ounces, which exceeds the company’s production guidance of 1.05-million ounces.
The finalisation of the “lowest cost” Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) for electricity has been included in a list of energy-related interventions unveiled by Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba as part of ‘Government’s Inclusive Growth Action Plan’ published on Thursday. Likewise, the National Treasury calls for a lowest cost Integrated Energy Plan. The action plan has been formulated in response to confirmation that South Africa descended into its first recession since 2009 earlier this year, despite the easing of previous power constraints, as well as improvements in labour relations, commodity prices and growth prospects among the country’s major trading partners.
DENVER, & VANCOUVER, British Columbia–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Solitario announces the completion of its acquisition of Zazu Metals and its interest in the Lik Zinc Project.
