| ArcelorMittal Buys Russian Coking Coal Assets -
ArcelorMittal has completed its previously announced acquisition of three coal mines and associated assets in Russia for $718 million. The company has acquired a 97.9% stake in the Berezovskaya mine together with a 99.46% stake in the Pervomayskaya mine from Severstal. Both mines produce coking coal and are located in the Kemerovo Region…... read
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Big Wheels Keep on Turning
Although the structure of the market for bucketwheel and bucket chain based equipment has changed over the years, design advances have enabled the technology to retain a significant place in the production and distribution of coal and minerals
By Kyran Casteel, E&MJ European Editor
Bucketwheel technology evolved from waterborne ladder dredgers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to create some of the world’s largest land-based machines. The concepts may be old, the machines big but some of the technology elements are now very small and smart. Innovation has helped keep bucketwheel based systems stacking, reclaiming and shipping bulk materials at ports and mine sites, excavating and waste disposing in mines, and handling ore for heap leaching at hydrometallurgical process plants. For much of the 20th century……. read
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Global Mining: New Actors, New Script?
Against the backdrop of increased societal demands being placed on mining, the author discusses some of the challenges faced by the industry, based on his keynote presentation at the PDAC 2008 Convention in Toronto.
By Magnus Ericsson
During the present extended boom, not only is metal and mineral production increasing quickly but a new corporate landscape is also emerging. Established, global mining transnational corporations (TNCs) are encountering increased competition from new mining companies based in China, India, the CIS and other developing economies and from junior companies. In 2006, China became the world’s largest mining country and the so called BRIC countries— Brazil, Russia, India and China—are all among the top 11 mineral producers...... read
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 Building Partnerships with Indigenous People
Developing successful mining arrangements with indigenous people isn’t all about technical astuteness—it’s about relationships, reconciliation and the balancing of interests
By Maria Julia Ubillus and Mark Wong
In many parts of the world, indigenous people watch mining vehicles drive past their communities, but there is little opportunity for them to participate in the economic activity. Instead, they may have concerns about relocation and the impact that the mining activity may have on their water supplies, wildlife and the productivity of their land. In other places, indigenous people have formed partnerships with mining companies, becoming empowered through international mining projects…...
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 Taming Equipment Costs in Wild Places
Service and support for the Pogo gold mine in Alaska requires special attention to keep its underground fleet running smoothly and maintenance costs under control
A century ago, when gold miners set off for Alaska and the Yukon, the journey was full of mystery and often misery. A steamer would take prospectors up the west coast of the U.S. and Canada to drop them at one of the small Alaskan ports such as Skagway. The brave souls would then take what they could carry and either head into the wilderness or live in a prospecting camp and risk disease, treachery or simply failure.....
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Talvivaara to Test Bioleach Effectiveness in Finland’s Frigid Environment
Massive quantities of polyethylene pipe, along with state-of-the-art metals processing equipment, are being installed as this heap-leach project readies for startup this year
The Talvivaara nickel project is a rising star in the small galaxy of mines comprising the Northern European hardrock mining industry. And, like many astronomical events, the value of developing a deposit such as the Talvivaara sulphides has taken quite a bit of time before the point was reached where it became visible and understandable. The Talvivaara deposits represent one of Europe’s largest sulphide nickel resources known to date. The 266-million-ton ore reserve is expected to support production for a mine life of 25 years. When production starts in late 2008, the Talvivaara mine will produce approximately.....
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Sandvik Jumbo Rig Arrives in New Company Colors - Despite a spreading global fall-off in corporate earnings and deepening distress in the world’s financial markets, the demand for mined commodities—ranging from potash to precious metals to molybdenum and more—continues without abatement. A significant portion of these commodities will come from underground mines, and mine operators face a constant challenge to get to the ore quickly. To this end, Sandvik focused on speed as it designed its latest jumbo drill rig …. read
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 Safer Loading at Cullinan with Remote Control - De Beers’ Cullinan diamond mine, located 25 km northeast of Pretoria, South Africa, employs 12 Caterpillar R1300G LHDs bought from Barloworld Equipment in 2003–2004. Because of an ongoing problem with water and mud inflows in certain portions of the mine, Cullinan has moved to protect the health and safety of its workers by having two of the R1300G units equipped with LHD remote control technology .…… read
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Handover at Mt. Keith Nickel for Hitachi’s Biggest Excavator - Directors and senior management of Hitachi Construction Machinery (Australia) recently traveled to BHP Billiton’s Mt. Keith nickel ore mine site, northeast of Perth, for the formal handover of the first of two new 800-mt EX8000 excavators for the mine. The Mt. Keith machine is the fourth of the ultra-size excavators to be commissioned around the world. The first three were delivered to an oil sands project in Alberta, Canada….
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Caterpillar Offers Options for Machine Control and Guidance Systems Repair
- Caterpillar says it now offers new repair options—repairing components or using remanufactured ones—to keep its machine control and guidance systems up and running. Caterpillar will now sell remanufactured components off the shelf; these items are warranted and are about half the price of new, according to the company. Additionally, Caterpillar’s Machine Control .……
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Laser Scanning Robot Maps Silver Mine in Three Days - U.K.-based 3D Laser Mapping reported that it has successfully completed a project to create a 3-D map of the San Jose silver mine in Mexico. The survey, commissioned by Arian Silver Corp.—which recently added the brownfield project to their portfolio—reportedly enabled further its definition of the mine’s potential by providing an accurate volumetric calculation of previously worked areas….
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Casagrande and Atlas Copco Form Distribution Alliance
- Atlas Copco Construction Mining Technique USA LLC recently signed an agreement with Casagrande USA, Inc. to become the exclusive distributor of Casagrande’s line of geotechnical and foundation drilling products for the Midwestern United States. These products will be supported from Atlas Copco’s Milwaukee facility, which already offers a range of ground engineering products such as down-thehole hammers…. read
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40-Ton-Payload Dump Truck - The Western Star 6900XD is designed to minimize cost-per-ton hauled when compared with traditional articulated dump trucks (ADT) and rigid frame off-road dumps. These savings are achieved by lower acquisition and maintenance costs with optimal hauling performance and productivity. On maintained terrains and hauls that exceed one-half mile (0.8 km) Western Star claims the 6900XD is 35% more fuel efficient than competitive ADT and rigid dumps in the same payload class.….
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4WD Rig for Efficient Drilling in Tough Terrain - Atlas Copco’s ROC T15 is a small, selfpropelled four-wheel drive drill rig weighing only 2,800 kg and capable of sinking holes of 22- to 45-mm (7/8- to 1.75-in.) diameter. It is equipped with a radioremote control for tramming, drilling and boom functions, and can also be fitted with a hydraulic winch that has a variable line pull for working in extreme conditions, where it is necessary to.….read
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 Updated Underground Mine Utility Vehicle -
The Paus Minca Mining Car is a four-wheel drive mine transport vehicle that accepts interchangeable "cassettes" which allow the basic vehicle to be configured for a variety of functions including a 16-man personnel carrier, loading platform with crane, work platform, 3,000-L diesel fuel tanker, or ambulance and fire engine. The vehicle, which can be ordered with optional four-wheel steering for improved maneuvering in tight spaces, is powered by a 93- kW, water-cooled Deutz diesel with a monitoring feature that initiates automatic…. read
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| JUNE 9–11, 2008:
MASSMIN 2008–5th International Conference
& Exhibition on Mass Mining, Luleå Technical
University, Luleå, Sweden. Contact:
Prof. E Nordlund; E-mail: info@massmin2008.com;
Web: www.massmin2008.com |
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| JULY 22-24, 2008: Queensland
Mining & Engineering Exhibition 2008, Mackay,
Queensland. Contact: Reed Exhibitions; Tel: 02 9422 2955; Fax: 02 9993 8342; Web: www.qme.reedexhibitions.com.au
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SEPTEMBER 22-24, 2008: MINExpo 2008, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA Contact: Hall Erickson; Tel: 800-752-6312; Fax: 630-434-1216; E-mail:
minexpo@heiexpo.com;
Web: minexpo.com |
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SEPTEMBER 24-28, XXIV International Mineral Processing Congress (IMPC), Beijing, China Conference Secretariat; Tel: 86-10-68310569; Fax: 86-10-68317050; E-mail:
impcexhibition@gmail.com |
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| OCTOBER 1-3, 2008: PROCEMIN 2008, Santiago, Chile Contact: Fabiola Bustamante; Tel: 56-2 652 1555; Fax: 56-2 652 1570; E-mail:
info@procemin.cl;
Web: www.procemin.cl |
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NOVEMBER 13-14, 2008: TZMI Congress–Asia in Focus 2008, Singapore. Contact: Daniel Navaratnam; Tel: 61 (0)8 9359 6000; E-mail:
data@tzmi.com.au Web: www.tzmi.com |
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FEBRUARY 8-11, 2009: 35th Annual Conference on Explosives and Blasting Technique, Denver, Colorado, USA. Contact: International Society of Explosives Engineers; Tel. 440-349-4400; Fax: 440-349-3788; Web: www.isee.org |
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| For a full calendar of
mining industry conferences and events -
click
here |
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 Santiago González has recently been appointed the new mining minister of Chile |
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Greg Wilkins, president and CEO, has taken a leave of absence and that Chairman Peter Munk will assume the CEO responsibilities on an interim basis.
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 Adanac Molybdenum Corp. announced that David Stone has been appointed CEO. Larry Reaugh will step down as executive chairman of the board and as a director, but will remain on as a strategic consultant for the company.
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Evolving Gold Corp. announced the appointment of Dr. Quinton Hennigh as president and director. The company also announced the appointments of Dr. Robert Barker as senior geologist; Tom Weis as geophysicist; Patty Rehn as geochemist; and Dr. C. Jay Hodgson as technical advisor. Dr. Lawrence Dick, who is retiring as president, will serve on the Technical Advisory Committee and will assume the role of chairman of the board. Herrick Lau will assume the position of interim CFO from retiring CFO, Donald Gee, who will serve as a non-management director.. |
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 International Gold Resources, Inc. announced the appointment of Nathan M. Longenecker vice president, General Counsel and secretary. |
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Safety Vision announced the appointment of Michael Ondruch as CFO. |
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 Hawk Corp. announced the appointment of B. Christopher DiSantis as president and COO. |
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Survey Predicts Record Prices and Static Mine Production Levels for Gold - The possibility that gold could again rally strongly and post fresh highs was a key theme of the presentation surrounding the launch of the GFMS Gold Survey 2008 in London. "We weren’t at all surprised that the market saw a hefty correction in the last few weeks, as the speed of the earlier gains looked a little unsustainable," said Philip Klapwijk, chairman of the GFMS, an independent precious metals research consultancy. "However, we don’t think current hesitancy means it’s game over for the rally. Many of the drivers behind this investor push .... 
U.S. Presidential CandidateMcCain Visits Bucyrus
- As the current United States presidential election campaign grinds toward this summer’s national nominating conventions, there has been little discussion of miningrelated issues among the candidates. However, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Senator John McCain, whose home state of Arizona hosts a number of large copper mines—and with more major projects currently in the pipeline there—is considered the most promining of the current candidates......
PolyMet Names URS as NorthMet Project EPCM, Changes Executive Posts
- Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. announced that it has terminated negotiations to sell its 26.8% interest in the Wabush Mines joint venture to ArcelorMittal Dofasco Inc. The company entered into discussions with Dofasco in September 2007 and until recently negotiations had been ongoing. "Cliffs believes that terminating negotiations and remaining a partner in the Wabush Mines joint venture is the best course of action for all stakeholders at the current time," said Donald J. Gallagher..... 
Davidson Moly Prospect Results Released
- Thompson Creek Metals recently released the results of a feasibility study on development of the underground Davidson deposit near Smithers, British Columbia. "The Davidson deposit feasibility study indicates positive project economics," said Kevin Loughrey, chairman and CEO. "This is the case even though we make an assumption that molybdenum prices in the later years of the study will be considerably lower than we are receiving currently. We intend to review the details of the study and make a decision in the next few months on whether to proceed with the project.... 
Atna Acquires Canyon Resources, Moves Ahead on Briggs and Pinson Projects
- Vancouver, B.C.-based Atna Resources closed a deal in mid-March in which Atna acquired all of Canyon Resources’ issued and outstanding shares of common stock, warrants and debentures. The acquisition, according to Atna, creates a platform for gold production growth, including the restart of the Briggs mine in California and development of the Reward and Pinson projects in Nevada. "Our priority will be to restart operations at the Briggs gold mine.... 
Coeur’s Cerro Bayo Mine to Upgrade Electrical Systems - Coeur d’Alene Mines Corp. recently announced that as part of the ongoing operational improvement program at the company’s Cerro Bayo operation in southern Chile, the mine will upgrade its electrical infrastructure, which will result in a temporary suspension of mining operations for approximately six weeks. Earlier this year, the company implemented a recovery plan at Cerro Bayo to address the….
Study Results for Queensland Phosphate Project
- Legend International Holdings, a Melbourne, Victoria-based company registered in the U.S. State of Delaware, with phosphate projects in the State of Queensland, Australia, recently released the results of a preliminary scoping study on its phosphate projects in Queensland conducted by British Sulphur, a division of CRU International. British Sulphur prepared initial project capital and operating costs assuming sale prices for phosphate…. 
Ivanhoe Sells Controlling Stake in Jinshan to China’s CNG - Ivanhoe Mines reports that it has agreed to sell its 42% stake in Jinshan Gold Mines to China’s national gold-mining conglomerate, China National Gold (CNG), and its financial partners. A Canadian mining company focused on gold production in China, Jinshan began producing gold at the Chang Shang Hao (CSH) mine in July 2007 and is actively advancing its portfolio of gold exploration properties in China. "This is the first step toward the formation of a long-term, strategic partnership between Ivanhoe Mines and China National Gold Group….
Resurgence in Johannesburg’s Gold Tailings Reclamation - Over the years many of the most prominent tailings sites surrounding Johannesburg, South Africa, a city that grew up around its now exhausted gold mines, were reprocessed. A significant percentage of the gold that remained in these tailings deposited up to a century ago was reclaimed. Steadily, one of the city’s major distinguishing features began to disappear. But earlier this decade, after 25 years, the tailings reclamation operations began to struggle for profitability. They, too, began…. 
Mountain Laurel Commissions High-Capacity Longwall System
- Arch Coal’s Mountain Laurel complex, located in southern West Virginia, USA, recently installed and commissioned a new Joy longwall mining system, and is expecting a significant boost in production from the new equipment. "Underground production at Mountain Laurel is expected to increase from 1.8 million metric tons (mt) coal in 2007 (development work) to more than 3.6 million mt of clean coal in 2008 thanks to our longwall installation," said Greg Dotson, mine manager, Mountain Laurel.…... 
