AROUND THE
WORLD - USA & CANADA |
|
|
|
Lundin Eyeing 4Q 2014 Startup for Eagle
Lundin Mining said in mid-July that it had reached the final stages of construction and mine startup at the Eagle nickel- copper project in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The project includes the underground Eagle mine, 53 km northwest of Marquette, Michigan; and the Humboldt mill, 60 km west of Marquette. The mill is a former iron-ore processing facility that is being converted to a concentrator that will process 2,000 metric tons per day (mt/d) of Eagle ore...... read
more |
|
|
General Moly Projects 32-year Life for Liberty Mo/Cu Mine
General Moly has announced the results of an updated pre-feasibility study (PFS) for its 100% owned Liberty molybdenum- copper project 20 miles north of Tonopah, Nevada. The project is based on redevelopment of a property operated first by Anaconda and then by Cyprus Minerals as the Hall-Tonopah open-pit mine during the 1980s. Idaho General Mines (now General Moly) gained control of the property in 2007 and renamed the project the Liberty project.... read more
Top
|
|
|
Stornoway Constructing its Renard Diamond Project
Stornoway Diamond Corp. has begun mine construction at its Renard diamond project near the Otish mountains in north-central Quebec. Project construction has been fully mobilized, with plant commissioning now scheduled for late 2016 and commercial production expected in the second quarter of 2017. The Renard project is located in the James Bay region of Quebec, approximately 250 km north of the Cree community of Mistissini and 350 km north of Chibougamau. Mine development is based.... read
more
|
|
|
AROUND THE
WORLD - Latin America |
|
|
|
Coeur Plans to Go Underground at Palmarejo
Coeur Mining has announced an updated and re-scoped mine plan and preliminary economic assessment for its Palmarejo silver and gold operations in southwestern Chihuahua state, Mexico. Under the new plan, mining will transition to a lower-tonnage, higher-grade, higher-margin, allunderground operation, prioritizing cash flow over production ounces. The Guadalupe underground mine is expected to become Palmarejo’s primary ore source by 2016. Mine life at the Palmarejo open-pit will be extended…… read
more |
|
|
Teck Builds Equity Interest in AQM Resources
Teck Resources announced on July 16 an agreement to purchase additional shares of AQM Copper, increasing its interest in the company by about 10.45% to 30.35%. The transaction was valued at about C$1.5 million. AQM’s key asset is the Zafranal porphyry copper project in southern Peru. Zafranal is being developed by Cia Minera Zafranal, a 50:50 AQM:Teck joint venture, with AQM as the operator. Mitsubishi Materials holds a 40% interest in AQM’s 50% interest…. read more
|
|
|
|
AROUND THE
WORLD - Australasia |
|
|
|
Glencore Begins Shaft Hoisting From Ernest Henry Underground
Glencore reported on June 25 that the new, 1-km-deep hoisting shaft at its Ernest Henry mine near Cloncurry in northwest Queensland, Australia, had begun operations. The shaft is a key element of an A$589 million project to transition the Ernest Henry mine from open-pit to underground production. Mine production will ramp up from 3 million to 6 million mt/y in 2015, and production of metal in concentrate will similarly double to 50,000 metric tons per year (mt/y) of copper and 70,000 oz/y of gold over an extended mine life to 2026. The Ernest Henry underground project began in December 2009 and has included…. read
more |
|
|
Atlas Iron Opens Fifth Pilbara Mine
Atlas Iron held an official opening for its new Mount Webber direct-shipping-ore (DSO) iron-ore mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia on July 15. Previously, Atlas has developed four relatively small DSO mines in the Pilbara: Pardoo, Wodgina, Mount Dove and Abydos. The company’s first commercial ore shipment was from the Pardoo mine in December 2008. The company shipped 10.9 million mt in its fiscal year to June 30. The Mt. Webber mine is located 230 km via road south-southeast of Port Hedland. Mining began in December 2013, and crushing and screening began in early June. Haulage of product to port began on July 18 …. read
more
Top |
|
|
|
|
Alrosa Goes Underground at Udachny as Surface Ops Wind
Alrosa has commissioned the Udachny underground diamond mine in the Sakha Republic, eastern Russia, at the site of a surface mining operation that began in 1971. Upon reaching its design capacity of 4 million metric tons per year (mt/y) of ore in 2019, the underground mine will become the largest underground diamond mine in Russia and one of the largest worldwide….
read
more
|
Saudi Phosphate Project Gets $5 Billion in Financing
Ma’aden Wa’ad Al-Shamal Phosphate Co. (MWSPC) has signed financing facilities for long-term project finance loans with a consortium of 20 financial institutions for SR18.9 billion (about $5 billion) to be used in developing MWSPC’s phosphate project now under construction at sites in Wa’ad Al Shamal in northern Saudi Arabia and the existing Ras Al Khair Industrial City. MWSPC is a joint venture company formed by…. read
more
|
|
|
|
Amplats Puts Some Mines Up for Sale
Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) announced on July 21 that it is offering for sale its Rustenburg and Union mines and its interest in the Pandora joint venture in South Africa. The company is also considering sale of its interest in the Bokoni joint venture. It will retain its Rustenburg and Union smelting and refining assets. The Amplats announcement was made in conjunction with release of its results for the first half of 2014 and one month after it reached a settlement to end a five-month…. read more
|
|
|
Construction Begins at Asanko Gold Mine
Asanko Gold reported in mid-July that it is proceeding with construction of Phase 1 of its Asanko gold mine in Ghana. Phase 1 development is based on the Obotan gold project the company acquired when it acquired PMI Gold in February. Early works at the project site began in April. Full project construction was scheduled to be under way by mid-August, with first gold targeted in the first quarter of 2016 and steady-state production anticipated in the second quarter of 2016. Asanko Phase 1 development is based on a definitive feasibility study (DFS) of the……
read more
Top
|
|
|
|
Exxaro Acquires Total Coal South Africa
South Africa’s fourth largest coal producer Exxaro recently entered into an agreement to buy Total Coal South Africa Pty. Ltd. (TCSA) and its related export marketing rights through the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT). The transaction is valued at $472 million. TCSA is the fifth largest coal producer in South Africa and has a majority interest in two main operating complexes, Dorstfontein and Forzando, located in the Witbank coal basin in South Africa’s Mpumalanga province …. read more
|
|
|
|
Foresight Extinguishes Deer Run Fire
Foresight Energy announced that on July 28 a team of examiners and U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) officials re-entered the company’s Deer Run mine and conducted an examination. This examination included visual observations and air quality and quantity readings throughout the mine. Based on this exam, and the continued low carbon monoxide levels, it appears that the effort to contain and extinguish the fire has been successful. In addition, during the examination process, a limited section of the headgate area of the longwall was observed. Based …. read more
|
|
|
MSHA Unveils Plan to Change Civil Penalty Outlines
Citing a more simplified, consistent process and a greater emphasis on more serious conditions, the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) published a proposed rule that will change the way the industry is assessed civil penalties. The proposal, which was published in the Federal Register on July 31, will amend existing civil penalty regulations if made a final rule. MSHA said it has structured the new outlines to "encourage operators to be more accountable and proactive" in addressing their own safety and…. read
more |
|
|
|