Latest issue of International Mining Project News available (June 19): With the joining of Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton’s iron ore ventures in the Pilbara there are worries over an iron ore pricing monopoly with only Vale offering ‘major’ alternative pricing for iron ore fines. This year’s negotiations have been concluded with a variety of spot and fixed prices, with China in particular holding off on fixed contracts, however this huge joint venture has made China and many other countries fear future negotiations due to the lack of options it will result in.
Away from iron ore, there is much to report. Near Wiluna in Western Australia, Toro Energy has increased its resources at its Wiluna uranium project. Its Centipede uranium resource has increased to 9.78 Mt at 553 ppm U3O8 for 11.81 MIb of contained uranium oxide using a 200 ppm cutoff. This is a 26% increase in the average grade and a 6% increase in the contained uranium on the previously reported resource of 11.53 Mt at 438 ppm U3O8 for 11.12 MIb. Later in the month, Toro then issued another report confirming that its Lake Way deposit has had a similar significant resource grade increase to Centipede. New grade estimates for Lake Way showed a 34% improvement in the deposit’s grade to 543 ppm U3O8 from the previous estimate of 404 ppm released in May last year. After these upgrades Wiluna’s total resource now stands at 20.21 Mt at 548 ppm U3O8 for 11,070 t of contained uranium oxide.
In potash, Potash One has the results of the Legacy Solution-Mining potash project prefeasibility study (PFS). This shows a Measured resource of 29 Mt and an Indicated resource of 222 Mt KCI, based on the estimated capital and operating costs for a 2.5 Mt/y potash solution mine. The study shows an initial mine life of 40 years with an estimated capital cost of $1.877 billion. SNC-Lavalin, the consulting firm who carried out the study, has now recommended that the project moves forward to the feasibility study stage.
Moving to coal, Coal of Africa has successfully commissioned the coal handling and preparation plant (CHPP) at its Mooiplaats Colliery in Mpumalanga, South Africa. This first module of the CHPP has the capacity to process 110,000 t/month of run-of-mine coal. When processing bituminous coal, it will produce an export quality thermal coal, as well as a lower grade middling product suitable for the domestic power station market. The company is considering a revised mining layout and tonnage schedule, which it anticipates will result in bituminous coal only becoming available in Q1, 2010. With a cash balance of around $82.7 million, the company feels it has sufficient funds to complete the development of Mooiplaats.
In India, Vedanta Resources has issued an update on its bauxite mining project in Orissa State. It expects to start mining there by August after already receiving stage 1 forest and environmental clearances. The operation is currently estimated to produce about 76 Mt of bauxite over its lifetime. Vedanta is well prepared for the project, already having an alumina refinery in the area, along with an aluminium smelter and a captive generating plant.
In Canada, Iamgold has approved a $28 million mill expansion and an $18.9 million paste backfill plant addition to its Niobec niobium mine near Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada. The mill expansion will increase mill throughput by 24% and the paste backfill plant will increase Proven and Probable reserves by 36% and Inferred resources by 72%. The Niobec mill currently has an average throughput of 210 t/h, while the mining hoist has an average hoisting capacity of 260 t/h. The mill expansion is planned to match throughput to the mining hoisting capacity by increasing mill throughput to 260 t/h.
There is also news of Frontier Mining’s Benkala copper porphyry project in north-western Kazakhstan, Andina Minerals financing for its Volcan gold project in Chile, Shanta Gold’s conceptual mining study at its Chunya project in Tanzania and Adamus Resources’ optimised feasibility study on its Southern Ashanti gold project in south-western Ghana as well as many other project reports.
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