Latest issue of International Mining Project News available (April 23): Many companies are still coming to terms with the recent iron ore announcements. The steelmaking raw ingredient and its counterpart, metallurgical coal, are featured heavily in this issue – with 15 project updates. This includes production news at the huge Benga project in Mozambique – estimated to produce 1.7 Mt/y of coking coal, Brockman Resources signing an MOU with Sinosteel for its Marillana iron ore project in the Pilbara, and the expansion of Aquila Resources and Vale’s Isaac Plains coal mine in the Bowen Basin of Queensland. There is also news of Xstrata Copper investing $4,200 million for start-up of its Las Bambas project in Peru, Gold Fields expanding at its South Deep gold mine in South Africa, Navigator Resources pouring first gold at its Bronzewing and Leonora projects in Western Australia, and many more.
The Benga project is jointly owned by Riversdale Mining (65%) and Tata Steel (35%). The ground breaking ceremony commenced on April 13 and according to Executive Chairman Michael O’Keefe, “signals the beginning of a program of works and investment that will eventually see over $1 billion expended on developing a major coal mine”. The company believes the scale of the resources at Benga allows for cost-effective open-pit mining, with the potential to produce 20 Mt/y of run of mine (ROM) coal for a period of more than 25 years. In October, Riversdale and Tata announced the approval of Stage 1 of the project, following the review of the feasibility study. O’Keefe: “Together we are committed to bringing the Benga coal mine into production and shipping first coal by late 2011.”
Xstrata Copper’s Las Bambas project is located between the Grau and Cotabambas provinces in the Apurimac Region. The $4,200 million sum represents the biggest mining investment in the history of Peru. The company plans to present the environmental impact assessment (EIA) during second quarter 2010 and expects to get final corporate approvals by first quarter 2011. Las Bambas is made up of the Chalcobamba, Ferrobamba, Sulfobamba and Charcas deposits. The construction is programmed to start in Q3, 2011 and be completed three years later, with the start-up of operations toward the third quarter of 2014. With a 140,000 t/d capacity concentrator plant, Las Bambas should produce 400,000 t/y of copper during the first nine years and an average of 315,000 t/y in a life of at least 18 years. Furthermore, it will produce 5,000 t/y of molybdenum.
Molybdenum is also a focus of the Kennecott Utah copper mine in Magna. Rio Tinto is investing $340 million into the construction of a new Molybdenum Autoclave Process (MAP) facility, which will allow: lower-grade molybdenum concentrate to be processed more efficiently than through conventional roasters, improved molybdenum recovery and operating flexibility, production of metallurgical and higher chemical grade molybdenum products. Investment in the MAP facility is part of an overall plan to extend the life of the Bingham Canyon mine beyond 2020, where a significant molybdenum deposit remains.
Gold Fields’ depth extension of the Ventilation Shaft at its South Deep project, the newest mine in the company’s South African portfolio, will see it go down to 3,000 m, from the previous 2,760 m mark. The deepening and equipping of the shaft, which includes ore storage silos and conveyor belts at the shaft bottom, a new rock winder and new headgear, is set to be completed by July 2012. The Twin Shaft Complex currently has a hoisting capacity of 158,725 t/month through the Main Shaft. This is set to increase to 335,590 t/month (comprising 299,310 t of ore and 36,280 t of development waste) once the Ventilation Shaft is completed. The completion of the shaft and the commensurate increase in production capacity of the Twin Shaft Complex will enable the mine to build up to its full production target of between 750,000-800,000 oz/y of gold by the end of 2014.
Pouring of first gold at the Bronzewing project is, according to Navigator Resources’ Managing Director, “is the first in what will be an annualised rate of production of 100,000 oz of gold. At Leonora, gold production from the trial mining program is not only generating revenue – but self-funding the feasibility work targeting a larger scale development plan for the project.” The company’s medium term objective is 150,000 oz/y of gold production from these two open-pit projects.
There is also news from Moly Mines’ Spinifex Ridge molybdenum and iron ore projects in Australia, following the settlement of the A$200 million equity and debt funding, and the re-start of North American Palladium’s Lac des Iles mine in northwest Ontario, as well as much more… To receive the full 40+ page report, subscriptions to this service can be registered and paid for on-line (SUBSCRIBE TO IM PROJECT NEWS BUTTON), or contact [email protected] for a free trial copy.