In the latest issue of International Mining Project News Xstrata Copper is clear to complete the final permitting for its Las Bambas copper project after Peru’s Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) approved Xstrata’s ESIA for the 1,550 Mt project. The MEM approval follows a recent 36% increase in the mineral resource at Las Bambas and leaves the project on schedule for construction to begin before the end of 2011. By Q2 2014 the low cost mine is planned to have an initial 400,000 t/y production of copper in concentrate, with significant byproducts of gold, silver and molybdenum, and the company hopes to achieve copper production levels up to almost 1.5 Mt/y by the end of 2014. Meanwhile, in Colombia, hotter tempers have prevailed at an environmental public hearing about Greystar Resources’ Angostura gold-silver project, after confrontations forced government representatives to cancel the meeting with only 28 of 470 planned statements heard.
Greystar has expressed disappointment at the early closure and reaffirmed that it wants to develop Angostura as an “economically viable and environmentally sustainable project” and will not develop the multi-million ounce project without the support of all parties.
In Canada Goldcorp has revealed positive study results for two major gold projects – Éléonore in Quebec and Cochenour in Ontario. The company has approved the full scale development of both projects which have been forecasted with a combined production of 850,000-875,000 oz/y gold at an 8,500 t/d processing rate.
In Western Australia Sandfire Resources has made a conditional development decision after a robust PFS was delivered for its DeGrussa project. The decision is still dependant on a successful DFS and project development package, due to be finalised in Q2 2011, but would see the proposed low cost copper-gold mine in open pit production by Q1 2012 and underground production by Q3 2012 to produce 60-70,000 t/y copper and 40-45,000 oz gold. While Fortescue Metals has hit a BIF discovery that reaches over 1,000 Mt iron ore to take the company’s total resource portfolio to almost 7,000 Mt of hematite-goethite mineralisation with another 2,500 Mt magnetite mineralisation. The Nyidinghu project is 35 km south of the company’s Cloudbreak project – placing it close enough to Fortescue’s Chichester Hub to take advantage of Chichester’s advanced infrastructure. The discovery could help Fortescue extend the life of its Cloudbreak and Christmas Creek mines through the creation of low phosphorus ‘blend’ ore.
Southern Cross Goldfields has also met with drilling success at its King Brown gold deposit in Western Australia with infill drilling confirming the presence of thick, near surface, gold mineralisation. The company has also identified the possibility of extending the project’s current open pit depth which will bode well for the company’s upcoming resource estimate on the deposit.
In Papua New Guinea Marengo Mining has taken another step towards developing a long life mining operation at its wholly owned Yandera project with a substantial upgrade to its mineral resource inventory. The Yandera copper resource estimate now stands at 530 Mt (Measured and Inferred) and Marengo has also identified a 776 Mt Inferred resource of valuable by-product metals – leaving the company confident that the Yandera resource will continue to grow. After awarding Standard Bank the financial mandate for the project, as well as other recent arrangements, Marengo now believes that it is financially “well positioned” to complete an ongoing DFS at Yandera. Sirius Minerals is looking to progress all of its potash projects with a recently completed $20 million placing but has decided to primarily concentrate on the York potash project, in the UK, with another drilling program and a series of studies on geological, environmental and engineering aspects.
Focus Minerals’ drilling program has discovered a series of high grade intersections at the Tindal mining centre in Coolgardie that indicates the potential to further increase a 8.3 Mt open pit mineral resources at the gold project. Focus currently plans to begin mining at three deposits from April 2011 as part of an open pit, low cost, strategy designed to supplement Tindals underground ore production. As part of a 2011 work plan Shear Diamonds has announced a spring drilling program at its Jericho diamond project – the company has approved a $4.6 million Phase 1 budget for the Canadian project and will hope its extensive exploration forces a new NI 43-101 resource at Jericho in 2012.
Mundo Minerals has secured US based investment funds and institutions as part of a $10-15 million capital raising that will be used to drive the company’s plans to reach 150,000 oz/y gold production. The funds will secure the necessary financing for the high grade Torrecillas project in Peru to be taken into full scale commercial development following the completion of a successful DFS. After closing its $6 million IPO hugely over-subscribed Argentina Mining Ltd is ready to list on the ASX and start its South American exploration with a new cornerstone investor. AML plans to begin diamond drilling programs at its gold-copper-molybdenum targets soon after listing – starting with the established Cerro Blanco copper-molybdenum project in San Juan Province, Argentina.
All this and much, much more in International Mining’s Project News….
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