The latest International Mining Project News, out today (some 60 pages), has reports on 24 prefeasibility studies, 21 feasibility studies, 27 projects in development, one new mine that has gone into production, ten existing mines that are expanding, 12 merger/acquisition, name change announcements and many new appointments to new positions. The reports cover 36 gold projects, 18 copper, 10 each in silver and coal, eight in zinc, seven each in tin, titanium and vanadium, five lead and rare earths projects, four each in potash, molybdenum and tungsten, two nickel and two lithium projects, and one report each on PGMs, mineral sands, manganese, phosphate and graphite projects. This fortnightly project watch is a great way of keeping up to date with your peers – other mining companies, other consultants or other engineering companies. These issues build into a global mine project overview. If you are a supplier – it is full of potential sales leads.Xstrata Copper released a revised and upgraded mineral resource estimate for the Tampakan copper-gold project in the Philippines. In summary, the total estimated mineral resources (Measured, Indicated and Inferred) for the deposit has risen from 2,490 Mt at 0.6% Cu at a 0.3% Cu cutoff grade to 2,940 Mt at 0.51% Cu at a 0.2% Cu cutoff grade. This represents a tonnage increase of 18% over the previously reported October 2009 total resource estimates.
As we go to press, there is much talk of a takeover of Xstrata by Glencore.
Pan American Silver is adding a long-life, low-cost operating silver and gold mine with significant expansion potential to its portfolio with the acquisition of Minefinders. Pan American says this creates “the leading growth-oriented, geographically-diversified silver producer with combined market capitalisation of approximately $4 billion: The combined company will be one of the largest diversified silver mining companies by market capitalisation, providing enhanced capital markets scale and profile and increased strategic flexibility.”
The initial Future Underground Materials Handling Study for Lundin Mining’s Neves-Corvo mining complex in southern Portugal identified and evaluated the underground materials handling and access options necessary to pursue the exploitation of the deeper Lombador copper/zinc resources as well as the Semblana copper deposit which are adjacent to the Neves-Corvo mine. The mine was examined in detail in IM January as part of the current Great Mines series on Lundin (Tenke Fungurume in March).
Coalspur Mines plans the first phase of its Vista mine in Alberta, Canada, to produce 5.0 Mt/y of coal with first production scheduled for early 2015. Development of the first phase will include infrastructure components which will be capable of handling the additional production volumes from the second phase. The second phase is scheduled to begin construction in 2015 and reach full capacity of 11.2 Mt/y of marketable coal production in 2018.
Scorpio Mining Corp intends to expand its 100% owned Nuestra Señora processing plant, located in Sinaloa, Mexico has been approved by its Board of Directors. Parviz Farsangi, President & CEO: “Our continued improvements and success in the areas of production, processing and financial strength have allowed us to focus on a major expansion project that is expected to increase our current production capacity by over 80%.
Murray & Roberts Cementation says it has got off to a good start on the mining contract to develop Northam Platinum’s new Booysendal North platinum mine – a greenfields underground UG2 project located in the Dwars Rivier valley on the eastern limb of the Bushveld Complex, South Africa, some 40 km due west of Mashishing (formally Lydenburg). The site is surrounded by established operations such as Mototolo and Two Rivers to the north and Everest to the southeast.
African Minerals (AML) has successfully closed the book and pricing of $350 million of Convertible Bonds due 2017. The company intends to use the net proceeds primarily for the continued expansion of production at its Phase I Tonkolili iron ore operation to 20 Mt/y.
Bellzone Mining provided a progress update on the Forécariah JV project in the Republic of Guinea, which remains on schedule to begin production and stockpiling of iron ore in Q1 of 2012.
MDM Engineering Group, the minerals process and project management company focused on the mining industry, has been awarded the Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management (EPCM), for Banro Corp’ Namoya Gold Project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Namoya Mining SARL, a wholly owned subsidiary of Banro, is developing the Namoya gold mine in the South Kivu and Maniema Provinces of the DRC, approximately 270 km south west of the town of Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province.
Full details on all these projects and information on and contacts for many, many more are to be found in the February 3 issue of International Mining Project News…..
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