The latest issue of International Mining Project News, out today, has reports on 14 prefeasibility studies, 23 feasibility studies, 27 projects in development, seven new mines that have gone into production, four existing mines that are expanding, three merger and acquisition announcements and many new appointments to new positions. The report covers 39 gold projects, 16 copper, 13 silver projects, five iron ore, four nickel and zinc projects, three heavy mineral sands, rare earth elements, coal and molybdenum, two projects on tin, potash, cobalt and PGMs, and one project each on tungsten, graphite, diamonds, phosphate, uranium, lead, lithium and titanium. A brief sample of the reports follows.Codelco has started the development of the access drifts for the new level of its El Teniente copper mine (IM, October 2010, pp10-15). The expansion is part of a $3.5 billion project that will allow the company to extend the mine life for another 50 years. Its production last year was 400,297 t. The new mine section, located 300 m deeper than the current one, will enter production in 2017.
Ivanplats has applied for listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange. In the DRC, the Kamoa copper deposit was independently discovered by Ivanplats in 2008 and is west of the Kolwezi district of the Central African Copperbelt. Ivanplats has completed a resource estimate and preliminary assesment on the Kamoa project. Also in the DRC, Ivanplats has a controlling interest in a historical zinc resource at the Kipushi project, with established underground access. This is a past-producing, high-grade underground zinc-copper mine in Katanga Province. Ivanplats’ Platreef PGE, gold, nickel, and copper project, on the Northern Limb of the Bushveld Complex in South Africa, is approximately 8 km south of Anglo Platinum’s Mogalakwena mining complex.
Karnalyte Resources has entered into an EPCM Services Agreement with Foster Wheeler Canada Ltd (FWCL), whereby FWCL will provide EPCM services for the Wynyard Carnallite project. The proposed project involves the construction of a facility that will initially produce 625,000 t/y of potash, increasing to 2.125 Mt/y of potash.
Centaurus Metals advises that the BFS for its flagship Jambreiro iron ore project in southeast Brazil is progressing well with results from the open pit geotechnical, pit optimisation and mine sequencing work confirming the robustness of the orebody. The recently completed pit optimisation and mine sequencing work, based on the Friable Measured and Indicated Resource of 53.7 Mt grading 28.4% Fe, has estimated an in-pit resource of 48.5 Mt at an average grade of 28.1% Fe.
Altona Mining’s Roseby project continues to excite us, with another new copper deposit discovery near Mt Isa in Queensland, Australia. The discovery at Turkey Creek is located some 2 km east of the 100 Mt Little Eva deposit. Managing Director Dr Alistair Cowden: “The copper deposit at Turkey Creek, discovered so close to Little Eva, reinforces the enormous potential for discovery within the greater Roseby project. The deposit clearly has potential to provide additional feed to the proposed Little Eva plant. There are a great number of similar targets to Turkey Creek within our 1,500 km2 tenure. Targets include combined copper anomalous drill and soil results, old workings and geophysical targets. Targets adjacent to the main Roseby deposits may have had recent work but those 10-30 km distant may have had little or no exploration in the past 30 years. The Roseby tenements also show clear potential for both Dugald River zinc-lead-silver and Mary Kathleen uranium targets.”
At the Solwara 1 Subsea Mining Project, GMC is on track to deliver the riser and lifting system featuring an innovative mechanical connector. The connector employed on this riser system is pivotal technology, which enables the riser to deliver superior fatigue performance in a harsh environment, where the vessel and operating conditions demand unparalleled performance. This system, when delivered to Nautilus Minerals, will form part of the key equipment packages required for delivering produced seafloor massive sulphide (containing high grades of copper) ore from the seabed in water depths up to 2,500 m.
Kootenay Silver has completed a sensitivity analysis of varying metal prices at 18, 24 and 36-month trailing averages, further supporting the recent updated NI 43-101 resource estimate conducted on its flagship Promontorio silver project in Sonora, Mexico. Kootenay President and CEO James McDonald: “When you apply even the most conservative metal prices observed during the 18 to 36 month period, there is less than a 4% variance in Promontorio’s Measured and Indicated resource. This is due to the impact of the high silver grades in the diatreme system, which is also exciting as it has a positive impact on the economic dynamics of the resource. Moreover, using the lowest metal prices observed over the three-year period, Promontorio still maintains a benchmark Measured and Indicated silver equivalent resource totalling over 60 Moz.”
Endeavour Mining announced drill results from the ongoing near-mine exploration program on its Agbaou gold deposit in Côte d’Ivoire. Exploration success is indicating further upside beyond the current mineral resources and reserves. Agbaou mine construction remains on track to begin production in Q1 2014.
Pele Mountain Resources has received a letter of support from the Council of the City of Elliot Lake, Ontario, for the development of Pele’s Eco Ridge mine rare earths and uranium project.
MMG has changed its English company name from Minmetals Resources to MMG. The company currently owns and operates the Century, Golden Grove and Rosebery mines in Australia, the Kinsevere mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the LXML Sepon mine in Laos. Its major development projects include Dugald River, a high grade zinc-lead-silver deposit located in northwest Queensland, Australia, and the Izok Corridor base metals project in Nunavut, northwest Canada.
Rio Tinto has doubled its holding in Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) following the completion of its acquisition of BHP Billiton’s entire interests. The purchase price paid by Rio Tinto on completion was $1.7 billion. Rio Tinto Diamonds & Minerals Chief Executive Alan Davies: “Doubling our stake in this tier one asset further strengthens Rio Tinto’s titanium dioxide portfolio at a time when the long-term outlook remains robust. Demand for feedstocks is expected to grow strongly, needing the equivalent of a new operation the size of RBM to be built every two and a half years.” RBM is a South African mineral sands mining and processing operation located in Kwa-Zulu Natal. It is one of the world’s lowest cost producers and has mineral resources to support 20 years of production. Rio Tinto manages the RBM business and markets all of its products. In 2011, RBM produced 14% share of global titanium dioxide feedstock sales and 18% of global zircon sales.
Diamcor Mining provided an update on the commissioning and testing exercises underway at its Krone-Endora at Venetia project. These commissioning and testing exercises are designed to (i) evaluate operational efficiencies of the in-pit screening equipment (ii) assess processing capacities and recovery parameters for the modular processing plant, and (iii) assist in determining modifications required, if any, to enhance project efficiencies/recoveries for the long-term. The exercises are also aimed at securing a suitable quantity of rough diamonds for preliminary sorting by the company and its strategic alliance partner Tiffany & Co which should assist both parties’ operational planning and to provide the primary data necessary for the establishment of a new and current average dollar per carat estimate for the Project’s rough diamonds.
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