The latest issue of International Mining Project News, out today, has reports on 18 prefeasibility studies, ten feasibility studies, 27 projects in development, six new mines that have gone into production, three existing mines that are expanding, eight merger and acquisition announcements, and many new appointments to new positions. The report covers 26 gold projects, 17 copper, eight iron ore and silver projects, seven coal projects, six nickel, four tin projects, three projects covering rare earths, two projects each on uranium, potash, tungsten, zinc, and lead, one project each on PGMs, magnetite, vanadium, manganese, oil sands, chromite, molybdenum, steel, aluminium, and cobalt, and one base metals project. 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.

In prefeasibility phase projects, Kibo Mining, the Tanzania-focused mineral exploration and development company, has provided a technical and management update on its activities in the country. The purpose of this update is to provide a management review of progress at the company’s projects during 2013 to date and its plans for the remainder of the year. The Board’s focus in the year to date has been in advancing its flagship Rukwa coal to power project and implementation of its joint venture with Brazilian conglomerate, Votorantim Metaís Participações on the Haneti nickel project. Over the remainder of 2013, management’s focus will continue to be firmly on these projects as the company prepares to commence a Scoping Study at Rukwa and a work program at Haneti.

Northern Minerals has provided an update on its Browns Range heavy rare earth project in Australia, following the completion of a number of important development milestones and ongoing activities. The company has completed an extensive work program during the first half of 2013, which has delivered significant outcomes in process flowsheet development, the environmental and Native Title approval processes and drilling to support the release of an upgraded resource in October 2013. One of the key competitive advantages of the project is the ability to substantially upgrade the rare earth content of the mineralised feed material to a mineral concentrate form by using conventional physical separation methods. This high grade concentrate can then be hydrometallurgically treated to produce a high purity, high value mixed rare earth oxide (REO).

Projects at feasibility stage include the Tulu Kapi gold project in Ethiopia, where Nyota Minerals has announced an update on the company’s program to enhance and optimise the economic and operational fundamentals of this, its most advanced asset. Over the last three months the company has worked on optimising the returns offered by the project, focusing on three key areas: an independent review of the structural geological model and controls on mineralisation to take into account the large volume of data collected but only partially assimilated and modelled in the mineral resource estimation of October 2012; a review of the open pit optimisation, design and mine scheduling used in the feasibility study, with the intention of increasing early gold production and increasing the project’s net present value; and commencing scoping studies for an underground mine to exploit the “Feeder Zone” mineralisation.

In the Philippines, Mindoro Resources reports that its joint venture partner, TVI Pacific has announced that, as a result of positive bench-scale test work carried out at the Agata nickel processing project, it has commissioned and commenced operation of pilot-plant testing which will further define the technological parameters to be used in producing a BFS with the goal of building a commercial processing plant. The positive test work on nickel (Ni) laterite ore, from the Agata nickel laterite deposit, confirms the Agata ore is highly amenable to acid leaching with a high rate of nickel extraction achieved at a low acid consumption rate.

For projects under development, Rex Minerals has signed a non-binding EPC and Financing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with China Nonferrous Metal Industry’s Foreign Engineering and Construction (NFC) and its Australian based subcontractor Arccon (WA) as part of the engineering, procurement and construction and overall financing plan for the development of the Hillside copper-gold project in Australia. Elsewhere, Altura Mining has completed a maiden coal reserve estimate at the Delta coal operations in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. The Delta coal operation currently produces and sells a medium energy thermal coal at the rate of 1.5 Mt/y. Plans are in place to lift production and sales to 2.0 Mt/y in 2014. In Peru, Inca One Resources Corp, through its partnership with Canadian Mining SA has entered into an LOI to acquire 100% of a permitted and operational milling facility in Southern Peru. The mill has current capacity of 25 t/d, which can be increased with  an additional ball mill and tanks. The facility sits on a large 21 ha piece of land with ample room to expand the mill. It is intended that application under the permitting process to further increase daily capacity above 50 t/d will take place upon a definitive agreement being signed. The company is fully funded to complete the acquisition of the mill.

Those going into production include Lustros subsidiary Sulfatos Chile, which has completed all the processes necessary to generate pregnant leaching solution (PLS), the final step before crystallisation in the manufacturing of food-grade copper sulphate. The PLS accumulates in large pools where it will concentrate for a short period before it is pumped into the company’s state-of-the-art crystallization plant and converted into 99% pure, food-grade copper sulphate pentahydrate. In Peru, Trevali Mining Corp has commenced crushing of mill feed at its Santander mine zinc-lead-silver operations in Peru. With the main crusher now operational, the company has commenced initial processing of the mill feed at Santander that has been stockpiled during the on-going underground development activities. Operations have begun filling the Fine Mill Feed Bin and initial zinc and lead-silver concentrate production is anticipated to commence later this month with the first shipments expected in July.

Finally, for operations planning expansions, GlencoreXstrata’s A$360 million expansion plans for its McArthur River mine have been given the green light by the Northern Territory (NT) Government. It says “the mine’s phase three development project will more than double zinc and lead production numbers, making it one of the largest zinc producers globally.” The expansion will take capacity from 2.5 Mt/y of ore to 5.5 Mt/y from 2014.

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