The latest issue of International Mining Project News, out today, has reports on 33 prefeasibility studies, eight feasibility studies, and 23 projects in development, five new mines that have gone into production, nine existing operations that are expanding and 10 merger and acquisition announcements, and many new appointments to new positions. The report covers 33 gold projects, 18 copper projects, 13 silver projects, nine coal, six zinc and iron ore, four uranium, three lead, two rare earth, tungsten, aluminium, vanadium, potash, phosphate, and one anthracite, zinc, tin, bauxite, titanium, diamond, germanium, gallium, and platinum. 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.
Talga Resources has an updated JORC mineral resource estimate for the company’s Raitajärvi flake graphite project in northern Sweden. The Indicated and Inferred resource estimate for Raitajärvi now totals 4.2 Mt at 7.1% Cg when applying a 5% Cg cutoff grade, with 3.4 Mt at 7.3% Cg in the Indicated category.
Peak Resources has announced the successful production of the third separated high purity rare earth oxide. The lanthanum oxide was produced at the solvent extraction pilot plant currently in operation at ANSTO Minerals (Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation) from a bulk sample of mineralisation from the company’s 100% owned Ngualla rare earth project in Tanzania. The lanthanum oxide follows the mid and heavy rare earth oxide and the neodymium praseodymium rare earth oxide produced in May and July 2013 respectively.
There has been a significant Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) update at Papillon Resources’ Fekola project located in southwest Mali, adjacent to the border with Senegal. The updated MRE has been estimated at 68.29 Mt averaging 2.35 g/t Au for a contained 5.15 Moz of gold at a lower cutoff grade of 1.0 g/t Au. The MRE comprises 60.01 Mt averaging 2.40 g/t Au for a contained 4.64 Moz of gold classified into the Measured and Indicated resource categories, which represents approximately 90% of the MRE. The Inferred resource consists of 8.3 Mt averaging 1.9 g/t Au for a contained 0.5 Moz of gold.
Resource Generation has moved to tidy up the ownership of its shareholding in Waterberg One Coal (WOC). WOC is owned 70% by Resource Generation and 30% by Lukale Mining. Following the agreed transaction, WOC will be owned 74% by Resource Generation and 26% by Fairy Wing Trading 136, the same shareholding split as Ledjadja Coal, which owns the mining right for the Boikarabelo mine.
Blackthorn Resources has made its maiden shipment of zinc concentrate from the West African flagship Perkoa project in Burkina Faso and is due to leave port by the end of the year. Speaking in Perth at the 2013 Paydirt Africa Down Under conference, Blackthorn Resources CEO, Tony De Santis, said 12,000 t of concentrate had already been stockpiled at the port of Abidjan, in the Cote d’Ivoire, awaiting shipment to market. In total, about 25,000 t of the base metal had now been produced at the mine.
BHP Billiton on September 4 celebrated the opening of the new Daunia mine, its ninth operating metallurgical coal mine in central Queensland. BHP Billiton Coal President, Dean Dalla Valle, was joined by the Hon. Campbell Newman, Premier of Queensland, and joint venture partner, Mitsubishi, in a ceremony to open the mine, which has created 450 direct jobs in Queensland.
Altona Mining has increased its mineral resource and ore reserve estimates for the 100% owned Kylylahti underground mine at its Outokumpu Copper Project in Finland. This is the regular update of resources and reserves that Altona undertakes in conjunction with annual and half year reporting ore reserves.
Boxxer Gold has announced that it has acquired all of the issued and outstanding shares of Konnex Resources. The acquisition closed in escrow on August 30, 2013, pending certain closing deliverables, and is subject to TSX Venture Exchange final approval.