The latest issue of International Mining Project News, out today, has reports on 16 prefeasibility studies, 17 feasibility studies, and 25 projects in development, 13 new mines that have gone into production, six existing operations that are expanding and six merger and acquisition announcements, and many new appointments to new positions. The report covers 37 gold projects, 18 copper projects, 10 coal projects, nine silver, six uranium, four iron ore, uranium, tungsten, and molybdenum, three nickel, zinc, diamonds and two mineral sands, phosphate, palladium, magnesium, zircon, and rutile and one cobalt, polymetallic nodule, titanium, lithium, tin, tungsten, and potash. 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.
Nautilus Minerals has announced that it has completed a successful polymetallic nodule exploration program to the Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ) of the Pacific Ocean. The work was carried out over a contract area in the CCZ solely owned by Nautilus’ 100% subsidiary Tonga Offshore Mining Ltd (TOML). The 54 day (Seattle to Seattle) program conducted aboard the RV Mt Mitchell vessel successfully used multibeam sonar to map the bathymetry and distribution of polymetallic nodules containing nickel, copper, cobalt and manganese, an important step for focusing future work to better defining the resource estimate and to enable the commencement of engineering studies. The NI 43-101 Technical report indicated a measured resource of 410 Mt @ 1.2% Ni, 1.1% Cu, 0.24% Co and 27% Mn over two thirds of the TOML tenement (Abundance cut-off 6 wet kg/m2.
Kogi Iron reports the results of a Niger River barging study for its 100% owned Agbaja iron ore project. The study was conducted by South African port and coastal engineering consultants, Prestedge Retief Dresner Wijnberg (PRDW). PRDW was appointed by Kogi’s 100% owned Nigerian subsidiary KCM Mining to investigate the feasibility of using river barges to transport iron ore concentrate via the Niger River from Agbaja to the coast near the Warri Port, then transhipment to larger ocean-going vessels (OGV) moored offshore. The study proposes a number of alternatives, each of which was assessed and compared to select the optimal solution for incorporation into the scoping study.
Ivanhoe Mines (formerly Ivanplats) has intersected mineralisation containing 4.51 g/t of platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold (4PGE) over 90.64 m at a 1 g/t 3PE cutoff in a recently drilled hole at the underground Flatreef platinum, palladium, nickel, copper, gold and rhodium discovery, which is part of the company’s Platreef project in South Africa’s Bushveld Complex.
The expansion capacity at Sierra Metals Bolivar copper-zinc-silver mine has been doubled to 2,000 t/d from 1,000 t/d. The company has installed a leased 1,250 kva generator to increase mill throughput to bypass delays in the installation of the power substation that will provide power via the company’s newly-constructed 10 km power line. The mill is now working on a combination of generator power and line power. Once the work on the power substation is completed, which is expected to be complete by year-end, the mill will operate off the national grid power system.
Rio Tinto has completed a $2 billion extension of the Kestrel Mine in central Queensland, Australia. The extension will add 20 years to the life of the Rio Tinto managed Kestrel mine and increase production of hard coking coal to around 6 Mt/y. In his speech at the event, Queensland Treasurer Tim Nicholls said “Coal continues to play a vital role in the state’s economy and I welcome this long-term commitment by Rio Tinto in Queensland. It is yet more evidence that businesses have the confidence to invest, employ and grow here.”
Ore processing has commenced through the mining unit and wet concentrator at Base Resources’ Kwale mineral sands project. Following two weeks of water commissioning and control logic testing, the first ore from the central dune has now been taken through the dozer trap mining unit and the wet concentrator. Over the next several weeks mining and processing rates are planned to be ramped up and a stockpile of concentrate built up ahead of the commissioning of the mineral separation plant.