The latest issue of International Mining Project News, out today, has reports on 17 prefeasibility studies, seven feasibility studies, and seven projects in development, three existing operations that are expanding, one new player and three projects that have gone into production as well as many new appointments to new positions. The report covers 24 gold projects, 11 copper projects, five silver, four nickel, and diamond projects, three iron ore, and coal projects, two uranium, and rare earth projects, and one lead, palladium, zinc, magnetite, bauxite, tin, and niobioum 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.
Mountain Province Diamonds has announced the results of an updated and revised 2014 Feasibility Study Report dated March 31, 2014, on the Gahcho Kué diamond project located in Canada’s Northwest Territories. JDS Energy and Mining and Hatch compiled and prepared the feasibility study report for the Gahcho Kué Joint Venture between Mountain Province (49%) and DeBeers Canada (51%).
One of Australia’s largest gold producers in Brazil says a potential underground expansion of one of its flagship deposits and a focus on plant optimisation should push the company to well in excess of 200,000 oz/y of production going into 2015. At the 2014 Paydirt Australian Gold Conference, Beadell Resources Managing Director, Peter Bowler, said the production kick could come from the company’s Urucum deeps deposit within the Tucano mine project, and ongoing upgrades. Perth-based Beadell produced 182,547 oz of gold for calendar 2013, making it the third highest Brazilian gold mine behind Kinross’ Paractu and AngloGold Ashanti’s Corrego do Sitio mines.
Sierra Metals has announced an updated silver resource estimate on its Cusihuiriachic property, Chihuahua State, Mexico. These resources are in two areas of the Cusi mine currently in commercial production, Promontorio and Santa Eduwiges, as well as in other mines where the company is doing underground development, such as La Gloria/minerva, Monaco/Milagro and others. The total estimated Indicated mineral Resources for the Cusi property is 1.6 Mt averaging 232 g/t Ag at a cutoff grade of 90 g/t Ag, which contains 12.4 Moz of silver, a 70% increase in silver oz, a 40% increase in silver grade and a 20% increase in t from the previous resource estimate. The total estimated Inferred mineral Resources are 2.7 Mt averaging 227 g/t Ag at the same cutoff grade, which contains 20 Moz of silver, a 37% increase in silver oz and a 66% increase in t.
Mineral Deposits Ltd has announced that mining has commenced at Grande Côte in Senegal, with sand now being processed through the Wet Concentrator Plant (WCP), producing heavy mineral concentrate (HMC). Grande Côte is a mineral sand project with an expected mine life of at least 20 years, and it is anticipated to produce on average approximately 85,000 t/y of zircon and 575,000 t/y of ilmenite (and small amounts of rutile and leucoxene) when in full production.