The latest issue of International Mining Project News, out today, has reports on 22 prefeasibility studies, two feasibility studies, and 12 projects in development, two existing operations that are expanding, and five project that have gone into production as well as many new appointments to new positions. The report covers 16 gold projects, seven copper projects, six iron ore projects, four diamond, three silver, two coal, and cobalt, and one anthracite, graphite, anorthosite, nickel, laterite, zinc, titanium, and manganese 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.

Metso has signed an 18-month services contract with Codelco’s Chuquicamata mine. Codelco is the biggest state-owned enterprise in Chile and the world’s largest producer of copper. The contract covers changing the components to 33 ball mills currently operating in the A0 and A1 plants in the Codelco Chuquicamata mine. The work will involve changing the pinion-gear assembly as well as repairs to the shell. Metso will repair two mills per month and also take care of the continuous monitoring of the status of the equipment.

Galane Gold has announced that it has mined its first ore from Tau underground mine in Botswana. The company has previously disclosed its intention to exploit the reported measured and indicated resource of 128,000 oz of Au for Tau through underground mining. It commenced the project in the fourth quarter of 2013 and has now completed the forced portal entry at the bottom of the existing Tau pit, installation of the entire infrastructure required, appointment of an underground contractor and the development work required to reach ore.

SilverCrest Mines has commissioned a new 3,000 t/d CCD-MC processing plant, which is now underway at its 100% owned Santa Elena mine in Sonora, Mexico. The scheduled three year Expansion Plan to transition from an open pit heap leach operation to a conventional mill and underground mine is nearing completion. The $99 million program including drilling, PFS, detailed engineering, new processing plant, and underground development is on budget (+/-5%) and has experienced only modest delays from the original schedule.