The latest issue of International Mining Project News is out +60 pp and has reports on 40 prefeasibility studies, 27 feasibility studies, 31 projects in development, four new mines that have gone into production, 11 existing mines that are expanding, seven merger and acquisition announcements and many new appointments to new positions. The report covers 45 gold projects, 26 copper, 13 iron ore projects, 11 silver, ten coal, seven zinc, seven rare earth and uranium projects, four projects on potash and molybdenum, three on nickel, tin, phosphate and lithium, two PGMs, niobum, mineral sands and tungsten projects, one project each on diamonds, titanium, manganese, graphite, ilemnite, lead, cobalt, tantalum, alumina, iron sands and oil sands, one polymetallic and one base metals project.
Ivanplats launched its IPO and is focused on exploration and development of major copper, platinum, gold, nickel and zinc projects, primarily on the African continent. The near-term objective is to advance and develop three major projects: the Kamoa copper and Kipushi zinc projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Platreef platinum-palladium-gold-nickel-copper project on the Northern Limb of the Bushveld Igneous Complex in South Africa.
Shandong Gold will invest $5.59 billion in Laizhou, Shandong Province, China, between 2011 and 2015 to build nine gold industry projects and four gold mines with a daily processing capacity of 60,000 to 120,000 t. Shandong Gold expects the output value to exceed $7.99 billion in 2013 and reach $15.98 billion in 2015. The company plans to complete the construction of a first project with an investment of $400 million and an annual gold production of 12,500 kg in Laizhou in June 2013.US Oil Sands, a company focused on oil sands exploration and production in Utah, announced that the Utah Department of Environmental Quality’s Water Quality Board voted by a 9-2 margin to support the company’s permit for its PR Spring oil sands project. The decision will be published and effective once the order has been executed by the chairman of the Water Quality Board.
Orbite Aluminae has agreed with M&K for the engineering and construction of a separation plant capable of producing gallium oxide at a purity of 4N (99.99%) and scandium oxide at a purity of 2N or greater (over 99%) from the acid-recovery circuit of its HPA plant in Cap-Chat, Quebec. This addition represents a major advancement for Orbite’s business plan, which had previously anticipated that the separation and production of these two oxides would begin with the its smelter-grade alumina (SGA) plant. The separation facility, which had already been designed as part of the SGA plant, will now be integrated into the HPA design, thus advancing the production of gallium and scandium into 2013.
Prophecy Coal’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Prophecy Power Generation, is conducting final evaluation of three tenders from EPC firms to build its proposed 600 MW (150 MW x 4) Chandgana power plant project in Mongolia. The proposed mine-mouth power plant is adjacent to its Chandgana coal deposit. Chandgana Coal, another Prophecy wholly-owned Mongolian subsidiary, is expected to supply 3.6 Mt/y of coal to Prophecy Power for 25 years.
Cleveland Mining has taken the penultimate step towards regular production at the Premier gold mine with its first trial pour of gold. A 185.75 g ingot has been produced from some of the gold recovered from old tailings material that was reprocessed as part of the commissioning process.
Petropavlovsk holds a majority stake in IRC Litd, the Group’s former non-precious metals division. IRC has completed a technology upgrade at its Kuranakh operation, resulting in a 150% increase in ilmenite capacity. It has re-affirmed 2012 intermediate production target of 125,000 t and 160,000 t for 2013 and beyond. The upgrade was completed at a cost of just under $3 million, within budget and on time.
Western Potash’s Milestone feasibility study continues to progress on schedule and within the allocated budget. It is being completed by AMEC Americas. The target completion date is set for late November 2012. Results from the study will be announced immediately thereafter. The company also intends to deliver an updated Resource and Reserve statement, currently being prepared by Agapito Associates.
Cadan Resources’ Philippines affiliate, Tribal Mining (TMC), has received the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) Declaration of Mining Project Feasibility (DMPF), enabling the Company to commence commercial mining production at the T’Boli gold-silver mine. The project is now fully equipped, including a trained local workforce, a fully constructed and commissioned CIL gold-silver processing plant, gravity concentrator, EW circuit, tailings storage facility and powerhouse.
Gindalbie Metals’ first commercial shipment of iron ore from the Karara project in Western Australia has been dispatched from the new Karara Export Terminal in Geraldton, marking another significant milestone for the Karara project and the first time the integrated mine, rail and port logistics chain servicing the project has been utilised.
Royal Nickel Corp (RNC) is engaged in discussions with multiple companies to process the concentrate anticipated to be produced at its Dumont nickel project using the alternative roast and reduction processes. Alternative downstream processing methods to produce an oxide product and then ferronickel from Dumont concentrate have the potential to add value by providing lower costs and greater flexibility than conventional smelting and refining. Accordingly, RNC had intended to release the results of a study by the end of the third quarter of 2012; however, as RNC believes that it can potentially derive significant competitive advantages from these alternative downstream processing methods for Dumont concentrate, these technical details will not be disclosed.
Minera IRL announced the approval of the Environmental Impact Assessment and the granting of the Development Permit for the Don Nicolas gold project by the Santa Cruz, Argentina, provincial authorities.
Orocobre and Toyota Tsusho Corp have executed the definitive Shareholders Agreement for a joint venture to develop Orocobre’s flagship Olaroz lithium project located in the Province of Jujuy, northern Argentina.
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