Among the big news items in the 50+ pages of this issue are that block caving gold mine specialist Newcrest Mining is entering into a conditional agreement to invest in 10% of SolGold. Cascabel, that company’s worldclass flagship copper‐gold porphyry project, is located in northwest Ecuador. Newcrest is also in the news for the Golpu project in Papua New Guinea. Harmony Gold Mining Co has made an application for a special mining lease for the Wafi-Golpu project to the Mineral Resources Authority in Papua New Guinea. Submission of this application follows reviews of the feasibility study for the project by the boards of directors of both Harmony and Newcrest Mining, Harmony’s joint venture partner in the project. The Golpu porphyry is considered to be a worldclass deposit that lends itself to phased development and block cave mining. Once completed, Golpu, which is situated just 65 km southwest of Lae in the Morobe Province, the second largest city in Papua New Guinea, will be the largest underground mine in that country. Also, Potash Corp of Saskatchewan has confirmed that it is in preliminary discussions with Agrium regarding a potential merger of equals.

In the latest issue of International Mining Project News, the 258th edition, there are updates on some 23 prefeasibility studies, 15 feasibility studies, 23  projects in development, seven mines that have gone into production, eight operations in expansion, over a dozen in acquisitions and mergers and many new appointments to new positions. Subscription details from [email protected].

Lithium is again very much in the news, and there is quite a lot about tin.