International Mining’s fortnightly project watch is a great way of keeping up to date with your peers – other mining companies, other consultants or other engineering companies. If you are a supplier – it is full of potential sales leads. Highlights of today’s issue – the usual important and comprehensive fortnightly report on global projects, with more than 40 pages of updates – including Allana Potash in Ethiopia, Exxaro and Tronox getting together, restructuring of Russia’s Polymetal, Anvil Mining being taken over by Minmetals Resources and Sundance Resources being acquired by Hanlong (Africa) Mining Investment. Read on….
ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel and mining company, has commenced commercial iron ore production from its mining operations in Liberia. The launch of commercial mining operations represents an important milestone in the recovery of Liberia’s economy, which was devastated by 14 years of civil war.
The Thiess Sedgman Joint Venture (TSJV) has been awarded a A$85 million contract to design, procure, construct and commission a Coal Handling and Preparation Plant (CHPP) at the 4 Mt/y (ROM) Codrilla coal mine. Also in Australia, the Wesfarmers owned Curragh mine is undertaking a feasibility study to evaluate the potential to increase metallurgical coal exports to 10 Mt/y.
Volcan Compañía Minera, Peru’s top silver producer and second largest producer of zinc, plans to produce 6 to 11 Moz of silver in the two projects that it is developing on its Cerro de Pasco mining unit.
Discovery Metals has reported highly encouraging results from exploration activity at the recently discovered Mango prospect. Mango is situated within the company’s 100% owned Prospecting Licences in the Kalahari Copperbelt in northwest Botswana. Mango is located in the Boseto Zone and is less than 25 km from the 100% owned Boseto copper project’s concentrator. Boseto is currently being constructed and is scheduled to commence production in the first half of 2012. Planned production is approximately 36,000 t/y of copper and more than 1 Moz/y of silver.
The Mackenzie Valley Review Board (MVRB) has officially closed the public registry for the Environmental Assessment on Canadian Zinc`s Prairie Creek zinc/silver/lead mine in the Northwest Territories, Canada. The Prairie Creek mine is partially developed with an existing 1,000 t/d mill and related infrastructure.
Sandfire Resources has executed the final documentation for a $390 million fully underwritten and secured project financing facility. DFS pre-production capital for the DeGrussa copper/gold project is estimated at $384 million, comprising $267 million for plant, equipment and infrastructure, $44 million for open pit mining, $56 million for underground mine development and $17 million of other pre-production capital. Approximately $300 million of this expenditure is planned to be incurred during the financial year ending June 2012.
North American Palladium aims to gradually increase its production to the rate of 5,500 t/d by 2015, at which point production should increase to over 250,000 oz/y at much lower cash costs.
Prodigy Gold is currently evaluating the development of the Magino mine gold project in Ontario as an open-pit mining opportunity with the potential for deeper, higher grade gold production.
Developers of Western Australia’s newest emerging nickel producer, Poseidon Nickel, say they expect first concentrate from the rejuvenated Mount Windarra mine as soon early 2013 and at estimated cash costs as low as $3.20 /lb.
Highlands Pacific’s new $1.5 billion Ramu nickel project in Papua New Guinea will commence first production in 2012 as current commissioning ramps up and final construction works move to completion at its mine and associated Basamuk processing plant on the coast.
The Armenian authorities have approved the change of land status from agricultural to industrial at Lydian International’s Amulsar gold project. Amulsar is a high-sulphidation style gold project which currently hosts a CIM compliant combined Indicated and Inferred Category Resource of 2.5 Moz at 1.0g/t gold.
Allana Potash has engaged BNP Paribas as financial advisor for the arrangement and structuring of debt financing for the construction of its Ethiopian potash project.
Randgold Resources’ giant Kibali gold project is targeting to commission its gold processing facility in the fourth quarter of 2013, almost two years earlier than originally intended.
Castlemaine Goldfields has completed its first gold pour during re-commissioning at the Ballarat gold project.
Hindustan Copper Ltd (HCL) has got the government’s go ahead to develop a 5 Mt/y underground copper mine at Malanjkhand in Madhya Pradesh. The company will fund the entire project, to the tune of $378 million.
Full details on all these projects and information on and contacts for many, many more are to be found in the October 23 issue of International Mining Project News….
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