Новости за 07.05.2019

TSX-listed Harte Gold on Monday announced a total refinancing of its existing debt and receipt of approval to increase operational throughput from 540 t/d to 800 t/d at its Sugar Zone mine, in White River, Ontario. The senior debt financing package for $72.5-million would be provided by BNP Paribas, comprising a $52.5-million six-year term loan and $20-million three-year revolving credit facility.

Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP is facing a landmark, $5-billion damages claim in England for being "woefully negligent" in the run-up to a 2015 dam failure that led to Brazil's worst environmental disaster, a lawsuit alleges. The claim, which will be largest group action to be heard in England, was served on the miner on Tuesday on behalf of 235 000 Brazilian individuals and organisations, including municipal governments, utility companies, indigenous tribes and the Catholic Church, according to law firm SPG Law.

LSE- and TSX-listed SolGold’s exploration efforts at its fully-owned Porvenir project, in Ecuador, have paid off, with multiple mineralisations identified, and more to be pursued. In an exploration update on Tuesday, the Australia-based company said that the size and grade of the outcropping mineralisation at Porvenir indicated a significant copper/gold porphyry system.

The measured and indicated resource of base and precious metals exploration and development company Phoenix Global Mining’s Empire mine, in the US, has increased by 45.6% to 15.27-million tonnes, the company reported on Tuesday. The increase was based on work completed over the last year, which included 8 604 m of drilling in 93 holes.

JSE-listed mining group Wescoal, headed up by interim CEO Dr Humphrey Mathe, has said its focus, moving forward, will be on restoring production and increasing output from existing operations, while also focusing on cost containment and operational business partner risks. The overall economic climate remains challenging for the company from a cost containment and business partner perspective, with several external factors affecting the company’s operations negatively.

JSE-listed mining group Wescoal on Tuesday announced the appointment of Enos Lentsoane as the company’s new executive head of commercial and investments, effective from May 1. Lentsoane will be responsible for identifying potential acquisitions, partnerships and investments that align with strategic growth initiatives of the company.

Following a decline in global bauxite production in 2018, consultancy company Fitch Solutions says global bauxite production this year is being driven by new projects coming on line in Guinea and Australia, as well as a ramp-up in production in India and Indonesia. Australia holds 12 of the 29 new bauxite projects in Fitch’s mines database, which is more than any other country. Fitch forecasts Australian bauxite production to grow by 15% this year, compared with 4% in 2018.

Surface gold recovery company DRDGold produced 41 120 oz of gold in the quarter ended March 31 – a 15% increase compared with the 35 732 oz produced in the quarter ended March 2018. The gold producer on Tuesday attributed the higher production mainly to the Far West Gold Recoveries project’s production of 4 790 oz.

Brazilian miner Vale said on Monday that a court had ordered it to halt operations at its Brucutu iron-ore mining complex, reversing a lower court decision that had allowed the mines activities to resume. Vale, which has fallen under intense scrutiny after a dam at another complex ruptured in January and killed hundreds of people, said its dams and other structures on the site have valid and current stability certifications.

Iron-ore miner Hancock Prospecting has increased its cash offer for unlisted Canadian coal company Riversdale Resources from A$2.20 a share to A$2.70 a share. Hancock, which currently holds a 40.43% stake in Riversdale, said this week that the increased offer was conditional upon the company achieving an interest of more than 85% in Riversdale on a fully diluted bases at the close of the offer on May 10.