Новости за 31.05.2019

Aim-listed Metal Tiger has invested a further $1.1-million into Botswana-focused explorer, Kalahari Metals. The investment will be satisfied from existing cash resources.

Global mining conglomerate Vedanta said on Friday its executives were unable to visit its Zambian Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) operation and engage with local management in a setback to efforts to ease tensions amid a legal battle with Zambia. Vedanta is contesting the country's decision this month to name a provisional liquidator to run Vedanta Resources' KCM business. The government has accused KCM of breaching its operating licence, and legal proceedings have been adjourned until June 4.

Lower production and lower sales volumes have contributed to a decrease in JSE-listed Wescoal’s headline earnings per share (HEPS) and earnings per share (EPS) for the financial year ended March 31. The group, which will release its results on June 25, on Friday said it expected its HEPS to be between 17.4c and 20.8c – a year-on-year decrease of between 55% and 63%.

Coal mine developer Resource Generation (Resgen) on Friday requested that trading in its shares on the ASX and JSE be halted, pending the release of an announcement early next week. Resgen said the trading halt was requested pending an announcement on the achievement of a market sensitive milestone in relation to securing project funding the for the Boikarabelo mine.

Junior Meteoric Resources has completed its purchase of fellow-listed Crusader Resources’ Juruena-Novo Astro gold projects, in Brazil. Under the March sales agreement, Crusader received A$1-million in cash and 50-million shares in Meteoric, with a deemed price of 1c a share, which will remain in escrow for a 12 month period.

The Queensland Department of Environment and Science has approved the black-throated finch management plan for the Carmichael project, Indian major Adani reported on Friday. The miner said that the management plan was found to comply with the strict regulatory conditions set by the Australian and state governments.

Zambia says its decision to punish miner Vedanta's local operation for breaching environmental and financial regulations is a signal to other firms to follow the law, mines minister Richard Musukwa said on Thursday. Vedanta is fighting Zambia's decision this month to name a provisional liquidator to run Vedanta Resources' 90 000 t Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) business.

Much price volatility is predicted for palladium – primarily an industrial metal for use in autocatalysts – over the next year, driven particularly by unpredictable trade sentiment as the US/China dispute unfolds, says multidisciplinary research team Afriforesight's chief precious metals analyst Jason Welz. He says the effect of this should be twofold – influencing investment demand as a safe-haven asset and the more direct effect of trade sentiment, which is expected to impact on automotive demand.

Canadian diversified miner Teck Resources has secured a $2.5-billion financing facility to fund the development of Quebrada Blanca Phase 2 (QB2) project, in Chile. Compañia Minera Teck Quebrada Blanca (QBSA), which holds the QB2 project and will be the borrower under the financing, is indirectly owned 60% by Teck, 25% by Sumitomo Metal Mining (SMM), 5% by Sumitomo (SC), and 10% by Empresa Nacional de Mineria.

Mining company RNC and its joint venture partner (JV) partner Waterton are ready to accelerate discussions with potential participants to advance the Dumont nickel/cobalt project – tipped to be one of Canada’s largest base metals mines – to construction, CEO Mark Selby reported on Thursday. This comes as RNC published a “milestone” update to its 2013 feasibility study for Dumont, which ranks the Quebec-based $1-billion project among the top-five sulphide nickel producers globally.

The Ohio House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a measure that would subsidize the state’s struggling coal and nuclear plants after lobbying from a member of President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign. Bob Paduchik, who also led the Ohio Trump campaign in 2016, called lawmakers urging them to support the legislation and stressing that the president was behind it as well, according to a person familiar with the conversations.

There has been an increase in demand for customised furnaces from the mining industry, says South Africa-based kiln and furnace manufacturer Van Tuyl Kilns and Furnaces director Richard McCullough. He tells Mining Weekly that mining companies are requesting smaller, customised electric furnaces to use on site at their operations, which are often remote. The most common feature companies are looking for when customising their furnaces is safety, energy efficiency and the  speed at which they can heat up to the required temperature.

Smart technology-enabled digitalisation poses a significant challenge for South Africa’s materials handling and logistics companies who fail to adapt, especially in a market where the country’s big mining players seek to realise the ‘mine of tomorrow’, says African artificial intelligence (AI) software and solutions company Cortex Logic founder Dr Jacques Ludik, also Cortex Group CEO. “AI-enabled digitalisation is a disruptive force and, like any other company that is not becoming data driven, they will be disrupted... Читать дальше...

An Australian-designed low-profile feeder (LPF) comprising about 50% local content has been successfully delivered to a mine on the Zambian Copperbelt, with advanced discussions on the further supply of such units under way with various clients. The LPF is the first to be produced by Australia-headquartered bulk materials handling equipment supplier Transmin in South Africa. Traditionally, the company fabricated its equipment in Western Australia and then shipped it to mines worldwide, with equipment... Читать дальше...

Surprisingly, this year has seen increased demand for bulk materials handling from the local mining sector, which, South African Institute of Materials Handling (SAIMH) chairperson Adriano Frittella says, is possibly a result of the sector having remained static at a low base over the past couple of years. “The trend seen in the local coal industry comprises extending the lives of mines by, for example, sharing plant facilities and relocating existing tip areas, all of which require significant materials handling input. Читать дальше...