Новости за 08.07.2019

Production of hand-dug cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo is poised to drop sharply after prices tumbled, prompting many of the country’s thousands of artisanal miners to switch focus to copper instead. Congo last year produced about 72% of the world’s cobalt, a key ingredient in the rechargeable batteries that power electric vehicles and smartphones. While most of the country’s production is from large, mechanized mines run by companies including Glencore, diggers that use rudimentary tools... Читать дальше...

Congolese soldiers fired in the air on Monday as illegal miners protested outside a metallurgical plant on a copper and cobalt concession run by Glencore, a witness said. The protest near the Luilu plant follows the eviction last week of thousands of illegal miners from Glencore's Kamoto Copper Company (KCC) concession in southern Democratic Republic of Congo after 43 people died in a landslide.

Vancouver-based Great Panther Mining on Monday announced a positive production decision for its Coricancha gold/silver/lead/zinc/copper mine, in Peru, but said that an actual restart date would only be determined next year. The positive production decision followed the final results of the trial stope and bulk sample programme, which confirmed the key operating assumptions for Coricancha contained in the 2018 preliminary economic assessment (PEA) of the project.

The Brazilian Mines and Energy Ministry has awarded dual-listed Horizonte an energy decree, which guarantees the company access to the national grid for the commercial operation of its Araguaia ferronickel project. The receipt of the energy decree follows a number of key permitting milestones for the Araguaia project, including the award of the water permit for full-scale operation in April last year, and the construction licence earlier this year.

Aim-listed BlueRock Diamonds, which owns and operates the Kareevlei diamond mine in the Kimberley region of South Africa, achieved record production of 3 516 ct in the second quarter, four times the 875 ct produced in the second quarter of last year. “I am very pleased with the impact that our new CEO at Kareevlei and his team have made,” BlueRock executive chairperson Mike Houston commented in a statement on Monday.

De Beers Group on Monday announced the launch of a three-year $315 000 partnership with WomEng to develop the next generation of highly skilled women engineers. De Beers will invest the the funds in programmes that aim to encourage young women to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and to pursue engineering careers in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana.

Net gold purchases by central banks totalled 35.8 t in May, 27% lower month-on-month, but net purchases in the year to date, at 247.3 t, are 73% higher year-on-year, the World Gold Council (WGC) reports. WGC market intelligence director Alistair Hewitt on Monday pointed out that central banks in several emerging market, including Russia, China, Turkey and Kazakhstan, continued to dominate buying, with those banks being “the four biggest buyers so far” this year.

Firestone Diamonds has recovered a 54 ct intense fancy yellow, sawable diamond from its Liqhobong mine, in Lesotho. The diamond will go on sale at the next tender, which is scheduled to take place during September.

Automakers to trading houses from North America to Europe are becoming more concerned about future supply shortages of key materials needed for electric vehicle batteries as spending on new production soars, according to the developer of a $1.5-billion project in Australia. More than a dozen parties have now expressed interest in taking up as much as a 50% stake in Clean TeQ Holdings’ Sunrise nickel/cobalt/scandium project, CEO Sam Riggall said Monday in an interview. They include companies in regions... Читать дальше...

Mining major Anglo American’s enterprise development division, Anglo American sefa Mining Fund (AASMF), has taken a 3.7% interest in ASX- and JSE-listed Orion Mining. AASMF in 2015 subscribed for 15.75-million redeemable preference shares in Repli Trading No 27, which is 73.33% held by Orion, at a subscription price of R1 per share, for a total investment of R15.75-million or A$1.58-million, as part of a seed capital investment with the previous owners of the Prieska project.