Новости за 15.07.2019

Xtract Resources has concluded a memorandum of agreement with KPZ International (KPZ) for Xtract to act as contractor for the Kalengwa processing project on the large-scale copper mining licence number 24401-HQ-LEL located in the central part of the Republic of Zambia. The historic Kalengwa copper mine was one of the highest-grade copper mines in Zambia with a mineralised high-grade core reported to have yielded an average grade of 27% copper.

TSX-listed Tsodilo Resources has submitted a renewal application for prospecting licence 369/2014 to the Botswana Department of Mines (DoM) within the Ministry of Mineral Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security. The renewal application is for a two-year period and the area includes the company’s BK16 kimberlite project.

Newfield Resources has progressed with blasting to access an underground mine decline at its Tongo diamond mine, in Sierra Leone. The company has excavated 42 600 cubic metres of material, with three blasts conducted so far and two blasts remaining, to bring the boxcut to the desired elevation for the portal access to be opened up.

Canadian junior Luminex Resources on Monday announced the signing of a formal earn-in and joint venture (JV) agreement with a wholly-owned subsidiary of BHP, which would earn into two mining concessions in Ecuador. Ultimately, the major will have the right to earn a 70% interest in a JV company holding Luminex’s Tarqui and Tarqui 2 mining concessions. BHP will act as manager and operator of the JV.

Finland-focused diamond exploration company Karelian Diamonds on Monday announced that it had conditionally raised £100 000 from a new investor, Martello Holdings. Martello subscribed for .5-million new ordinary shares at 4p each – a premium of about 31% to the closing mid-market price of 3.05p a share on Friday.

TSX- and Aim-listed gold miner Avesoro Resources’ subsidiaries, Burkina Mining and Netiana Mining, have entered into an openpit mining contract with Orkun Group, for the Youga gold mine, in Burkina Faso. The appointment of the contractor will help to reduce the company’s expected capital expenditure requirement for the second half of the year by $4-million, as Orkun will assume responsibility for all future mining fleet overhaul costs, while Avesoro will reduce its direct employee headcount.

Canadian companies Teck Resources and Liberty Gold have agreed to sell the Halilağa copper/gold porphyry deposit in north-western Turkey to Cengiz Holdings for $55-million in cash. The Turkish construction, mining and energy group will pay Teck and Liberty in three stages, over a two-year period.

A tribunal of international arbitrators has ordered Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) to pay Canadian miner Cameco $40.3-million in damages, following the termination of a multibillion-dollar supply agreement in 2017. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan-based Cameco’s claim was for damages of $700-million and president and CEO Tim Gitzel said at the weekend that the company was disappointed with the amount of damages awarded.

Belo Sun Mining said on Friday it had won a legal victory in its push to mine the country's largest undeveloped gold deposit in the Amazon rainforest, which has drawn criticism from environmentalists and indigenous advocates. But the public prosecutor's office that is seeking to block the mine disagreed with that interpretation of the ruling.

London-listed uranium fund Yellow Cake said on Monday that activity in the uranium market should pick up in the near term, following US President Donald Trump’s decision at the weekend to steer clear from imposing import tariffs on uranium. The Section 232 investigation, which started early last year, has created substantial uncertainty in the global uranium market and “severely restricted” activity, Yellow Cake CEO Andrew Liebenberg said in a statement.

The Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa’s (IDC’s) credit committee has approved a R245-million loan facility for ASX-, Aim- and JSE-listed MC Mining for the construction of Phase 1 of its Makhado hard coking coal project, in South Africa’s Limpopo province. The term loan reaffirms the economics of the Makhado project and follows the conclusion of offtake agreements for the coal to be produced by Phase 1, MC said on Monday.

JSE-listed Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) and TSX-listed Platinum Group Metals (PTM) have launched a joint venture, Lion Battery Technologies, to accelerate the development of next-generation battery technology using platinum and palladium. Lion has subsequently entered into an agreement with Florida International University to further advance a research programme that uses platinum and palladium to unlock the potential of lithium air and lithium sulphur battery chemistries, to increase their discharge capacities and cyclability.

US President Donald Trump’s decision to back away from implementing new trade restrictions on uranium imports into the US has won praise from Canadian and Australian producers, which argue that the uranium they supply is not a threat to US national security. Trump has rejected the recommendation by the Commerce Department to require US power producers to source up to 25% of their uranium from domestic mines, and instead created a working group to review the country’s nuclear fuel supply chain.

The Minerals Council of Australia has welcomed US President Donald Trump’s decision not to impose quotas on uranium imports, following an investigation by the US Department of Commerce into foreign imports of uranium. Trump rejected findings by the Commerce Secretary that foreign uranium posed a threat to US national security, saying that although the Secretary’s finding’s raised significant concerns around the impact of uranium imports on national security, with respect to domestic mining, a fuller... Читать дальше...

Rio Tinto Group’s much-followed copper discovery in remote Western Australia could leapfrog a key US project to be fast-tracked into production by the world’s No. 2 miner, according to a senior executive. Work is progressing to assess the size and quality of the Winu exploration project in the Paterson province in the state’s north, Copper and Diamonds CEO Arnaud Soirat said after visiting the discovery for the first time this month.

Chile’s State-owned copper producer Codelco named Octavio Araneda as CEO, following the departure of Nelson Pizarro. Pizarro handed in his resignation on Friday during a board meeting at the company’s headquarters in Santiago, Codelco said in a statement. Araneda, who was most recently vice-president of operations at the company’s central and southern division, was chosen unanimously by the board. The leadership change will be effective September 1.

Diamond miner Lucapa Diamond Company is on track to report an operating profit for 2019, as production from the Lulo and Mothae diamond mines, in Angola and Lesotho respectively, continues to ramp up. Lucapa on Monday reported that some 10 217 ct of diamonds were recovered during the three months to June, bringing the first half production to 20 505 ct.

The Federal Court of Australia has dismissed a native title challenge to Indian major Adani’s Carmichael coal project, in Queensland. The Wangan and Jagalingou (W&J) People in 2016 voted 294 to 1 in favour of an indigenous land use agreement for the Carmichael project, with the agreement inked by the Queensland government, the W&J People, and Adani in 2017, which was registered with the National Native Title Tribunal.