Новости за 16.08.2019

MMC Norilsk Nickel is soliciting pitches from banks to participate in an initial public offering (IPO) of its Russian copper mine, according to people familiar with the matter. The miner has invited proposals from Russian and international banks, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. The size of the IPO stake and other details have yet to be decided.

A total of 54 out of State-run miner Coal India Limited’s (CIL’s) 120 coal mining projects are delayed, the company says in its latest financial statement. CIL reports that the major reasons for the delays in completion of the 54 projects are the time taken in securing mandatory environment and forest clearances, land possession complexities and issues relating to resettlement and rehabilitation of project-affected people.

Diamond miner De Beers Group on Friday said it was "shocked and saddened" by the sudden death of Debswana MD Albert Milton. Milton had become unwell while in Johannesburg on Thursday evening. He had been admitted to hospital, but died early on Friday morning.

Exploration company SolGold, which is advancing the Cascabel project in Ecuador, is expanding its drilling fleet to expedite its prefeasibility study (PFS) of the Alpala deposit by the end of the first quarter next year. The Brisbane, Australia-based company will have a total of 15 drill rigs active on Cascabel by next month to expedite the data collection ahead of the Alpala PFS deadline, the Toronto- and London-listed company said on Friday.

The South African Communist Party (SACP) on Friday commemorated the seventh anniversary of the Marikana tragedy by calling on workers and trade unions to unite in the struggle against economic exploitation and in the struggle for social emancipation.   Thirty-four mineworkers were shot by the South African police on August 16, 2012, with a further 78 wounded and 275 arrested during a protracted strike at platinum miner Lonmin, after wage negotiations broke down. Ten people, including six mineworkers... Читать дальше...

There is a “fantastic opportunity” for the South African base metals sector, given the Northern Cape’s mineralisation, the impending global copper supply deficit, the battery technology trends in the automotive and energy sectors and the improved and modernised exploration and mining techniques, Orion Minerals CEO and MD Errol Smart stated on Thursday evening. He was speaking at an African Mining Network event during a presentation dealing with Orion’s Prieska mine, titled ‘Developing a 21st Century South African Copper Zinc Mine’.

The Red Chris mine, near Dease Lake, north-west British Columbia, is moving to the next chapter with Australian gold miner Newcrest now the majority owner and operator of the copper/gold mine. Imperial announced on Friday that it had closed the sale of a 70% interest in Red Chris to Newcrest for a final purchase price of $804-million, which was subject to debt and working capital adjustments.

Surveying equipment distributor Autobuild Africa launched a new mobile scanner – the Heron Lite – at the SA Geotech 2019 conference, in Kempton Park, last month. The device was developed by survey technology company Gexcel as part of its Heron range of wearable mobile mapping products.

A three-dimensional (3D) photogrammetry mapping solution called SmartMine – driven by multirotor post-processed kinematic (PPK) drone technology – was launched last month by drone mapping and surveying company Rocketmine. The SmartMine solution allows for greater accuracy, as well as the daily reporting and tracking of site developments, including the tracking of fast-moving stockpiles. It enables multiple layers of grade and location information to be gathered for change-over-time analysis.

Despite an uptick in the use of software asset management tools by mining houses over the past few years, there still seems to be a reluctance to adopt the technology, says software solutions provider Wipro Africa business development head Marleze van Loggerenberg. As the mining industry moves towards greater reliance on digital automated technology to drive production processes, mining companies need to ensure that they manage their software assets with the same care and frugality with which they manage their physical assets, she advises.

A pilot plant for the first dry separator in Africa will be installed in eMalahleni, Mpumalanga, and should be operational by the end of the first quarter of 2020, screening and vibrating equipment solutions and services provider Aury Africa MD Sydney Parkhouse tells Mining Weekly. The Telligent Dry Separator (TDS) technology was developed by Aury Africa’s Chinese sister company Tianjin Meiteng Technology in 2015. Both companies are subsidiaries of Australia-based design and construction coal group Dadi Engineering Development Group (DEDG)... Читать дальше...

An international slowdown in the mining industry over the past few years has led to a more pressing need for technology improvements, says bearings and transmissions products distributor Bearings International (BI) business development leader Shaun Combrinck. “The mining industry is at a point where it has to look towards new technology to make operations safer and more cost effective. Innovation is a must,” he asserts.

Both the Government and mining industry of the South American country of Chile are determined to make the country a world leader and a global “reference point” or example regarding sustainable, or green, mining in particular and clean, or green, technologies in general. These interrelated initiatives, which are all public-private partnerships (PPPs), are being driven by the policy of current Chilean President Sebastián Piñera, who is a centre-right politician and formerly a highly successful businessman. Читать дальше...

The global push for ever-increasing technological advancement in the mining industry means that it needs to readdress the way it builds and sources competencies, with a focus on breaking down skills silos to create more multidisciplined professionals, according to Wits Mining Institute director Professor Fred Cawood. Speaking to delegates at the SA GeoTech 2019 conference, in Kempton Park, last month, Cawood stated that the advent of Industry 4.0 and its impact on modern mining required professionals to rise to an elevated level of thinking ... Читать дальше...

Chemical reagents supplier and distributor Axis House has made advancements in projects pertaining to base metals, platinum group metals and gold ores. Axis House supplies a large quantity of flotation collectors, which are used to separate minerals from waste rock, to Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – key regions with large base metal reserves.

South African mineral research organisation Mintek has started metallurgical testwork on stockpile material from the Haib copper project in Namibia for Canadian rights holder and mining company Deep South Resources. Mintek has been provided with about 1.8 t of ore sample from a large stockpile that was extracted during a previous sampling campaign. The sample contains chalcopyrite as the main copper mineral. The aim of the programme is to test the amenability of the ore to microbially-assisted heap leaching. Читать дальше...

Global mined zinc production will continue to ramp up as strong zinc prices prompt miners to bring idled capacity back on line and invest in new projects, according to analysis and consultancy company Fitch Solutions. While some capacity taken off line over 2015 to 2016 is the result of permanent mine closures, the return of some stalled capacity and new projects in key countries will drive growth over the coming quarters.

Significant progress is being made in the construction of the Kakula copper mine – the Stage 1, six-million-ton-a-year operation – on the tier-one Kamoa-Kakula project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to Canadian mining company Ivanhoe Mines co-chairpersons Robert Friedland and Yufeng “Miles” Sun. Kamoa-Kakula is a very large, near-surface, flat-lying, stratiform copper deposit with adjacent prospective exploration areas within the Central African Copperbelt, about 25 km west... Читать дальше...

The biggest challenge that the copper market is facing is the Chinese restriction on copper scrap, international commodities consultancy Core Consultants tells Mining Weekly. “There is a reclassification of Category 6 copper scrap to a ‘restricted import good’ under the Chinese import restrictions. This means there will be a quota system . . . in the third quarter of 2019,” says Core Consultants MD Lara Smith.

Despite cobalt’s continued downward trend, with its being reduced in cathodes in energy storage, the general sentiment is that the demand for the commodity will exceed supply, says commodities expert Core Consultants. “However, there is currently an oversupply in the hydroxide market, which leads to eroded premiums that the refiners of battery chemicals were once paying,” Core Consultants MD Lara Smith tells Mining Weekly.