Новости за 18.10.2019

TSX- and NYSE-listed Asanko Gold generated a record revenue of $91-million from selling 63 009 oz of gold in the third quarter, realising an average price of $1 443/oz. The company produced a quarterly record 62 440 oz from its 50%-owned Asanko gold mine, in Ghana, and is on track to meet its yearly guidance of between 225 000 oz and 245 000 oz of gold.

TSX-V-listed Sienna Resources has completed its drill programme on the Slättberg nickel/copper/cobalt project, in Sweden, with samples set to be shipped to ALS Global next week. In 2018, Sienna intersected 13 m averaging 0.32% nickel and 0.28% copper and 0.034% cobalt and 0.32 parts per million platinum and palladium in drill hole SIE-18-005.

When Donald Trump won the White House, the sprawling aluminum smelter that hugs the Ohio River here was operating at less than half its capacity, and most of its skeleton crew of 270 remaining workers were fearful about their future. But Trump's tariffs have saved it, at least for now.

LSE-listed Pembridge Resources has brought back to operation the Minto openpit and underground copper/gold/silver mine, in Canada’s Yukon, with the first new copper concentrates produced on October 11. Milling operations started on October 10. Raise boring of the Minto East vent raise was completed on October 1, and the schedule also sees the mill now operating in alternating two week phases – two weeks on, two weeks off – until sufficient development has been achieved underground to enable higher monthly processing capacity.

Russia plans to pay more attention to the impact climate change is having on its vast permafrost area. Thawing of once permanently frozen ground covering more than half of Russia is putting buildings, pipelines and other infrastructure at risk of damage. With the Arctic warming twice as fast as the rest of the world, that’s a big problem.

The Administrative Court of Armenia has ruled in favour of Lydian Armenia, a subsidiary of TSX-listed Lydian International, and upheld the company’s appeal against a directive of the environmental and mining inspection body, which had blocked mining at the Amulsar site. Former head of the inspection body, Artur Grigoryan, directed Lydian on August 27, 2018, to refrain from any mining-related activities until the Ministry of Nature Protection had conducted a study of “newfound ecological factors”... Читать дальше...

Federal Resources Minister Matt Canavan has welcomed the opening of Indian major Adani Mining’s new business centre in Rockhampton, which will support the recruitment and contracting for its Carmichael coal project. Adani on Friday also announced a A$100-million rail contract with railway developer Martinus Rail.

TSX- and NYSE-listed McEwen Mining in the third quarter this year produced 35 043 oz of gold and 947 146 oz of silver from its four gold mines in the US, Canada, Argentina and Mexico. Further, chairperson Rob McEwen said this week that exploration results its Black Fox and Stock properties continued returning multi-ounce gold intersections at relatively shallow depths during the three months under review.

Shares of First Quantum Minerals Ltd rose as much as 17% on Thursday after an investment firm backed by Chinese state-owned Jiangxi Copper increased its stake in the Canadian miner. Pangaea Investment Management said it had purchased six-million more shares in First Quantum, bringing its stake in the company to 74.64-million shares, or 10.8%.

Dan Clifford has tendered his resignation as MD of coal miner Stanmore Coal, with the company on Friday announcing the appointment of Jon Romcke as interim CEO. Clifford has been MD of Stanmore for some three years, having joined the company shortly after the restart of the Isaac Plains mine.

Iron-ore giant Fortescue Metals has struck a landmark agreement with Alinta Energy to employ renewable energy at the Chichester Hub iron-ore operations, in the Pilbara. Up to 100% of the daytime stationary energy requirements at the Chichester Hub will be powered by renewable energy, with Fortescue saying on Friday that the solar gas hybrid project would see the construction of a 60 MW solar photovoltaic generating facility at Chichester, which comprises the Christmas Creek and Cloudbreak mining operations.

African Finance Corp (AFC) will invest in countries disregarded by other companies as part of a plan to double its exposure to the mining industry, the firm’s head of investments said. The Nigeria-based development-finance firm is mulling mining and refining opportunities in Mali, Burkina Faso, Gabon and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The sector remains attractive despite the US-China trade dispute dragging down global commodity prices, senior VP of investments Begna Gebreyes said.

The Brazilian Government intends to restart the mining of uranium within the country’s borders. Federal Mines and Energy Minister Bento Albuquerque told the newspaper O Estado de São Paulo that this was not merely the desire of the Government, but a policy decision that would be adopted. The expectation is that uranium mining would first be restarted at the Engenho mine at Caetité in Bahia state, by the end of this year.

Whenever the mining industry experiences a downturn, exploration spending usually plummets, a phenomena best illustrated by South Africa, whose exploration budget, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence, decreased from $404-million in 2007 to $87-million in 2017. From a global perspective, there are signs that the industry’s financial performance is improving and a comparative analysis on exploration expenditure for 2016, 2017 and 2018 by S&P Global Market Intelligence demonstrates a similar upward trend... Читать дальше...

Multiple elements are slowing down exploration activity in South Africa. “There have been pockets of activity . . . but, overall, the industry has slowed down to a point where retrenchments are rife and new investment is slow to materialise,” says South African exploration and geotechnical services provider GeoGroup founder Dave Rossiter. He notes that the weaker rand has played “a major role” in increasing the costs of local mineral extraction, however, it has also resulted in the boosting of margins of companies exporting raw minerals... Читать дальше...

Global blasting solutions provider MAXAM’s premium bulk water-gel technology range of blends, referred to as RIOFLEX, has been well received by the South African market and will allow the company to build on its presence in the country for over 20 years, says MAXAM Southern Africa regional sales manager Bradley Gerhardt. “Being the only supplier of this technology has not only opened doors but also provided the unique opportunity to discuss new and differentiated technologies in the market.”

Stakeholders have been trying to alter the perception of South Africa’s mining sector from that of a “sunset industry” to a “sunrise industry”, but such a transition inherently depends on the country’s mineral potential, states the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM). “This applies not only to our traditional base of precious metals, diamonds, coal and ferrous metals, and the new uses to which these can be applied, but also to the ‘new metals and minerals’ that our changing industrial... Читать дальше...

Economic transformation in the mining, drilling and blasting industry remains slow and requires greater engagement from critical roleplayers, such as government, who should encourage the industry to realise the benefits of transformation, says rock blasting and demolition company Master Blasters South Africa CEO Dean Pather. The company was formed to drive economic transformation and address the lack of employment opportunities for historically disadvantaged South Africans (HDSAs) in the explosives sector. Читать дальше...

New contractors entering the industry with “lucrative contracts” present an opportunity for the exploration industry to grow, Goscor Earth Moving (GEM) sales executive Murray Leith tells Mining Weekly, referencing the 14.4% growth in the mining sector during the April to June 2019 period.   “There are opportunities for GEM and equipment manufacturer SANY to make big strides, and we are excited about it,” he says, adding that GEM is working on establishing relationships with new contractors and engaging with them on the company’s full offering.

The absence of new mining projects, owing to limited exploration, continues to weigh on the future sustainability of South Africa’s once thriving mining sector, which once captured a larger share of major mining budgets. “There is simply not enough investment in new mineral exploration to take advantage of the country’s geological potential,” says a Minerals Council South Africa spokesperson.