Новости за 04.12.2019

Brazil's Vale plans to exit its troubled New Caledonia assets but still aims to ramp up nickel output ahead of rising demand for electric batteries, executives said on Wednesday. The planned divestment of nickel operations in New Caledonia comes after Vale said last month it would write down the mine and incur a non-cash impairment charge of about $1.6-billion in the fourth quarter.

LSE-listed Gem Diamonds CEO Clifford Elphick looks forward to 2020 and is expecting to higher diamond demand and prices. In a video interview distributed by the diamond miner on Wednesday, Elphick said 2019 had been a tough year for the diamond mining industry globally, as evidenced by major companies going into business rescue.

Brazilian miner Vale will complete an internal investigation this month into a tailings dam collapse that killed more than 250 people in January, its chief executive said on Wednesday. Vale, the world's largest iron ore producer, will finish its own probe into its responsibility for the accident later this month, CEO Eduardo Bartolomeo told an investors' presentation in London.

The Minerals Council South Africa on Wednesday published a report on the South African mining industry’s progress in transforming the industry in terms of the Mining Charter. The report was based on a survey by advisory firm Moshe Capital into the council members' transformation and community development performance.

Canadian National (CN) has announced a C$125-million investment in rail infrastructure, which will provide diversified miner Teck Resources with the rail capacity to match the upgrades under way at Neptune Terminals, in Vancouver, British Columbia. CN and Teck on Wednesday announced a long-term rail agreement, which would result in significantly increased shipping volumes of steelmaking coal from the Kamloops operations, to Neptune Terminal.

Aim-listed Firestone Diamonds has confirmed that stable grid power had been restored at its Liqhobong diamond mine, in Lesotho, and that the mine was processing at full capacity. The Lesotho Electricity Company-owned Muela hydropower station was brought back into operation on December 1, following a two-month shutdown period for maintenance.

Aim-quoted Alien Metals will buy the past-producing Elizabeth Hill silver project, which has an “exceptionally” high mine head grade averaging 2 195 g/t silver or 70.24 oz/t. The project, located 40 km from the Dampier port in Western Australia, was mined between 1998 and 2000 through underground mining, primarily between the 62 m and 102 m levels. It produced 16 800 t of ore, generating 1.17-million ounces.

Chile's Atacama salt flat may get all the attention when it comes to lithium, but the South American nation is looking to develop two lesser-known deposits of the mineral needed to power a global push into electric cars. Chile's Mining Minister, Baldo Prokurica, told Reuters on a trip to the Atacama region the government had asked state-owned copper giant Codelco and smaller state miner National Mining Company, Enami, to forge ahead with lithium projects in the region.

An operational review of the Savannah project, in Western Australia, has confirmed the integrity of the overall mine design and operating parameters, while also confirming the absence of any fatal flaws in the overall project design and operating plan. ASX-listed Panoramic Resources last month launched the review of its Savannah project, as the operation continued to perform below expectations.

Market research company Frost & Sullivan (F&S) says growth opportunities in the global mining chemicals market look promising over the next six years, as demand for ferrous metals, industrial minerals and fuel ore extraction rises. F&S forecasts that the global mining chemicals market will earn revenues of $2.9-billion by 2025, on the back of a compound annual growth rate of 6.7% between 2018 and 2025.

Petroleum refining company SK Innovation has signed a six-year agreement with global mining and commodities trader Glencore for up to 30 000 t of cobalt contained in hydroxide between 2020 and 2025. SK Innovation on Wednesday said it had secured the supply of a metal core to battery production and which is in short supply. The company said it “stands ready” to produce the batteries required to meet the significant anticipated battery demand.

The French government has authorised the start-up of a cyanide processing plant at a gold mine west of Cayenne, the capital of French Guiana, a decision that TSX-listed Columbus Gold hailed as a “very positive” development. “This development is a major step and a clear message that the French government is committed to developing the gold mining industry in French Guiana,” says Columbus Gold president and CEO Rock Lefrançois.

ASX-listed FYI Resources has secured an industrial site in the Kwinana industrial area for its high purity alumina (HPA) refining facility to refine kaolin feedstock from its Cadoux project. MD Roland Hill on Wednesday said that the Kwinana industrial area was a world-class industrial hub, adding that the company was delighted to be selected as a proponent within the zone and a participant in the Battery Valley.

The Lost Cities – Cutucu project, in south-eastern Ecuador, not only has great potential for gold, but it also has the potential to become a significant copper district, junior explorer Aurania Resources reported on Wednesday. Soil sampling shows strong enrichment of copper directly over the Tsenken N2 geophysical feature that was identified as a second-tier target in the airborne magnetic survey that the company completed over its Lost Cities project.

Labour union the CFMEU has also thrown its weight behind calls for the Queensland government to approve the New Acland Stage 3 project. CFMEU Queensland Mining and Energy district president Stephen Smyth said the government had to stand up for workers.

Diversified major Rio Tinto will curtail operations at Richards Bay Minerals (RBM), in South Africa, to ensure the safety and security of its employees due to an escalation in violence in the communities surrounding the operations. There has been an escalation of criminal activity towards RBM employees and one was shot and seriously injured in the last few days. As a result, all mining operations at RBM have been halted and the smelters are operating at a reduced level, with a minimum number of employees now on site.