Новости за 13.12.2019

Vancouver-based Lundin Gold has shipped its first gold from Fruta del Norte to Finland, marking the first exports from a large-scale mining operation in Ecuador. The first shipment of concentrate totalling eight containers, containing about 180 t of concentrate, left the Port of Guayaquil on December 8, heading for Boliden’s smelting facility in Hariavalta.

US-based gold miner Newmont Goldcorp has reached a “pivotal point” at Peñasquito, in Mexico, CEO Tom Palmer said on Friday, announcing that the mine and one of the 25 nearby communities had agreed on a water infrastructure solution. The 30-year agreement with the San Juan de Cedros community, in Zacatecas, was hailed as an “important step in the ongoing negotiations between the parties”.

First Quantum Minerals has begun arbitration proceedings against Zambian State miner ZCCM-IH to try to resolve a dispute over a money transfer to the parent company of Kansanshi Mining, which is majority-owned by the Toronto-listed group. The arbitration proceedings follow a criminal complaint made by State-owned ZCCM-IH against the alleged unauthorised transfer of money by Kansanshi Mining to First Quantum's local subsidiary.

Work on mine planning and project optimisation is continuing at the Parys Mountain zinc, copper, lead project, in Wales, and project owner Anglesey Mining continues to believe that the mine could be company changing. Irish mining contractor QME is carrying out an agreed programme of design, engineering and optimisation studies relating to the future development of the project on the island of Anglesey, with encouraging results so far.

France's Eramet on Friday lowered its guidance for second-half profit blaming a sharp fall in prices for nickel and manganese, the miner's two main products. Eramet now expected earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) for second half of year in line with its first-half performance, having previously forecast significantly higher Ebitda.

BHP Group said on Friday that its Chief Transformation Officer Jonathan Price would be leaving next year, as the miner shifts responsibility for the strategy away from the executive leadership team. Price's departure is the second leadership exit announced in a week, after BHP said on Monday Chief Technology Officer Diane Jurgens would depart the company early next year.

The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) has welcomed a report by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on the Environment and Energy into nuclear fuel technology in Australia, saying it was an important step in the overdue and rigorous assessment of nuclear power in Australia. The report - entitled Not Without Your Approval - follows a parliamentary inquiry that saw the Committee travel across Australia over recent months taking evidence and assessing over 300 submissions on the prerequisites for nuclear energy in Australia.

TSX- and London-listed Centamin has appointed CFO Ross Jerrard interim CEO while the company searches for a permanent successor to Andrew Pardey, who announced his resignation in October. The company has taken the opportunity to reshape the leadership team and has also appointed James Rutherford as nonexecutive director and deputy chairperson.

Palladium’s blistering rally shows no sign yet of cooling off as records tumble: the precious metal advanced to the highest ever on Friday as it climbed for an unprecedented sixteenth day. Sister metal platinum fell. Prices are now barreling toward $2 000/oz as mining disruptions in major producer South Africa add to supply concerns, tightening a market already hobbled by a persistent deficit.

TSX- and NYSE-listed Platinum Group Metals (PTM) has decided to increase the amount of shares on offer in its latest private placement to 3.2-million shares for gross proceeds of $4-million. The company on Thursday initially announced a placement of 1.6-million shares for $2-million.

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) has approved amendments to TSX-listed Aquila Resources' nonferrous metallic mineral mining permit and its Michigan air use permit for its Back Forty project. The amendments update the permits to align with the project design outlined in the August 2018 openpit feasibility study, as well as in its wetlands permit that was issued June last year.

Barrick Gold’s chief says the gold miner has the financial heft it needs to support its loftiest ambitions – and some day those might include a merger with Freeport-McMoRan. “Barrick, by end of next year, or during next year, will be net debt zero,” CEO Mark Bristow said Thursday in a phone interview. “We’ve definitely got the firepower to build a mine or to support a transaction. We don’t need any external support, for any of our ambitions, as we stand today.”

It was a mixed bag for the South African mining sector in the South African mining sector, with announcements of renewed investment and newly commissioned operations interspersed with announcements of retrenchments and divestments. This dichotomy is underlined by Eversheds Sutherland partner and mining head Warren Beech, who notes that  while some commodities, such as gold, palladium and rhodium performed, the sector, as a whole, did not perform well in 2019 and, because of its role in the South African economy... Читать дальше...

The relocation of an 88 kV powerline, which is traversing a future portion of one of the opencast pits and consequently sterilising a section of coal, is the only remaining project at the Khanye colliery. This project has been approved from an environmental and legal standpoint as part of the mine’s environmental-impact assessment and environmental management plan, says coal exploration and mining company Canyon Coal group project manager Clifford Hallatt.

The R3.3-billion Belfast implementation project, owned by JSE-listed resources group Exxaro Resources, will result in the first mine in South Africa with a digital twin. “The . . . twin is a digital replica of the mine,” said Exxaro business unit manager Lazarus Ramashibela at a mine site visit in October, where he noted the need to use data to extract value from the operation.

With offtake agreements secured, funding remains the last milestone for the start of Phase 1 construction at junior South African coal miner MC Mining’s (MCM’s) flagship Makhado hard coking coal (HCC) and thermal coal project, in Limpopo. MCM describes Makhado, in the Soutpansberg coalfield, 36 km north from the town of Makhado, as the only notable HCC mine in the country.

Opencast mining of various mini-pit areas at the New Largo thermal coal project, in Mpumalanga, should start in mid-2020, as part of the phased approach to the mine’s development, says black-owned coal mining company Seriti Resources. A revised feasibility study on the New Largo main mine project – which is being undertaken by a reputable international mining consultancy firm – is expected to be concluded early next year.

Vale Mozambique, the majority-owned subsidiary of Brazilian major mining group Vale, has been ranked as the biggest company in the African state, for the second year in a row. This is the determination of a report for 2019, released by KPMG Auditors and Consultants, which lists Mozambique’s 100 biggest companies.