Новости за 06.08.2020

The World Gold Council reports that global gold holdings reached a new all-time high of 3 785 t in July. This after gold-backed exchange-traded funds and similar products recorded an eighth consecutive month of positive flows in July, adding 166 t, or $9.7-billion.

Dual-listed GoviEx Uranium has closed the first tranche of a fully subscribed nonbrokered private placement to raise gross proceeds of about C$5-million. “The [uranium oxide] spot price is up over 30% from the beginning of this year and we are delighted by the strong support received from our lead institutional investor, as well as other long-term shareholders seeking exposure to our quality pipeline of mineral projects,” says GoviEx executive chairperson Govind Friedland.

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer unpacks Anglo American's move to crop nutrients, RBPlat's gold-streaming tailwinds and South Africa’s lifting of exchange control.

Aim-listed Kropz has appointed global engineering and construction firm Hatch to conduct a focussed assessment on the export logistics capacity at its proposed port site in Pointe-Noir, which is 50 km from its Hinda phosphate project in Congo-Brazzaville. The results of the study will confirm the achievable capacity through the proposed port site in Pointe-Noire and highlight any major drivers influencing throughput, from truck receiving to vessel loading.

Dual-listed Jubilee Metals has, in line with its stated strategy to expand operations in Zambia, signed a joint venture (JV) agreement with a private Zambian company to secure the rights to process two-million tonnes of copper run-of-mine (RoM) material containing in excess of 2% copper. Under the JV agreement, there is a further potential to increase the supply of copper ore to about four-million tonnes.

The diamond industry is learning to live with and work alongside the Covid-19 pandemic, and is, as a result, starting to see some signs of recovery, says World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) acting president Yoram Dvash. He explains that the first half the year “was almost a complete washout”, with declines of between 70% and 80% in imports and exports in some centres.

The Minerals Council South Africa has welcomed the publication of the new Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management. The Global Tailings Review (GTR) on August 5 launched the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management, which aims to ensure tailings dam failures are a thing of the past.

Mining at the State-owned Ok Tedi copper/gold/silver mine, in Papua New Guinea, has been suspended for an initial 14 days after seven positive Covid-19 cases were recorded this week. The cases were recorded despite Ok Tedi Mining shutting down all charter flights in late July, with the company on Thursday saying that the source of transmission has been established as a person who traveled from Port Moresby to Kiunga on a commercial airline. The company is now strictly limiting the movement of personnel between its operations... Читать дальше...

Chile's largest copper mines boosted output in June, according to government statistics released late on Tuesday, churning out more of the red metal even as the coronavirus outbreak hit its stride in the South American mining powerhouse. The Chilean Copper Commission (Cochilco) reported that Codelco, the world's top copper producer, raised production by 2.5% from June 2019, to 131 900 t. BHP's Escondida mine, the largest copper deposit in the world, increased production by 1.6% year-on-year, to 105 800 t.

Canadian diamond mining company Mountain Province expects to resume its traditional sales methods in September, after being unable to execute any formal sales during the Covid-hit second quarter. With the market for rough diamonds coming to a virtual halt as a result of the pandemic, the 50% owner of Gahcho Kué had to seek out alternative sales channels. Investor Dunebridge Worldwide agreed to buy $50-million worth of diamonds from the company, providing a vital liquidity lifeline.

700 000 oz, reflecting the suspension of operations at the Rosebel mine in response to Covid-19 being detected among workers. Operations at the mine in Suriname were halted on June 12. The suspension was lifted on July 24, once national health authorities confirmed it was safe to do so. The Toronto-listed miner, which on Wednesday published its second-quarter results, also revised up its 2020 cost of sales guidance to between $990/oz and $1 030/oz, from between $955/oz and $995/oz previously, owing to lower production volumes. Читать дальше...

A key water licence for the Prieska copper/zinc project, in South Africa, has been granted. Project developer Orion Minerals on Thursday said that the 20-year water use licence was granted by the National Department of Water and Sanitation, and includes permission for mine dewatering to proceed, as well as wet tailing sand wastewater storage and management, and to use water for mixing mine waste for void back-filling.

AMSA implements large-scale, but ‘flexible’, labour reorganisation as Covid-19 bites; AECI still turns healthy profit, dividend owing to a robust response plan; and, PGM prices expected to remain robust in the short term

Peabody Energy reported its biggest loss ever after writing down more than half the value of its North Antelope Rochelle mine in Wyoming. The largest US coal producer took a $1.42-billion impairment charge on the sprawling surface operation, leading to a second-quarter net loss of $1.54-billion, according to a statement Wednesday. North Antelope is the biggest coal mine in the US, accounting for about 12% of US production last year. It has about 19 years of reserves, but with utilities increasingly shifting away from coal... Читать дальше...