Новости за 28.08.2020

TSX-V-listed Diamcor Mining has announced that it will publish its financial results for the year ended March 31 on September 14, in accordance with an extension granted by the relevant authorities. The company, which owns the Krone-Endora at Venetia diamond project, in South Africa, initially intended to publish its full-year results on July 29, but Covid-19 has managed to delay some of the corporate matters that the company needed to finalise.

Rhodium may turn out to be the metal of the decade, Northam CEO Paul Dunne said on Friday. Speaking at the JSE-listed company’s presentation of outstanding results, which saw the company shrug off the Covid-19 pandemic to report a record financial year in the 12 months to June 30, Dunne said rhodium, which was in strong demand and short supply, would continue as the only viable solution for the control of nitrous oxides (NOx). (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

TSX-V- and Aim-listed Mkango Resources continues to progress the work programme for its Songwe Hill rare earths project, in Malawi, towards completing a feasibility study by the second half of 2021. The Malawian Minister of Mining Rashid Gaffar visited the project earlier this year and expressed his support for the future mining operation.

In spite of difficult times in global markets, Aim-listed mining company AfriTin managed to produce its first tin concentrate and generate its first revenue from its flagship Uis tin mine, in Namibia, during the financial year ended February 29. The first production of a saleable tin concentrate was achieved in August 2019.

India must stop building coal infrastructure and focus on renewable power generation to aid the global fight against climate change and lift its citizens out of poverty, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said. The nation, the biggest coal consumer after China, must invest in a “clean, green transition” as it recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic, Guterres said at an event organised by New Delhi-based environment advocacy group TERI. It must also end fossil-fuel subsidies, which are... Читать дальше...

Indigenous Australian groups want an independent arbiter to oversee decisions about whether Aboriginal cultural heritage sites can be destroyed for mining, an inquiry into Rio Tinto's destruction of sacred caves heard on Friday. The country's federal government is looking into how the destruction of a historically significant, 46 000 year old rockshelter was legally allowed to occur, to figure out how to avoid incidents in the future.

Kazatomprom , the world's No. 1 uranium miner, has started buying the metal on the spot market and may purchase more this year to replenish its stock after the coronavirus pandemic upended the global market, it said on Thursday. Supply disruptions have accelerated the rebalancing of the nuclear fuel market, pushing up the spot price and prompting greater interest in medium- and long-term contracts, Kazatomprom executives said. "The theme of uncertainty in the uranium market persisted through the... Читать дальше...

Swedish miner Boliden has announced a €40-million expansion of its nickel operations at Harjavalta, Finland. The expansion in the nickel line at the nickel smelter will increase the feed capacity from 310 000 t/y to 370 000 t/y of raw material. The expansion consists of a new concentrate dryer, increased capacity in the electric smelting furnace and granulation, as well as automated tapping of molten metal.

Canada-based explorer SilverCrest Metals has acquired the El Picacho property, near its Las Chispas project in Sonora, Mexico. SilverCrest paid $1.6-million for a 100% ownership in 11 mining concessions of the property, totalling about 7 060 ha. “We first looked at acquiring Picacho in 2016, after the sale of SilverCrest Mines (SilverCrest’s predecessor) in 2015, as a continuation of our regional exploration programme on search of a new district containing multiple precious metal epithermal veins. Читать дальше...

Gold headed for a third weekly drop as investors weighed the impact of the Federal Reserve’s new approach to setting US monetary policy, with a more relaxed stance on inflation. Chair Jerome Powell said that the Fed will seek inflation that averages 2% over time, a step that implies allowing for price gains to overshoot. He also noted that “if excessive inflationary pressures were to build or inflation expectations were to ratchet above levels consistent with our goal,” the central bank wouldn’t hesitate to act. Читать дальше...

Workers at Indonesia's Grasberg gold and copper mine on Friday ended a protest demanding an easing of a coronavirus lockdown at the mine operated by a local unit of Freeport-McMoran, a workers' representative and the company said. Mining operations were disrupted after protesters had blocked access to the world's second-largest copper mine since Monday, calling on the company to resume a bus service to allow them to travel to a nearby town, and for a bonus payment. Yonpis Tabuni, a workers' representative... Читать дальше...

Glencore will likely sell its entire 73.1% stake in Zambia's Mopani Copper Mines to the government's mining investment arm ZCCM-IH rather than becoming a minority stakeholder, two sources with direct knowledge told Reuters. Zambia and Swiss-based Glencore are at "cross purposes" over Mopani, Zambian Mines Minister Richard Musukwa had said on Tuesday when he announced ZCCM-IH aims to increase its shareholding in Mopani to 51% "or even more", from 10% currently. Glencore's plans to put Mopani on... Читать дальше...

JSE-listed chrome miner Merafe Resources now expects to report a basic loss a share of between 37.6c and 39c for the six months ended June 30. This compares to basic earnings a share of 6.6c apiece reported in the six months ended June 30, 2019.

The use of coal is enabling the energy transition, owing to its provision of a basis for the economy to develop, drive wealth and enable economic progress, which then, in turn, creates and enables the funds for stronger and further investment into renewable energy, says Boston Consulting Group MD and partner Tycho Möncks. “Very often the discussion is that coal and renewables are enemies; that it’s either one or the other and I don’t think that’s the right mindset [to have],” he tells Engineering News and Mining Weekly.

While global electric vehicle (EV) sales are back to a healthy growth trajectory, significant investment in mining capacity is required if electric vehicles (EVs) are to become anything more than a niche market, says mining entrepreneur Robert Friedland’s Clean TeQ Holdings. The company owns the construction-ready Sunrise nickel/cobalt/scandium project in New South Wales, Australia, and will require just under $2-billion to bring the project into fruition. Nickel and cobalt, in particular, face substantial raw material challenges... Читать дальше...

Lithium miner Orocobre on Friday announced a capital raise of A$126-million as the company swung to a net loss the half year ended June. Orocobre announced that net loss of $67.1-million for the six months under review, compared with a net profit of $65.4-million for the previous corresponding period, as revenue halved from $144.6-million to $77.1-million, despite lithium production being down only 5% in the same period, at 11 922 t.

Certain wastes in the mining sector present an opportunity to create alternative fuels, which can alleviate the energy supply challenges in the local industry, says waste management solutions provider Interwaste. Repurposing waste for energy purposes can also reduce the reliance on landfills and the carbon footprint of the mining industry.

Local energy organisation the South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI) GM Barry Bredenkamp states that South Africa’s mining sector can continue to explore cost-saving measures through increased energy efficiency. Local miners face many challenges, including rising energy costs, falling commodity prices and diminishing production, which have forced them to look for alternative energy solutions to save on costs.

The local mining sector is becoming more open to implementing new technologies in terms of energy solutions, as they can make mining operations more efficient, productive and cost effective, states microgrid and energy solutions provider Hitachi ABB Power Grids MD Malvin Naicker. Hitachi ABB Power Grids was formed as a new global technological business last month, following the completion of a joint venture (JV) between digital solutions provider Hitachi and energy and automation technologies provider ABB.

Work on the Beyondie sulphate of potash (SoP) project’s non-process infrastructure, which includes 60 additional rooms for construction accommodation, has continued apace, notes a press release by ASX-listed exploration and development company Kalium Lakes. The Beyondie SoP project initially hosted 72 rooms for construction activities – which were completed earlier this year –  and the additional rooms are currently being installed.

A call for further engagement with the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) regarding the 2019 Draft Review of Housing and Living Conditions Standard has stalled as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown in South Africa. The draft standard requires that mines provide suitable housing for mineworkers, something that is not plausible for all mines suggests surface mining industry body Aspasa.

Local logistics services supplier Mixcorp is including renewable-energy technology suited to the mining industry in the scope of its research and development (R&D) department to add renewables-related logistical services to its offering. Mixcorp special scientific adviser Dr Godfrey Gandawa states that this will “enable the company to provide its clients with the latest and most appropriate energy solutions as and when these solutions become available to the market”.