Новости за 06.11.2020

With energy security being a significant impediment to unlocking greater investment in the resources sector of South Africa, panellists and guests heard during the Africa Down Under conference on November 6 that energy is critical for the resources sector. Orion Minerals CEO and MD Errol Smart told delegates that energy is “core to everything” and that the mining and beneficiation industry needs cost-effective energy certainty to be sustainable.

Debswana Mining Company, equally owned by De Beers and the Botswana government, will close a diamond mine in the country as weak demand and trading disruption from the pandemic make the mining of lower value diamonds unviable, a union leader told Reuters on Friday. Debswana, among the world's largest diamond producers, plans to close its Damtshaa mine in 2021 for a period of three years, said Joseph Tsimako, President of the Botswana Mine Workers Union. "The mine produces lower quality diamonds... Читать дальше...

Diversified miner Nordgold has equipped its new West Africa Training Centre, at the Lefa mine, in Guinea, with a Cybermine Full-Mission Simulator. The simulator is a training tool for mining fleet operators that is designed to improve their skills through safe and efficient manipulation of modern mining equipment.

An unofficial Chinese ban on Australian copper concentrate imports could hurt Chinese smelters in their negotiations with miners on benchmark treatment charges for 2021, traders and analysts said. Australian media reported that Chinese importers have been informally warned by Chinese customs officials that a range of Australian goods, including copper concentrate, will be targeted for increased inspections from Nov. 6 amid a diplomatic row between the two countries.

Gold-backed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and similar products (gold ETFs) recorded their eleventh consecutive month of net inflows in October, matching the record number of positive monthly flows set in April 2006, reports the World Gold Council (WGC). Gold ETF holdings increased by 20.3 t, $1.4-billion or 0.6% of assets under management (AUM) during the month as the gold price moved mostly sideways, finishing slightly below $1 900/oz.

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer unpacks Shallow Reefs Gold being built to mine the shallow reefs of the Wits Basin; Orion Minerals using zinc credits to mine clean, green copper in the Northern Cape; and Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe stating that exploration is a priority for South Africa.

Toronto-listed SilverCrest on Thursday announced the discovery of the El Muerto zone, in the north-west part of the Babicanora vein at its Las Chispas property, in Sonora, sending its shares up 15%. El Muerto is the company's first successful attempt at intercepting high-grade precious metals deeper in the Babicanora area, suggesting potential for a new mineralised horizon in the Babicanora vein. The best intercepts include EM20-37 at 1.5 m, grading 12.68 g/t gold and 1 723.8 g/t silver, or 2 675... Читать дальше...

Japanese trading house Sumitomo Corp plans to resume operation at its Ambatovy nickel mine in Madagascar early next year as planned, with an aim to produce 3 000 t of nickel during the January to March quarter, its executive said on Friday. Sumitomo may book an additional impairment loss on the project depending on the metal price and its output plan which is being reviewed, Hiroyuki Sugai, assistant CFO of the company, told a news conference.

Diamond miner Lucapa Diamonds will undertake a A$10-million capital raise to fund an expansion of the company’s Mothae kimberlite mine, in Lesotho. Lucapa MD and CEO Stephen Wetherall on Friday told delegates at the Africa Downunder Conference, in Perth, that the expansion plan for Mothae would increase the project’s capacity from 1.1-million tonnes a year to 1.6-million tonnes a year, at a capital cost of $6-million.

Argentina mining exports are expected to dip by 25% this year after activity ground to a halt under one of the strictest coronavirus lockdowns in the world, officials said on Thursday. Exports from the mining sector, made up of mostly lithium, gold and silver, will total about $2.4-billion in 2020, Mining Secretary Alberto Hensel said. Private sector investment in mineral exploration dwindled to $160-million in 2020, down from $241-million the previous year.

Chile State miner Codelco said on Thursday it would press ahead with a plan to search for lithium in its Maricunga salt flat holdings after receiving a green light from local environmental regulators. Codelco said in a statement that its plan had been approved by the Atacama Environmental Assessment Commission whose members voted 10-0 to allow the plan to go ahead. Its exploration campaign would begin in April 2021 and involve a minimum duration of six months of work in the field and an estimated maximum of 10 months, it said.

Health and safety measures at Canyon Coal mines have changed drastically since the emergence of the pandemic, and this has had an impact on production, says Canyon Coal health, safety and environment manager David Masilela. He explains that employees have had to change the way they operate and adapt to new methods of work, including a reduced staff complement, as a result of only essential teams returning to work. This has had an adverse effect on throughput.