Новости за 07.12.2020

Since the 2008 energy crisis, mines have responded by implementing energy reduction tactics such as shifting loads to off peak periods, switching to more efficient equipment and implementing better maintenance programmes. While mines are better prepared to operate on reduced power than they were during the 2008 crisis, the sweeping blackouts at the end of 2019 had a severe impact on the industry, prompting the Minerals Council South Africa to call on government to address regulatory constraints around self-generation.

Gender equality nonprofit organisation International Women in Mining (IWiM) has announced the launch of its 2021 International Women in Resources Mentoring Programme (IWRMP) in collaboration with organisational specialist Metisphere. The programme seeks to actively empower women in the mining sector by providing mentees with opportunities to accelerate their all-round professional growth.

Chinese authorities held an emergency meeting on Sunday after recent major accidents at coal mines, calling for “decisive measures” to control risks and curb such incidents. Additional safety checks at mines in top producing provinces have crimped output at a time of strengthening demand, pushing prices higher. Thermal coal futures in Zhengzhou on Monday rose to an intraday record. It’s strictly forbidden for local governments and companies to demand higher output from mines than the quotas allow... Читать дальше...

State-owned Morupule Coal Mine (MCM) will boost annual output by 35% to 3.8-million tonnes a year in 2021 after completion of a new open-cast mine under construction in the central region of Botswana, it said on Monday. Despite the country's estimated 212 billion tonnes of coal resources, MCM was its only operating coal mine until privately owned Minergy commissioned a new mine in 2019 with annual capacity of 1.2-million tonnes.

The government of Greenland has granted junior Ironbark Zinc an exploitation and closure permit for its Citronen zinc/lead project. MD Michael Jardine said on Monday that the grant of the Section 19-43 permit was important on several levels.

Copper developer Hot Chili has been granted a maritime concession to extract sea water some 60 km from its planned Costa Fuego copper/gold development, in Chile. The company is now one of the few copper developers in the country controlling a maritime concession for water, adding significantly to the critical infrastructure access requirements already secured, including surface rights and water and electricity easements, Hot Chili said on Monday.

Supply remains tight in the Asia Pacific region with Australian prices playing catch-up to a firm Richards Bay Coal Terminal market. Chinese domestic coal prices remain volatile with a confused supply picture sans Australian coal. The rest of the energy complex is also relatively strong with crude, carbon and European Union power prices enjoying gains on the week, giving some strength to delivered ARA coal markets.

Diamond miner Lucapa has recovered a 127 ct gem-quality white diamond from its Lulo alluvial mine, in Angola. The diamond marked the sixteenth stone of more than 100 ct to be recovered from Lulo to date, and the third diamond of that size recovered in 2020.

Widespread damage to rare Nevada wildflowers in September was due to ground squirrels, the US Fish and Wildlife Service said on Friday, and not linked to human activity in the area, which includes a lithium mine being developed by Australia's ioneer. The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), a non-profit group, last month said conservationists discovered that "someone had dug up and destroyed" more than 17 000 Tiehm's buckwheat plants, a rare Nevada wildflower the Fish and Wildlife Service said... Читать дальше...

Canadian mining company Turquoise Hill Resources is locked in a feud with its largest shareholder, Rio Tinto, over the underground expansion of its massive Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia. Tensions between mine operator Rio and Turquoise Hill's management and minority shareholders have spilled into the open in recent months. Rio owns 51% of Turquoise Hill, which in turn owns 66% of the mine. Here is an explanation of the dispute.