Новости за 04.01.2022

Copper and gold miner Rambler Metals and Mining says production at its Ming mine, in Newfoundland and Labrador, will be negatively affected by a shortage of contract operators. There has been a substantial rise in Covid-19 in Newfoundland.

TSX-V-listed exploration company Mirasol Resources has promoted corporate controller Carmen Cazares to CFO. She joined Mirasol in 2019 and has 30 years of experience in operations and accounting, including at Coro Mining Corporation, in Vancouver, and Endeavour Silver Corporation, in Mexico.

The Israeli diamond industry showed an impressive recovery in 2021 and even surpassed figures for 2019, with net polished diamond exports having reached $3.65-billion. This was a 54% increase compared with 2020 and a 7.5% increase compared with 2019.

Gold climbed above the key $1 800/oz level on Tuesday, after a sharp retreat in the last session, as some investors sought cover from pandemic-led uncertainty, inflation and its impact on the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate hike trajectory. Spot gold rose 0.2% to $1 804.80/oz by 1110 GMT, after recording its worst session in more than a month on Monday. US gold futures rose 0.3% to $1 805.3.

Engineering group Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions has received its biggest AutoMine solutions order yet. The company has been awarded a contract by Chilean mining company Codelco to install an AutoMine load and haul automation system valued at SKr250-million at the El Teniente mine.

The Constitutional Court of Ecuador has reaffirmed the revocation of the environmental permit for TSX-V-listed Cornerstone Capital Resources’ Rio Magdalena project. The court is upholding a lower court ruling that invalidated the environmental registration granted by the country’s Ministry of Environment to Ecuador’s State-owned mining company Enami.

Private equity firms are lining up to take on the dirty -- and highly profitable -- assets being divested by publicly traded commodity producers as the world grapples to decarbonize. In the latest example, private equity accounted for most of the 30 so-called western candidates that signed non-disclosure agreements in the sale of Vale’s Mozambique coal business, according to Luciano Siani Pires, head of strategy and business transformation at Rio de Janeiro-based Vale.

ASX-listed Walkabout Resources has acquired the remaining 25% stake in JDH Exploration for £100 000, giving it full ownership over 750 km2 of prospective exploration licences in southwest Scotland. JDH holds two Mines Royal options with State-owned property corporation Crown Estate Scotland, in Dumfies and Galloway.

Australia’s resource and energy export earnings are forecast to reach A$379-billion in 2021–22 as demand for coal and gas surges in the face of a global energy shortage, the December edition of the Resources and Energy Quarterly (REQ) found. The 2021-22 prediction was up from the A$310-billion achieved in 2020-21, and is expected to fall again to A$311-billion in 2022-23 as commodity prices settled lower.

Despite strong production growth in the years to come, Fitch Solutions Country Risk and Industry Research expects the global lithium market to remain tight in the coming years as the green transition accelerates, boosting demand for batteries spanning from electric vehicles (EVs) to utility-scale batteries. The unit also expects the market to record increasingly large deficits to 2030.

The Queensland government is partnering with the University of Queensland (UQ) and ASX-listed Cobalt Blue Holdings to investigate whether cobalt used for battery storage can be extracted from copper mine tailings in Mount Isa and Cloncurry. “Cobalt is a crucial new economy mineral used in electrical vehicles and battery storage and we hope that through this research we can help unlock Queensland’s potential as a major global supplier of it,” Resources Minister Scott Stewart said.

The Queensland Land Court in December recommended that the New Acland Mine Stage 3 mining leases and the environmental authority amendment application be granted, subject to conditions, with the Queensland Resources Council (QRC) now calling for the project approvals to be granted. Project owner New Hope Corporation said in December that the company would continue to work with the relevant Queensland Government Departments to progress the Stage 3 approvals applications and seek to secure their grant as soon as possible.

TSX-V listed Noront Resources in December entered into a binding agreement with Andrew Forrest’s Wyloo Metals, after that company’s offer was tapped as a superior bid to mining major BHP’s bid for Noront. Wyloo in December abandoned talks with BHP around the major’s bid for Noront, and instead launched an improved offer of C$1.10 a share for every Noront share held, trumping BHP’s own offer of C$0.75 a share.

Diversified giant Rio Tinto in December struck a $825-million deal to acquire the Rincon lithium project in Argentina from Rincon Mining. Rio said in December that the acquisition demonstrated the company’s commitment to build its battery materials business and strengthen its portfolio for the global energy transition.