Новости за 11.04.2022

Prices of palladium and rhodium are poised to rally for years as a supply squeeze tightens for the metals that are key to curbing vehicle emissions, said the head of the world’s third-largest producer of platinum group metals Prices of palladium and rhodium -- that are used in catalytic converters -- have risen more than 30% this year. The lack of “major investment in new supply” may help support the rally, said Nico Muller, the chief executive officer at Impala Platinum Holdings.

Canadian miner Ivanhoe Mines’ Kamoa-Kakula Mining Complex, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has set a new quarterly production record in the first quarter of this year, with 55 602 t of copper-in-concentrate produced. Kamoa Copper milled 1.08-million ore tonnes during the quarter at an average feed grade of 5.91% copper.

While Africa is blessed with great natural sun and wind resources, it has about 600-million people living without access to electricity, which is one of the biggest impediments to the continent’s economic growth. Renewable energy is available to put an end to this impediment, as it can provide large-scale electricity access in a decentralised, low risk, modular and quick-to-deploy manner. It does not require economies of scale.

Miner Boliden said on Monday it would spend five-billion Swedish crowns ($530-million) over the next two years on works on the tailings dam at its Aitik copper mine in northern Sweden. "Areas with poorer soil conditions than previously estimated have been identified. Additional dam heightening and deposition of tailings against dams in these areas has therefore been suspended," it said in a statement.

A new resources and reserves technical report update filed by Buffalo Coal “supports positive confirmation that value can be unlocked from the group’s Balgray, Magdalena and Aviemore North mining projects,” says CEO Emma Oosthuizen. The 2022 technical report presents an update of the October 1, 2012 National Instrument 43-101-compliant Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves report issued on March 6, 2013.

Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Barbara Creecy has moved to appeal parts of a landmark High Court judgment recognising air pollution as a violation of the Constitutional rights of citizens living in the Highveld Priority Area – a 31 000 km2 region that includes parts of Mpumalanga and Gauteng. The judgment was handed down by Judge Colleen Collis on March 18, after environmental justice group groundWork and Mpumalanga community organisation Vukani approached the court for an order... Читать дальше...

Exploration company Fission Uranium has repaid the balance of its secured credit facility, hitting debt-free status ahead of the release of a feasibility study for its near surface Patterson Lake South (PLS) project in Saskatchewan, Canada. The explorer has about C$40-million in cash and cash equivalents, with no debt.

The Public Investment Corporation (PIC) has increased its shareholding in coal miner Thungela Resources from 8.033% to 9.925% on April 8. This follows what Thungela CEO July Ndlovu earlier in April described as a “comeback for coal” as European demand rises.

TSX-listed Thor Explorations’ operations at the Segilola gold mine, in Nigeria, performed in line with forecasts for the first quarter of this year and remains on track to meet full-year guidance of between 80 000 oz and 100 000 oz. A throughput of 221 920 t with an average head grade of 3.18 g/t gold, and an overall recovery rate of 94.1%, resulted in gold production of 21 343 oz for the quarter.

Canadian miner Teck Resources said on Monday that it had missed its first-quarter steelmaking coal sales guidance, but reported a positive pricing adjustment of C$88-million on record steelmaking coal prices. The company reported first-quarter coal sales of six-million tonnes, slightly below the low-end of its guidance of 6.1-million to 6.5-million tonnes for the first three months of the year. This was owing to the recent CP work stoppage that interrupted rail service to its coal operations in the Elk Valley of British Columbia.

Chile is suing mines operated by BHP, Antofagasta and Albemarle over alleged environmental damage caused by their operations in the northern Salar de Atacama salt flats, a court said late on Thursday. The State Defense Council (CDE) launched its legal action in the environmental court over the pace of extraction from the Monturaqui-Negrillar-Tilopozo aquifer - an important source of ground water - it said had impacted the fragile ecosystem. Chile is the world's top copper producer and a major source... Читать дальше...

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Friday said he would seek to change mining law to secure the country's lithium for the nation if his constitutional reform to boost state control of the power market fails to pass Congress next week. The president had earmarked lithium as part of his electricity reform, but the opposition has said it will not support the legislation, meaning the government looks likely to fall short of the two-thirds majority required for approval.

Canadian miners say Ottawa's plan to spend C$3.8-billion ($3.02-billion) to boost domestic production of lithium, copper and other strategic minerals should help propel the country's efforts to become a key part of the global electric vehicle supply chain. The spending, announced during Canada's federal budget unveiling on Thursday, promises grants for mineral surveying, processing and recycling, as well as tax credits for digging new mines and subsidies for infrastructure, though it would not reduce regulatory oversight.

Mining has started at the Bluff opencut coal mine, in Queensland. ASX-listed Bowen Coking Coal on Monday reported that first coal sales from the mine were on track for this quarter, with the mine to reach steady-state production of 80 000 t to 100 000 t/m by July.

Battery minerals miner Independence Group (IGO) has increased its offer price for nickel producer Western Areas from A$3.36 a share to A$3.87 a share. IGO last week flagged concerns that its takeover offer for Western Areas would not proceed after an independent expert found that the offer was neither fair nor reasonable, and not in the best interest of shareholders.