Новости за 11.07.2022

NYSE- and TSX-listed precious metals miner Fortuna Silver Mines produced 100% more gold, year-on-year, from its four operating mines in the Americas and West Africa during the second half of the year with a total of 62 171 oz.  Silver production of 1.65-million ounces was 13% lower, year-on-year; while gold equivalent production totalled 96 712 oz.

The Competition Tribunal has unconditionally approved a merger between Namane Resources, which through acquisitions of several businesses, will, post-merger, have a controlling stake in Resource Generation (Resgen) South Africa, Resgen South Africa Farms, Waterberg One Coal and Ledjadja Coal. Namane Group comprises several firms with interests in mining and logistics.

TSX-V-listed American Lithium has started the environmental work required for a pre-feasibility study (PFS) on the Falchani lithium project in Peru, with the initiation of an environmental impact assessment (EIA) with SRK Peru. The EIA process will be run in parallel with work to update the company’s existing preliminary economic assessment on Falchani and the company believes that both of these steps will position it to fast-track a PFS on the project.

LSE-listed Kavango Resources has identified a cluster of three electromagnetic (EM) conductors within Target Area B in the northern (Hukuntsi) section of the Kalahari Suture Zone (KSZ) in Botswana. The size and orientation of these conductors conform to an idealised model for the Talnakh and Kharaelakh massive sulphide nickel/copper/platinum group element (PGE) orebodies at Norilsk, the company says.

China's biggest lithium compounds producer Ganfeng Lithium said on Monday it will buy Argentina-focused Lithea for up to $962-million as it seeks to secure access to more resources for production of key battery metals. Privately owned Lithea owns rights to two lithium salt lakes in Argentina's mineral-rich Salta province. The deal comes amid a rush to secure lithium resources as demand for the metal soars on expectations of rapid growth in electric vehicle demand.

India's coal imports hit a record high in June despite high global prices, data from three trade sources and Refinitiv ship tracking showed, as economic activity picked up and amid a domestic shortage of the fuel. India imported over 25-million tonnes of thermal coal and coking coal in June, rising by over a third compared with the same period last year, data from consultancies Coalmint and Kpler, and trader I-Energy Natural Resources showed.

Dual-listed Orion Minerals says it has received “highly encouraging” initial assay results from an in-fill drilling programme designed to upgrade the existing shallow inferred resource in the +105 Level Crown Pillar area at its flagship Prieska copper/zinc project, in South Africa’s Northern Cape province. Fourteen in-fill holes were completed for a total of 917.87 m, designed to upgrade the existing inferred supergene resource of 630 000 t at 2.2% copper and 1.8% zinc to the higher-confidence indicated... Читать дальше...

Dual-listed Cornish Metals has launched an 8 000 m drill programme to advance its South Crofty tin project, in Cornwall, England. The drill programme may be extended up to 12 000 m and will inform a feasibility study on the project.

The development and financing of Aim-listed Emmerson’s Khemisset potash project, in Morocco, continued to make steady progress in the second quarter, the company said on July 11. Exploration work had led to cost effective construction options being discovered, while the portal and decline location had been updated, which was expected to deliver technical benefits and capital expenditure savings.

An independent scoping study into the Antler copper project, in Arizona, has estimated that the project would have an initial mine life of ten years and could produce some 271 240 t of copper equivalent over the initial operating life, including 136 000 t of copper-in-concentrate. ASX-listed New World Resources on Monday reported that based on a mining operation of one-million tonnes a year, the scoping study estimated that the Antler project could produce an average of 30 600 t/y of copper equivalent metal in concentrate... Читать дальше...

Mid-tier precious metals miner Endeavour Silver is continuing to deliver strong production results and is “well positioned” to beat its guidance for the year, CEO Dan Dickon reported on Friday. Endeavour, which operates two high-grade silver/gold mines in Mexico, produced 1.36-million ounces of silver and 9 289 oz of gold, for silver-equivalent production of 2.1-million ounces in the second quarter.

Quebec-based nickel mining complex Raglan Mine has tabled a new offer to the United Steelworkers Union (USU) for the renewal of their collective agreement. The offer follows the union’s decision to break off discussions and leave the negotiating table on July 7.

Shell said on Monday it has invested 200-million reais ($38.07-million) into a Brazilian preservation-focused company. Carbon credit developer Carbonext runs preservation projects across more than two-million hectares of the Amazon Forest that are owned by companies seeking to capitalize on the carbon market.

CSE-listed Madison Metals is betting on a sustained increase in uranium demand and accompanying price increases in years to come as the global demand for clean energy brings nuclear energy into ever sharper focus. If Madison CEO Duane Parnham is right, then the company’s investment in developing two significant Rössing-type uranium prospects in Namibia and Canada – the world’s second- and third-largest uranium producing countries, respectively – should yield significant returns.

Copper output at Peru's huge Las Bambas mine has returned to normal levels after a two-month shutdown due to protests was ended last month, sources and power usage data show, but talks over a deal with community leaders have stalled, threatening more tensions. The mine, owned by Chinese state-controlled firm MMG and long a target of protests, was hit by its worst- ever crisis from late April until mid-June when two indigenous communities pitched camp inside the mine, halting production.

The Future Battery Industries Cooperative Research Center (FBICRC) on Monday launched its flagship cathode precursor production pilot plant, in Western Australia. Located at Curtin University, the Australian-first pilot plant will help design and build cathode precursor manufacturing facilities on a commercial and industrial scale.

A new report by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has shown that renewable energy options would remain the cheapest new-build electricity generation option in Australia, although inflation and supply chain disruptions will likely put cost reductions on hold for the next year. In its latest GenCost report, the CSIRO and the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) confirmed that wind and solar are the cheapest source of electricity generation and storage in Australia... Читать дальше...

Oil and gas major Woodside Energy has unveiled a $9.9-million equity investment in biotechnology company String Bio Private, which has developed a patented process that can recycle greenhouse gases into value-added products such as feed for livestock. Woodside said on Monday that the company is exploring the potential of String Bio’s carbon-to-products technology to support its decarbonisation efforts, targeting abatement of methane emissions at its operational sites.

The Queensland Resources Council (QRC) has urged the Queensland government to declare coal miner New Hope Group’s New Acland Stage 3 a prescribed project. The call follows what the QRC says is unfounded claims by the Oakey Coal Action Alliance (OCAA) that the Department of Environment and Science was influenced by New Hope Group to award New Acland Stage 3 its Environmental Authority in June.

Major BHP will take delivery of the world’s first carbon neutral conveyor belt at its Spence copper mine, in Chile, as part of an exclusive pilot project with China’s Wuxi Boton. The two companies jointly developed this pilot project, under which the conveyor belts were verified by SGS, a leading testing, inspection and certification company, as meeting the specification for the demonstration of carbon neutrality.

A UK Court of Appeal has granted a group of claimants leave to appeal a 2020 High Court decision dismissing legal actions against mining major BHP regarding the 2015 Samarco dam failure, in Brazil. The High Court in November 2020 dismissed the group action, which was seeking compensation for individuals, municipalities, private businesses and other institutions in Brazil following the Samarco dam failure, saying that the group action was an abuse of process.

The Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) and Gold One Group subsidiary Newshelf have signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to improve the availability and reliability of the Eastern Basin Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) plant. Under the MoA, the Gold One subsidiary will procure and deliver the critical equipment, such as submersible motors and spare parts, for exclusive use at the AMD plant by TCTA.

An intensifying feud between shareholders of the giant Tenke Fungurume Mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo may lead a court-appointed administrator to block its exports of copper and cobalt. The administrator, Sage Ngoie Mbayo, began ordering the export suspension over the past week as he tries to resolve a dispute over royalty payments between CMOC Group and State-owned miner Gecamines, according to four separate letters sent to a Congolese tax agency, and three export agents including a unit of France’s Bollore Group. Читать дальше...