Новости за 31.08.2022

ASX-listed Lucapa has reported a healthy performance from by its 40%-owned subsidiary Sociedade Mineira Do Lulo (SML), which operates the Lulo alluvial mine, in Angola, with Lucapa receiving a A$5-million net dividend payment for the six months ended June 30. The company posted multiple records from both the Lulo mine and the Mothae mine it owns in Lesotho.

Aim-listed BlueRock Diamonds, which operates the Kareevlei mine, in South Africa's Northern Cape province, sold six diamonds for more than $50 000 each in August. "We are pleased with the results of the August tender, in which we sold a record six high-value stones, bringing the average 2022 price of the tender to $594/ct (2021 average: $65/ct).

Dual-listed i-80 Gold has discovered high-grade, silver-rich polymetallic carbonate replacement (CRD) mineralisation in drilling at the Hilltop target at Ruby Hill in Nevada, which the company believes offers a substantial opportunity. Hilltop is one of five conceptual exploration targets drilled in the 2022 programme. The new zone of mineralisation is located about 400 m south-west of the polymetallic Blackjack Zone and immediately south of the Archimedes pit and the planned portal that the company is advancing for construction.

Aim-listed AfriTin’s performance for the financial year ended February 28 was one of strong operational delivery, which has resulted in the company considerably increasing production from the Uis mine, in Namibia, and generating its first group-wide profit, CEO Anthony Viljoen says. “Our production at Uis has exceeded nameplate capacity by 12%, which is a testament to the operational excellence we have instilled in Namibia and puts the company in a good position to deliver our forthcoming further expansion initiatives,” he highlights.

Chile's environmental regulator said on Tuesday it approved a compliance plan for lithium producer SQM, a step forward for the company's operations following a years-long sanctioning process for environmental infractions. Securing approval of the plan had caused headaches for the miner's lithium extraction expansion projects as it looked to keep up with growing global demand for the metal used in electric car batteries.

Diversified miner BHP has partnered with Caterpillar and Finning to replace the entire haul truck fleet at the Escondida copper mine, in northern Chile. The mine, which currently has one of the biggest fleets in the industry with 160 trucks, will operate the new Caterpillar 798 AC electric drive truck, BHP says.

Diamond miner De Beers’ rough diamond sales for its seventh sales cycle this year amounted to $630-million. Sales were slightly lower than the $638-million of diamonds sold in the sixth sales cycle.

ASX-listed Newfield Resources has secured a A$55-million funding facility to advance its Tongo diamond mine, in Sierra Leone, towards commercial production. The company on Wednesday said that the funding facility would provide Newfield with access to committed capital, allowing flexibility on the timing of any potential capital raise, but would not obligate the company to proceed with any placement.

Chilean President Gabriel Boric said in a speech late Tuesday that any changes in the country's tax law that would affect the mining sector are still up for discussion, with a vote scheduled in Congress in coming weeks. Boric said the industry had been historically unwilling to reach agreements with the government, and he hoped to have a "technically sound debate" regarding a mining tax reform plan currently on the table.

Construction of the Motheo copper mine, in Botswana, is continuing on time, with construction costs only slightly higher than anticipated. Speaking at the first day of Paydirt’s Africa Downunder conference, in Perth, Sandfire Resources MD and CEO Karl Simich said that construction costs for the first stage of the operation had only increased by around 10%, which Simich said was “relatively insignificant in the environment that we're in”.

Queensland miners are preparing to cut staff numbers following the state government’s increase in coal royalties, the Queensland Resources Council’s (QRC’s) sate of the sector report for the June quarter. The survey found that more than one-quarter, or 27% of resources leaders expect to employ less people at existing operations over the next five years as a direct result of the state government’s royalty hike.