Новости за 14.10.2022

Diamond miner Storm Mountain Diamonds has recovered and sold a 47.8 ct exceptional pink diamond – the largest pink diamond recovered at the company’s Kao diamond mine, in Lesotho, to date. The company confirmed to Mining Weekly that the diamond was recovered earlier this year and sold in September.

Barrick Gold on Thursday said it expects full-year gold production to be at the lower end of the range it forecast earlier and reported a fall in third-quarter preliminary output from the second quarter. The world's second-largest gold miner warned in August it could exceed its gold production cost guidance as miners battle with inflation and rising costs of labor, energy and mining supplies.

Chile's Codelco, the world's biggest copper miner, is offering to sell copper to European buyers at a record high premium around $235/t for 2023, a rise of 85% from 2022, two sources familiar with the matter said. The premiums set by state-owned Codelco for physical delivery of copper, paid on top of the London Metal Exchange contract, are seen as a benchmark for global contracts. Codelco in London declined to comment.

South American zinc and copper producer Nexa Resources expects tight supplies of zinc metals globally due to smelter closures in Europe as energy prices skyrocket, a situation that is boosting overall price premiums. Nexa's CEO Ignacio Rosado told Reuters on Thursday, ahead of a meeting with investors at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), that the European situation is opening opportunities to expand zinc sales in the continent at higher prices.

Aim-listed Critical Metals has appointed Lloyd Kirtley as its Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) project field manager with immediate effect. The company is redeveloping a former producing copper/cobalt mine in the DRC.

Aim-listed BlueRock Diamonds nonexecutive director Tim Leslie has stepped down from the board with immediate effect. The board has thanked Leslie for his commitment to the company over what it says has been a “transformational period” for the business and wished him success in the future.

JSE-listed Merafe’s attributable ferrochrome production from the Glencore Merafe Chrome Venture for the third quarter ended September 30 was 84 000 t. This resulted in a marginal increase in production of 3.7% to 286 000 t for the nine months ended September 30 compared with the 276 000 t produced in the first nine months of the previous year.

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer discusses how expanding bulk mineral exports can increase employment to 500 000 direct jobs; South Africa's red tape in issuing a prospecting right; and AngloGold Ashanti's goal to reduce its emissions by 30% by 2030.

Diversified miner Teck Resources will deploy two electric tugboats at its Neptune Terminal, in Vancouver, as it moves to reduce emissions across its supply chain. This will mark the first-time electric tugs operate in Canada as a full tugboat package for harbour assist and tug services, the company said on Thursday.

SailingStone Capital Partners, a long-time investor in TSX- and NYSE- listed Turquoise Hill Resources, will vote against the copper/gold company’s takeover by majority shareholder Rio Tinto at a shareholders’ meeting on November 1. The C$43-a-share offer that a special committee of independent directors at Turquoise Hill recommended that minority shareholders accept, “significantly undervalued” Turquoise Hill, SailingStone said on Friday.

Coal miners from four operations in Queensland owned by diversified miner BHP will vote on which industrial action to take after the miner reportedly failed to support permanent jobs. The Mining & Energy Union on Friday said that miners at Saraji, Peak Downs, Goonyella Riverside and Blackwater mines, which are covered by the biggest Enterprise Agreement in the Queensland coalfields, will take part in a Fair Work Commission ballot to decide on which industrial action to take.

The Queensland government will invest more than A$52-million under the Resources Community Infrastructure Fund (RCIF) to deliver more services, and improve regional Queenslanders’ lifestyle. Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development Steven Miles said the state government was working with the resource sector to deliver for regional Queenslanders.

Mining major Rio Tinto is partnering with Swedish commercial vehicle manufacturer Scania in developing more agile autonomous haul trucks at its Pilbara mines. The two companies have established a long-term research and development collaboration agreement for the continuous advancement of this autonomous technology, under which Rio's Channar mine has become the first active partner site for Scania’s autonomous mining solution. The partnership also includes options for the future transition to electric-powered vehicles.

Weeks before international climate negotiations convene in Egypt, US officials are working to broker multibillion-dollar plans to steer some of the world’s most populous countries to cleaner forms of energy. “We’re very much engaged in negotiating with Indonesia, with Vietnam, with South Africa and Mexico,” John Kerry, the US special presidential envoy for climate, said in an interview Thursday. “There’s a lot of energy going into these efforts.”

While the West African operating climate is positive overall as emerging initiatives are coming into play on the back of ongoing capital investment in mining projects, politically stable Ghana remains the region’s most attractive mining jurisdiction. The country boasts a historically proven resource base and a political environment that supports investor confidence in the region, says engineering professional services consulting firm WSP in Ghana Golder country lead Ernest Krakani.

Brazilian motor and controls manufacturer WEG’s South African subsidiary Zest WEG has commissioned a new assembly line for low-voltage WEG W22 IE3 and IE4 motors at the company’s corporate premises at Longlake, in Johannesburg.

Bearings and power transmission distributor Bearings International (BI) South Africa, a member of the Hudaco group, has expanded its offerings to include low voltage motors of electric motor manufacturer ABB for supply to BI’s sub-Saharan Africa clients. “The decision to become an ABB distributor and Channel Partner was made as part of BI’s drive to become one of the most prominent industrial consumable suppliers globally,” says BI motors and drive business unit leader Stephen Bekker.

Since being appointed as the official channel partner of backstop clutch manufacturer Marland Clutch in 2020, specialist power transmission supplier Novus Gear has garnered a significant installation base covering the majority of mines in South Africa. Novus Gear is the sole supplier of Marland Clutch products and is the only authorised maintenance and repair centre for the brand in South Africa and the sub-Saharan Africa region.