Australian mineral exploration company, Corazon Mining Limited has announced a high grade copper mineralisation from a recently completed surface rock-chip sampling program at the Mount Gilmore Cobalt-Copper-Gold Project in New South Wales Australia. Corazon has secured the right to earn up to 80% of the Mt Gilmore Cobalt-Copper-Gold Project from private company Providence Gold and Minerals Pty Ltd and is currently completing due diligence. The surface rock-chip sampling being reported was undertaken by Providence; these results have been received by Corazon and as such additional disclosure is required by the Company. Rock-Chip Sampling Program A total of 76 rock-chip samples…
Carrapateena in South Australia is shaping up as a major copper-gold project. In a statement last month, the proponent (OZ Minerals) made clear its commitment to the project. The ore-production rate is to be increased over what was previously planned; work on a decline will commence next month (mining will be underground); and final processing will take place at Whyalla, a regional city approximately 200 kilometres south of the minesite. All going well, construction will commence next year, with first production in 2019. Estimated capital cost: nearly A$1 billion (over US$700 million). OZ Minerals says that the choice of Whyalla…
The Government has approved two proposals from Rio Tinto to develop new deposits in the Pilbara, Western Australia, prolonging the life of existing mining operations. Announcing the approvals, State Development Minister Bill Marmion said the projects would deliver both short and long-term benefits for the State. "This is great news for the resources sector and will create opportunities for workers and contractors who are doing it tough in the current climate," Mr Marmion said. "These approvals will allow Rio Tinto to maintain its current level of production at two sites, Yandicoogina and West Angelas." The Minister has given approval for…
Mineral Resources of Perth is a mining company, but it is also a mining-services company, offering services in fields such as crushing and pipeline design and construction. The company is developing a new transport system for taking iron ore from its Iron Valley mine in the Pilbara region to Port Hedland for shipping. The system is an elevated rail line. Mineral Resources says that it occupies a “niche between heavy rail and conveyor”, adding that it is “significantly less capital intensive than traditional heavy-haul rail” (see further information). The system will be open to third-party users. It has the potential…
Sand mining on North Stradbroke Island is to substantially cease by 2019, with the Queensland Parliament voting in favour of the phase-out to allow the creation of new, sustainable jobs. The North Stradbroke Island Protection and Sustainability and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2015 to end sand mining was passed in the Queensland Parliament early today (Thursday). Environment Minister Dr Steven Miles said it was a good result for the environment and would ultimately open up new and exciting opportunities for the island community, leading to positive economic outcomes. “Today marks the start of a new chapter for North Stradbroke Island,”…
The company developing a greenfield coal project at present may appear to be brave, but at least three such projects are at an advanced planning stage in Australia. The first is Meteor Downs South in Queensland. This will be a small, low-cost operation, entailing open-cut mining and simple processing. It will produce thermal coal (used for electricity). Subject to final approval by the proponents (a Chinese company and a Japanese company), construction will commence by the end of the year. The second is a much larger, Chinese-driven project: Hillalong, also in Queensland. With an estimated capital cost of A$600 million,…
Doray Minerals Limited has entered into a farm-in Agreement with Rox Resources Limited to explore the highly prospective and underexplored Mount Fisher Gold Project which is located in the north-eastern Goldfields of Western Australia. The Mt Fisher farm-in represents another strategic exploration project for Doray, with a large contiguous land package over an underexplored greenstone belt with already identified gold mineralisation, and adds to its highly prospective Horse Well JV and Western Gawler farm-in in South Australia. Doray’s Managing Director, Allan Kelly, said Mount Fisher represented a very attractive exploration opportunity for Doray, given the many similarities with the multi-million…
Following the suspension of operations in Argentina, Brazil and South Africa due to the the COVID-19 outbreak, AngloGold Ashanti has now restarted production in these countries. The company’s sole mine in Argentina, Cerro Vanguardia, successfully restarted milling operations on 6 April 2020. The operation has now ramped up capacity and will initially process stockpiles, allowing production to remain near planned levels with a significantly smaller staff complement. The mining operation had been suspended since 21 March 2020 as a result of countrywide COVID-19 related restrictions on travel and border closings. In Brazil, at Mineração Serra Grande S.A. (Serra Grande), operations…
Australian junior miner Southern Gold Limited has completed field work in the Jinan and Neungju Basins in South Korea, which has confirmed new gold mineralised areas that warrant follow up work. The intensive reconnaissance sampling program involved 238 new samples being taken and submitted for analysis. Several rock chip and float samples returned anomalous grade gold results. Work included field traversing and extensive rock sampling. This process has succeeded in finding multiple untested vein systems in addition to very small-scale historical mine workings. The two regions investigated were the Neungju Basin surrounding Southern Gold's Neungju Project, including follow up sampling…
A mining company seeking to become Nigeria’s first integrated steel producer is expected to move its head office to South Australia next month. Since 2012, ASX-listed company Kogi Iron Limited (Kogi Iron) has been working on a plan to establish an open-pit iron ore mine in Kogi State using Australian expertise. Yet the fall in the iron ore price in recent years has caused the company to pivot from an ore exporter to a steel billet producer with a cast steel feedstock plant in Nigeria to supply local industry. The appointment of Adelaide-based managing director David Turvey and Chairman Greg…
Endeavour Mining Corporation and SEMAFO Inc. have entered into a definitive agreement whereby Endeavour will acquire all of the issued and outstanding securities of SEMAFO through a Plan of Arrangement under the Business Corporations Act (Québec). The Transaction will create a top 15 global gold producer and the largest in West Africa with six operations and an attractive growth pipeline. Due to the strong strategic rationale for local consolidation, both sets of Board of Directors have unanimously approved the Transaction. Michael Beckett, Chairman of Endeavour said the agreement will create one of the leading gold companies, with the largest portfolio…
The proposed expansion of the Pueblo Viejo gold mine will extend its life as well as its significant contribution to the Dominican Republic’s economy until 2040 and beyond. The project would require an initial investment of $1.3 billion to expand the process plant and the tailings facility. Extending its life would unlock the mine’s potential to increase exports by $22 billion and generate more than $4 billion in taxes at a gold price of $1,500 per ounce. Between 2013 and 2016, Pueblo Viejo paid $1.8 billion in direct taxes and last year its exports accounted for more than 38 per…
Newcrest has finalised the sale of its Newcrest Singapore Holdings Pte Ltd (NSH) to Indotan Halmahera Bangkit for $90m. NSH owns 75 per cent of PT Nusa Halmahera Minerals (PT NHM), which operates the gold and silver Gosowong mine in Indonesia. All conditions precedent have been satisfied and economic ownership has transferred with an effective date of 31 December 2019. The sale of NSH follows a strategic review of the asset by Newcrest and to comply with the amended PT NHM Contract of Work which required at least 51 per cent of PT NHM to be owned by Indonesian parties…
Copper Mountain Mining Corporation has revised its mine plan and project schedule at its Copper Mountain Mine, located in Southern British Columbia, Canada, in response to current market conditions and uncertainty. In order to maintain positive margins and cash flow amidst near-term copper price uncertainty as a result of the Coronavirus’ impact to metal prices, the company will make the following changes: Deferral of Ball Mill #3 installation capital expenditures, saving US$22 million in 2020. Reducing operating costs by re-sequencing short term production to lower cost mine phases. Preserving high grade ore in Pit #3 scheduled for mining in 2020…
