On 8 March 2016, General Mining Corporation Ltd, along with its project partner Galaxy Resources Limited, announced the signing of two binding Term Sheets with two China based buyers for the sale of 60kt of spodumene concentrate (USD 600/t) in 2016, and a further 120kt in 2017 (subject to price agreement in the December quarter 2016) from the Mt Cattlin mine in Western Australia. Completed Offtake agreement details The Company is pleased to announce that it has now signed a binding tri‐party offtake agreement with one of the offtake parties, and GMM’s exclusive selling and settlement agent, Tokyo based Mitsubishi…
The re-opening of Central Queensland’s Isaac Plains Mine underlines the solid long-term prospects for the Queensland resources sector. Officially re-opening the mine near Moranbah in central Queensland, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the mining sector was doing it tough, but demand remained strong for Queensland’s resources and expertise. “As the re-opening of Isaac Plains here today in Central Queensland shows, investors still have confidence in Queensland and our resources,” she said. “We have new faces, like Stanmore Coal, and new investors who are calling the bottom of the market, stepping up and creating jobs, like the 150 jobs here at Isaac…
The $1.4 billion Dugald River zinc project has gained special status to help cut red tape and create hundreds of jobs in north Queensland. State Development Minister and Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Dr Anthony Lynham has granted “prescribed project” status to MMG Ltd’s project, 85 km north-east of Mt Isa. “Projects like Dugald River are critical to economic development and job creation in the north-west during these tough times caused by ongoing resource commodity price lows,” Dr Lynham said. “Granting it prescribed project status will allow the Coordinator-General to assist MMG to navigate processes and timely approvals through…
Western Australian State Development Minister Bill Marmion has toured the Roy Hill project, the State's newest - and the nation's biggest - single-pit iron ore mine. "Roy Hill celebrated its first shipment in December 2015, and is now in the process of ramping up to its full production capacity of 55 million tonnes per annum," Mr Marmion said. "At full capacity, five ore trains per day will run between the mine and port facilities at Port Hedland, all controlled via Roy Hill's state-of-the-art remote operations centre in Perth. The Minister said the mine is expected to operate for more than…
Minister for Industry, Resources and Energy, Anthony Roberts, has announced that a billion dollar project in the State’s central west to mine rare metals and rare earths has now passed its final hurdle and will go ahead. “The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has granted an Environment Protection Licence to Alkane Resources after the company had already been granted a Mining Lease last December after it had met a rigorous government approval process. “Known as the Dubbo Zirconia Project, the mine will produce up to 30,000 tonnes of specialty metals and rare earths per year which are highly sought after to…
Thousands of new jobs in regional Queensland have come a major step closer with approval of the mining leases for the $21.7 billion Carmichael coal mine and rail project in the State’s Galilee Basin. Premier Annastascia Palaszczuk said Minister for State Development and Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Dr Anthony Lynham had today approved the grant of three individual mining leases about 160km north-west of Clermont. “This is a major step forward for this project after extensive government and community scrutiny,” the Premier said. “Some approvals are still required before construction can start, and ultimately committing to the project…
The approval of a new $1 billion rare earth and metals mine in Dubbo is great news for the region, the state and national economies, and the New South Wales minerals sector, says Australia’s resource industry employer group, AMMA. “AMMA welcomes New South Wales granting an environment protection licence to Alkane Resources, in what was the final regulatory hurdle after a decade long process for the Dubbo Zirconia Project,” says AMMA executive director, policy and public affairs, Scott Barklamb. “Following construction which will create 450 jobs, this project will produce 30,000 tonnes of rare metals and rare earths annually and…
AngloGold Ashanti has reached an agreement to sell its remaining South African producing assets and related liabilities to Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited. Consideration for the transaction is in cash and deferred payments with expected proceeds of around $300 million, subject to subsequent performance, and with additional proceeds if the West Wits assets are developed below current infrastructure. AngloGold Ashanti announced in May 2019 that it was undertaking a process to review sale options for the portfolio of assets, principally comprising the Mponeng underground mine, where further capital, necessary to extend the mine life was in competition with other, higher-return…
Rio Tinto has announced the company will conduct a strategic review of the ISAL smelter in Iceland, to determine the operation’s ongoing viability and explore options to improve its competitive position. ISAL is expected to remain unprofitable in the short to medium term in the challenging conditions facing the aluminium industry, due to the smelter’s uncompetitive energy costs and historically low aluminium prices. Rio Tinto will continue discussions with the Government of Iceland and power provider Landsvirkjun on how the smelter can return to profitability and become competitive in the global market. Rio Tinto Aluminium chief executive Alf Barrios said…
Glencore has signed a five-year agreement for the supply of cobalt hydroxide for use in lithium-ion batteries. Under the terms of the new supply contract, Glencore will provide up to 21,000 tonnes of cobalt contained in cobalt hydroxide between 2020 and 2024 to Samsung SDI . Glencore produced 42.2 kilotonnes of cobalt in 2018, mainly as a by-product of copper mining. The cobalt will be sourced from Glencore's Katanga and Mutanda operations which are located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Glencore and Samsung SDI state that they are committed to ensuring the ethical and responsible production and procurement of…
Rio Tinto has decided to curtail operations at Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) in South Africa to ensure the safety and security of its employees due to an escalation in violence in the communities surrounding the operations. RBM is South Africa’s largest mineral sands producer and beneficiation company. It produces predominantly rutile, zircon, titania slag and high purity iron. Rio Tinto noted that there has been an escalation of criminal activity towards RBM employees and one was shot and seriously injured in the last few days. As a result, all mining operations at RBM have been halted and the smelters will…
Rio Tinto has announced that it plans to conduct a strategic review of its interest in New Zealand’s Aluminium Smelter (NZAS) at Tiwai Point, to determine the operation’s ongoing viability and competitive position. NZAS is a joint venture between Rio Tinto (79.36 per cent) and Sumitomo Chemical Company Limited of Japan (20.64 per cent). It is New Zealand’s only aluminium smelter and began operations in 1971. The plants produces primary aluminium in the form of ingot, billet, and rolling block. The majority of the plant's alumina is supplied from the Rio Tinto Yarwun and Queensland Alumina refineries at Gladstone in…
BHP has announced four new renewable power agreements to meet power demand for two of its copper operations in Chile. BHP’s Escondida mine, located in Northern Chile, is the world’s largest copper producer, while Spence is BHP’s wholly-owned open-pit copper mine, located in the Atacama Desert, in the North of Chile. BHP aims to supply Escondida and Spence’s energy requirements from 100 per cent renewable energy sources from the mid-2020s. The new contracts are expected to meet Escondida and Spence’s current energy needs and also contain the flexibility to help manage future demand as well. President of BHP Minerals Americas,…
Rio Tinto now offers independently certified responsibly produced aluminium from all of its Canadian operations, with the extension of the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative’s (ASI) Chain of Custody certification to include the BC Works smelter and Kemano Power Operations in Kitimat, British Columbia. The certification reinforces Rio Tinto’s commitment to responsible mining and metals production by providing independent verification that material can be traced through a ‘chain of custody’ which extends from Rio Tinto’s Gove bauxite mine in Australia to its alumina refinery, aluminium smelters and casthouses in Quebec and British Columbia. Being certified by the ASI means customers can be…
