Joint venture partners Covalent Lithium, Wesfarmers and Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (SQM) have opened of the Mt Holland lithium mine and concentrator project. The Mt Holland lithium project consists of an open-cut mine and concentrator, located 110km southeast of Southern Cross in the Wheatbelt region, and a refinery currently being constructed in the Kwinana Industrial Area. With an expected cost of $2.6 billion, the project is supporting 1,000 jobs during construction and 350 jobs during operations. Mt Holland will produce 380,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate per year, which will be refined into 50,000 tonnes of battery-quality lithium hydroxide.…
BMG Resources Limited has announced promising results from its ongoing exploration review of the Dragon project neighbouring WA1 Resources’ site in the West Arunta region of Western Australia. Multiple targets showing structural and magnetic features have been identified at the Dragon Project — features similar to those that represent mineralised carbonatites at WA1 Resources’ ground and the nearby Aileron Project of Encounter Resources. BMG’s Dragon Niobium-REE Project is immediately adjacent to and shares a 30-kilometre-long border with the West Arunta Project of WA1 Resources. BMG Non-Executive Chairman John Prineas said: “Our ongoing review of exploration data for the West Arunta…
Pantera Minerals Limited has announced a substantial expansion of its Smackover Brine Project in North America, with the acquisition of 3,553 acres, representing a 26 per cent increase in leased acreage. The company's total net leased acreage now surpasses 17,000 acres. The bulk of the new acreage comes from a key lease with a mineral owner covering 2,194 acres, placing Pantera in a unique position of strength. This expansion not only enhances the project's scalability but also consolidates Pantera's control, with 100 per cent ownership of the project now under its purview. Pantera, the sole junior company listed in the…
A West Australian-based lithium explorer looks well-positioned to capture significant upside when the alkali metal’s market moves into its anticipated recovery mode. In 2023, Global Lithium Resources Ltd (ASX:GL1) spent a great deal of its corporate time sizing up its wholly-owned outcropping Manna pegmatite project in its home state of WA, completing a large-scale 60,000 metre reverse circulation and diamond drilling campaign which covered infill and extensional targets. The junior also started metallurgical and geotechnical programs that have since carried over into 2024. Located around 100 kilometres east of Kalgoorlie-Boulder in the state’s Goldfields, Manna currently enjoys an indicated and…
Hillgrove Resources has commenced production of its first copper concentrate from the Kanmantoo mine in South Australia, following the successful completion of the processing facility; both milestones were met within the company's target timeframe of Q1 2024. The transition from explorer to producer makes Hillgrove Resources one of only a few copper producers on the ASX. Hillgrove Resources CEO and Managing Director Lachlan Wallace said: “Operations will be bedded down at Kanmantoo as we ramp up to steady stage production and our attention will turn to growing the business by converting future exploration and development opportunities.” “The project is well-positioned…
In mid-February a Perth-based dual-listed resources house took a major step towards establishing a sovereign national graphite project which entailed a ‘mine to market’ capability and integrated operations located within its home state of Western Australia. In doing so, it moved further towards its goal of becoming a significant player in the global processed graphite market. International Graphite Ltd (ASX: IG6) has just completed the successful wet commissioning of its new $1.5 million, 200 tonnes per annum graphite micronising plant in the coal mining town of Collie in WA using imported graphite concentrates. To be known as the Collie BAM…
An ASX-listed junior is looking to expeditiously dual-track its two lithium projects during the coming year, with the Perth-based Future Battery Minerals Ltd (FBM) targeting deposits in both Western Australia and the US state Nevada. In WA, the prize is its wholly-owned Kangaroo Hills, located just 17 kilometres south of the historic gold town of Coolgardie, where a high grade lithium-caesium-tantalum pegmatite discovery has so far returned an assay of 29 metres at 1.36 per cent lithium. Meanwhile, in southern Nevada, the aptly-named Nevada Lithium Project (NLP), in which the junior has an 80 per cent interest, is a large-scale…
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…
