Russian miner Polymetal expects to exceed its 2018 production guidance of 1.55-million ounces of gold equivalent by up to 50 000 oz, on the back of the successful ramp-up of the Kyzyl mine. The company produced 1.07-million ounces of gold equivalent in the first nine months of the year, 447 000 oz of which was booked in the September quarter.
Toronto-headquartered Bunker Hill Mining on Monday confirmed that the lease with option to purchase agreement for the Bunker Hill mine had been terminated, owing to a missed property payment. The CSE-listed company warned earlier this month that it was in default of its lease agreement with Placer Mining Corporateion, after it missed payments totalling $400 000.
Aim-listed Galileo Resources has completed its Phase 2 diamond drilling programme and reported positive assay results so far for the first eight holes analysed, at its 80.75%-owned Star Zinc project, in Zambia. Phase 2 comprised 24 holes totalling about 1 000 m to depths, from surface, of between 25 m and 105 m downhole.
ASX- and JSE-listed Orion Minerals will publish an updated resource estimate for its Prieska zinc/copper project, in the Areachap Belt in South Africa’s Northern Cape province, in mid-December, which will underpin a bankable feasibility study (BFS) that is set for completion in the second quarter 2019. The Prieska deep sulphide drill-out programme has been completed, with 85 424 m drilled since May 2017. At times during the drilling programme, up to 18 surface diamond drill rigs were deployed at once.
Aim-listed copper and gold miner Cradle Arc has been granted an extension on its mining licence by the Botswana Ministry of Mineral Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security. The licence is now valid until May 31, 2020, and covers 28.5 km2, which includes the Thakadu openpit and adjacent Makala underground deposit – these are about 70 km southeast of the company’s flagship Mowana copper mine.
Despite reporting “strong and growing support” for the Salamanca uranium project in Spain, Australian mining firm Berkeley Energia on Monday reported that it was unlikely to imminently receive a key permit that would allow for construction to start. As a result, the triple-listed uranium project developer announced a cost reduction programme, focusing on local and corporate costs, as well as sponsorship arrangements.
The Sconi cobalt/nickel/scandium project, in Queensland, will come under the microscope after the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) board indicated it would move to investigate the potential to provide support for the project. The NAIF provides access for up to A$5-billion of finance, which could be on concessional terms to support infrastructure development that generates public benefit for northern Australia.
Kazakhstan's Kazatomprom, the world's biggest uranium producer, said it plans to float up to a 25% stake in an initial public offering (IPO) in London and Astana, but did not confirm whether the listing was still on track for this year. The global market for IPOs has been hit by recent turmoil in financial markets, prompting a number of companies to put listing plans on hold.
The Oposura zinc/lead/silver project, in Mexico, would cost some A$69.9-million to develop, a scoping study has revealed. ASX-listed Azure Minerals on Monday revealed that the project could produce 19 000 t/y of zinc, 10 000 t/y of lead and 145 000 oz/y of silver, over an initial mine life of 5.3 years.
South America-focused Orosur Mining posted a pre-tax loss of $6.1-million in the quarter ended September 30, a significant increase from a year earlier loss of $384 000, as restructuring costs ballooned following the closure of the company’s Uruguay operations. Orosur has been restructuring the Uruguay subsidiary, Loryser, since June and in August placed its San Gregorio operation under care-and-maintenance. The company incurred restructuring costs of $3.3-million in the quarter under review.
An optimised feasibility study into the Muga potash project, in Spain, has increased the project capital cost requirements, ASX-listed Highfield Resources reported on Monday. A 2015 definitive feasibility study estimated a capital investment of $256-million would be required to deliver 1.12-million tonnes a year of granular potash over 24 years.
Diversified miner Glencore has announced plans to ‘reconfigure’ its Hail Creek coal mine, in Queensland, resulting in nearly 400 job losses. The miner announced that the two-dragline operation would be reconfigured into a truck-and-shovel mine, with a seven-day on, seven-day off roster. The restructure would decrease the workforce from the current 1 360 to 930 by the time the changes are fully implemented in the second half of 2019.
Codelco plans to suspend operations at two of its four smelters for several weeks as the world’s largest copper producer falls behind schedule in complying with tougher emission rules in Chile by mid-December. Smelters at the Chuquicamata and Salvador mines will be halted for 75 days and 45 days, respectively, from December 13 when the new standards kick in, the State-owned company said Friday. Annual maintenance will also be done during these periods.
A report commissioned by the Energy Department failed to reach conclusions favoring the Trump administration’s efforts to prop up coal and nuclear power – and remains under wraps six months after submission. “The report hasn’t seen the light of day,” the principal author, Michael Webber tweeted on Friday.
Chile's environmental court on Friday ordered Canada's Barrick Gold to definitively close the Chilean side of its stalled Pascua-Lama mining project, a final procedural step that draws a line under a long-running saga. The court, sitting in the northern Chilean city of Antofagasta, approved by two votes to one the closure of the polemical project that straddles the Andes Mountains between Chile and Argentina.
