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BLACKTHORN Resources is poised to breathe life back into the Perkoa zinc project in Burkina Faso and things are going along nicely with its BHP Billiton joint venture in Zambia. No wonder managing director Scott Lowe seems like one of the more relaxed and comfortable mining executives around.
Quote of the Week"Commodity prices and inventories are out of kilter. Prices for all the base metals are way higher than traditional price/inventory relations would imply. A worry? Yes. But a nightmare? No. Although there is downside risk, we believe investment buying will continue to support prices and look for stronger demand growth in the second half." - Citi
COBALT and molybdenum futures received a cautious reception from the industry when they went live late last month, yet the London Metal Exchange has said trading of the minor metals had exceeded its expectations. In truth, it’s going to take several months if not years to gauge whether or not these tools will prove effective for the industry and profitable for the LME.
ZINC assets being sold by Anglo American could reap the vendor in the order of $US700 million to $US1 billion, with the Skorpion SX-EW operation in Namibia by far the most valuable of the three or four operations on the sale table.
THINGS are rotten in the state of Western Australia, if you believe the rumours circulating about an incipient move to raise mining royalties.
SMALL shareholders in Goldminex Resources must want to know why it has all turned so sour, with the one-time boom IPO backed by Queensland’s Ken Talbot having dwindled to a tiny shadow of its former self.
IRON ore exploration junior Giralia Resources believes it has a strong story to tell US and Asian investors this week, though as with many others it still has a fair way to travel on the key infrastructure question if it is to monetise the in-situ resources identified. That is even the case with one of its projects that is right next door to an open access rail line it should be able to use.
MYRTLE continues to grow, but the market continues to ignore. Solution: joint venture it to a major zinc player and acquire another promising exploration project.
TYPICALLY, the outlook is mixed depending on who you believe. The well paid, clever folk at Credit Suisse generally like the outlook for commodities, while the well paid, clever folk at Citi are quite cautious.
THE newest uranium mine in Australia is due to start operating this year in South Australia, although its birth does not yet signal a renaissance for Australia’s uranium mining industry.
ANDREW Forrest’s Fortescue Metals Group has outlined a third potential mining hub in the Pilbara to the west of its existing operations.
WHILE Integra Mining’s Chris Cairns has a hectic enough day job steering his company from explorer to developer at its Western Australian gold projects, he has also decided to go on the attack on issues he believes could seriously damage Australia’s junior and mid-tier gold industry.
TERRITORY Resources won its battle against extinction last year – and a licence to ramp up its asset hunt. It will soon buy a little more time for its Francis Creek iron ore operation in the Northern Territory.
MINING’S big immediate problem in South Africa – availability of power – is on the horizon for the Australian industry. However, the industry’s most pressing challenge is one that hasn’t gone away, may have been temporarily forgotten, and is about to club junior miners in particular on the back of the head without so much as a tap on the shoulder.
A CLEAR understanding of the type of work won by contractors during the GFC-induced mining investment downturn won’t be gained for a while, according to analysts tracking the sector, with one suggesting this week investors should at least be wary of contracts won during the period.
MILWAUKEE, home to great mining machinery rivals Bucyrus International and P&H, will play host to the first mining mobile asset optimisation conference later this year.
THE Western Australian company Remote Control Technologies (RCT) is said to be fielding an increasing number of requests to deploy its new mine loader auto-guidance system before it wraps up its testwork at a WA gold mine.
IIR Conferences has extended its Operational Excellence Series into the underground hard-rock mining arena with its planned inaugural Underground Operators Summit in Fremantle in June.
I HAVE just returned from my first visit to PDAC. It certainly won’t be my last. What an amazing forum. It is testament to the scale of the mining industry worldwide and its still bright future mixed with a reminder that we share a great deal with the gaming industry, but their odds are better. If they had cocktail waitresses and punters that could buy stocks with “PDAChips” I think they could run it 24 hours a day for the three and a half days it is on.
NEWMONT Gold is pursuing grassroots, greenfields exploration work in the Asia-Pacific region through joint ventures with a number of junior companies. The strategy is throwing up plenty of “immature but exciting” prospects, according to regional group executive Phil Stephenson.
A CAUTIOUS move into hedging to help mitigate gold price risk, especially in Australian dollars, will help de-risk St Barbara’s re-development of the Tarmoola project in Western Australia.
MARCH 15: I HEARD a great saying the other day, ascribed to some wise old mining guy: “Only invest in mining projects that an idiot could run, because eventually one will."
GOLD Field’s Athena discovery at the St Ives mining camp should be in production by the end of this year, with the South African major calling it one of the most exciting new gold discoveries in Western Australia.
PEOPLE power delivered significant operating improvements and cost savings to Rio Tinto last year, as outlined in its latest annual report, but the company remains confident technology can produce even bigger gains in future.
MARCH 15: THE blueprint for doubling the size of ASX-listed Coffey International’s global mining consulting business over the next five years includes plans for significant expansion in the Americas and Africa, and strong growth in coal, and a heightened focus on branding and recruitment, new global mining manager Rob Slater has told HighGrade in his first media interview.
AUSTRALIAN mining software company Maptek says it has entered into an “enterprise agreement” with major gold producer Newcrest Mining to provide “flexible deployment of Vulcan for mine planning and geological modelling across existing sites”. The company is understood to have beaten off a long list of rivals to clinch the deal.
EXPERIENCED geologist and company director Trevor Ireland has bolstered former molybdenum miner Thor Mining’s gold-finding credentials, becoming a director of the company. Ireland’s association with the discovery and development of the Granites and Callie gold deposits in central Australia predated a stint in Africa where he worked on further significant gold finds.
AFTER the extended summer break the mining industry feels like it is just getting back into the swing of things. But 2010 is already shaping as another interesting year with key concerns like the Henry tax review and the carbon pollution reduction scheme already grabbing the headlines against a backdrop of renewed market volatility.
IF YOU don’t deliver on your promises you get crucified. It’s a simple concept and one Paladin has learnt by experience.
