Vale to grow fertiliser profile
RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb 09 – Vale has reaffirmed its ambition to become a leading global player in the fertilisers industry by approving a 30-year leasing contract with Petrobras over the Taquari-Vassouras and Carnalita potash projects in the state of Sergipe, Brazil.
Leighton on good WICET
BRISBANE, Feb 10 – Leighton unit John Holland has been awarded the A$220M contract to construct the Stage 1 stockyard works for the Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal in northern Queensland, Australia.
Alcan hits Rio bottom line
LONDON, Feb 10 – An US$8.9B hit from the overhang of the Alcan purchase nearly five years ago has cut global mining giant Rio Tinto’s net earnings by 59% to $5.8B for the year to December 2011.
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Rio's ore-some target
LONDON, Feb 10 – Rio Tinto has backed its confidence in global commodity markets by bringing forward the target date for the expansion of its Pilbara iron ore operations in Australia to 353Mtpa.
Albanese maintains bullish stance
LONDON, Feb 10 – Market uncertainties and rising costs are making life difficult in the short-term, but Rio Tinto management is strongly bullish about the medium and long-term future of the global commodities sector.
Drills return to Matilda
PERTH, Feb 10 – Drill rigs have returned for the first time in over 15 years to the Matilda gold mine as Blackham Resources begins a 2000m RC campaign at its recently acquired project at Wiluna in the Mid-West of Western Australia.
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Optimum lift
JOHANNESBURG, Feb 10 – A 21% increase in the net received Rand export coal price helped South African company Optimum Coal Holdings lift its revenue by 13% to R3.04B for the December half year.
Mekong joins Southern in Cambodia
ADELAIDE, Feb 10 – Unlisted Australian explorer Mekong Minerals is set to join Southern Gold as a partner in its exploration for gold and base metals in seven licence areas of northeast Cambodia.
Kumba gets Kolomela boost
JOHANNESBURG, Feb 10 – A fast start to production by the Kolomela iron ore mine has helped South African Kumba Iron Ore lift its export sales volume by 3% to 37.1Mt for the year ended 31 December 2011.
Green light for Cortona
SYDNEY, Feb 10 – The New South Wales Land and Environment Court has given the green light to Australian gold company Cortona Resources’ Dargues Reef mine.
Aquarius feels pinch
LONDON, Feb 10 – Aquarius Platinum has highlighted the pressures on the global platinum sector, announcing a 53% fall in mine operating net cash flow to US$252M in the December 2011 half year.
GBM happy with sampling
MELBOURNE, Feb 10 – Explorer GBM Resources says surface sampling and mapping has defined a large zone of anomalous copper and gold in the Mount Morgan project area of central Queensland, Australia.
GC to boost Silvercorp
VANCOUVER, Feb 10 – The start of production from the GC mine in China’s Guangdong Province will help Silvercorp Metals to record its eighth successive year of higher silver production in the coming 12 months.
Matilda to get back on track
PERTH, Feb 10 – After several months of delay awaiting an insurance settlement on the concentrator fire in June last year, Matilda Zircon’s Lethbridge South mineral sands mine in the Tiwi Islands, Australia will finally get back to full operation in mid-February.
Centerra reserve increase
TORONTO, Feb 10 – The success of its 2011 drilling program has enabled Centerra Gold to lift its reserves and resources estimates to 8.1M oz of contained gold.
TriAusMine to start Woodlawn drilling
SYDNEY, Feb 10 – Drilling will start within the next week targeting plunge extensions to TriAusMin’s Woodlawn high-grade polymetallic deposit in New South Wales, Australia.
Avenue targets Rondonia tin
PERTH, Feb 10 – Avenue Resources is set to begin exploration at its newly acquired tin projects located in the major tin province of Rondonia, Brazil with the backing of a A$2M placement.
Yamarna gets positive review
PERTH, Feb 10 – Gold Road Resources has released an updated resource that will underpin its production ambitions for the Central Bore project at its 100%-owned Yamarna Gold Belt in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia.
Doray wins clearance
PERTH, Feb 10 – A native title agreement has paved the way for Doray Minerals to gain a mining lease over its 80%-held Andy Well gold project 45km north of Meekatharra in the Murchison region of Western Australia.
Rox posts Mt Fisher resource
PERTH, Feb 10 – Rox Resources has capped off a busy 12 months of exploration by announcing a maiden resource of 86,080oz at its flagship Mt Fisher gold project, 450km north of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia’s Goldfields region.
Kagara to step up search
PERTH, Feb 10 – Australian miner Kagara is planning to step up its exploration strategy in the Northern Chillagoe region, part of its North Queensland base metal operations, after outlining more than 10Mt inferred and indicated resources for its combined Red Cap and King Vol projects.
Silvercorp hits at short sellers
VANCOUVER, Feb 9 – Major world silver producer Silvercorp Metals has blamed the distractions of anonymous short-selling campaigns against it for a fall in income during the December 2011 quarter.
Alcoa smelter woes
MELBOURNE, Feb 9 – The dire situation facing the worldwide smelting industry has hit home in Australia, with Alcoa warning of the likely closure of the Point Henry aluminium smelter in Geelong, Victoria.
Thiess wins more BHPB work
BRISBANE, Feb 9 – BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance has awarded the A$180M civil earthworks contract to develop the Caval Ridge coal mine development in central Queensland, Australia to Leighton unit Thiess.
Franco-Nevada buys into gold complex
TORONTO, Feb 9 – Franco-Nevada Corporation has agreed to pay about US$50M to become a partner with the growing Lake Shore Gold Corp in its Timmins West Complex gold properties in Ontario, Canada.
CAE Mining revenue up
MONTREAL, Feb 9 – Simulator technology leader and mining software supplier CAE says it’s close to turning its loss-making ‘New Core Markets’ business around after posting a $C45.6 million profit on revenue of $C453.1 million for its third quarter, ended December 31. The NYSE and TSX listed company said profit was up 18% and revenue rose 10% compared with the same period in FY11.
Wah clears to Brockman
PERTH, Feb 9 – Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board has cleared the way for Wah Nam International Australia to proceed with its proposed takeover of Brockman Resources.
Mindoro's Pan de Azucar breakthrough
MELBOURNE, Feb 9 – Mindoro Resources has identified a massive sulphide copper-gold-sulphur exploration target at its 75%-held Pan de Azucar project in Iloilo Province, Philippines.
Aphrodite scoping positive
PERTH, Feb 9 – The new Aphrodite gold deposit in Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields has the potential to produce a total 550,000oz of gold over a mine live of nine years, according to a scoping study prepared for owner Aphrodite Gold.
Pershimco extends placement
ROUYN-NORANDA, Quebec, Feb 9 – Strong investor demand has led Canadian-based resources and exploration company Pershimco Resources to increase the size of its private placement by C$7M to $27M.
Peak looks for Ngualla control
PERTH, Feb 9 – Peak Resources will gain full control of the Ngualla rare earth project in Tanzania when it wraps up the acquisition of joint venture partner Zari Exploration next week.
Ramelius expands WA holdings
ADELAIDE, Feb 9 – Ramelius Resources has been out shopping in Western Australia, picking up a package of West Kambalda tenements and a gold deposit in the Goldfields region.
Globe to increase Memba stake
PERTH, Feb 9 – African rare metals specialist Globe Metals & Mining has exercised an option that will allow it to bag up to 90% interest in five additional licence areas around the high-grade Memba titanium-iron project in the Nampula Province of Mozambique.
Jatenergy starts Indo coal mine
SYDNEY, Feb 9 – Energy producer Jatenergy has begun first production of coal from its Jongkang I and Jongkang II thermal coal operations in East Kalimantan, Indonesia.
Eldorado wins independent support
VANCOUVER, Feb 9 – The proposed merger of Eldorado Gold Corporation and European Goldfields has won the support of independent proxy voting advisors Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis & Co.
Hastings advances
SYDNEY, Feb 9 – Australian rare earths company Hastings Rare Metals is ready to advance its Hastings project in the East Kimberley Region of Western Australia after receiving firm commitments for a A$5.3M placement.
Merger to have sequels
ZUG, Feb 8 – The “merger of equals” that will create the US$90B Glencore Xstrata International is likely to set the direction for big business seeking to cope with the major changes taking place in global commodity markets.
Xstrata posts $US5.8B profit
ZUG, Feb 8 – Xstrata heads into its merger with Glencore International in a strong position, reporting a 12% rise in attributable profit to a record US$5.8B for the year to December 31, 2011.
Rio lifts iron ore spend
MELBOURNE, Feb 8 – Rio Tinto has committed US$3.4B to two major development projects expanding production and ore handling capacity at its iron ore operations in Western Australia.
BHPB profit falls
MELBOURNE, Feb 8 - BHP Billiton recorded a 5.5% fall in attributable profit to US$9.9B for the December 2011 half year after a 9.7% increase in revenue to $37.5B. Underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation rose 8% to $18.7B and underlying EBIT rose 5.8% to $15.7B.
BHPB alumina up
MELBOURNE, Feb 8 - BHP Billiton says alumina sales volumes increased in the December half year based on expanded capacity at the Alumar refinery (Brazil) and high performance by its smelters in southern Africa and Brazil.
Iron ore record for giant
MELBOURNE, Feb 8 - BHP Billiton’s iron ore business achieved new production records during the December half. The ramp up of Ore Handling Plant 3 at Yandi, dual tracking of the company’s rail infrastructure and additional ship loading capacity at Port Hedland increased WAIO production to 178Mtpa in the December quarter.
Rain dampens BHPB coal result
MELBOURNE, Feb 8 – The lingering effects of the early 2011 floods and industrial action, plus geotechnical issues at the Gregory Crinum longwall, impacted BHP Billiton’s metallurgical coal production in the December half year.
Kumtor struck down
TORONTO, Feb 8 – The giant Kumtor gold mine in the Kyrgyz Republic has been brought to a halt by what its management considers to be an illegal strike.
PanTerra starts drilling in Ecuador
SYDNEY, Feb 8 – Latin American specialist PanTerra Gold has launched its initial drilling program on the Vittoria prospect in its San Gerardo concession in southern Ecuador.
CoAL welcomes Chapudi entry
JOHANNESBURG, Feb 8 – Coal of Africa has welcomed new shareholders representing community groups to its wholly-owned subsidiary holding the Chapudi coal project in the Limpopo region, South Africa.
Western Desert builds DSO base
ADELAIDE, Feb 8 – Western Desert Resources has established what it considers to be a solid resource base to support the proposed Stage 1 direct shipping ore mining operation at the Roper Bar iron ore project in the Northern Territory, Australia.
Yeneena funding looking good
SYDNEY, Feb 8 – Encounter Resources has received firm commitments from professional and sophisticated investors to raise A$6M to fund growing exploration drilling at the Yeneena copper project in the Paterson Province of Western Australia.
IMX encouraged by Tomahawk results
ADELAIDE, Feb 8 – IMX Resources says initial testwork demonstrates that the Tomahawk iron ore prospect in South Australia has the potential to produce a quality magnetite concentrate with minimal processing.
Horizonte secures Brazil nickel
LONDON, Feb 8 – Brazilian-focused explorer and developer Horizonte Minerals has completed the acquisition of the Vila Oito and Floresta nickel laterite projects south of the Carajas Mineral District of Brazil.
Lake Victoria restarts Tanzania work
VANCOUVER, Feb 8 – Lake Victoria Mining is back in the field after the end of the rainy season in Tanzania, and continues to get encouragement from exploration at the Kiabakari East gold prospect in the northeast of the country.
Yuinmery resource in sight
PERTH, Feb 8 – Empire Resources reports that assays have confirmed the presence of gold grades up to 3.3g/t accompanying newly discovered deeper zones of high copper grades at the A Zone prospect at its Yuinmery project in Western Australia.
Taruga debuts
SYDNEY, Feb 8 – Taruga Gold has marked the commencement of trading in its shares on the Australian Securities Exchange by announcing an immediate start to exploration on its 100% owned Kossa gold project in northwest Niger.
Blackgold posts resource
PERTH, Feb 8 – Blackgold International Holdings has released a JORC-compliant upgrade of 46.2Mt probable reserves and 79.4Mt proven reserves at its four underground thermal coal mines at Chongqing in China.
Ox must pay, with interest
SYDNEY, Feb 8 – The Supreme Court of Western Australia has ordered Zimbabwe company Ox Mining to pay Cape Range $1.2M plus interest in a dispute over a loan agreement dating back to 2010.
CMD signs good for Lachlan
PERTH, Feb 8 – Lachlan Star has continued to demonstrate near-surface, bulk-tonnage gold mineralisation at its 100% owned CMD gold mine in Chile.
ECR welcomes met results
LONDON, Feb 8 – ECR Minerals has welcomed highly positive results from initial metallurgical testwork on the Sierra de las Minas gold project area in La Rioja Province, Argentina.
Brimstone to pay for Penny's
PERTH, Feb 8 – Unlisted Australian company Brimstone Resources has agreed to pay up to A$3M for the Penny’s Find gold project, 50km northeast of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields.
VIEW FROM THE WEST END
Just chatting
XCORE – I do like that name, sounds like a drill bit or a B-grade porno – very appropriate name for a mining company I think.
GOLD
Gold group-think needs to change
INDABA 2012: A PROBLEM with many mining conferences is that they often attract too many like-minded people who only offer up views that the audience wants to believe. It was something of a relief then when Credit Suisse Securities gold analyst Tom Kendall took the stage at the Mining Indaba forum.
FROM THE CAPITAL
Big deals may signal end of cycle
THE possibility of Xstrata hooking up with Glencore could be construed as an ominous sign for investors if the history of mega mergers in the sector is any guide.
RUSSO'S RULES
All this inking gets you thinking
WHEN I was a kid tattoos were something that was associated with sailors and bikers and the only tattooed ladies were in side show alley. Now it seems you can't go anywhere without seeing men and women from many different walks of life that are ‘inked’.
AFRICA
Jungle souvenirs get tongues wagging
INDABA 2012: WARATAH Resources managing director Chubb Witham has come to the Mining Indaba armed with a couple of handy conversation starters.
FINANCE
Mega projects will test BHPB’s mettle
BASED on some of the shockers blighting the company’s recent project development history, BHP Billiton could be set to provide some laughs and entertainment for those in the cheap seats over the next decade as it embarks on a $A100 billion building spree. Shareholders however may be slightly less amused!
COAL
Sober coal warning from McCloskey
INDABA 2012: VETERAN coal watcher Gerard McCloskey has warned of a looming reality check in coal markets, suggesting the two-year acquisition frenzy among coal miners may have been overly ambitious.
GOLD
Ampella still on track, says analyst
AMPELLA Mining’s first hiccup in some years does not appear to be anything to get too concerned about, according to respected Credit Suisse analyst Michael Slifirski.
EXPLORATION
Falcon ready to soar again
JUST over seven years ago Falcon Minerals was the exploration story in Australia, with the Collurabbie nickel sulphide and PGM discovery out in the boondocks of Western Australia putting a rocket under the company’s share price.
COAL
Bell strikes a balance
COPPING a battering from both unions and mining companies, Queensland mine safety and health commissioner Stewart Bell isn’t in line to win any popularity contests. However, approaching his third year in the job, he has made headway in tackling the state’s most pressing safety and health issues as well as shaking off any notion the key Queensland Mines Inspectorate can be externally influenced.
FINANCE
Remaking Exco too
SAYING it will be ‘business as usual’ doesn’t have the sexy ring to it that market-obsessed day trader types might desire, but cashed-up Exco Resources has proved itself to be a real company that has made shareholders real money and so it can be no surprise that even with a new managing director it’s not going to suddenly completely change strategy and run off to the latest region or commodity that’s in vogue. But that’s not say there are not potential developments of significance in the wind this year.
FINANCE
Past gives BC Iron different view of the future
BC IRON is on the hunt for new iron ore projects and managing director Mike Young believes there remain plenty of opportunities to be had despite the rush to the sector in West Africa and elsewhere in recent times. And given BC Iron is one of the few in the sector to have actually discovered and developed an iron ore mine, it stands to reason it’s got the knowledge, the building cash pile and the general wherewithal to throw its weight around should the right opportunity present.
AFRICA
Avonlea’s year of the dragon
INTERESTING times, as they say, for Namibia focused explorer Avonlea Minerals. The junior is again low on cash, but, to continue the China theme, managing director David Reikie believes it is the “year of the dragon” for Avonlea, despite a somewhat unfashionable portfolio.
GOLD
Copler saving Alacer blushes
THANK Allah for Copler seems like it should be the cry at the moment from Australian shareholders of Alacer Gold, with the Turkish asset brought to the table by Anatolia in the merger with Avoca saving the bacon of the newish company given the ongoing concerns with Higginsville and South Kal.
PEOPLE
Richards contemplates next step for IronClad
NEW managing director Wayne Richards believes he has a pretty clear idea of the challenges and opportunities he and his company faces with his new gig at the helm of emerging South Australian iron ore producer Ironclad Mining.
PEOPLE
People on the move: CAE Mining, Barminco, IronClad, Hannans Reward, Centaurus, Burey Gold, PMI Gold
FORMER Datamine chief and CAE Mining president Nick Beaton is no longer with the Canadian company he joined when CAE acquired Datamine in April 2010.
FORUM
Selling the story
WHEN Gina takes over at Fairfax her first decree might be just a tame one: “Columnists, though shalt talk to the mining reporters on staff about basic facts before bagging the industry for the general amusement of mainstream readers”. (The language might be less tame, though).
TECHNOLOGY
Automation will cut jobs, but then again …
FEBRUARY 7 - RIO TINTO expects mine-level employment to drop – perhaps significantly – as a result of increased use of automation technology in the mining industry, but believes the use of such “step-change” technology is vital to the long-term prosperity of the industry in countries such as Australia.
MINING IT
Partnership work rounds out Cube offering
TONY Hampton concedes the mining software market is running a little hot and cold at the moment, making predictions about the year ahead difficult, but right now the strong workflow for Cube Consulting’s software development team arising from long-term relationships with some major mining houses shows no signs of abating.
MINING IT
Mincom becomes Ventyx
ICONIC Australian mining software brand Mincom has become Ventyx following last year’s acquisition by Swiss engineering and technology group ABB.
MINING IT
Report points to IT integration challenge
FEBRUARY 7 - RAPID growth in mining information and communication technology investment in Australia is expected to continue, according to a Rio Tinto-commissioned report by BAEconomics.
VIEW FROM THE WEST END
Rumble in the jungle
FEBRUARY 7 - “THE journey of a thousand miles begins beneath one’s feet.” Lao Tzu, 6th century BC.
