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Newmont Addresses Divestiture Demands
- Newmont Mining Corp. recently issued an update of
its position on mandatory divestiture of a 31% stake
in PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara (PTNNT) to Indonesian
parties, as stipulated under the terms of a 1986 Contract
of Work with the Indonesian government. Newmont and
Nusa Tenggara Mining Corp. (NTMC), an affiliate of
Sumitomo Corp. currently have a combined 80% ownership
interest in PTNNT, with Newmont’s individual interest
at 45% and NTMC's at 35%, the remaining 20% of PTNNT
is owned by an unrelated Indonesian company. PTNNT
owns and operates the Batu Hijau mine..... read
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Thompson Creek Metals Revises Moly Forecast
- Thompson Creek Metals has advised that its 75% share
of molybdenum production from the Endako mine in British
Columbia during 2008 will be between 6.5 and 7.5 million
lb, compared with an earlier estimate of between 7.5
and 8.5 million lb, based on a new mine plan necessitated
by a pit-wall slide that occurred last November at
the mine's Endako pit. The company noted that at the
time of the slide, some ore for milling was being
extracted from the Denak West pit. That production
has been increased, and since.... read
more
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Cameco Reports Progresson Cigar Lake Mine Repairs
- Cameco Corp. announced further progress in remediation
efforts at the Cigar Lake uranium project, which have
been under way since October 2006 when a rockfall
resulted in a flood of the underground development.
Construction was about 60% complete when the rockfall
occurred.
The company said crews had completed pouring a concrete
barrier in the area of the inflow and reinforcing
a tunnel adjacent to the rockfall. This included injection
of cement into the rock around .... read
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Mill Expansion Okayed for Iamgold’s Rosebel
Gold Mine - Iamgold Corp. reported that
its board of directors’ has approved an $18.4-million
budget for mill expansion at the Rosebel gold mine
in Suriname. Iamgold acquired the Rosebel operation
in 2006 through its merger with Cambior.
According to the company, the expansion allows for
an increase in the annual life of mine production
from approximately 275,000 oz/y to 300,000–305,000
oz/y of gold and a reduction in direct cash costs
of approximately $35/oz. Mill throughput will increase
from 8 million mt/y of ore to…… read
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Jumbo Electromagnet Goes to Work at Codelco
Mine - Eriez, the company that earned the
Guinness Book of World Records title for the world’s
largest electromagnet in 1997 by building a 60-ton
magnet known at the company as "Big Moe,"
recently built and shipped a replica, appropriately
known as "Big Moe II."
"It’s truly a sight to see," said Tim Shuttleworth,
Eriez president and CEO. "A grown man standing
next to it appears to be the size of a child….
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Updated Reserve and Finance Numbers for Dolores
Project - Minefinders Corp. recently released
an updated economic forecast and reserve estimate
for its Dolores gold and silver mine in Chihuahua,
Mexico.
The report shows that proven and probable reserves
at the mine increased 37% from a February 2006 feasibility
study to 99.3 million mt containing 2.44 million oz
of gold and 126.64 million oz of silver—increases
of 24.8% and 22.1%, respectively. Life of mine production
increased to 1.8 million oz of gold and 64.3 million
oz of silver or 3 million oz of gold…. read
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Rio Tinto to Spend $2.42B on New Pilbara Mines,
Okays Study of Hope Downs Expansion - In
a burst of activity during the final weeks of 2007
and the early days of 2008, Rio Tinto announced plans
to make significant additional investments in its
iron ore export capacity in the Pilbara region of
Western Australia, with the approval of the new Mesa
A/Warramboo mine in the Robe Valley and Brockman 4
mine near Tom Price; as well as approval of a feasibility
study to expand the Hope Downs 4 project. In addition,
the company…. read
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Moly Mines Updates SpinifexRidge Project Progress
- Moly Mines Ltd. Recently awarded a A$1.1 billion,
seven-year mining and earthmoving contract for the
Spinifex Ridge molybdenum project to Perthbased contracting
group Macmahon Holdings. Spinifex Ridge is located
approximately 140 km southeast of the town of Port
Hedland in the East Pilbara region of Western Australia
and has an expected mine life of over 20 years with
a measured and indicated resource…. read
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Frontier Assembles Benkala Copper Project Study Team - Frontier
Mining has appointed a technical consultancy team
led by Aker Kvaerner Chile S.A. to complete the
conceptual study for its Benkala copper porphyry
deposit in northwestern Kazakhstan. Frontier acquired
a 50% stake in the project from Coville Intercorp
Ltd. in November 2007 for $21 million.
The study, according to London, U.K.- based Frontier,
will provide a preliminary evaluation of the various
trade-off options for development of the project,
and will form the basis for a pre-feasibility study
that will begin in the second quarter of 2008….
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Court Renders Latest Decision on Kisladag
Case - Eldorado Gold Corp. announced on
February 11 that a decision relating to the Kisladag
project’s Environmental Impact Assessment had been
rendered by the 6th Department of the High Administrative
Court in Ankara, Turkey.
The Court concluded that the existing expert reports
prepared for the Lower Administrative Court were
insufficient to make either a positive or negative
decision on the merits of the case. The case will
now be returned to the Lower Administrative Court
where it is most likely that a new expert committee
will be assigned to review the case.…. read
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Harmony Looks at Additional Gold Recovery
from Tailings Dams - Harmony Gold Mining
is investigating the feasibility of re-mining old
tailings dams at its operations in the Welkom area
in South Africa, with the intent of reprocessing the
tailings to extract gold and consolidate the residue
tailings from the processing plant onto three tailings
facilities.
Nine old tailings dams in the Welkom area are being
considered as part of this project. The proposed operations
would process about 240 million mt of tailings from
the dams. In addition to re-mining of the dams, other
principal elements of the project would include installing
pipelines to supply water to the re-mining…. read
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Diamond Mine Begins Production in Lesotho
- Global Diamond Resources plc (formerly Lesotho
Diamond Corp.) announced that its Kao diamond mine
in Lesotho was commissioned late in 2007. "This
is a great tribute to all of the staff involved,
bearing in mind the difficult terrain in which the
mine is located and the extreme weather conditions
that have impeded completion of the mine processingunit,"
said Chairman Morven Hay. In a letter to the shareholders……
read more
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The 
Agnico-Eagle Gold Reserves Grow by 33%
to Record 16.7M Oz - Agnico-Eagle Mines
reported that as of December 31, 2007, its
proven and probable gold reserves hit a record
of 16.7 million oz, an increase of 33% over
the year end 2006 level. The company said
the strong growth in gold reserves of 4.5
million oz—prior to considering 2007 gold
production—resulted from successful definition
drilling at its development projects, which
converted 1.6 million oz to reserves, along
with the acquisition of the Meadowbank project
in northern Canada as part of its takeover
of Cumberland Resources .... 
San Bartolomé Silver Mine Near Startup
- Coeur d’Alene Mines Corp. announced in early
February that it had begun precommissioning
activities at its San Bartolomé mine in Bolivia,
and expects to produce over 10 million oz
of silver during its first 12 months of full-scale
operations. According to the company, all
major plant equipment at San Bartolomé is
now in place. Coeur expected the processing
facilities to be connected to the national
electrical grid during the second half of
February, at which point full commissioning
of the crushers and mills would commence.
Processing of ore was anticipated to begin......
Central
Africa’s Copper Renaissance 
Crocodile River Mine’s Long Haul to Sustainable
Production 
Energy Demand Spurs Uranium Mining
GET
Smart
Getting
There is Half the Battle - FLSmidth Minerals
was recently faced with the challenge of fabricating
and delivering a 12-m-diameter leach feed thickener
tank to Energy Resources of Australia’s Ranger uranium
mine in Australia’s Northern Territory. Normally a
thickener is built, lined and commissioned on site.
However, FLSmidth Minerals had another idea. Why not
build the tank in Darwin, NT, and deliver it in one
piece? The thickener was subsequently constructed
by EC & E Pty. Ltd. at Berrimah, near Port Darwin
…. 
Sandvik
Launches New Blasthole Drill - During January,
Sandvik unveiled the DR460 rotary blasthole drill
at its manufacturing facility in Alachua, Florida.
It is a diesel-powered, crawler-mounted unit that
drills 251- to 311-mm (9-7/8- to 12-1/4- in.) diameter
blastholes. Sandvik said they have designed the drill
for mines prioritizing high penetration rate, easy
maintenance, good availability and an ergonomic work
environment.
Hitachi’s
EH3500 Haul Truck is AC-Powered - Hitachi
Mining, a division of Hitachi Construction Machinery,
claims it has set the standard in AC drive haul truck
technology with the introduction of its EH3500AC rigid
dump truck. The EH3500AC is powered by a Cummins 16-cylinder,
QSK50 EPA Tier II compliant turbo diesel, developing
1,491 kW (3,500 hp) at 1,900 rpm and driving through
axle-mounted Hitachi AC traction drives. Fully loaded….
New Haul Road Solution for Mines
- Caterpillar Inc. and Claycrete Ltd. Have entered
a marketing agreement to provide a roadway and pad
construction solution to mine operators. Caterpillar
dealers will have exclusive rights to market Claycrete
products worldwide, and Caterpillar Global Mining
will support and oversee the business. Claycrete Ltd.,
based in Perth, Western Australia, provides a unique
process that combines project management and proprietary
chemicals to transform native soils containing .……
Gear
Reducer for Tough Applications - Baldor Electric
has introduced the new Dodge MagnaGear XTR, a gear
reducer engineered to offer maximum reliability and
superior performance in tough, high torque applications.
Designed as a global product, the MagnaGear XTR is
available with parallel shaft or right-angle configurations
and will initially offer torque capacities up to 920,000
lb-in. The modular design of the product allows for
multiple mounting configurations and can be used with….
Gel
Packs Keep Workers Comfortable in Hot or Cold
- GelCool Systems offers professional-grade warming
and cooling gel packs for use in hard hats from MSA,
North, Omega II, Bullard and others. A key design
feature of the gel packs is that they maintain helmet
fit and alignment, thus retaining the safety design
of the helmet while providing thermal protection.
According to GelCool Systems, their large size gel
pack provides warming…. 
Screening
Unit for Accurate Mineral Separation - The
Minerals Separator from Rotex is claimed to provide
unparalleled screening performance when sharp separations
and high efficiencies are required. Specifically designed
to meet the demanding screening requirements of minerals
applications, the machine provides higher capacity
per square foot of screen, continuous operations up
to 400°F (205°C), and maximum screening efficiency.….
High-Performance
Transformer Oil Coolers - Unifin, a supplier
of cooling equipment and transformer oil pumps and
valves, has introduced the ForZair line of transformer
oil coolers for superior performance in demanding
applications. ForZair coolers are designed for new
transformers and for existing installations that require
additional heat removal capacity. The coolers feature
Unifin’s Mono-Aluminum extruded fin-tubes and plate
fin technology, both of which are claimed to provide
optimal heat transfer efficiency and exceptional durability.….
Water
Clarification System Offers Quick Setup-
Designed for applications that require portability,
Clearwater Industries’ new Model 2000 water clarifier
allows operators to produce clean water from a dirty
water stream immediately, while concentrating fines
and solids to a thick state. Producers can eliminate
the need for clean water ponds or setting ponds, avoid
trucking in large volumes of water…. 
Anglo
American plc announced that Bobby Godsell,
a non-executive director, will retire from the board.
Augusta Resource Corp. announced the appointment of
Rod Pace as vice president, Operations
of the company and its wholly-owned subsidiary Rosemont
Copper Co.
FNX Mining
Co. Inc. announced that Anthony P. Makuch,
senior vice president and COO, has resigned. The company
also announced that Vernon Baker
has been appointed vice president Sudbury Mining Operations
and Julie Galloway has been appointed
vice president general counsel. 
Coeur d’Alene Mines Corp. announced the promotion
of Stuart Mathews to vice president
and general manager of the Palmarejo silver/gold project
in northern Mexico; and Tom Henderson
as vice president and general manager for Coeur Alaska.
The company also announced the promotions of Carolyn
S. Turner as treasurer and Larry
A. Nelson as vice president Human Resources.
Godwin
Pumps recently appointed Tomás Fernández
as Latin America regional manager. 
Ruth Bailey has been named the director
general of the Association of British Mining Equipment
Companies. She succeeds Philip Deakin,
who is retiring. 
Becker
Mining Systems recently promoted Max Brinckman
chief sales officer.
Farr Air Pollution Control appointed David
E. Stock mining market manager. 