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Energy Fuels and Uranerz Agree to Merge
Energy Fuels and Uranerz Energy announced on January 5 an agreement to combine the two companies, with Energy Fuels acquiring Uranerz in an allstock transaction valued at about C$150 million. Upon completion of the transaction, Uranerz shareholders will own approximately 55% of the common shares of combined company, and Energy Fuels shareholders will hold the remaining 45%.
The transaction is subject to the approval of at least a majority of the shareholders of both Energy Fuels and Uranerz...... read
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Ucore Contracts Alaska Rare Earths Feasibility Study
Ucore Rare Metals has contracted Ausenco Engineering Canada to complete a feasibility study of Ucore’s flagship Bokan-Dotson Ridge rare earths project on Prince of Wales Island at the southern end of the Alaskan panhandle.
"This is an important benchmark on the road to near-term production at Bokan," Ucore President and CEO Jim McKenzie said. "Very few rare earth companies at a global level have achieved this level of advancement. The feasibility study is the final step in documentation prior to detailed engineering... read more
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New Gold Consolidates its Rainey River Property
On January 1, New Gold completed a previously announced agreement to acquire Bayfield Ventures, whose assets included a 100% interest in three mineral properties, totaling 10 km2, located adjacent to New Gold’s Rainy River gold project in northwestern Ontario. One of the three properties, the Burns Block, lies between the eastern edge of New Gold’s planned Rainy open pit and the property’s underground Intrepid zone. New Gold paid for the acquisition with New Gold shares valued at about C$16.6 million.... read
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Hudbay Ramping Up 80,000-mt/d Constancia Project
Coeur Mining has entered into an agreement to acquire Paramount Gold and Silver Corp. in an all-stock transaction valued at $146 million. Paramount is a U.S.- based exploration and development company with advanced-stage precious metals projects in Mexico and Nevada. Its San Miguel project, which includes the Don Ese deposit, covers more than 121,000 ha surrounding Coeur’s Palmarejo mine complex in Chihuahua, Mexico…… read
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Chile Supreme Court Will Not Hear Barrick Appeal
Barrick Gold reported on December 31, 2014, that the Supreme Court of Chile had declined to consider an appeal by Barrick of a lower court decision regarding sanctions imposed on Barrick’s Pascua-Lama project by the country’s environmental regulator. Chile’s Tribunal Ambiental (Environmental Court) ruled on March 3, 2014, that the nation’s environmental authority, Superintendencia del Medio Ambiente (SMA), should not have considered numerous environmental violations at…. read more
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Major Write-down Looming for Sino Iron Project
CITIC Ltd. reported on January 20 that it will likely incur an impairment charge of $1.4 billion to $1.8 billion against its Sino Iron magnetite iron ore project in Western Australia in its 2014 financial reports. Impairment is not a cash item, but it would reduce the company’s profits for 2014. "A key component for consideration is the current and forecasted price of iron ore," the CITIC statement said. The Sino Iron project is operated by a CITIC subsidiary, CITIC Pacific Mining. The project shipped its first magnetite…. read
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Ivernia Halts Production at Paroo Station Lead Mine
Ivernia Inc. announced in mid-January that, in light of weak LME lead prices, it is placing its Paroo Station lead mine in Western Australia on care and maintenance until further notice. "Despite record production and sales in 2014 and the progress we have made to reduce costs and improve efficiencies at the mine, the current LME lead price has dropped well below sustainable levels and cannot support profitable ongoing operations," said Ivernia President and CEO Wayne Richardson …. read
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India Looks at Future Mineral Resource Auctions
The Indian government has approved development of legislative changes to allocate mineral resources such as iron ore, manganese and bauxite through the auction route, replacing the present discretionary process based on applications. However, the Indian mining industry has criticized the auction proposal, claiming that it would be the "death knell" for the industry. Senior government officials said that the cabinet of ministers has approved preparation of an ordinance, which would….
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Ma’aden/Alcoa JV Produces First Alumina at Ras Al Khair
Ma’aden Aluminium, a joint venture of the Saudi Arabian Mining Co. (Ma’aden) and Alcoa, started production at the alumina refinery at its aluminum production complex at Ras Al Khair, Saudi Arabia, in December 2014. The refinery is the final link in an integrated, $10.8 billion, aluminum supply chain development project that includes a bauxite mine at Al Ba’itha, 600 km northwest of Ras Al Khair, and an aluminum smelter and rolling mill, as well as the alumina…. read
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PFS Supports Phase 1 of Platreef Development
Ivanhoe Mines has reported the results of a positive, independent prefeasibility study (PFS) for a first phase of development of its Platreef platinum group metals project on the Northern Limb of South Africa’s Bushveld Complex. Ivanhoe plans to develop Platreef in three phases: Phase 1 to mine 4 million metric tons per year (mt/y) and establish an operating platform to support future expansions; Phase 2 to double production to 8 million mt/y; and Phase 3 to reach steady-state production of 12 million mt/y. A feasibility study of Phase 1…. read more
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Zimplats: Bimha Re-development to Take Three Years
Zimplats Holdings has established a three-year plan to re-develop its Bimha underground platinum mine in Zimbabwe. The mine was shut down in August 2014 due to unstable ground conditions following a major underground collapse in July that affected nearly 50% of the mine footprint. In July 2014, the company announced that a collapse within a section of the underground working area had been triggered by accelerated deterioration of ground conditions associated with a major fault which intrudes throughout the mining area. In the following weeks, ground conditions continued to deteriorate and Zimplats decided to to implement closure procedures……
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Famur Completes Mini-Face Test for ArcelorMittal
At the end of 2014 Polish underground mining equipment and machinery manufacturer Famur, carried out mini-face testing of their longwall system for JSC ArcelorMittal Temirtau Kazakhstan, and signed their second supply contract with the operator. ‘The second contract with JSC ArcelorMittal Temirtau Kazakhstan is a confirmation that Famur’s proprietary solutions for the mining industry fully comply with our customer’s expectations. The market for machinery and equipment in the mining industry is extremely demanding …. read more
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MSHA Publishes Proximity Final Rule
The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has announced its final federal rule outlining the use of proximity detection systems at all underground operations. The rule, which takes effect March 16, will be phased in over eight to 36 months to provide operators an opportunity to obtain MSHA approvals, modify continuous miners to be compliant and complete required miner training. The phase-in periods are based on the availability of the four currently MSHAapproved proximity detection systems, the estimated …. read more
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Queensland’s Coal Exports Grow
Australian coal exports from Queensland have reached a record volume of 216 million metric tons (mt) in 2014, according to latest data from Queensland Resources Council. This equates to a 10% increase from 2013. The state shipped 168 million tons and 196 million tons of coal in 2012 and 2013 respectively. The Port of Gladstone led with 69.6 million mt. Although China’s imports of thermal …. read more
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Freeport McMoRan Inc. has named Maroef Sjamsoeddin as new president director of its Indonesian subsidiary. Sjamsoeddin who replaces Rozik Soetjipto, also served as deputy state intelligence agency chief between 2011 and 2014.
Pinecrest Resources Ltd. appointed Greg Smith as vice president of exploration andDr. John Thomas as technical advisor.
HBM Holdings announced the election of William H. Ayers, president and COO of Mississippi Lime Co., to the Mississippi Lime Co. Board of Directors. Ayers has been with Mississippi Lime for 15 years serving as vice president of sales and marketing and vice president of operations.
Mandalay Resources Corp. appointed Belinda Labatte to the position of head of stakeholder engagement and corporate affairs. Labatte has worked as corporate secretary since 2010 and her Torontobased firm, The Capital Lab Inc., has provided investor relations support and advisory work since 2009.
Geovariances appointed Olivier Bertoli as managing director. Bertoli joined Geovariances in 2011 as consulting and training manager for the mining sector, before being named as deputy managing director last April.
Kiewit Mining Group’s Ron Borrego recently received the "40 Year Safe Miner" award at the Southeast Mine Safety and Heath Conference. His safety track record spans more than 41 years.
BMT WBM appointed Paul Charlton as managing director of its machinery group. He worked for Hydramatic Engineering and Sandvik Mining & Construction before moving to Nepean in 2010.
Camfil Air Pollution Control promoted Thomas Frungillo to the position of vice president, Camfil APC Americas. Since joining Camfil APC as a regional sales manager, he has held a succession of posts in sales management as well as special market management in the pharmaceutical, mining and thermal spray industries.
