Mining Journal: 08 Feb 2008
Headlines
China inks new resource deals
CHINA’S thirst for resources generated more deals this week with both Anglo American plc and UC Rusal signing development agreements. Full story...‘Major surgery’ needed for DRC contracts
AN EMOTIVE speech by Victor Kasongo (right) Deputy Mines Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was the talk of Cape Town’s Mining Indaba conference this week as attendees weighed up his revelations about the DRC’s contentious review of mining leases. Full story...Tax probe prolongs Kumtor delay
THE parliament in Kyrgyzstan has indefinitely postponed ratification of a tax agreement for the Kumtor gold mine between the government and Centerra Gold Inc. Full story...French premier denies Iamgold permit
FRENCH President Nicolas Sarkozy has denied approval for a permit that would allow Iamgold Corp to begin construction of its Camp Caiman gold project in French Guiana. Iamgold said it had been given no technical environmental or legal reasoning for the decision and is seeking further information from the French government. President Sarkozy has requested that a mining review be completed in order to allow the development to proceed under conditions acceptable to all stakeholders. French acti Full story...Carnival time for Vale?
BRAZIL’S Cia Vale do Rio Doce (Vale) fired Merrill Lynch this week as one of its two lead advisers. The announcement follows the investment bank’s decision not to help finance a rumoured imminent US$90 billion takeover bid for Swissbased Xstrata. Full story...BHPB gets serious
BHP Billiton reaffirmed this week its intention to acquire the Rio Tinto group by offering shares worth almost US$150 billion. To the surprise of many analysts on Wednesday BHPB raised its offer to 3.4 of its own shares for every share in Rio Tinto Ltd (RTL the Australianlisted company) and Rio Tinto plc (RTP the UK-listed company). Full story...Production and Markets
South African power outage boosts platinum
PLATINUM has surged to a record high of US$1 840/oz amid fears demand for the metal could outpace supply after recent power shortages in South Africa the world’s top producer brought the country’s mining operations to a five-day halt. Full story...Chinese mine deaths
An explosion has killed nine workers at a coal mine in northern China. Full story...Irkutsk aluminium smelter upgrade
UC RUSAL the world’s biggest aluminium and alumina producer has completed two new potrooms at its Irkutsk aluminium smelter in Shelekhov Russia. Full story...BHPB approves US$1bn in funds for iron-ore expansion
BHP Billiton has approved expenditure of just over US$1 billion to expand its booming Western Australian iron-ore business. Full story...Namibia hit by SA power fallout
NAMIBIA Power Corp (Nampower) announced a national power shortfall and load-shedding measures on January 22 following the cessation of most electricity exports to Namibia by Eskom the previous week. Full story...Coal soars to record on supply constraints
COAL prices have surged in response to severe production and transport constraints caused by snowstorms in China power cuts in South Africa and floods in Queensland. Full story...Rio Tinto wins iron-ore deal with Hyundai Steel
RIO Tinto has secured long-term deals to supply more than 40Mt of iron ore to Korean-based Hyundai Steel over the next decade. Full story...Unwinding gold hedges
Peru’s Cia de Minas Buenaventura SAA plans to spend US$434 million to unwind hedges on gold scheduled for delivery in 2010 and 2012. Full story...Quebrada agreement
Teck Cominco Ltd and a mine workers’ union at the Quebrada Blanca copper mine in northern Chile have agreed on a wage accord averting the risk of a strike. Full story...Cuban nickel boost
Cuban nickel exports have overtaken tourism earnings in 2007 according to Yadira Garcia Cuba’s basic-industry minister. Full story...Market Update Figures
We are proud to announce a brand new feature of the Mining Journal Website - weekly downloadable market update figures. Full story...Exploration & Development
Randgold gives Tongon green light
RANDGOLD Resources Ltd will develop its Tongon gold project in Ivory Coast. Full story...Alkane results
Alkane Resources Ltd has received drilling results for the Caloma deposit part of its Tomingley gold project in New South Wales Australia. Full story...LARA INTERCEPTS
Lara Exploration Ltd and Teck Cominco Ltd have received drilling results for the Vila Oite target on the Araguaia nickel project in Par state Brazil. Full story...AVOCET ASSAYS
Avocet Mining plc has received assay results from drilling at the Mangkaluku gold project in South Sulawesi Indonesia. Full story...Albidon drilling
Albidon Ltd has received drilling results from the Bou Aouane prospect on the Nefza zinc project in Tunisia Full story...FORT A LA CORNE UPDATE
Shore Gold Inc and Newmont Mining Corp have received diamond results from underground bulk sampling at the Orion South kimberlite at Fort à La Corne in Saskatchewan Canada. Full story...MANIITSOQ RECOVERIES
Intex Resources ASA has recovered 80 small diamonds from a single kimberlite sample of 24kg collected as part of Intex’s 2007 diamond analysis campaign from the Maniitsoq Province in west Greenland. Full story...smokey hills update
Platinum Australia Ltd’s chief executive John Lewins said the company’s Smokey Hills project will begin mining in March. Full story...Extract discovery
Extract Resources Ltd has discovered uranium mineralisation at the Rossing South deposit at its Husab uranium project in Namibia. Full story...Western Areas intercept
Western Areas NL has announced a new drilling result from the Spotted Quoll deposit part of its flagship Forrestania nickel project in Australia Full story...Barrick production
Barrick Gold Corp’s Buzwagi gold project in Tanzania will begin output in 2009. Barrick said the project will become Tanzania’s largest single open-pit mine and its second-largest mining operation Full story...Gold Mountain grows
TIANSHAN Goldfields Ltd has received a new resource estimate for its 90%- owned Gold Mountain gold project in northwest China. Full story...Teal discoveries
TEAL Exploration and Mining Inc has announced the discovery of new mineralisation at two of its projects in Africa. Full story...Anvil revises second Kinsevere stage
ANVIL Mining Ltd’s 95%-owned Kinsevere copper project in the Democtratic Republic of the Congo will cost more to build but less to run owing to revisions recommended by a review of the second stage. Full story...Sandong resource
SOUTH Korean-focused Oriental Minerals Inc has announced an initial resource estimate for its Sangdong tungstenmolybdenum project southeast of Seoul in South Korea. Oriental said the resource estimate related to the southeastern end of the Sangdong deposit and included about a third of total drilling results known to date. Full story...Rio Tinto increases coal, iron-ore resources
RIO Tinto repelling a hostile takeover bid from rival BHP Billiton (see p1) has announced major resource increases in South Africa and Australia. Full story...Aviva, CIC Energy update Botswanan projects
AVIVA Corp Ltd has received an inferred resource estimate for the Mmamamtswe thermal coal deposit in Botswana. Full story...Mkushi positive prefeasibility
AFRICAN Eagle Resources plc has received a positive prefeasibility study for its 49%-owned Mkushi copper project in Zambia. Full story...Mequillion could double Nunavik life
CANADIAN Royalties Inc has announced the completion of a preliminary economic assessment for the Mequillion nickel deposit which could double the life of its Nunavik nickel project in northern Quebec. Full story...More work needed at La Zarza
ORMONDE Mining plc will seek to reduce development costs at its La Zarza polymetallic project in Spain after receiving a feasibility study this week. Full story...Finance
Aneka Tambang boost
Indonsian nickel producer PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) has reported a 63% jump in sales during the December quarter. Full story...Global Alumina fall
Global Alumina Corp saw its share price fall 17% following an announcement of sharp cost increases at its one-third-owned Sangaredi alumina refinery in Guinea. Full story...Indian lure
The Indian government has relaxed the limit on foreign ownership of the country’s commodity exchanges. Full story...Macmin entitlement
Queensland-based Macmin Silver Ltd made an interim allotment of shares this week pursuant to its 1-for-5 non-renounceable ‘Entitlements’ issue that was announced at the end of last year. Full story...BUMI EXTENDS HERALD BID
PT Bumi Resources has extended its takeover offer for Australia’s Herald Resources Ltd to March 7. Full story...PETAQUILLA INCORPORATION
Vancouver-based Petaquilla Minerals Ltd (PML) and Petaquilla Copper Ltd (PCL) have announced the incorporation of Petaquilla Infrastructure Ltd. Full story...CHINA STEEL OFFERING
China Steel Australia Ltd has announced plans for an initial public offering on the Australian Stock Exchange. Full story...ALROSA RERATED
Standard & Poor’s raised its long-term corporate credit rating this week on Alrosa to BB from BB-. Full story...LOAN FOR MONTERRICO
Monterrico Metals plc has arranged a US$10 million one-year loan (at 1% over LIBOR) from its majority shareholder Zijin Tongguan Investment Development Co. At the option of Monterrico the loan may be converted into equity. Full story...CREDIT FOR NOVAGOLD
NovaGold Resources Inc has arranged a C$30 million (US$30 million) six-month credit facility with Bank of Nova Scotia. Full story...Advice from Allegiance and Zinifex
ALEGIANCE Mining NL continues to advise shareholders to reject the takeover offer by Zinifex Ltd despite the 10% higher offer of A$1/share. Allegiance chairman Tony Howland- Rose this week repeated that the offer is “unsolicited opportunistic and inadequate”. Full story...Norilsk power play
THE Russian authorities have cleared UC Rusal’s offer to acquire a 29% stake in OAO Norilsk Nickel from Mikhail Prokhorov. The equity comprises the originally agreed 25% (plus one share) and a further 4% stake held through KM-Invest a holding company jointly owned by Mr Prokhorov and his former partner Vladimir Potanin. Full story...High returns drive BHPB interim
BHP Billiton has announced its financial results for the six months to end-December 2007. Revenue was up almost 16% to US$25.54 billion and cash flow 11% to US$7.87 billion. Full story...Paladin lists on the NSX
AUSTRALIA’S Paladin Energy Ltd (formerly Paladin Resources) the owner of Namibia’s Langer Heinrich uranium mine is to list secondarily its shares on the Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX). The NSX general manager John Mandy told Mining Journal that the listing will be approved this week and is due to take place on February 14. Paladin will be the first uranium producer (as opposed to uranium explorer) to list on the NSX. Full story...Murchison backs down
PERTH-BASED Murchison Metals Ltd has decided not to try and outbid China’s Sinosteel Corp in the takeover battle for Midwest Corp . Full story...Goldcorp sells Silver Wheaton stake
GOLDCORP Inc is selling its 48% stake in Silver Wheaton Corp to fund the development of new mines. Full story...Kazakhmys funds its power drive
KAZAKHMYS plc has moved into the power-supply sector with the US$1.5 billion acquisition of Kazakhstan’s largest power station (and a nearby coal-mining operation). To finance the purchase of these assets from AES Corp and for other corporate purposes Kazakhmys has arranged a pre-export five-year debt facility of US$2.1 billion through Deutsche Bank. Full story...CAMEC update
CENTRAL African Mining & Exploration Co (CAMEC) expects its joint venture with Prairie International Ltd in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to be completed this month. Full story...Fifth Column
Yamana sales
THERE’S been the usual January sale of shares by directors of Yamana Gold Inc. This year the ten directors have collected C$50.1 million between them. Leading the pack was Peter Marrone who started out as a lawyer and did some investment banking before becoming Yamana’s chairman and chief executive. His take this year was C$31.8 million. Full story...Diamond dame
MAUREEN Muggeridge still vividly recalls the time when she was working for CRA exploring for diamonds in Western Australia’s rugged Kimberley region. In 1979 after some years with only modest success – the Ellendale deposit was discovered but deemed by CRA to be too small to be of interest – Ms Muggeridge’s boss suggested it was time to give up the search. Full story...Focus
PDAC 2008
The PDAC expects attendance at this year’s convention to exceed the 17 600 people from over 100 countries who came in 2007 PDAC 2008 promises to be a bumper event with the organiser moving to the Metro Centre’s larger South Building to cater for the demand for exhibition booths. As the PDAC explains “the new space is larger and more dynamic permits expanded exhibits and is more effi cient and accommodating in terms of layout”. Full story...Breaking more than ice in Greenland
Greenland is experiencing record-breaking increases in mineral exploration and the retreating glaciers are uncovering hitherto-unseen mineralised outcrops Full story...People and Appointments
NEW CEO FOR PBX
The board of directors of International PBX Ventures Ltd has announced that George Sookochoff a company director has been appointed CEO. Mr Sookochoff has been a consultant for junior exploration companies in advanced methods of exploration data acquisition processing and management for the past 25 years. Full story...MONTORO AGM BOARD RE-ELECTIONS
International Montoro Resources Inc held its annual general meeting on January 31. At the meeting the shareholders re-elected to the board for the upcoming year were Gary Musil Bruce E Bried Roger Agyagos and Brent Griffin. The directors appointed Gary Musil as president/chief financial officer and Roger Agyagos as corporate secretary. Full story...CHANGE AT GLOBESTAR
William Fisher CEO and a director of GlobeStar Mining Corp has resigned from his positions effective immediately but has agreed to provide certain consulting services as might be required by the company. Larry Ciccarelli one of the founders of GlobeStar has been appointed as interim CEO. Full story...RESIGNATIONS AT CAPELLO
RA Bruce McDonald the company’s non-executive chairman of the board along with Dennis van Dyke and Ian McDonald have resigned from their respective directorial positions with Capella Resources Ltd in order to pursue other opportunities. Full story...MULTI-TASKING AT EMPIRE
Empire Mining Corp is pleased to announce that David Cliff has been appointed as president and CEO. Additionally he will become a director of the company. Mr Cliff is the former exploration manager of Europe for Rio Tinto Exploration with a particular specialisation in copper-gold porphyry systems and epithermal precious-metal systems. “The appointment of Mr Cliff marks the beginning of a new stage in the company’s growth ” said company director Robert Giustra. Full story...NEW APPOINTMENT FOR INCA PACIFIC
INCA Pacific Resources Inc has appointed Thomas (Tom) Kelly as chief operating officer. Bernard Stannus currently vice-president of mining will assume the position of vice-president of corporate development Full story...MD AND CEO FOR GRANGE
Grange Resources Ltd has appointed Russell Clark as the company’s new managing director and CEO effective from March 6. Mr Clark is regional group executive of Newmont Asia Pacific’s Australian and New Zealand’s gold mines providing management oversight of operations. Full story...SWITCH AT CENTURY MINING
Century Mining Corp has announced that Dale Parker has resigned from the board of directors due to his recent appointment as board chair of Translink (South Coast British Columbia Transit Authority). Mark Lettes has been appointed to the company’s board of directors to replace Mr Parker. Full story...BOARD ADDITION AT VENTURE
Hamish Halliday has been appointed as a non-executive director to the board of Venture Minerals Ltd. Mr Halliday brings over 14 years’ technical and corporate mining experience to the role. He was previously employed as managing director of Adamus Resources which during Mr Halliday’s term discovered more than 1.5Moz of gold. Full story...LENEGAN LEAVES BOARD
On January 31 Charlie Lenegan resigned as non-executive director of Energy Resources of Australia Ltd. Mr Lenegan is a chartered accountant by training and since 2004 has been managing director for Rio Tinto Australia. Full story...PRESIDENT CHANGE AT NEW GOLD INC
Clifford Davis chairman of New Gold Inc has replaced Chris Bradbrook as president and CEO. After leading the company through a period of significant growth and making considerable progress toward development of the New Afton gold project Mr Bradbrook will be pursuing other opportunities. Full story...ENVIRO MANAGER FOR CONTINUUM
Continuum Resources Ltd has appointed Leonard Sinclair of Clifton and Associates as environmental manager responsible for environmental assessments government regulation community relations and the potential impact of exploration and mining in Mexico. Mr Sinclair has held a number of positions with the Saskatchewan Department of Environment most importantly as the technical services manager. He also held the position of environmental consultant and manager of environmental affairs for Shore Gold Inc at t Full story...PHOSCAN BOARD ADDITION
PhosCan Chemical Corp has announced that James (Jim) Gowans has been nominated for election to the board of directors. Jim is president and CEO of De Beers Canada Inc. Before joining De Beers he was senior vice-president and chief operating officer of PT Inco Indonesia. From 1993 to 2001 he was employed by Placer Dome. He began his career with Cominco Ltd (now Teck Cominco Ltd) where he advanced through various technical and managerial positions. Full story...GEOLOGIX APPOINTMENT
Geologix Explorations Inc has appointed Evelyn Abbott as its new chief financial officer. President and CEO Dunham Craig said: “Ms Abbott is an excellent addition to the Geologix executive team. Her experience working in senior financial roles will be invaluable to us.” Ms Abbott brings more than 15 years’ finance and accounting experience from senior financial roles in the biotech manufacturing and logistics industries to Geologix. Full story...NEW CEO FOR BANNERMAN
Peter Christians has been appointed as chief operating officer of Bannerman Resources Ltd. Mr Christians is a mining engineer and has accumulated more than 23 years’ experience in mine planning and design. He joins Bannerman after eight years with AngloGold Ashanti as a mine planning manager. His career includes postings at Gold Field’s Tarkwa mine in Ghana Kennecott Utah Copper’s Bingham Canyon mine in Salt Lake City and 10 years in Namibia at Rio Tinto’s Rössing mine. Full story...CONIAGAS RESOURCES LTD
Robert Fasken has resigned from the board of Coniagas Resources Ltd effective immediately. The company is actively seeking his replacement. Full story...SCORPIO BOARD ADDITION
Neil Seldon has been accepted onto Scorpio Mining Corp’s board of directors. Mr Seldon is president of Neil S Seldon & Associates Ltd and is chairman of Bloomsbury Minerals Economics Ltd. Mr Seldon is a graduate of the Royal School of Mines in London and began his career working with metal merchants in London. Full story...CEO CHANGE AT HARMONY
Graham Briggs has taken up the post of chief executive of Harmony Gold Mining Co Ltd chosen from a large field of competitors with unanimous board approval. He has been overseeing the introduction of the Harmony ‘back to basics’ management style. Full story...NEW CHAIRMAN FOR QUATERRA
Quaterra Resources Inc today announced that Tracy Stevenson has been appointed chairman of the company’s board of directors Full story...Site Search
Log inIssue: Mining Journal: 08 Feb 2008
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