Mining Journal: 18 Jan 2008
Headlines
Zambia increases windfall tax
ZAMBIA is again attempting to increase it share of mining profits with plans to earn US$400 million from a new windfall tax on copper exports. Full story...Anglo takes control in Brazil
ANGLO American plc plans to spend more than US$5.5 billion to acquire control of two iron-ore projects in Brazil. The group has entered into exclusive negotiations with the controlling shareholder of MMX Mineração e Metálicos SA Eike Batista to acquire his 63.6% shareholding in a new company (Newco) that is being created to hold MMX’s interests in the Minas-Rio (51%) and Amapá (70%) iron-ore projects. Full story...Areva agrees 50% hike in Niger
NUCLEAR group Areva has agreed a new two-year contract with the government of Niger for its 63.4%-owned Somair and 34%-owned Cominak uranium mines. The agreement allows a 50% price increase to reflect the recent higher price of uranium and the go-ahead for mining at the Imouraren deposit. Full story...Fortescue on target despite fatality
FORTESCUE Metals Group will meet its May 15 production target for its flagship iron-ore project despite delays caused by the death of a worker last week according to the company. Full story...Antitrust regulator may sue Vale
BRAZILIAN iron-ore giant Cia Vale do Rio Doce has been dealt a double legislative blow. First a court denied Vale the right to appeal against an earlier anti-trust ruling and second the country’s anti-trust regulator known as Cade indicated that the company is now facing legal action. Full story...Rio’s US$15bn asset sale
RIO Tinto battling a US$119 billion takeover proposal from BHP Billiton is poised to sell up to US$15 billion of assets the company said. Full story...Magellan gets green light
THE Western Australia environment minister has approved a proposal by Magellan Metals Ltd to ship lead concentrates through the port of Fremantle following recommendations by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in December. Full story...Production and Markets
Market update - brand new feature!
We are proud to announce a brand new feature of the Mining Journal Website - weekly downloadable market update figures. In response to feedback from our online readers, we will now reproduce all the tables published the Production & Markets section of your weekly Mining Journal. These tables will be downloadable in the familiar Microsoft Excel format, allowing you to store them at your convenience Full story...NALCO SMELTER DEAL
India’s state-run National Aluminum Co Ltd has signed a preliminary deal with the Indonesian government for a US$3.2 billion project to build a 250 000t/y aluminium smelter and power plant on Sumatra Island. Full story...CBG’S BAUXITE RECORD
Guinea’s Compagnie des Bauxites de Guniee (CBG) plans to produce a record 13.5Mt of bauxite this year up from 12.5Mt in 2007. Full story...Cananea strikes update
MEXICO’S National Mining and Metal Workers Union has launched nationwide industry action to protest a court’s decision to end an ‘illegal’ five-month strike at Grupo Mexico SAB’s Cananea copper mine in the northwestern state of Sonora. Full story...YAMANA CLIMBS
Yamana Gold Inc has forecast a rise in output of up to 39% this year Full story...KAZAKHSTAN URANIUM
Kazakhstan intends to increase uranium output fivefold within ten years and overtake Canada as the biggest supplier of the nuclear fuel Full story...VEDANTA BOOST
Vedanta Resources plc intends to double output at its iron-ore unit in the next three years to take advantage of record prices. Full story...Sierra Leone’s hidden gems
SIERRA Leone officially exported just over 0.60Mct last year almost exactly the same as shipped in 2006. The value of these exports increased however from US$127 million to US$142 million. Full story...Vatukoula restart
RIVER Diamonds plc has restarted mining operations at the historic Vatukoula gold mine in Fiji. The operation is on track to produce 40 000oz of the metal in the first six months of this year. Full story...Metals pundits’ expectations
THE past few days have seen a clutch of reports by commodity analysts on expectations for the year ahead. The tome from Deutsche Bank is the subject of this week’s Comment (p2) with other reports being released by amongst others Lehman Brothers and Barclays Capital Research. Full story...Exploration & Development
BLUE SKY EARN-IN
Blue Sky Resources Corp has signed a letter of intent with Argentina Uranium Corp to earn a 75% interest in the latter’s Anit uranium project in Argentina’s Rio Negro province Full story...EMED DISCOVERY
EMED Mining Public Ltd has discovered quartz mineralisation at its third property in Slovakia the Slatinske Lazy prospect Full story...EAGLECREST DRILLING
Eaglecrest Exploration Ltd has received drilling results for the L484 gold shoot at its San Simon gold project in Bolivia Full story...Seabridge’s KSM estimates
SEABRIDGE Gold Inc has reported NI 43-101 resource estimates for two of the zones at its 100%-owned Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell (KSM) project near Stewart in British Columbia. Full story...Honeymoon gets go-ahead
THE South Australian Government has approved a mine plan for Uranium One Inc’s Honeymoon project giving the go-ahead for development of Australia’s fourth uranium mine. Full story...Scottish gold’s new lease of life
PERTH BASED gold-explorer Scotgold Resources Ltd plans to become the “only significant gold mining company” in Scotland by developing its 100%- owned Grampian gold project in Western Scotland. Full story...Continental gains approval
CONTINENTAL Minerals Corp has received governmental approval of a further two reports required for its mining application for the Xietongmen copper-gold project in the Tibet Autonomus Region of China. Full story...AMERA RESULTS
Vancouver-based Amera Resources Corp has received further drilling results from the central Cocha copper-silver zone at its 100%- owned Cocha project in the Junin province Peru. Full story...Schaft Creeks positive preliminary study
CALGARY BASED Copper Fox Metals Inc has received the preliminary economic assessment for its Schaft Creek coppergold porphyry project in northwestern British Columbia at an estimated capital cost of C$1.43 billion (US$1.4 billion). Full story...Finance
Military funding to end
Codelco’s funding of the Chilean military could end this year with Chilean president Michelle Bachelet to ask congress to scrap the arrangement according to Jose Goni defence minister. Full story...Celtic to delist
Celtic Resources Holdings plc will stop trading on London’s AIM exchange on January 22 after OAO Severstal clinched control of the gold and molybdenum miner. Full story...Less than stellar for Constellation
TORONTO-LISTED miner Constellation Copper Corp has tipped further financial woes after posting a US$98 million loss for the September 2007 quarter. Full story...Merim makes play
LONDON-LISTED Cambrian Mining plc has dubbed Australian company Merim Pty Ltd ’s bid for its shares as “opportunistic”. Full story...OceanaGold cuts hedges
NEW Zealand-focused OceanaGold Corp will remove its gold hedges this year to take advantage of the yellow metal’s soaring price which hit another record this week. Full story...Nyrstar rockets on recommendation
NYRSTAR NV stocks jumped by a record 7% on Tuesday after the company the world’s biggest zinc producer was put on Goldman Sachs & Co’s ‘conviction buy’ recommendation list. Full story...Credit protection for bankrupt Tahera
SHARES in Toronto’s Tahera Diamond Corp almost halved on Wednesday after it declared itself bankrupt. Full story...Mirabela seeks finance
Australia’s Mirabela Nickel Ltd has appointed BNP Paribas and Credit Suisse as joint lead arranges in its bid to secure up to US$260 million for the construction and commissioning of the Santa Rita nickel sulphide project in Bahia Brazil. Full story...Zinifex holds firm in Allegiance bid
AUSTRALIAN miner Zinifex Ltd has refused to raise its A$775 million (US$680 million) takeover bid for Allegiance Mining Ltd saying the price already reflected a major resource upgrade revealed by Allegiance this week. Full story...Chinalco profit up on acquisitions
STATE-OWNED Aluminum Corp. of China (Chinalco) the nation’s biggest producer of the lightweight metal said 2007 sales rose 24% on higher copper output and foreign acquisitions. Full story...Finance in place for Zincox’s Jabali
LONDON-LISTED ZincOx Resources plc has locked up US$120 million in debt finance to bring Yemen’s first large-scale mining operation the Jabali zinc project to production. The debt was raised as a limited-recourse high-yield bond with a bonus payment linked to the zinc price. Full story...Midwest still in talks with Sinosteel
SINOSTEEL Co’s takeover tussle with Australian miner Midwest Corp has stalled because the giant Chinese iron-ore trader has failed to sign a confidentiality agreement. Full story...Windimurra debt fund
Australia’s Windimurra Vanadium Ltd has secured US$127.5 million in debt finance to help put its project in Western Australia state’s Mid West region into production Full story...Fifth Column
Back to basics at Harmony
“A list of 36 candidates was whittled down to four who were then interviewed by a selection panel made up of four non-executive directors. Just before the Christmas holiday Mr Briggs was told that the job was his” Full story...Boardroom feud
GEOFF Wedlock former boss of BHP’s iron-ore division and subsequently managing director of Portman Mining joined Golden West Resources (GWR) as non executive chairman on December 5 – then found himself involved in a bitter boardroom bust-up. Full story...Focus
Gold exploration scene in British Columbia
Despite recent disappointments there is something of a gold rush going on in British Columbia Full story...Rare earth in Canada
With deposits of mineable rare-earth elements distinctly difficult to find the matchless Hoidas Lake discovery in Saskatchewan is turning heads Full story...People and Appointments
Harmony’s new MD
Harmony Gold Mining Ltd has made Johannes van Heerden managing director, international operations Full story...Crewre shapes board
Crew Gold Corp has appointed Jens Ulltveit-Moe, Erlend Grimstad and Richard Robinson to the company’s board of directors Full story...INV restructures team
International Nickel Ventures Corp has appointed Candace MacGibbon as chief financial officer, effective March 31 Full story...Silver Eagle management shift
Adolfo Vera has joined Silver Eagle Mines Inc as executive vice-president and chief financial officer Full story...Apoquindo appointment
Apoquindo Minerals Inc has appointed Juan Villarzu as chairman of its board of directors Full story...NEMI’s new CFO
William Filtness has resigned as chief financial officer of Northern Energy & Mining Inc, a position he had held for the past four years Full story...Continuum changes
Juan López has been appointed to the position of general manager (Mexico) and chief geologist at gold-silver explorer Continuum Resources Corp Full story...Australian resource industry’s rich list revealed
Resource Stocks magazine’s inaugural Australian resources rich list has revealed that the top ten investors in the local resources industry have a combined net worth of A$17.5 billion (US$15.6 billion) Full story...Solomon changes
Paul Maarschalk (left) has been made chief financial officer and corporate secretary of Solomon Resources Ltd Full story...Southern Copper’s new CFO
Genaro Guerrero Diaz Mercado has been named chief financial officer of Southern Copper Corp Full story...Focus changes board
Focus Minerals Ltd has appointed Chris Hendricks as an independent non-executive director, after the resignation of Geoff Rasmussen from the board Full story...Carpentaria appointment
Mike Chester has been appointed as a non-executive director of Carpentaria Exploration Ltd Full story...Westonia’s chairman retires
Mark Fitzpatrick will retire from the board of Westonia Mines Ltd at the end of next month Full story...Birch Mountain changes
John Clarke has been appointed vice-president and chief financial officer of Birch Mountain Resources Ltd Full story...Odyssey resignation
Donald Nicholson has resigned as a director of Canada-based Odyssey Resources Ltd Full story...Augusta’s new VP
Augusta Resource Corp has appointed Rod Pace as vice-president, operations of the company and its 100%-owned subsidiary Rosemont Copper Co Full story...Hillsborough’s new VP/CFO
Coal-mining company Hillsborough Resources Ltd has appointed Ian Kirk as vice-president finance-chief financial officer Full story...Revere changes MD
Tony Burns has resigned as a director of Revere Mining Ltd Full story...Goldbrook alters team
Goldbrook Ventures Inc has appointed Brian Grant as president and chief operating officer Full story...Sinchao board changes
Sinchao Metals Corp has appointed Amin Somani as director Full story...Site Search
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