Category: Headline

The Woodlawn zinc-copper project site near Tarago, NSW.          Image: Heron Resources. BY CAMERON DRUMMOND MULTI-commodity focused explorer Heron Resources has awarded a $107m contract for the development of its Woodlawn zinc-copper project in NSW. The engineering, procurement and construction contract (EPC) went to CIMIC Group subsidiary Sedgman for the development of a 1.5 million tonnes per annum mineral processing plant that would produce zinc, copper and lead concentrates. The design also included a backfill plant and supporting infrastructure at the project located near Tarago, 250km southwest of Sydney. More than 250 personnel would be employed at the peak of construction. Heron Resources managing director Wayne Taylor said the contract award followed the successful undertaking of a…

Salt Lake Potash intends to become Australia’s first producer of sulphate of potash.          Image: Salt Lake Potash. BY CAMERON DRUMMOND WA-based miner Salt Lake Potash has raised $17.6 million for the development of a pilot plant at its Goldfields Salt Lakes project near Laverton, WA. Commitments were made by UK and Australian investors to subscribe for 41 million ordinary shares at 43 cents per share, representing a n 11.9 per cent discount to the 20-day weighted average price. Salt Lake said the funds would be used for the planning and initial construction costs of the plant, as well as ongoing resource investigation, testwork and other associated studies. “We are very pleased to have successfully put in…

Image: AngloAmerican. BY CAMERON DRUMMOND STEADY decline in iron ore prices is expected over the next five years, with a targeted drop in production from the world’s largest steelmaker China and new ore production from mega projects in Australia and Brazil sparking oversupply fears. Surging iron ore prices during 2016 saw the commodity reach more than $US80 per tonne (t) for the first time since October 2014 after hitting a record low of $US38.50/t in January last year. The 62 per cent Fe Qingdao spot price had jumped more than 100 per cent, and by February 2017 had peaked at $US94.86 – its highest level since 2014 – according to a Metal Bulletin report. The price rally – which consistently…

The Hermosa zinc-lead-silver project.          Image: Arizona Mining. BY CAMERON DRUMMOND SOUTH32 will pay $C110 million ($107m) for a 15 per cent stake in Canadian multi-commodity miner Arizona Mining. Under the agreement, South32 will acquire 45,000,000 Arizona Mining shares at $C2.45 per share. South32 also has the right to nominate a director to the board of Arizona Mining providing it maintains a minimum 12.5 per cent interest. Arizona Mining is focused on its Hermosa zinc-lead-silver project, which includes the Taylor deposit, located in Santa Cruz County, Arizona. South32 chief executive Graham Kerr said Hermosa was a highly prospective project and was another step in the company’s strategy to identify opportunities outside of its current portfolio. “We look…

The JV will encompass the company’s southern tenements in Tanzania including Miteja, Kiswere, Sudi and Mtwara. Image: Strandline Resources. BY ELIZABETH FABRI RIO Tinto has entered an earn-in joint venture agreement with ASX-listed Strandline Resources for a majority interest in the company’s mineral sands tenements in southern Tanzania. The terms of the agreement require Rio Tinto to spend $US5 million within three and a half years to earn a 51 per cent participating interest, including a mandatory commitment of $US2 million within 18 months. A second stage payment of $US4 million was also required within two years to earn a 75 per cent interest in the project, plus cash payments totalling $US1.75 million over the course of the agreement. Both…

Peabody Energy’s Metropolitan Colliery.       Image: Peabody Energy BY CAMERON DRUMMOND BHP Billiton spinoff South32 has scrapped its $US200 million purchase of Peabody Energy’s Metropolitan Colliery and associated port infrastructure near Wollongong, NSW. On 23 February, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) released a statement saying the proposed acquisition could substantially lessen competition in the coking coal supply to Australian steelmakers, as it would leave South32 as the only major supplier in the region. “The ACCC considers that competition is necessary for customers in a region to obtain export price parity,” the competition monitor wrote. “If there is a single exporter in a region, that supplier will likely set the price to local customers to match the…

NASA-NOAA’s Suomi NPP satellite provides a visible look at Tropical Cyclone Debbie from space.  Image: NASA/NOAA/Suomi NPP. BY REUBEN ADAMS WHILE figures from the Resources and Energy Quarterly released today predicting record-high export earnings of $215 billion in 2016–17 and 2017–18 were completed before Cyclone Debbie, the Federal Government is confident the storm’s impacts will be manageable. Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Senator Matt Canavan said separate early assessments show that the Queensland resources sector should be able to absorb the impact of the cyclone. “While there has been some damage to coal haulage rail lines which transport coking coal to the Dalrymple Bay and Hay Point coal terminals, the majority of mines should be able to stay open and stockpile…

Workers at the Kamoto underground mine in the Congo.                Image: Katanga Mining. By Cameron Drummond COBALT – one of the fastest rising commodities of 2017 – has attracted attention from a plethora of mining companies looking to take advantage of heightened demand for the strategic metal. A key component in the production of lithium-ion batteries, cobalt flew ‘under the radar’ relative to commodity darling lithium in 2016. However, in the past few months the spot price has more than doubled year-on-year, sparking a flurry of activity from opportunistic Australian mining juniors. On 29 March, the London Metals Exchange (LME) cash price for cobalt was $US53,500 per tonne (t), representing a 122 per cent…

The government co-funding initiative has been going since 2009.              Image: Asia Iron. By Cameron Drummond 42 PROJECTS across WA will share up to $4.75 million under State Government’s Exploration Incentives Scheme (EIS) co-funding drilling initiative. The $130 million initiative, initially supported by Royalties for Regions, is being funded from April 2009 to June 2017. The program refunds up to 50 per cent of direct drilling costs with caps of $150,000 for a multi-hole project, $200,000 for a single deep hole, and $30,000 for a prospector application. Refunds are made after completion of drilling and the submission of reports, which are released publically by the Department of Mines and Petroleum after a six-month confidentiality period.…

Mines and Petroleum minister Sean L’Estrange with now former Doray managing director Allan Kelly. Image: Doray Minerals. By Cameron Drummond DORAY minerals founder and managing director Allan Kelly has resigned ahead of the company’s annual general meeting on 28 November. Doray announced that Mr Kelly resigned due to personal reasons, with non-executive director Leigh Junk assuming the role until a formal replacement was found. Just one month earlier Mr Kelly was joined by Mines and Petroleum minister Sean L’Estrange at the official opening of Doray’s Deflector gold mine 160km east of Geraldton; the second high-grade gold project the company had commissioned in four years. Mr Kelly managed the company for seven and a half years of successes, including its listing…

Image: Altura Mining. By Cameron Drummond LITHIUM explorer Altura Mining has reached an agreement with Chinese battery manufacturer Shaanxi J&R Optimum Energy (J&R Optimum) to raise $41.6 million for its Pilgangoora lithium project in the Pilbara region of WA. In two tranches, Altura will issue a placement of 306 million fully paid shares to J&R Optimum at 13.6 cents per share, an 8.8 per cent premium from the last closing price. In Tranche 1, 123 million shares would be issued after the receipt of funds ($16.73m) from J&R Optimum within 30 days; and Tranche 2 would issue the remaining 183 million shares ($24.89m) pending shareholder approval at an upcoming EGM (Extraordinary General Meeting). Upon completion of the placement, J&R Optimum…