Category: Contracts

AUSTRALIAN-BASED Southern Gold has announced a binding agreement for the placement of 71,428,571 ordinary shares in the company at 14c per share. The objective is to raise $10m toward doubling the exploration and drilling program in South Korea. AIM-listed investment group, Metal Tiger PLC, will invest about $3.33m, with an agreement for a cornerstone position in the placement and the right to nominate one director to the company. Southern Gold owns 100pc of several high-grade gold projects in South Korea and has interests in other gold production projects in the region. The nominee for this position will be Terry Grammer, an award-winning geologist with more than 40 years’ experience in mining and mineral exploration across the globe. Mr Grammer discovered…

SOUTHERN Cross Electrical Engineering Limited (SXE) has been awarded an $18m contract by Rio Tinto for its refinery site on the Gove Peninsula in North East Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. The works will form part of the planned rehabilitation of the site, including the re-routing and isolation of electrical and hydraulic services to the refinery. Mobilisation of the works is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2020 to be completed by March 2021. The Gove site has been producing bauxite worldwide for the global aluminium industry for the past 40 years. Gove’s milestones include the largest bauxite ship to be loaded from an Australian port and a record production of 12.5mt. Rio Tinto has been in…

PANORAMIC Resources, WA, has signed a letter of intent with Barminco, awarding it preferred underground contractor status. Barminco, subsidiary of Perenti Global Ltd, is one of the world’s largest hard rock underground mining service companies. Confidence in the long -term potential of the project is supported by a 32.7m raising in rights issues mid-January. Barminco will provide a newer mining fleet and is expected to employ the majority of the existing Panoramic underground mining and maintenance workforce. Its proven expertise and established operating system is expected to improve operational efficiencies and drive production volumes to reach targeted levels. Barminco CEO Paul Muller said the miner looked forward to working closely with Panoramic Resources in driving the development of the Savannah…

AUSTRALIAN nickel producer Western Areas has completed two offtake deals for its WA high-grade Forrestania Nickel Operation concentrate product which is a feedstock for the electric vehicle battery market. The ASX-listed company said the offtake-deals are with BHP’s Nickel West subsidiary in WA, and Hong Kong-listed Chinese nickel company Jinchuan Group, and both were awarded by Western Areas following a competitive tender process. Western Areas managing director Dan Lougher said the company was pleased with its new contracts that extend its relationship with BHP and reintroduces Jinchuan as an offtake customer. “It is notable that both of our offtake customers are involved in the downstream operation of nickel smelters,” he said. “Western Areas firmly believes that the smelting of concentrates…

THE renewable battery energy market continues to make significant moves in WA as the quality and applications of battery storage becomes ever more sophisticated and economically advantageous. Australian-owned Australian Vanadium Ltd (AVL) signed a letter of intent with Hebei Yanshan Vanadium and Titanium Industry Technology Research Co Ltd, a subsidiary of HBIS Group Chengsteel, to negotiate technical services and agree on a purchase agreement for AVL’s vanadium products. Managing director Vincent Algar and chief operating officer Todd Richardson will travel to Chengde, Hebei this month for further discussions. HBIS Group is one of the world’s largest steelmakers and the world’s third largest vanadium producer. Currently 92pc of vanadium consumption is for strengthening steel. The addition of as little as 0.1pc…

KALAMAZOO Resources, an Australian gold explorer with projects in Victoria, has attracted investment from Canadian gold bull Eric Sprott and Canadian-listed company Novo Resources, which has several Pilbara gold projects. Sprott and Novo will each subscribe to 10m shares in Kalamazoo at a price of 40c/share to raise $8m for Kalamazoo’s drilling programs in the Castlemaine, South Muckleford and Tarnagulla Central gold projects in Victoria. Kalamazoo chairman and CEO Luke Reinehr said in a statement to the ASX that he was pleased to welcome Mr Sprott and Novo as investors. “The investment of $8m by Novo and Eric Sprott is a terrific endorsement of our Central Victorian Goldfield’s strategy to explore smarter, using new technologies and innovations in a low…

GULF Manganese (ASX: GMC) has inked a deal securing necessary funds to construct and commission the first of two smelters at the Kuapang smelting hub in West Timor, Indonesia. The company executed a binding term sheet for the establishment of a €52m structured loan facility with Glacier International Depository Ltd, Legal and General Investment Management Limited and HSBC Bank The loan, which is presently being finalised, is expected to be received by the end of January. Gulf Manganese will be fully funded to complete the construction and commissioning of the smelter, which currently sits at 60pc complete and requires a further six to seven months’ work and about US$13m capital. The loan facility would also provide the company with the…

NORTHERN Star Resources (ASX: NST) has entered into a binding agreement with Newmont Goldcorp to acquire 50pc of the KCGM Super Pit and other tenements in Kalgoorlie, WA, for US$775m, and another US$25m for a separate parcel of tenements close by. Northern Star said it expects its share of the KCGM JV to add 120,000-140,000oz to its 2020 gold production at an AISC of A$1240/oz-A$1340/oz. The US$800m (A$1.16b) transaction is expected to be completed by January 2020, subject to approval from the WA minister of lands, while all economic benefit will transfer from 1 January 2020. Saracen Minerals purchased 50pc of the KCGM JV in November, 2019, from Barrick Gold for A$1.1b. Northern Star’s acquisition will put the iconic Super…

MINING services company NRW has acquired 100pc of BGC Contracting for an equity value of $116.4m and implied enterprise value (EV) of $310m. Essentially, the implied EV is an alternative measure of a company’s value and covers BGC’s market cap including short and long-term debt as well as any cash on the balance sheet. NRW’s chief executive and managing director Jules Pemberton said the company is extremely pleased with the acquisition as it aligns with goals to pursue diverse revenue opportunities. “BGC Contracting has a well-recognised and proud history build around the strong foundations set by the late Len Buckeridge,” Mr Pemberton said. “With an excellent track record supported by a diversified earnings base, extensive fleet and a long history…

CARAWINE Resources (ASX: CWX) has entered into a farm-in and JV agreement  with Fortescue Metals (ASX: FMG) to explore eastern Paterson copper, gold and base metals project tenements in WA. Carawine’s Lamil Hills, Trotman South tenements, near Newcrest’s Telfer gold and copper mine, and Sunday tenement, next door to Metals X’ Maroochydore copper-cobalt deposit, are still in early stages of exploration, with Carawine’s work to date mostly comprising target generation activities based mostly on work by previous explorers. FMG will pay $125,000 cash up front and have a minimum obligation to spend $500,000 within the first 18 months of the agreement. The agreement gives FMG the right to earn up to 75pc interest by spending $6m over two stages. Stage…

WESTERN Australian engineering and construction company Clough has nabbed the contract for the construction of the Great Northern Highway road-over-rail bridge and access road intersection for Rio’s Koodaideri mine in the Pilbara. Awarded by Main Roads WA as part of the Acciona Clough Joint Venture (ACJV), the contract covers  the construction of 3.6 km of road for the approaches to the bridge over rail, the construction of the bridge over rail, and construction of side road upgrades of the Great Northern Highway and Koodaideri Mine Access Road (KMAR) intersection. Clough chief executive and managing director Peter Bennett said he was extremely pleased to win the contract. “Our history with Main Roads started in 1957 and we are proud to continue…