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IN a year when many gold producers experienced the negative effects of an unstable gold price, West Africa-focussed Perseus Mining doubled its total revenue for the financial year. The company’s total revenue for the period ending 30 June was $293.7 million, up from $145.7 million for the previous year. “Our financial performance in financial year 2013 was very solid, especially taking into account the recent volatility in gold price and technical challenges that needed to be overcome during the year at our flagship operation, the Edikan gold mine in Ghana,” Perseus managing director Jeff Quartermaine said. Despite this, the company experienced a drop in net profit after tax, down from $52.5 million in 2012 to $41.4 million. Perseus stated that…

FOLLOWING the upgrade of its Swedish graphite reserves, Talga Resources is hoping to raise $1.47 million in capital to fund the projects. The money would be raised by a combination of a public and private share placement – both placed at $0.05 per share – and would go towards completing economic assessments to advance the Nunasvaara and Raitajärvi graphite projects. Any leftover funds would contribute to advancing Talga’s Swedish iron ore projects, and for general working capital. Talga managing director Mark Thompson said the company had already secured new shareholders. “We are pleased to secure funds and new shareholders using a robust capital raising structure in what is a particularly challenging equity market environment,” he said. “After intense efforts by…

THE Mongolian Government is set to repeal a controversial law restricting foreign ownership in ‘strategic sectors’, following a 43 per cent decline in foreign direct investment. The Strategic Entities Foreign Investment Law (SEFIL), established in May 2012, targeted ‘strategic’ industries including mining, finance, and media and telecommunications. The law required foreign investors to seek government approval for acquisitions of more than 33 per cent equity, while acquisitions of more than 49 per cent equity required parliamentary approval. State-owned firms also required approval to obtain interest in any ‘strategic’ assets. Director of the Foreign Investment Regulations and Registration Department of the Ministry of Economic Development Sereeter Javkhlanbaatar told media a new law would seek to quell concerns about investor limitations, particularly…

DRILLING results have confirmed the discovery of a new copper prospect by Caravel Minerals, at the Calingiri project in WA. An induced polarisation survey identified the Edmonds prospect, which is the fifth promising discovery along a 7.5km strike. Edmonds covered twice the area of the nearby flagship Dasher prospect, which measured 2km by 1km and had similar chargeability and copper soil anomalies. With all the discoveries in close proximity, only 120km northeast of Perth, the company was confident of setting up a new base metals region. “The Edmonds prospect provides further evidence that Calingiri has the potential to host a substantial base minerals project,” Caravel chief executive Marcel Hilmer said. “Importantly, the new anomaly is coincident with both surface copper…

THE world’s largest brilliant cut blue diamond is expected to fetch US$19 million when it goes to auction in Hong Kong on 7 October. Named Premier Blue, the gemstone weighed in at 7.59 carats, and was the only one of its kind on record, graded as internally flawless by the Gemological Institute of America. The button-sized carbon structure would be auctioned by New York-based auction house Sotheby’s, as a part of the company’s 40th anniversary sales in Asia. The size, clear blue colouring, and round cut finish all reportedly contributed to Premier Blue’s value and aesthetic appeal. The pigmentation in blue coloured diamonds is due to the presence of boron atoms; the higher the boron concentration, the deeper the colour.…

IN a potentially life-saving breakthrough, the CSIRO has devised a new tracking system to monitor people and objects to within half a metre. The Wireless Ad hoc System for Positioning (WASP) can operate where GPS and Wi-Fi are not as effective, such as underground mine operations. The product was commercialised by Mintec and launched at the Asia Pacific International Mining Exhibition in Sydney. Mintec executive general manager Andy Sheppard said the development was a significant milestone for reducing the risk of underground accidents. “ is a revolutionary technology that offers a highly accurate, cost-effective tracking solution for underground mining, and we are hoping to expand its use for aboveground in the near future,” Mr Sheppard said. “The high resolution situational…

A 15-year court battle has ended with WA’s Banjima indigenous group winning a Native Title claim for more than 10,000 square kilometres of Pilbara land. The claim was first lodged in 1998 and went to litigation with the state in 2011. In late August, the Federal Court decided in favour of the Banjima people, awarding them the rights for land stretching east from Tom Price to Newman, around the Karijini National Park. The group’s rights will co-exist with iron ore mining tenements held by BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Hancock Prospecting and Fortescue Metals Group. The decision would not overrule the rights granted to these companies by mining tenements or pastoral leases, but could result in some changes via negotiations. Banjima…

AFRICA’S emergence as a mining powerhouse would not be a threat to Australian investment, according to WA Premier Colin Barnett, who claimed it is in Australia’s best interest to help develop the nation’s resources industry. At the Africa Downunder conference, Mr Barnett outlined some of the achievements the WA Government had made before making a ‘genuine’ offer to assist the African mining industry by sending some of the state’s most experienced officials to share their knowledge. Mr Barnett said WA and Africa shared many common characteristics such as remoteness, long distance, travel costs and travel time, and indicated a large proportion of Australian companies involved in African mining were based in Perth. Ownership of resources was the most important issue…

BURGEONING Pilbara-based iron ore miner BC Iron has released the results of a successful year; doubling its final dividends and increasing production at its flagship Nullagine joint venture with Fortescue Metals Group. Despite rumours of an imminent drop in the iron ore price, BC Iron announced a 41 per cent increase in its underlying net profit for the 2012 to 2013 financial year; recording a net profit of $71.4 million, up from $50.6 million the previous year. The company passed on the funding directly to its shareholders, who received a substantial 30 per cent share dividend, fully franked. In the wake of the announcement, former major shareholder Consolidated Minerals sold its 28,522,712 ordinary shares to a range of institutional investors…

THE New Zealand Government has approved, and will fund, a NZ$7.2 million plan to re-enter and explore the main tunnel of the former Pike River coal mine. Formerly operated by Pike River Coal, the mine was sealed in early 2011 following a series of explosions in November 2010 that resulted in the death of 29 workers. When Solid Energy purchased Pike River Coal’s assets (which were in receivership) in July 2012, it agreed to a condition requiring it to commit to undertaking recovery of the remains of the 29 men, provided it could be done safely, in a manner that was technically and financially feasible. Re-entry to the mine would give experts access to electrical equipment and possibly detect causes…

FOLLOWING through on plans to divest its resources, Balamara Resources has secured a farm-in agreement with Alkane Resources for its Elsienora gold project in NSW. The agreement includes two exploration licenses – EL 6082 and EL 6767 – which are 75km south of Blayney and the McPhillamys project. Alkane could earn up to an 80 per cent interest by spending $500,000 on exploration across three years, with a minimum spend of $250,000 across two years. The company already has considerable technical knowledge of the region after discovering the 2.96 million ounce McPhillamys gold deposit in 2006. Balamara managing director Mike Ralston said the agreement would allow the company to focus its resources on overseas projects, including the Monty zinc-lead-silver project…