Latest News

A self-commissioned assessment of Newcrest Mining’s disclosure and investor relations practices has cleared the company of selectively briefing analysts in June. Former ASX chairman Dr Maurice Newman AC – who was appointed by Newcrest to conduct the independent review – reached his conclusions despite an ongoing ASIC investigation limiting access to key analysts or critical emails. Newcrest’s share price plummeted days before its 7 June market update, leading to allegations of selective analyst briefings and triggering an ASIC investigation and two potential class actions. In his report, Dr Newman concluded that the volatility in Newcrest stock between 5 and 6 June appeared to follow a ‘sell’ recommendation by UBS on 4 June. “Five other brokers also published broker reports on…

FORMER billionaire Nathan Tinkler’s financial woes look set to continue, after one of his companies was placed in receivership in early September. Aston Metals Group – a base metals explorer with tenement holdings in the Mount Isa region – was one of Mr Tinkler’s last remaining mining assets after he was forced to sell his stake in Whitehaven Coal for $600 million in June. The Tinkler Group told The Australian that Aston Metals was considered a “dormant, speculative investment” by the company and other shareholders. “Our main joint venture partner, Orchard Capital Partners in Hong Kong, is experiencing financial difficulties in one of its funds and as a result, took the unexpected decision to place Aston Metals into receivership,” a…

SOME of the highest ever recorded grades of uranium mineralisation have been discovered at Toro Energy’s wholly owned Wiluna project, as it tries to bring nuclear energy into production in WA. Following geochemistry assays from its recently completed 2013 drill program, the company released results averaging grades of up to 2449 parts per million of triuranium octoxide across a 2.5m thickness at shallow depth at Wiluna. The grades peaked at 11,420ppm, or 1.14 per cent uranium oxide. According to a company report, the impressive figures substantiated previous data from the uranium-rich area, and the economic potential of utilising the resources across its three primary prospects: Lake Way, Millipede and Dawson-Hinkler. Toro pushed most of the test drills to 20m to…

THE board of independent directors of base metals company Perilya has unanimously accepted a takeover proposal from major shareholder Zhongjin Lingnan Mining. Perilya, owner of the historic Broken Hill mine in NSW, confirmed in early September it had received the takeover offer from its current 53.4 per cent state-owned shareholder. Each share available for purchase was valued by Zhongjin Lingnan at $0.35, in a deal totalling $269.3 million. Perilya stated the offer represented a substantial premium to the historical trading price of company shares, including a 59 per cent premium to the closing share price of $0.22 on the date that a trading halt occurred, and an 85 per cent premium to its one-month volume-weighted average price. The company’s unanimous…

AUSTRALIAN miners wanting to do business in South Africa have been advised to accept responsibility for the country’s development if they intend to continue operating there. Speaking at the Africa Downunder conference in August, South African Mineral Resources minister Susan Shabangu told delegates it was important for mining companies to optimise “social capital by ensuring that we grow the industry in a socially and environmentally responsible manner”. This year’s commodity-wide price drop has caused many investors to abandon the resources industry, making operations even harder for the many Australian companies pursuing opportunities in Africa. While in the past the lure of lower costs and higher returns had attracted investors to parts of the continent still considered risky, Ms Shabangu said…

THE market capitalisation of WA companies increased 9 per cent during July and a further 4 per cent in August, according to the Deloitte WA Index. The results bucked previous negative growth, spurred on by Fortescue Metals Group’s 42.4 per cent increase in market capitalisation during the two month period. Other companies that achieved significant growth included Saracen Mineral Holdings at 71.9 per cent, Lonestar Resources at 47.1 per cent and Calibre Group at 45.1 per cent. Deloitte Perth lead audit partner Tim Richards said the growth was stimulated by recovering commodities prices on the back of positive Chinese economic data. “The Chinese economy is transitioning to an economy that is driven by domestic consumption, as local demand in China…

A spike in reported bullying incidents on mine sites in WA’s South West has prompted the launch of a government awareness program. The Department of Mines and Petroleum (DMP) reported it had received three times the amount of bullying reports between 2011 and August 2013 than in the previous three years. Aimed at the region’s 60 medium to large scale mines, the program would include DMP site visits to examine preventative systems, policies and procedures. DMP Southwest Mines Safety team leader Tony Robertson said the program would provide assistance and information to companies to ensure they fulfilled duty of care. He said the safety and health of WA resources industry workers would remain the number one priority for the department.…

THE world’s third largest gold producer AngloGold Ashanti will bring its promising new WA gold mine Tropicana into production earlier than expected, despite stringent company plans to cut costs by up to US$500 million. In a 70:30 joint venture with Independence Group, primary owner AngloGold Ashanti is preparing to ramp up Tropicana Gold – a new project celebrated for its ‘enormous’ total estimated resources of up to 7.89 million ounces of gold. Lying 330km east-northeast of Kalgoorlie in Laverton WA, Tropicana Gold was originally forecast to begin production in December 2013. With commissioning already underway, the tailings facility completed and an operating team mobilised on site, Tropicana is now expected to produce first gold in the September quarter. Ramp up…

MINING powerhouse Rio Tinto has released detailed plans for a massive new $3.5 billion iron ore project, seeking public comment for what would be one of the Pilbara’s biggest mining developments. Lying 110km northwest of Newman, Rio’s Koodaideri project would export up to 35 million tonnes of iron ore per annum across a 30-year mine life. A planned site ramp-up by 2030 would see this initial figure increase to 70mtpa. Impacting the multibillion-dollar price tag, Rio’s plans emphasised the need for a new 165km rail system linking the site to its existing Tom Price-Dampier line. New roads, power supplies, water infrastructure and accomodation facilities would also need to be arranged, with estimated workforce figures totalling 2000 employees for the project…

RAMPING up its strategy to become one of the world’s top middle-tier uranium suppliers, Toro Energy is set to acquire the Lake Maitland uranium project from Mega Uranium. The new acquisition is 90km southeast of the first mining targets in Toro’s Wiluna project – the Centipede and Lake Way deposits. Toro will acquire eight exploration licences, two exploration licence applications, three prospecting licences, a granted mining lease and five miscellaneous licences, as well as the uranium rights for a further six exploration licences. Toro managing director Dr Vanessa Guthrie said the acquisition would support the company’s ability to commercialise the Wiluna project. Through integration into the Wiluna project, it would add economic benefits and increase the mine’s life to more…

A new mineral discovered in 2009 has been officially approved by the International Mineralogical Association. The cubic boron nitride, named qingsongite, was found in the mountains of southern Tibet, within chromium-rich rock of the paleo-oceanic crust that was subducted to a depth of 350km and recrystallised there at a temperature of about 2372 degrees Fahrenheit and pressure of about 118,430 atmospheres. University of California, Riverside geologists Larissa Dobrzhinetskaya and Harry Green uncovered the new mineral, together with scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the University of Maine and institutions in China and Germany. “About 180 million years ago the rocks were returned back to shallow levels of the Earth by plate tectonic processes leading to the closure of the…