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IRON ore giant Fortescue Metals Group has borrowed US$1.5 billion to cover its expansion costs in the Pilbara region of WA. The loan comes one month after Fortescue announced it would need to return to debt markets following an increase in project costs. The dual tranche credit facility will mature on December 31, 2013 and comprises a US$750 million term loan and a revolving credit facility of US$750 million. Fortescue chief financial officer Stephen Pearce said in a statement that the loan would enable the company to meet its financial obligations and continue development at projects such as the Chichester hub expansion. “The facility provides a short-term funding solution to support the company’s expansion to 155 million tonnes per annum,”...

GOLD exploration company Atlantic Gold has bolstered its asset portfolio with the purchase of the Cochrane Hill gold project in Nova Scotia, Canada. Cochrane Hill covers 8.3 square kilometres, 80km east of Atlantic Gold’s Touquoy gold project, and has more than 10 million tonnes of total indicated and inferred resources grading 1.7 grams per tonne. The project comprises 53 mineral claims. Atlantic reported that in the first stage of a 5000m resource development diamond drilling program, Cochrane Hill produced “excellent results”, with shallow mineralisation suitable for open pit mining discovered across intersects of up to 31m, including 2.43g/t from 19m depth. “The acquisition of 100 per cent interest in the Cochrane Hill gold project is a major step forward in...

MULTIPLE high-grade polymetallic intercepts from Kidman Resource’s newly acquired Home of Bullion project in Barrow Creek, Northern Territory, have increased the project’s potential to host an open pit resource. Assay results for the first three holes of the maiden 24 reverse circulation (RC) drill hole program, testing the main lode, have been received with the results from the remaining 21 holes pending. Highlights included 4m grading 4.7 per cent copper, 5.1 per cent zinc, 84.6 grams per tonne of silver, 1.3 per cent lead and 0.52g/t of gold from 49m. The results confirmed previous high grade drill intercepts at the Home of Bullion main lode, with follow up diamond drilling scheduled for mid-September. Kidman has also initiated a detailed airborne...

EXPLORATION drilling at the Burtville mining centre in Laverton has delivered a 140 per cent increase in the mineral resource, Focus Minerals has announced. The Australian gold producer and explorer was able to increase the mineral resource estimate of the area to 5.7 million tonnes grading 1.3 grams per tonne for 235,000oz of contained gold. Chief executive Campbell Baird said in a statement that the drilling highlighted the enormous potential of the site. “This is a significant increase in the mineral resource from a drilling program that has only focussed on one small portion of the Burtville system,” Mr Baird said. “Very little drilling has been previously undertaken within a 2km by 1km area around the old pit, where old...

QUEENSLAND explorer Sovereign Metals has announced its intention to acquire McCourt Mining, which owns the Central Malawi graphite project in Africa. Under the sale agreement, Sovereign will pay $100,000 to McCourt immediately, followed by a payment of $900,000 and 12.5 million fully paid ordinary shares to complete the transaction. The transaction is subject to shareholder approval and due diligence. The 8070 square kilometre Central Malawi project comprises two tenements near the Malawi capital of Lilongwe and will be the company’s first international acquisition. To date, geological mapping and surface sampling has been conducted at the project and three prospects containing substantial amounts of high-grade graphite have been identified: Tuinchi, Kaolatsitsi and Mpatozombe. Metallurgical test work within the project has found...

A $5 million sale agreement will see ownership of the Sandstone gold project in WA’s east Murchison passed from Troy Resources to gold development company Southern Cross Goldfields. As part of the deal, $2.5 million will be paid to Troy to replace theenvironmental bonds on the property. Troy will also receive 43.665 million options (the equivalent of 15 per cent) in Southern Cross and a 2 per cent royalty on production from the Sandstone tenements. The transaction includes a 600,000 tonne per annum carbon-in-leach gold processing plant, a 100-man camp and a 1100 square kilometre exploration tenement package. Southern Cross intends to relocate the Sandstone plant to its well-advanced Marda gold project, 150km north of Southern Cross, to facilitate the...

JOINT venture partners Continental Nickel (75 per cent) and IMX Resources (25 per cent) have announced the discovery of new nickel sulfide intersections at the promising Ntaka Hill project, which forms part of the larger Nachingwea nickel-copper JV in southern Tanzania. The initial round of drilling assays received from the Sleeping Giant Zone at Ntaka Hill returned 32.65m grading 1.04 per cent nickel and 0.22 per cent copper and 14m grading 1.45 per cent nickel and 0.25 per cent copper. Multiple zones of scattered nickel sulfide mineralisation assaying more than 0.5 per cent nickel were also intersected in the hanging wall to the Sleeping Giant Zone. IMX’s interest in Nachingwea is held through a direct 25 per cent interest in...

NICKEL company Sirius Resources has raised $7.6 million through a share placement to fast track drilling at its Nova discovery in WA. The placement of 10 million shares was made at a price of $0.76 per share. This represented a 13.7 per cent discount to the five-day volume weighted average price (VWAP) of Sirius and a 1.5 per cent premium to the 10-day VWAP. The newly placed shares represent 6.6 per cent of the issued capital of the company. Sirius managing director Mark Bennett said the money would ensure the company was “well funded for an aggressive exploration campaign over coming months whilst avoiding unnecessary dilution”. “We are delighted with the overwhelming support for the placement, which will see the...

HIGH-grade gold intercepts from step-out rotary air blast (RAB) and reverse circulation (RC) drilling at West African Resources’ wholly-owned Boulsa gold project in Burkina Faso, West Africa has the company moving closer to its first resource estimation, slated for late 2012. The company’s Moktedu discovery – in the southwest corner of the Boulsa project and only 4km northeast of Orezone Gold Corporation’s 3.5 million ounce Bombore gold deposit – has been the subject of a 2321m, 19-hole RC drilling program and a 4968m, 146-hole RAB program. RC drilling at depths of between 100m and 150m in the central portion of Moktedu yielded results including 5m grading 4.25 grams per tonne of gold. Follow-up RC and diamond drilling will be conducted...

PERTH iron ore company IMX Resources has announced that it will investigate the feasibility of developing a port solution at South Australia’s Port Pirie to support its Snaefell magnetite project. Last month, IMX signed a memorandum of understanding with Flinders Port, in what the company said was an important step toward proving the feasibility of the Snaefell prospect. Snaefell is part of the company’s wholly-owned Mt Woods iron project which lies 12km southwest of the Carin Hill mine, in which IMX holds a 51 per cent stake. IMX managing director Neil Meadows said the company had already worked with Flinders Ports to establish its containerised iron ore storage and loading facilities at Port Adelaide. “The MOU provides the basis for...

THROUGH its subsidiary MMG, mid-tier mining company Minmetals Resources has received final environmental approvals for its Dugald River lead-zinc-silver project, 65km northwest of Cloncurry in Queensland. The Hong-Kong listed company was granted final environmental authority from the Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection early last month, setting out licence conditions for the project. MMG executive general manager, business development Michael Nossal said the company had worked closely with the Queensland Government, local communities and other stakeholders for the past 18 months, and that the environmental approval marked a significant milestone for the project. Dugald River is one of the world’s largest and highest-grade lead-zinc-silver deposits, with a mineral reserve of 39 million tonnes grading 12.3 per cent zinc, 1.9...