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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...

GOLD and copper explorer GBM Resources has announced two milestones for its Milo rare earth elements project in Mt Isa, North West Queensland. A major upgrade of the total rare earth element and yttrium oxides (TREEYO) resource has been completed, and the production of a large concentration of TREEYO through heavy medium separation and metallurgical test work is underway. The Milo project area has grown to more than 1km in length, with the inferred resource increasing to 187 million tonnes containing 113,000t of rare earth oxides. The Milo resource is now 200m wide and contains elements that are considered to be in undersupply, including neodymium and dysprosium. Recent drilling indicated significant results on its northern and southern limits, and confirmed...

THE NSW Government has approved the development of the Tomingley gold project, Alkane Resources has announced. Scheduled to begin production in the second half of 2013, the project is expected to generate $570 million in revenue during its 10-year lifetime. Tomingley is estimated to contain 812,000oz of precious metals, and will produce around 60,000oz of gold per year for a minimum of seven years. The project will comprise three open pit mines that will be followed by the development of an underground operation three years into the project. Alkane is focussed on mining heavy rare earths in NSW, and is also involved in the nearby Dubbo zirconia project. Cash flow generated from Tomingley will help fund the Dubbo operation, which...

GLOBAL chemical giant BASF has opened a new research and development centre at the CSIRO’s Australian Minerals Research Centre in Perth, WA. The increase in funding for mining related chemicals research marks a shift in focus for the company as it looks to capitalise on the booming resource market in Australia and New Zealand. As part of a long term lease agreement signed with the CSIRO last year, scientists at the centre will study mineral processing technology, looking at topics including advanced rheology modifiers for improved thickening processes for valuables and tailings, and the modification of the crystallisation process in alumina production. BASF vice chairman Dr Martin Brudermueller said the research would also focus on energy efficiency and water recycling....

THE exploration target at Cape Lambert’s Marampa iron ore project in Sierra Leone, West Africa, has been increased following the receipt of encouraging drill results. The new exploration target for the project now stands at between 300 million tonnes and 550mt grading 21 to 32 per cent iron for an aggregate of between 1 billion tonnes and 1.25bt of ore grading 20 to 38 per cent iron, when including the Marampa resource estimate. The indicated and inferred mineral resource of 680mt grading 28.2 per cent iron covers the Matukia, Gafal, Mafuri and Rotret deposits and is based on drilling and assaying completed up until May 30, 2011. The exploration target estimates between 230mt and 430mt grading 20 to 35 per...

The short, medium and long-term future for mid-tier Australian copper-gold producer Sandfire Resources seems fairly assured. While not immune to the fluctuations of the market, its high-grade, high-margin DeGrussa project lies in a region that boasts well-established infrastructure. The world-class DeGrussa project, in the northeast part of Sandfire’s Doolgunna project tenements and about 900km east of Perth, began first production from both open pit and underground operations in February 2012, less than three years after its first exploration holes were drilled. The project’s copper-gold resource was one of Australia’s more exciting greenfield discoveries in recent times, with Sandfire expecting copper production of 77,000 tonnes per annum during the first three years. The company expects that about 143,000t of direct shipping...

SINCE 1985, Townsville-based exploration and mining services company Gnomic Exploration Services has specialised in placing highly motivated and talented geoscience experts with clients throughout the international resources industry, for both short and long-term contracts. In the past two decades Gnomic general manager Chrissy Maguire has built the company’s reputation for reliability, efficiency and personal service. The business is now the longest-standing geoscience contracting group in North Queensland. The Gnomic team offers excellent training and development opportunities to people in the industry, and many graduate geologists who begin their careers with Gnomic go on to become highly valued clients and industry leaders. The services offered by Gnomic’s new consultancy branch include: tenement data compilation reviews; mineralogy, petrology and microanalysis; map production...

THE new waterproof, shockproof, snowproof, mudproof, dustproof and sandproof iPhone 4 case developed by Proteus Protective Technologies allows users to take photographs and record video under water, during a blizzard, on dusty work sites or during muddy hiking trips. The Proteus PRO-Case is sleek and lightweight (only 150g) and allows iPhone users access to all normal functionalities, including their phone’s touch screen and cameras, with a scratchproof lens. The case has three quick lock-in screws and five inner impact-absorbing rubber bumpers to ensure that it is lock, block and shock-proof. Studies have shown that 3.43 million Australians use iPhones and, as a nation with a great love of the outdoors, the protective iPhone case has the ability to save customers...