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GRAPHITE: Province okays the start of Kearney mine
Ontario Graphite of Kearney, ON, has received approval from the Ontario Ministry of the Environment to re-commission the Kearney graphite mine in the town of the same name. The company has been working with the Ontario government and local aboriginal communities since 2011. Mining was suspended at Kearney in 1994. With all permits in place, the mine is on track to begin production in Q4 2013. [Read... [Read more]
Costs climb, commissioning delayed at Legacy potash mine
News of a 26% capital cost increase and six-month start-up delay at the Legacy potash mine in Saskatchewan drove owner K+S AG‘s share price to a five month low, but the German company remains confident the project offers attractive economics and good potential to grow into a major potash operation. [Read more] Read More →
HOISTS: ABB to build world’s largest for Jansen potash project
ABB, with Canadian headquarters in St-Laurent, QC, has been selected by Australia-headquartered BHP Billiton to supply mine hoisting systems for the Jansen potash project, located 130 km east of Saskatoon. The contract includes the overall design, manufacturing, supply and installation of four complete mine hoist systems to be delivered over a period between 2015 and 2018. [Read more] Read More →
DIAMONDS: Stornoway pleased with valuation of Renard sample
Stornoway Diamond Corp. of Montreal is pleased with the latest valuation of a bulk sample from its Renard diamond project in the Otish Mountains. An independent valuation using March 2013 prices revealed an average price of US$250/ct on the total Renard 65 parcel of 997 ct. Valuations of US$8,500/ct and US$5,900/ct were made on the two largest stones of 9.77 ct (G colour) and 6.40 ct (F colour) respectively.... [Read more]
URANIUM: Canadian producers gain access to Indian market
Canada’s uranium producers are nothing if not world class. In 2011, 8.69 million tonnes of uranium worth $1.1 billion was produced, all of it from Saskatchewan. That makes us second in the world, behind Kazakhstan (17.8 million tonnes) and well ahead of Australia (5.9 million tonnes). Canada supplies 18.2% of world’s uranium, but there are certain precautions used when choosing a customer.... [Read more]
DIAMOND: Birks premiers 16-ct yellow diamond in Edmonton
Birks, synonymous with fine jewellery since 1879, is exhibiting one of the world’s rarest yellow diamonds in its Edmonton location starting this week. The stunning, 16.01-carat fancy intense yellow diamond is set into a platinum ring adorned with diamond pavé. The diamond’s colour is of natural origin, and its large size and stellar high clarity makes it exceptional. Recently discovered,... [Read more]
GOLD-SILVER: $140M raised for Inmaculada development in Peru
International Minerals Corp., headquartered in Scottsdale, AZ, and traded on the TSX, has secured a US$140-million term loan facility with which to partially fund construction of the Inmaculada gold-silver mine located southwest of Cuzco. A joint venture of International Minerals (40%) and Hochschild Mining plc (60%) owns the property and the nearby Pallancata silver mine. Hochschild is operator of... [Read more]
Hunt for gold continues in Northern Manitoba
Callinex Mines just announced that it has begun a drilling campaign on its Gossan Hill gold project in Northern Manitoba, near Cranberry Portage. This, the third drill program on the property by Callinex, is designed to build on the company’s 2012 drilling program. The mineralization has been defined by 64 diamond drill holes over two drilling seasons to date. Highlights of the previous campaigns... [Read more]
COMMENT: Devolution comes to the Northwest Territories
By Marilyn Scales dev·o·lu·tion (noun) ~ The transfer of power or authority from a central government to a local government. I learned a new word today, one I had not come across before: devolution. I saw it in a headline, Devolution agreement for NWT follows years of negotiations, in the local newspaper. Intrigued, I read on. [Read more] Read More →
COMMENT: MAC applauds the Canadian government for new trade agreements in Africa
The Mining Association of Canada (MAC) commends the federal government on the signing of two new Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (FIPAs) with Zambia and Cameroon. The announcement was made on March 4 by the Hon. Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, at the 2013 Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention in... [Read more]
LOAN: Ivernia borrows to reopen lead mine
Ivernia Inc. has entered into a $20-million secured load facility with Sprott Resources Lending Partnership. The funds will be used to restart operations at Ivernia’s Paroo Station lead mine in Western Australia. Ivernia has already drawn down $15 million. The Paroo Station mine was suspended after Ivernia received a stop order from the environment ministry relating [Read more] Read More →
EXPLORATION: Yukon boosts incentive, okays two new mines
The Yukon government has increased funding to the Yukon Mining Incentive Program to encourage mineral exploration in the territory. The increase was announced at the Mineral Exploration Roundup by Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources Brad Cathers. “We are increasing funds for the Yukon Mining Incentive Program by $200,000 to a total of $770,000 for 2013-14. This new money will encourage more... [Read more]
COMMENT: Mining in north to double by 2020
OTTAWA – The Conference Board of Canada has taken a close look and said that mining employment and production in Canada’s north can almost double by the end of this decade. The Board sees Canada’s overall northern metal and non-metallic mineral output growing by 91% from 2011 to 2020, a compound annual growth rate of 7.5%. In contrast, the Canadian economy is forecast to grow by an average... [Read more]
LITHIUM: Canada Lithium signs second off-take agreement
Canada Lithium Corp. has signed a three-year deal with Japan’s largest commodity trader Marubeni giving Marubeni exclusive rights to distribute battery grade lithium carbonate from the Quebec lithium mine 60 km north of Val d’Or, QC, in Japan for an initial three-year period beginning later this year. The agreement includes an option to extend it for a further three years beginning in 2016.... [Read more]
GOLD: Mining permit issued for Richmont’s Monique project
Richmont Mines of Montreal has received the mining permit for its 100% owned Monique gold project in Val d’Or. Overburden removal will begin shortly to facilitate mining a 5,000-tonne bulk sample that will be treated at the company’s Camflo mill 50 km away. [Read more] Read More →
LITHIUM: Commissioning begins at Quebec Lithium
Toronto-based Canada Lithium Corp. has begun commissioning its open pit mine and mill near Val d’Or. During November, 12,000 tonnes of ore and 380,000 tonnes of waste were mined. The waste rock is being used to build the tailings management facility. The ore has been stockpiled. Commissioning activity at the concentrator has been ongoing during December. The crushing, conveying, ore storage,... [Read more]
OPINION: Commodity boom here to stay
While many wonder if the current softening commodities prices are a sign that the mineral industry is headed for a cyclical dip, there are others who maintain an optimistic outlook. One of the latter is Scotiabank‘s VP of economics and commodity market specialist Patricia Mohr, who made her optimism clear in a keynote address to the Economic Club of Canada this week in Ottawa. “Over the... [Read more]
OPINION: Golden opportunities
By Marilyn Scales Mineral exploration spending in Canada will top $4 billion for 2012, up 33% from a year earlier, according to figures from the Ontario Mining Association. This country remains a favoured place for explorationists of all sizes because of its stable political conditions, still-vast potential for new discoveries, and reasonably transparent system of permitting. If one adds in the high... [Read more]
DIAMOND MINING: BHP Billion sells Ekati to Harry Winston for $500M
BHP Billiton is selling its diamond business, including the Ekati mine at Lac de Gras, to Harry Winston Diamond Corp. of Toronto. The deal is worth US$500 million, and it should close in Q1 2013. With production beginning in October 1998, the Ekati mine is Canada’s first diamond mine. For the purposes of this sale, it consists of the Core zone, which includes the current operating mine and other... [Read more]
IRON ORE OPPORTUNITY: NL government seeks partner for Julienne Lake property
Click here to read the whole story. In late 2009, the government of Newfoundland and Labrador began exploring the Julienne Lake iron ore deposit a few kilometres from Wabush and Labrador City. Since then it has spent $3 million in a multi-phased work program and outlined a significant iron ore deposit. Enough drilling has been done to produce a 3-D resource model containing over 1 billion tonnes of... [Read more]
