Mining Breaks

West Australian explorer Tyranna Resources has identified an early mining opportunity that could be worth about $A2.6M in positive cash-flow over 2 months following a restart study of its 100%-owned Eureka gold project just 50km N of Kalgoorlie.
MD Bruno Seneque says the Entech study demonstrates Eureka’s potential to generate a very good cash margin quickly with upfront capital of $A0.6-0.7M.
A shallow openpit and adit into the north pit wall of the historic openpit mine could produce about 60,500t @ 2.1g/t diluted for 4,057oz contained gold.
Tyranna will consider funding options including internal funding, traditional debt/equity, strategic partners, asset sale or partial sale.

Global mining major Freeport-McMoRan is selling its cobalt refinery in Kokkola, Finland, and related cobalt cathode precursor business to Belgian-based international materials technology/recycling group Umicore for $US150M.
Under the agreement, Freeport will separate its cobalt business, with Umicore acquiring the refinery/cathode precursor business, which represents about 60% of the refinery’s historical revenues. Freeport and its partners will retain Freeport Cobalt’s remaining cobalt business as a leading global cobalt fine powders, chemicals, catalyst, ceramics and pigments producer, with operations in Kokkola and sales offices in the US, Europe and Asia.
The deal is expected to be completed by year-end 2019. Lundin Mining is entitled to receive 30% of the proceeds of the transaction.

Ongoing stoppages at Newmont Goldcorp’s Penasquito Gold Mine in Mexico are costing both public coffers and the company millions of dollars-a-day, according to Mexico’s deputy economy minister responsible for mining, Francisco Quiroga, who’s urging a solution to restart operations at the country’s largest gold mine, Reuters reports.
The open-pit mine, in the N Zacatecas state, produced 272,000oz in 2018 and accounts for about 17% of Newmont Goldcorp’s net asset value.
Truck drivers have blocked access to the mine since Mar 27, with protesters saying its operations caused a water supply to dry up. At the end of April, the company suspended production, then payments/benefits to villages surrounding the site.
“We want to help solve any water issues in the community, but are not willing to give into extortion disguised as a social issue,” a Newmont Goldcorp spokesman said.

Western Australia-based Myanmar Metals has raised $A20.8M from institutional/sophisticated investors to start construction this year on a low capex $US300M phase-1 pilot scale operation for its 51%-owned world-class, lead-silver-zinc Bawdwin project in Myanmar, an initial 13-year LoM operation with mining beginning in 2021.
The 319.9M over-bid share issue at $0.065ps, includes binding commitments of $7.4M from China's Shenzhen Zhongjin Lingnan Nonformet’s Australia-based subsidiary Perilya Ltd to maintain its 19.9% stake and prominent WA-based prospector/developer Mark Creasy’s Yandal Investments P/L for its 12.54%.
The proceeds and existing cash reserves, will be used to fund definitive feasibility and environmental studies, and early capital works at Bawdwin, for which a PFS on the 1st 2 underground mining operations to augment the phase-1 starter pit, ascribes a phase-1 pre-tax NPV8% (100% basis) of $US580M ($A828M) and 30% IRR, with payback in 4-years.

A $A20M mezzanine debt facility from major shareholder IMC Group will prop up West Australian miner Millennium’s working capital while it seeks to restore production at its 100%-owned Nullagine operation in the East Pilbara.
The first $10M draw-down is anticipated by May 31 under the in-principle agreement with Singapore-based IMC, with $5M tranches in June-July conditional on gold production hurdles.
It will support the ramp-up of the Bartons underground mine and sulphide plant expansion.
Nullagine’s supply problems have forced Millennium to cut June half-year forecast to 34,000-36,000oz, and FY2019 guidance to 80,000-90,000oz at $1,370-1,450/oz from 90,000-100,000oz at $1,300-1,375/oz previously.

Queensland, Australia, Premier Anna Palasczcuk says the process for final approvals for Indian coal giant Adani Mining’s controversial $US2.9B development of the giant Carmichael thermal coal project in the centre of the state, must be concluded by mid-June.
Referring to the 2 outstanding mine permits, she says “these deadlines are set by the independent co-ordinator general and they are the timeframes.”
Adani has been working for over 10-years to obtain approvals to develop the project, hampered by continuing environment issues.
The move towards a final project OK follow last weekend’s national election delivered a surprise win for the incumbent Liberal-National coalition, which supports the mine.

West Australian miner Mincor has followed up its acquisition of the Long mine with the announcement of a $A23M capital raising to fast-track its planned restart of high-grade nickel sulphide mining in the Kambalda district.
It’s gained $18M through a strongly supported placement of shares at 40cps to professional and sophisticated investors and will follow it with a $5M share purchase plan.
Independence Group, which sold the mothballed Long project to Mincor for $9.5M, has invested $1.5M in the placement and will hold 4.2% of the company.

Australian miner Metals X is preparing a new life-of-mine plan for the Renison tin operations on Tasmania's west coast after posting a 22% increase in underground mine resources to 263,000t contained tin (17.55Mt @ 1.5%).
It includes a 14.5% improvement in global resource grade, and measured-indicated resources have nearly doubled to 228,000t.
MD Damien Marantelli says Metals X is now updating ore reserves and the LOM plan, which will include new 4.47Mt @ 1.91% resources within Renison’s Area 5.
Mine operator Bluestone Mines is a 50-50 JV between Metals X and Yunnan Tin Group.

West Australian potash developer Kalium Lakes is set for early works to commence on its 100%-owned Beyondie SOP project with the award of key EPCM contracts for the purification plant – design, supervision and commissioning services to the Ebtec GbR consortium, project deliver to DRA Global, compaction plant to Maschinenfabrik Köppern and workplace health and safety implementation to Firm Construction.
Kalium says the contracts, together worth over $A60M, all fall within budget.
Chief development officer Rudolph van Niekerk says the contracts confirm the project’s 15-month construction schedule following a final investment decision, keeping Australia’s first SOP production on schedule for 2020.

AVZ Minerals has further strengthened the potential for a world-class, high-margin, long-life mining project at its 60%-owned Manono lithium project in DR Congo with the completion of an extended scoping study for a 5Mtpa operation.
The study outlines a 20-year potential mine life producing 1.1Mtpa of 5.8% Li2O concentrate at cash costs of $US223/t.
MD Nigel Ferguson says the study also underlines the expandability of the project, leaving the company to assess the optimal throughput level in conjunction with consultants working on the DFS.

Zambia’s 2019 copper output could be as much as 100,000t lower than last year’s 861,946t as changes to mining tax drive miners to cut production, Reuters reports.
The Chamber of Mines says present forecasts are that copper production, both concentrate and finished copper, will be drastically lower than last year and could be as much as 100,000t lower.
Referring to tax changes the mining industry says will stymie investment, the Chamber says the 2019 tax regime was “forcing miners to do the unthinkable – to cut production – because many cannot afford to continue producing as before.”

Uranium-focused Aura Energy has achieved a milestone on the road to achieving producer status with the delivery of its first samples of yellowcake product during testwork carried out for the DFS study on its 100%-owned Tiris project in the Sahara Desert in Mauritania.
Aura says the UO4 yellowcake produced during testwork in the ANSTO Minerals laboratories is regarded as saleable with impurity levels in the product within ASTM standards, and precipitation testing will continue aiming to achieve further product optimisation.
Exec chairman Peter Reeve says the yellowcake production will assist in marketing studies and progressing our financing discussions.

McEwen Mining’s Gold Bar Mine in Nevada, US, has reached commercial production and is on track for Dec 2019 year (FY/CY19) gold production of 50,000oz at an AISC of $US975oz.
The mine is operating at 125% of the planned 7,200tpd production rate, with recoveries from the heap leach tracking well compared to the FS, following 1st gold on Feb 16th.

Codelco’s giant Chuquicamata Copper Mine in Chile is set for a 40% drop in production over the next 2-years, according an internal forecast seen by Reuters, pointing to the sharp challenge facing the world’s top copper miner as it scrambles to maintain output.
As Codelco scales down and ultimately shutters open pit extraction next year, while the underground project ramps up, production is expected to drop sharply to 277,000t by 2021, before climbing back to a peak of 416,000t in 2024. Codelco’s total copper production is expected to fall to 1.66Mt in 2021 from 1.73Mt expected this year. Only by 2027 would it again top 2019 levels.

Industrial conglomerate Wesfarmers is going ahead with its $A776M, $1.90-a-share takeover bid for Kidman Resources and its 50% of the proposed long-life Mt Holland lithium mining/refining operation in Western Australia after completed its exclusive period of due diligence.
The 2 have entered an agreement for a scheme of arrangement backed by the Kidman board, but still subject to a range of conditions, including Kidman shareholder approval and an independent expert reports, with the deal expected to be done by early Sept 2019.
The Mt Holland project, with global leader Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile, is for a lithium mine and on-site concentrator at Mt Holland 110km SE of Southern Cross and a lithium hydroxide refinery in the Kwinana industrial area outside Perth. DFS expected mid 2019.

A mergers/acquisition-driven Dec 2018 year (FY/CY18), culminating in South Africa vanadium-focussed Bushveld Minerals’ 1st year as 74% controlling stake-holder of Vametco, has seen the company lift net profit to $US49M from FY/CY17’s 10-months $892,648 loss, despite a tax bill up to $37.6M from $10.5M.
The Vametco ownership jump from 59% came with an average vanadium price up 149% to $81.2KgV, lifting revenue to $192M from $2.8M for a gross profit up to $126.8M from $1.4M, an operating profit to $95.1M from a $3.8M loss and generating net cash from operating activities of $44.9M from a negative $5.3M.
Vametco's revenue jumped 131% to $183M and EBITDA up an impressive 353% to $108.3M, despite a 3.4% production drop to 2,560mt V, following 37.5 days of stoppages and unexpected operational challenges. Bushveld finished FY/CY18 with $42M cash and no debt.

Lithium explorer and related technologies company, Lithium Australia, has come up with a maiden 185Mt vanadium resource at 0.33% V2O5, using a 0.2% cut, at part of the Youanmi complex in the mid-west region of Western Australia.
The oxide resource of 96Mt at 0.34% and fresh resources of 88M at 0.33%, are within E57/978, held by Diversity Resources P/L, over which Lithium Australia has an option to purchase. The oxidised mineralisation extends to between 20m-50m, with an average depth of 40 m and virtually no overburden.

Mincor Resources has taken another big step in the restart strategy for its world-class Kambalda nickel operation near Kalgoorlie in Western Australia with a $A9.5M acquisition deal for Independence Group’s high-grade, 32,000t contained nickel Long Nickel sulphide operation, lifting Kambalda’s contained nickel to 161,000t.

Australian technology minerals company Talga Resources is targeting initial production in early 2021 after a PFS delivered outstanding project economics for its wholly owned Vittangi graphite project in north Sweden.
MD Mark Thompson says the proposed $US27M first stage capital cost for a conventional openpit mining operation offers the most immediate path to significant revenue.

New exploration partner Metalicity has established a target of 230,000-510,000oz as it prepares to begin initial drilling programs under its farm-in agreement with Nex Metals at the Kookynie gold project 180km N of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields.
The JORC-compliant exploration target is based on Kookynie’s historical production, drilling results and past non-compliant resource estimates.
Metalicity reached agreement with Nex Metals in early May to spend $A5.5M over 5 years to earn 51% interest in one of the last significant Eastern Goldfields production centres remaining under-explored.