Mining Breaks

Graphite developer Volt Resources has outlined significantly improved economics for its Bunyu project in Tanzania in a feasibility study update that increases its planned first stage mine life from 7.1 to 13.7 years.
It’s based on mining and processing 400,000tpa ore to produce 24,780tpa graphite products at average FOB operating cost of $670/t, positioning Volt as a dominant participant in the global flake graphite market, and minimising start-up capital cost to $33.1M.
Compared to its 2018 feasibility study, forecast outcomes improve significantly to pre-tax NPV at 7.5% of $58.9M, IRR of 31.5% and payback period of 2.9 years.

Explorer Magnum Mining is continuing discussions with potential multinational funding and collaboration groups after completing a positive scoping study on its proposed Buena Vista iron project in Nevada, USA.
The study outlines $US182-378M capital cost for an openpit development producing up to 1.6Mtpa direct reduction iron grade magnetite concentrate at operating costs of $44-90/t over 25 years from Buena Vista’s 232Mt @ 22.6% magnetite resource.
Magnum plans additional drilling to convert more of the 81Mt inferred resource to probable reserves.

Australian Vanadium has signed the engineering, procurement and construction contract with engineering group Primero for a vanadium electrolyte facility in Perth’s northern suburbs.
AVL says the facility will utilise proven electrolyte manufacturing technology licenced by US Vanadium LLC to produce up to 33MWh of vanadium flow battery (VFB) high purity electrolyte annually. Most long-lead items for the project have been delivered.
The facility will source vanadium oxide feedstock from USV and third parties pending the commencement of production from AVL’s namesake project in WA’s Mid West.
The facility development is being co-funded by a $A3.69M Australian government grant.

Strong results of its scoping studies have encouraged Australian developer Toro Energy to commission designs for a pilot plant to produce uranium and a vanadium by-product at the Lake Maitland deposit, part of its 100%-owned Wiluna project in WA’s Northern Goldfields.
The Perth plant, to include hydrometallurgical and beneficiation facilities, will test a newly developed processing flow sheet for Lake Maitland approaching operational scale.
The studies outlined a 17.5-year mine life producing 22.8Mlb U3O8 and 11.9Mlb V2O5 at C1 operating cost of $US23.10/lb U3O8.

Diversified critical minerals explorer Cygnus Metals suggests it has identified a significant regional lithium project with the posting of a maiden resource of 10.1Mt @ 1.04% Li2O at its Pontax project in James Bay, Canada.
MD David Southam says the JORC-compliant resource estimate, 12 months after it acquired the project 30km S of Allkem’s world-class James Bay project and one season of drilling, is just the start of its growth strategy.
The deposit is open in all directions and spodumene mineralisation has been confirmed up to 9km away.

Long-stalled hopes of developing massive iron ore deposits at Simandou in Guinea have been boosted by the finalisation of key agreements for a co-development convention between the national government and major developers including Rio Tinto and Winning International Group.
Rio Tinto and the Chinalco-led Chalco Iron Ore group hold 85% interest in Simandou South blocks 3 and 4 and the consortium of Winning and Weiqiao Engineering share 99.98% of the remaining blocks 1 and 2.
The convention, subject to Guinean state ratification, will see the groups share the infrastructure and associated costs.
Rio says the partners continue critical path works to maximise progress in the 2023-24 dry season.

Lithium miner Allkem is confident of more growth after a mineral resource update positioned its James Bay project in Quebec, Canada as one of the largest spodumene lithium assets in the world.
Allkem says the 173% increase in indicated and inferred mineral resources to 110.2Mt @ 1.3% for 1.43Mt contained Li20 solidifies the project’s status as a tier 1 lithium pegmatite deposit and long-life asset.
It plans significant infill and extensional drilling in the Canadian winter to test for along-strike and down-dip extensions.

Australian-based Meteoric Resources has achieved a significant step towards de-risking its Caldeira rare earth project in Brazil with the signing of a non-binding cooperation agreement with the Minas Gerais state government and its economic arm Invest Minas.
The agreement places the 409Mt @ 2,626ppm TREO resource on an exclusive list of high-priority projects for facilitated approval processes. An indicative timeline sets a 2-year target to issue its construction licence.

Australian company EQ Resources is set to become the western world’s largest tungsten concentrate producer with agreement to acquire production and marketing company Saloro, owner of the leading European mine at Barruecopardo in Spain.
The deal will enable EQ to call on Saloro’s recent experience in reactivating the historic Barruecopardo mine as it prepares to ramp up its Mt Carbine operation near Cairns, Qld.
Consideration for the acquisition from global investment manager Oaktree Capital Management is a nominal EUR1 plus obligations for about EUR80M inter-company loans owed by Saloro. Oaktree will invest $A25M for a 15.86% shareholding in EQ.

Foreign mining companies operating in Mali will be required to cede up to 35% interest in new projects under a new mining code adopted by the national government.
The new code is expected to generate an additional $US803M a year for the state while increasing the mining sector’s to the economy to about 20% of gross domestic product, Reuters reports.
The existing mining code allows state and private interests to take 20% stakes in projects.
While removing some tax exemptions, the new code allocates a 10% stake in any new profit to the government, with the option to buy an additional 20%, and 5% to local interests.

Developer Peak Rare Earths has teamed with global miner-trader Shenghe Resources as offtake partner and potential engineering and funding provider for its proposed $US320M Ngualla mine, mill and concentrator project in Tanzania.
Shenghe, a 19.9% shareholder in Peak, will acquire all Ngualla’s rare earth concentrate production and 50% of intermediate and final rare earth products over an initial seven years.
Under a separate non-binding agreement, Shenghe may deliver fixed-price engineering, procurement and construction services plus project funding.
Peak says the change to an EPC and project funding solution, from its previous EPCM strategy, will delay Ngualla's final investment decision to May 2024 and construction completion to early 2026.

The Salazar project in southern WA has leapt forward in reckoning as one of Australia’s most advanced clay rare earth assets with the posting of a four-fold increase in total mineral resources by owner West Cobar Metals.
The project 120km NE of Esperance now boasts indicated and inferred resources of 190Mt @ 1,172ppm TREO, with significant expansion potential.
MD Matt Szwedzicki says the growth, high-grade nature and high proportion of total magnet rare earths content move West Cobar closer to becoming a significant producer of clay-hosted REEs.

West Australian miner Westgold Resources has approved development of its 100%-owned Great Fingall underground gold mine, heading for first production in the second half of 2024.
The development, in an area 5km SW of Cue that historically produced more than 1.55Moz gold, is forecast to deliver over 45,000ozpa at all-in costs of $A1,801/oz for an initial 8 years.
Westgold expects to transport Great Fingall ore 28km for treatment at its Tuckabianna processing hub.
The company says adding Great Fingall to its Murchison region portfolio of gold mines and processing facilities establishes a pathway to over 300,000ozpa production.

A combination of the old and the new in exploration techniques is helping explorer Iceni Gold progress work on its 14 Mile Well project area in Western Australia’s Laverton Greenstone Belt.
After traditional exploration fieldwork revealed a gold nugget weighing about 2oz on the surface in the Claypan target, Iceni will call on artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies for the next stage of work at Claypan and the Everleigh and Guyer areas.
The work is part of a collaboration initiative with minerals targeting company SensOre, which describes the area’s potential for new discoveries is among the highest in WA.

South Australian developer Renascor Resources has confirmed the compelling economics in an optimised study of its vertically integrated graphite mine and downstream battery anode material project near Arno Bay on the Eyre Peninsula.
The study outlines first stage $A214.5M capex for an operation producing 50,000tpa purified spherical graphite at average operating cost of $2,714/t over 40 years. Renascor expects to fund initial upstream operation of from its existing $129M cash and debt facilities.
It calculates after-tax NPV at 10% discount of $1.49B, IRR of 26% and average EBITDA of $363Mpa.

Developers and producers Mineral Resources and Lithium Australia have teamed up in a JV to develop a downstream processing plant to produce lithium iron phosphate to be used in electric vehicle batteries, starting with a pilot plant in Queensland.
MinRes will sole-fund development and operation of the $A4.5M pilot plant, and supply raw materials at no cost. The plant will utilise LIT’s LieNA technology to refine fine or low-grade spodumene to produce high-purity lithium phosphate.
Subject to results, the company will form a 50-50 JV to own and commercialise the technology that is claimed to improve lithium extraction yields by up to 50%.

Global giant Barrick could restart PNG’s giant Porgera gold mine by end-2023, nearly four years after its mining lease was blocked in a dispute over benefit sharing.
President-chief executive Mark Bristow says mobile fleet and fixed plant are being recommissioned, mining and metallurgy plans updated and personnel recruitment plan finalised. Preference is being given to local employment.
“It’s been a long journey but in the process we have secured the buy-in of all the stakeholders,” Bristow says.
Porgera holds 49% and is operator of the mine, with 51% owned by PNG stakeholders. Economic benefits will be shared 53% by PNG stakeholders and 47% by Barrick Niugini.

Australian rare earths company Hastings Technology Metals is targeting first concentrate on truck in the June 2025 qtr at the Yangibana project in WA’s Gascoyne region after executing its $A210M fixed price EPC beneficiation plant and associated infrastructure contract with GR Engineering Services.
GR is continuing work with Hastings on engineering and procurement under an early works agreement until mobilisation to site in late 2023 following finalisation of project funding.
The 1.1Mtpa plant will produce 37,000tpa rare earth concentrate. It expects to complete construction in the March 2025 qtr.

Higher grades, throughput and recoveries have helped Canadian producer Taseko Mines lift June half-year copper production at its 87.5%-owned Gibraltar mine to 51.1Mlb, from 42Mt a year earlier.
President-CEO Stuart McDonald says mining operations at the mine near Williams Lake in British Columbia are well established in the lower benches of the Gibraltar pit, amid higher grades and larger, more consistent ore zones.
After low mill availabilities impacted production in April-May, softer Gibraltar pit ore enabled mill throughput well above nameplate capacity.
The pit will be its sole ore source to end-2023. Expected higher H2 copper production keeps Taseko on track to its original 115Mlb production guidance.

Canadian miner Alamos Gold has outlined a larger, longer-life and low-cost operation in a new feasibility study for its 100%-owned Lynn Lake gold project in Manitoba, one of the country’s highest-grade openpit gold deposits.
The update on its previous 2017 FS points to a 23% increase in production to 176,000ozpa over the initial 10 years, including 207,000ozpa over five years. AISC also improves 6% to $US699/oz over 10 years, and $814/oz LOM.
Mine life has grown to 17 years, from 10 years. Inflation and scope changes lift initial capital to $632M.

The Kangankunde project in Malawi has been identified as one the world's largest rare earths deposits, positioning its 75% owner Lindian Resources as a major player in the global sector.
The maiden inferred resource of 261Mt @ 2.19% for 5.7Mt contained rare earths includes 1.2Mt neodymium-praseodymium. The mineralisation remains open at depth and beyond some areas of the current mineral resource envelope.
Exec chairman Asimwe Kabunga says the project has attracted interest from many parties seeking secure, long-term supply. Lindian is focusing on offtake discussions and stage 1 plant construction to deliver first product in 2024.