Brazilian court revokes suspension of Belo Sun’s gold project 

22 july | law

The Supreme Court of Pará State in Brazil has reversed a preliminary suspension order pertaining to the environmental and construction licences of Belo Sun Mining’s Volta Grande gold project.  


Earlier this year, the Agrarian Court of Altamira issued an order to suspend the Canadian company’s licences for the Volta Grande project until the completion of a socio-environmental study. 


Belo Sun was ordered to complete a socio-environmental study for the local riverside peoples, at least 10km from the project, on both banks of the Xingu River. The court also ordered the company to carry out prior, free and informed consultations, as well as secure riverside communities’ consent.  


However, the suspension has now been overturned by the supreme court due to a lack of evidence of damage to the riverside communities. The court also noted that the groups were properly consulted as part of the company’s environmental studies. 


Located near Altamira in Pará, Brazil, the Volta Grande open pit mining project held proven and probable reserves of 115.9 million tonnes grading 1.02g of gold per tonne for 3.7Moz of gold as of March 2015. 


Belo Sun president and CEO Peter Tagliamonte said: “We are pleased with the ruling by the Supreme Court of Pará State and this decision confirms our belief that Belo Sun properly consulted with all local communities, including the communities living along the Xingu River.  Management continues to work diligently to advance the Volta Grande Gold project.” 

22 july | Projects

Teck partners with PolyMet to develop Minnesota mining projects 


Canadian diversified miner Teck Resources and Glencore-backed PolyMet Mining have agreed to form a joint venture to advance their copper and nickel mining projects in the established Iron Range mining region of Minnesota, US. 


The new 50-50 joint venture, named NewRange Copper Nickel, is expected to help unlock a new domestic critical metals supply for the low-carbon transition through responsible mining. 


The two firms will fund the project, with $170m of the initial budget for permitting and engineering work for PolyMet Mining’s NorthMet project and Teck’s Mesaba mineral deposit.


The NorthMet and Mesaba projects are estimated to hold measured and indicated resources of 795Mt and 1,740Mt, respectively, and further inferred resources of 458Mt and 1,612Mt, respectively. 


PolyMet chairman, president and CEO Jon Cherry said: “With both projects representing approximately half of the known resources of Minnesota’s Duluth Complex under NewRange Copper Nickel, Minnesota emerges as a global leader and major force in developing strategic minerals to feed the North American supply chain for clean energy technologies, electric mobility and modern societal use.” 

20 july | Ukraine Crisis

Gold producer Polymetal looks to offload Russian assets 


Polymetal International is weighing the sale of its Russian assets to avert the impact of sanctions imposed by Western nations against Russia in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.


In Kazakhstan, Polymetal currently has an annual gold production capacity exceeding 500Koz. The region contributed revenues of $984m in 2021.


Polymetal said that the potential deal’s primary objective is to restore shareholder value by helping “appropriately value” its Kazakhstani assets while reducing the risks of its ongoing operations. 


Upon closing of the potential transaction, Polymetal intends to focus primarily on its operations in Kazakhstan. 


In a press statement, Polymetal said: “The company has been considering a potential modification of its asset holding structure, which would ensure distinct ownership in the various jurisdictions in which the company operates. 


“The company believes that the potential transaction would also increase the likelihood of the company’s ability to re-enter all the relevant equity and sustainability indices and regain a significantly wider institutional audience.” 

18 july | Exploration

Raiden and Ngarluma reach Mt Sholl heritage exploration agreement 


Raiden Resources has signed a native title and heritage exploration agreement (NTA) with the Ngarluma Aboriginal Corporation (NAC) for the Mt Sholl project area in Western Australia. 


The NTA will enable Raiden to engage with the traditional owners, through the NAC, to undertake heritage surveys across the 13 licence areas of the project. It aims to avoid areas of cultural significance using the traditional owners’ knowledge of the area. 


Raiden will undertake a heritage survey covering all of the planned drilling programme, late next month. The drilling programme intends to convert the JORC exploration target across three deposits at the project site to JORC 2012 compliant resources, assess platinum group elements (PGE) and cobalt mineralisation throughout the deposits, and test direct extensions of mineralisation. 


Raiden managing director Dusko Ljubojevic said: “We would like to thank the NAC for their support in reaching this significant milestone for Raiden. This NTA is a major step forward for the company, with access now available for the drill definition of what we believe to be an exciting, and substantial, nickel-copper-cobalt-PGE project.” 

15 july | Deals

High Tide Resources to purchase Clearcut Lithium project in Canada 


High Tide Resources has signed an option agreement with undisclosed firms to acquire a 100% stake in the Clearcut Lithium project in Quebec, Canada. 


Under the agreement, High Tide will have the option to pick a 100% interest in the property by making $100,000 in aggregate cash payments and issuing one million of its common shares to the vendors. High Tide will also incur $1m in exploration expenditures on or before the agreement’s third-anniversary date.


Furthermore, the vendors will retain a 2% net smelter royalty, of which 0.5% may be bought by High Tide for $1m. High Tide will also make additional milestone payments of $500,000 upon filing a positive feasibility study and $1m once the project starts commercial production.


Currently, High Tide owns a 100% interest in the Labrador West Iron project located in Labrador City, Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as a 100% stake in the Lac Pegma copper-nickel-cobalt deposit located 50km south-east of Fermont, Quebec. 


High Tide director, president and interim CEO Steve Roebuck said: “Adding the Clearcut Lithium project to High Tide’s project portfolio is a low-risk and potentially high-reward opportunity for all our shareholders."

15 july | esg

Chile’s Supreme Court ratifies Pascua Lama mine shutdown 


The Supreme Court of Chile has endorsed the closure of the $8.5bn Pascua Lama gold and copper mining project, owned by Barrick Gold’s Chilean subsidiary Compañía Minera Nevada SpA. 


Located in the Andes Mountains, on the Chilean-Argentine border, the Pascua-Lama project had been put on hold since 2013 owing to environmental concerns. The court’s ruling rejected the appeals filed against the First Environmental Court’s judgment made in September 2020 to permanently shutter the mine. 


The company faced 33 charges linked to flora, fauna, human environment, water quality and glaciers, among others. This latest ruling confirms the legality of the final closure sanction for the mine and a series of fines applied to the mining project by Chilean environmental regulator Superintendence of the Environment.


The Superintendent of the Environment Emanuel Ibarra said: “The ruling of the Supreme Court, together with supporting our investigation, also ratifies the sentence of the First Environmental Court, which confirmed the definitive closure sanction of the Pascua Lama project issued by this Superintendency, as well as a series of fines that were applied.

15 july | esg

Anglo American to collaborate with Nippon Steel to decarbonise steelmaking 


Mining giant Anglo American has joined forces with Japan-based Nippon Steel to boost the development of lower-carbon solutions for the steelmaking industry. 


According to the signed memorandum of understanding, the firms will explore ways to improve premium lump ore, which will be produced by Anglo American’s mines in Brazil and South Africa, reported Mining.com. This would result in reduced emissions in the traditional blast furnace steelmaking process. 


The project will also assess the use of Anglo American’s iron-ore in the more carbon-efficient direct reduction iron (DRI) steelmaking process. Anglo said that the DRI would lead to significantly reduced emissions when compared with more prevalent steelmaking routes of blast furnaces, as well as basic oxygen furnaces. 


The mining firm, which supplies coking coal and iron ore to global steel customers, targets a 50% decrease in scope three emissions by 2040. By 2030, Nippon Steel seeks to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 30%, with the aim of becoming carbon neutral by 2050. 


Anglo American marketing business CEO Peter Whitcutt said: “This agreement is an important component of Anglo American’s approach to collaborating with our customers and helping to shape a greener future for the backbone of global infrastructure: steel."

Covid-19 latest 

US leads the world in confirmed cases 


The US has consistently led the world in number of confirmed cases, with close to 90 million verified cases. This is almost double the country with the second-most cases, Brazil, which has reported close to 45 million cases. 

US reports most new cases in two-week period in June 


The US leads the world in new cases reported between 6 June and 19 June, with close to 20,000 new cases reported per million people. No other country reported 1,000 new cases per million people over this period.

Brazil reports highest percentage of positive test results 


Brazil has reported the highest percentage of positive test results among “top economies”, with 45.3% of all tests coming back positive.


This is much greater than the 26.6% positive test rate reported in Mexico, the second-highest figure, and the 9.5% positive test rate reported in the US.

China leads world in two-dose penetration 


China leads “top economies” with 88.9% of the population receiving two doses, more than South Korea, Spain, Australia and Canada, which make up the rest of the top five.

14 july | Deals

Archer to acquire Wallbridge Mining’s nickel assets 


Archer Exploration has agreed to acquire nickel assets, rights and obligations in Quebec and Ontario, Canada, from Wallbridge Mining, in an all-share deal worth around $41.2m (C$53.6m). 


The transaction will result in the creation of a Canadian publicly-traded nickel exploration and development company. The deal includes the sale of nickel assets comprising 2,046 mining titles covering an area of around 67,000ha, as well as a 100% stake in the Grasset nickel sulphide project in Quebec. 


Archer will acquire all of Wallbridge’s property, assets, rights and obligations related to its portfolio of nickel assets. In exchange, Wallbridge will receive $41.6m (C$53.6m) in upfront consideration, comprising 198.6 million Archer common shares. 


Archer expects the acquisition to position it as a leading nickel sulphide-focused exploration and development company in Canada with assets in the mining jurisdictions of Quebec and Ontario.


The company anticipates the Grasset project to hold significant expansion potential. 


Wallbridge and Archer will also sign a five-year exploration cooperation agreement pertaining to the Grasset property. The two firms will undertake exploration works to establish a mineral resource at the property. 


If successful, the companies will form a joint venture to explore, develop and operate such mineral resources. 


Archer interim CEO Keith Bodnarchuk said: “Our team has searched worldwide to identify and secure an attractive land portfolio that features an advanced nickel sulphide resource with apparent upside that is complemented by an exciting pipeline of high-impact nickel sulphide exploration targets.” 

13 july | Deals

South32 to offload copper and nickel royalty portfolio to Anglo Pacific 


Mining firm South32 has signed a deal to sell a portfolio of royalties over advanced development stage copper and nickel projects to UK-based Anglo Pacific Group for a consideration of $185m.


The transaction also includes further contingent considerations of up to $15m. 


The royalty portfolio for sale includes a 2% net smelter return (NSR) royalty on the West Musgrave copper and nickel project in Australia along with a 2% NSR royalty on the Santo Domingo copper project in Chile.


It also includes a 1.5% realised value royalty on the Nifty copper mine in Western Australia and a 5% NSR royalty on the producing Carlota copper mine in Arizona, US. 


Under the agreed terms, Anglo Pacific will make a cash payment of $47.6m and issue $82.4m worth of shares to South32. This will result in the diversified miner owning a stake of 16.9% in Anglo Pacific. 


Furthermore, Anglo Pacific will make six quarterly cash payments that will add up to $55m in total. These will largely be self-financed by cash flow generated from its current asset portfolio. 


Anglo Pacific CEO Marc Bishop Lafleche said: “Anglo Pacific is now firmly positioned as the leading, future-facing commodities royalty and streaming company with copper, nickel and cobalt at the core of its commodity exposure. 


“The decarbonisation of the global economy will be very metal intensive, with sizable copper and nickel supply deficits expected to emerge over the next decade.


"We believe this is an attractive copper and nickel entry point with substantial commodity price upside potential, all the while meeting our disciplined approach to acquisitions and robust sustainability criteria.” 

Covid-19 latest 

US leads the world in confirmed cases 


The US has consistently led the world in number of confirmed cases, with close to 90 million verified cases. This is almost double the country with the second-most cases, Brazil, which has reported close to 45 million cases.

US reports most new cases in two-week period in June 


The US leads the world in new cases reported between 6 June and 19 June, with close to 20,000 new cases reported per million people. No other country reported 1,000 new cases per million people over this period. 

Brazil reports highest percentage of positive test results 


Brazil has reported the highest percentage of positive test results among “top economies”, with 45.3% of all tests coming back positive. This is much greater than the 26.6% positive test rate reported in Mexico, the second-highest figure, and the 9.5% positive test rate reported in the US. 

China leads world in two-dose penetration 


China leads “top economies” with 88.9% of the population receiving two doses, more than South Korea, Spain, Australia and Canada, which make up the rest of the top five.

ALROSA launches project to convert its vehicles to natural gas


Russian miner ALROSA has launched a project to convert its vehicles from gasoline and diesel to natural gas to cut greenhouse gas emissions and boost economic efficiency.