The mining industry briefing
The latest news, trends, and data from the mining industry
News in numbers
$2.05bn
Australian miner South32 will buy a 45% stake in Chile’s Sierra Gorda copper mine, in a deal worth up to, from Japan’s Sumitomo Metal Mining and Sumitomo Corporation.
5,000 tonnes
Freehill Mining has started phase one mining operations at its 100%-owned Yerbas Buenas magnetite project in Chile, which boasts a monthly production capacity of 5,000 tonnes.
80%
Eldorado Gold has reached an option agreement to acquire an 80% interest in four assets located in Canada from Golden Valley Mines and Royalties.
1.7 million tonnes
Freeport McMoRan has started construction of a $3bn copper smelter facility in Gresik, East Java, Indonesia, with an annual production capacity of 1.7 million tonnes.
120,000
More than 100,000 people have been displaced by flooding in China, which led to the closure of 60 coal mines in Shanxi Province.
Project updates
Black Shield Metals has struck an earn-in option agreement with Skyharbour Resources for the Mann Lake Uranium Project in Canada. Black Shield will have an option to earn up to a 75% interest in the project by paying $850,000 in cash to Skyharbour and spending $4m in exploration expenditures.
Compania de Minas Buenaventura has submitted a request to the Peruvian minister for mines and energy for a temporary suspension of mining and ore processing activities at its Uchucchacua mine.
Hochschild Mining has exercised its option to take over the operatorship of the Snip gold project, located in Canada, from Skeena Resources, part of an agreement signed in September 2018. According to the agreement, Hochschild is required to spend twice Skeena’s investment on the project since March 2016.
Australian firm EV Metals Group is planning to invest $3bn to build plants, initially to process minerals such as lithium and nickel, in Saudi Arabia. The processing facilities are planned to be built over the next nine years.
FURTHER READING
BHP CEO open to “tougher jurisdictions” in hunt for resources
BHP CEO Mike Henry has said in an interview with the Financial Times that the diversified miner is not averse to entering new jurisdictions in its hunt for resources deposits.
Henry told the FT Mining Summit that he was confident that the company could manage the risks of investing and operating in politically volatile developing countries that are often hotbeds of bribery and corruption.
This would be a significant change in strategy for the miner, which has previously focused on developed countries such as Australia, Canada, Chile, and the US.
Source: Mining Technology
