The mining industry briefing
The latest news, trends, and data from the mining industry
News in numbers
1.3 million
Polymetal has achieved first gold production at Russia’s Kutyn mine. The Kutyn heap leach facility is expected have an annual ore processing capacity of 1.3 million tonnes.
$150m
Coeur Mining has agreed to sell its Crown and Sterling subsidiary to a unit of AngloGold Ashanti for an upfront cash consideration of $150m.
50%
Agnico Eagle Mines has agreed to acquire a 50% stake in Teck Resources subsidiary Minas de San Nicolas, which owns the San Nicolás copper-zinc development project located in Zacatecas, Mexico.
69.1 million
First Mining closes takeover of Canada’s Duparquet Gold Project, finalising the takeover with $6.4m (C$8.7m) in cash and issuance of 69.1 million of its common shares.
60,000
PT Vale and Huayou have signed an agreement for a plant in Indonesia; the proposed plant at Sorowako will have an annual production capacity of around 60,000 tonnes of nickel in MHP.
Project updates
Lithium One Metals has signed an option agreement to purchase a 100% interest in the Lac Astrid Lithium Project in northwestern Quebec, Canada from Glenn Griesbach.
The project comprises 70 mineral claims that cover a total area of around 3,600ha.
Norwegian firm Vianode plans to build a large-scale battery materials plant in the country with an investment of $193.51m (Nkr2bn).
The decision marks an important step for the firm in establishing a complete battery value chain in the country for the European market.
The US Department of Energy has allocated up to $156m to fund the development of a proposed critical minerals refinery.
This refinery, which will receive funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, is expected to demonstrate the commercial viability of turning mine waste into clean energy technology.
Koch Industries subsidiary Koch Minerals and Trading has reached an agreement to invest $252m in Compass Minerals stock to help advance the latter’s lithium development project in Utah, US.
In exchange, Compass would sell 6.8 million shares, at $36.87 apiece, to Koch Minerals and Trading. This equates to around 17% in Compass.
FURTHER READING
Ivanhoe and Gécamines begin construction at Kipushi mine in DRC
Canada’s Ivanhoe Mines and Congo’s state mining company Gécamines have commenced construction work at the processing plant at the Kipushi underground zinc-copper mine in Haut-Katanga, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The project is owned by Kipushi Corporation (KICO), a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines (68%) and state-owned mining company Gécamines (32%). KICO estimates the project to have a pre-production capital cost of $382m.
The mine started production from a surface open pit in 1924. It was later transitioned to become Africa’s richest underground copper, zinc and germanium mine.
Source: Mining Technology
