TABLE OF CONTENTS
Almost 700 Mining Exhibitors at bauma 2013 Expected in Munich
Rio Tinto Slows Guinea Iron Ore Investment
Angola Targets Output at 4 New Diamond Mines by Next Year
Wisconsin Governor Walker Signs Iron Ore Mining Law
Rio Tinto to Sell Canada Iron Ore Operations
Tata Steel Enters Into Strategic Relationship with Labrador Iron Mines, Canada
First Nations and Quebecers Call for Moratorium on Uranium Mines
Royal Nickel Enters Strategic Alliance with Leading Chinese Stainless Steel Producer
Cancana Signs Exclusive Agreement to Purchase 100% of Rio Madeira
Cliffs Will Idle Wabush Pointe Noire Iron Ore Pellet Plant in Quebec
Prince Rupert Rail/Road Expansion to Boost Canada's Asian Trade Capacity
Vale Tells Argentine Government $6-Billion Rio Colorado Mine Suspended
Sumitomo Metals Expands into Brazil
SAIL to Invest INR 2952 crore on Gua Iron Ore Mine
Sumitomo to Build Philippines’ 1st Rare Earths Recovery Plant
Australia Plans Tougher Environmental Hurdles on Coal, CSG Mining
Sirius Becomes Australia’s Latest Billion-Dollar Company
The mining sector is continuing to expand – and so, too, is the number of exhibitors in the mining section at bauma 2013, the world’s largest construction and mining trade event. The event will be in Munich from April 15 to 21, 2013. Almost 700 companies involved in mining are showcasing their products and solutions, up from just over 600 companies in 2010. For more details on this year's event click on www.bauma.de
According to government sources in the West African country, Rio Tinto has slowed progress of its multi-billion investment in the Simandou iron ore deposit and cut staff.
Global miner Rio Tinto has slowed progress of its multi-billion investment in Guinea's untapped Simandou iron ore deposit and slashed staff, government sources in the West African country said recently, Mineweb reports.
The sources, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the topic, said the miner had announced it needed the government to progress on financing and the agreement underpinning the project before it could move ahead.
The sources said Rio Tinto - under pressure from investors to cut costs and rein in spending - had cut staff in Guinea by 90 percent.
"(Rio Tinto) have essentially announced they have frozen their investments in Guinea, arguing that they are waiting for a more stable and secure regulatory framework from the government," a senior government official said, asking for anonymity.
Rio Tinto denied it had stopped work, but confirmed it was working with the government on outstanding issues including financing for the government's share of ambitious planned infrastructure.
"The Simandou project is definitely not frozen and Rio Tinto continues to progress the project and is committed to its development," a spokesman for the company said. "The current priority is finalizing the investment framework and for the Government of Guinea to secure its financing."
The spokesman said talks between Rio Tinto and the government had been "constructive".
Rio Tinto is developing part of the giant Simandou iron ore concession, one of the world's largest untapped iron ore reserves, near the Liberian border.
The country's diamond company, Endiama EP, is opening new mines and restarting old ones to reinvigorate its gem industry.
Angola, the fifth-largest diamond producer by value, plans to start production at four new gem mines within a year, national diamond company Endiama EP said.
Two kimberlite mines in Tchiuzo in Lunda Sul province and Chiri in Lunda Norte may start by late this year or early 2014, Antonio Freitas, a spokesman for the company, said in a March 7 interview in Luanda, the capital. Two alluvial mines are due to start output this year, he said. Kimberlites are the eroded ancient remnants of volcanoes that formed diamonds under intense heat and pressure. Alluvial gems are unearthed by natural erosion and deposited in river or sea beds.
The southern African nation’s diamond company is opening new mines and restarting old ones to reinvigorate its gem industry. Diamond prices, which fell for the first time in four years in 2012, are set to increase this year as global output remains constrained, De Beers, the Anglo American Plc unit that’s the biggest producer of the gems, said in December.
“Production in 2013 will probably be around the same quantity as last year, maybe a bit more,” Freitas said.
Angola produced 8.3 million carats in 2012, Freitas said, the same amount as the previous year, with production valued at $1.16 billion, according to the Kimberley Process, an international group with 54 participants representing 80 countries. The top producers by value that year were Botswana, Russia, Canada and South Africa.
Planned Projects
The two alluvial projects, Tchege in Lunda Sul and Maua in Malanje province near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, will be joined by three alluvial projects that were halted when diamond prices fell after the economic slowdown in the developed world started in 2008, Freitas said.
One of those, the Cambanje mine in Lunda Norte that was formerly known as Luarica, has started production. Freitas said he didn’t have output figures and no stones from the operation had been sold. The Cambanje site was formerly a partnership with Trans Hex Group Ltd. of South Africa, a venture that lost money, Freitas said.
The Uari project in Lunda Norte was formerly Sociedade Mineira do Lucapa, a partnership between Endiama and the Portuguese state-owned Sociedade Portuguesa de Empreendimentos that lost $100 million, Freitas said. Endiama is now equal partners at Uari and Cambanje with Angolan businessman Antonio Mosquito’s company known as Kassipal, he said.
Calonda Project
A third project known as Calonda in Lunda Norte is another former venture with Portugal’s SPE and is expected to restart by July, Freitas said. Production totaled 2.4 million carats from 1997 to 2008, according to the website of then-operator ITM Mining Ltd. of Angola.
The Tchiuzo operation will be operated by Sociedade Mineira de Catoca, which runs Angola’s largest mine. The company’s shareholders include Endiama, OAO Alrosa of Russia and Odebrecht SA of Brazil.
De Beers has found diamonds in a 3,000 square-kilometer (1,158 square-mile) concession near Lucapa in the Lunda North province, and is confident it will more than recoup the $250 million it has spent on exploration, Pedro Lago de Carvalho, the company’s business manager in the country, said Jan. 16. The site is the only remaining concession out of five De Beers has explored in the country since 2005, he said.
Wisconson, USA republican Governor Scott Walker recently signed a bill intended to streamline environmental regulations and clear the way for a possible USD 1.5 billion iron ore mine in the far northwest corner of Wisconsin.
He said "After making substantial changes to the legislation, aimed at protecting our state's vital natural resources, the bill I signed into law today will preserve our tradition of clean land, water, and air.”
The bill creates an expedited process by setting a 420-day limit for the state's Department of Natural Resources to approve or deny a permit for iron mining.
Rio Tinto to Sell Canada Iron Ore Operations
Rio Tinto has hired Credit Suisse and the investment banking arm of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce to sell all or part of its 59% stake in Iron Ore Company of Canada, an article in the Wall Street Journal reports. IOC is the country's largest producer of the ore, used in making steel.
It comes just weeks after Rio Tinto replaced its chief executive, following a massive impairment hit on aluminum and coking-coal assets that tipped the company to its first-ever annual loss last year. Sam Walsh, who took over from Tom Albanese, has pledged a more conservative approach to investment, with a greater focus on shareholder returns including through higher dividends.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Feb. 14, departing Chief Financial Officer Guy Elliott said Rio Tinto, having already put its diamonds unit and Pacific Aluminium division up for sale, was looking at divesting itself of more assets, though he didn't specify which were being considered.
Bruce Tobin, a Melbourne-based spokesman for Rio Tinto, declined to comment on whether the company is looking to sell its stake in the Canadian iron-ore operations.
Rio Tinto, which relies on iron ore for four-fifths of its earnings, is also under pressure to reduce its debt to safeguard against another slump in iron-ore prices, which hit a three-year low of US$86.70 a ton in early September. They have since recovered to above $150.
Rio Tinto has been investing heavily to expand mines in Canada and Australia to supply the likes of China with raw materials for infrastructure like railways and the high-rise apartment buildings that now crowd Asia's city skylines. Last month, the company said it expects Chinese steel demand to rise by 50% by 2030.
The company's Canadian production is dwarfed by that from Australia's Pilbara region, and its ore grades are also lower. IOC's annual iron-ore output capacity is being increased to 23.3 million metric tons through an US$800 million expansion program—but that is less than one-fifteenth of the 360 million tons that Rio Tinto hopes to extract annually from the Pilbara by mid-2015.
Tata Steel Limited through its subsidiary Tata Steel Minerals Canada Limited (TSMC), entered into a framework arrangement with Labrador Iron Mines Holdings Limited (LIM) to establish a strategic relationship between TSMC and LIM whereby the two companies have agreed to co-operate with each other in various aspects of their respective iron ore operations in the Labrador Trough.
The Labrador Trough is a 1,100-kilometre long, 160-kilometre wide iron ore bed in the Labrador-Quebec region in Canada. The trough has delivered more than 2 billion tonnes of ore in last 50 years and has attracted mining investments of $15 billion from leading global companies. It is estimated that the annual iron ore production of this region would increase from current 35 million tonnes to about 65 million tonnes by 2015.
Tata Steel established its presence in this region through an acquisition of 19.9% stake in New Millennium Iron Corporation (NML) in 2008. Tata Steel subsequently increased its stake to 27% in NML and also chose to exercise its option to participate in NML’s DSO Project in 2010. Tata Steel holds 80% in the DSO project through TSMC.
TSMC was formed as a joint venture between NML and Tata Steel to develop the DSO Project. The DSO has 125 million tonnes of resources spread over 25 deposits. While the mine has commenced its production in September’12 and has produced 300,000 tonnes of ore, the construction of the processing plant within a mega-dome is in full-swing. The TSMC facility, when fully commissioned, will be able to roll out 6 mtpa of sinter fines.
LIM and TSMC operate adjacent DSO iron ore projects spread over the Provinces of Newfoundland & Labrador and Quebec. Having plans to potentially utilize the same infrastructure, both companies have decided to work together to exploit the significant scope of synergies in operations and logistics.
LIM shall transfer 51% interest in the Howse deposit to TSMC. The Howse deposit, is estimated to contain 28 million tonnes of iron ore resources. Additionally, the strategic relationship will include multi-part co-operation agreements in areas of logistics and various ancillary mutual support and potential off-take arrangements including development of a rail line that will pass through LIM’s rail yard facilities and connect TSMC’s processing plant with the main rail line and further exploration of Howse deposit. In consideration of all of the above, LIM shall receive up to C$ 30 million. TSMC will also transfer its “Timmins 4” deposit having resource of 1.7 million tons to LIM at a consideration of C$ 3 million recoverable from sales. TSMC also has an option to further increase its ownership of Howse deposit to 70% for a consideration of C$ 25 million.
Mr. H.M. Nerurkar, MD of Tata Steel stated “Tata Steel’s raw material strategy focuses on adding value accretive assets to its portfolio to increase its raw material security. We have large investments in the Labrador Trough area and this transaction with LIM further reinforces our presence in the region. The proposed arrangement with LIM is expected to enhance the raw material security for the group and streamline the logistics of the DSO Project, which is expected to come on stream in 2013”.
Quebec citizens and First Nations groups called on the provincial government to implement a moratorium on uranium mines in the province. The Coalition for Better Mining in Quebec (Coalition pour que le Québec ait meilleure mine) also called on the province to act on its promise to hold a generic environmental evaluation.
A coalition representative said Quebec must follow the examples of other provinces — like British Columbia and Nova Scotia — which shut the door on uranium mining for health, security and environmental reasons.
Many communities are declaring their opposition, like the Cree Nation of Mistissini (James Bay/Eeyou Istchee) in northern Quebec.
"As protectors of the largest fresh water lake in Quebec, Lake Mistassini, we strongly oppose any uranium development," said Chief Richard Shecapio in a written statement. "It goes against our way of life and our beliefs. As opposed to other forms of tailings, such as that from the Stornoway mine also on our territory, waste from this type of mine stays radioactive for thousands of years, and that is socially unacceptable."
The coalition's announcement follows similar initiatives by others in the province — more than 300 town councils have adopted resolutions to oppose uranium mining.
The provincial government pledged to hold an independent inquiry and a recent marketing survey showed 78% of residents are in favour of a broad, independent impact assessment on uranium mining before any projects are approved.
Others supporting the coalition's demand include the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador, Movement to get nuclear out of Quebec (Mouvement Sortons le Quebec du nucleaire), the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, Physicians for Global Survival, Nature Quebec, the Suzuki Foundation and Greenpeace.
TORONTO, March 12, 2013- Royal Nickel Corporation (RNC) (TSX: RNX) is pleased to announce it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Tsingshan Holding Group Co., Ltd. The MOU sets out the objectives of the parties to work together in relation to downstream concentrate processing and the potential to enter into an offtake and/or partnership arrangement. Tsingshan is the second largest Chinese stainless steel company and one of the leading innovators in the development of vertically integrated nickel pig iron ("NPI") and stainless steel production operations.
After working with RNC for more than a year, Tsingshan has recently completed its own analysis and testwork on a sulphide nickel concentrate in its integrated NPI/stainless steel production facilities and plans to make the necessary investment in plant and equipment once concentrate feed is secured. This innovation represents the first time that nickel sulphide concentrate would be directly used to create stainless steel. This plant is also expected to be capable of handling nickel sulphide concentrate anticipated to be produced from the Dumont Nickel Project (Dumont).
In the non-binding MOU, RNC and Tsingshan have agreed to work together in the following ways:
Tsingshan expects to:
· Construct a plant capable of processing sulphide concentrate
· Consider making an offtake proposal to RNC following the completion by RNC of the Dumont bankable feasibility study. The bankable feasibility study is expected to be completed by mid 2013
· Enter a partnership with RNC at the appropriate time following the completion of the Dumont bankable feasibility study to the satisfaction of Tsingshan.
RNC expects to:
· Continue to share its downstream processing expertise for processing nickel sulphide concentrates with Tsingshan
· Support Tsingshan to secure concentrate feeds
· Consider partnership proposal from Tsingshan
Tsingshan is China's second largest stainless steel company, its largest privately-held stainless steel producer and the world's largest producer of stainless steel long products. It is the largest and among the most innovative producers of NPI and the first company to construct large-scale integrated plants that produce stainless steel directly from laterite ore. Tsingshan has production facilities located in Zhejiang, Fujian, Shanghai, Guangdong and Henan, along with several joint ventures and associated businesses in Guangxi, Jiangsu, as well as the Philippines and Indonesia.
Royal Nickel Corporation is a mineral resource company focused primarily on the exploration, evaluation, development and acquisition of base metal and platinum group metal properties. NC's principal asset is the Dumont Nickel Project strategically located in the established Abitibi mining camp, 25 kilometres northwest of Amos, Quebec.
Vancouver, Canada – February 8, 2013 – Cancana Resources Corp. (TSXV: CNY) is pleased to announce it has entered into an exclusive Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to purchase Rio Madeira Comercio Importacao E Exportacao De Minerios, (Rio Madeira) in the State of Rondonia, Brazil. The exclusive MOU that has been agreed between Cancana and Rio Madeira is for the 100% acquisition of the Rio Madeira corporate entity and all of its associated assets, mineral claims and operations. It is subject to the successful completion of due diligence and financing, which expires on April 30, 2013. Rio Madeira is a producing Manganese mine operation, producing lump ore of varying sizes and is located adjacent to, and mainly contiguous with, Cancana’s Manganese claims. Rio Madeira holds title to 15 mineral claims that total approximately 62,000 hectares in size. Also included are 3 full mining licenses known as a Lavra.
Cancana and Rio Madeira have commenced establishment of due diligence requirements and these are underway. This will include the review of all financial and operational aspects of Rio Madeira as well as a geo technical review of the mineral claims held. Present grades of Manganese produced are in the 50% plus range according to Rio Madeira, these are similar to the grades Cancana has reported in the two recent N.I. 43-101 reports published for its Valdirao project known as 241NC.
In the past year Rio Madeira has made substantial improvements to their production and processing facilities. These include the streamlining of the initial ore processing, screening, washing and sorting, as well as the ability to commence the recovery of the fines, or granular Manganese ore. In turn this affords Rio Madeira the ability to access the fertilizer industry as well as the steel and Ferro Manganese markets.
U.S. iron ore miner Cliffs Natural Resources is continuing to idle operations and delay expansions due to high production costs and lower premium pricing for iron ore pellets.
After taking substantial write-downs for the Consolidated Thompson operations in the Labrador Trough Range in Eastern Canada in January, Cliffs Natural Resources announced recently it will also idle the Wabush Pointe Noire pellet plant within the city of Sept-Iles in Quebec.
The Cleveland, Ohio-based company’s current product mix in its Eastern Canadian iron ore business segment is comprised of iron ore pellets and concentrates. Cliffs expects to transition from iron ore pellets to producing an iron-ore concentrate-only product from its Wabush Scully mine in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador by the second quarter of this year.
The Wabush mine and concentrator are located near the town of Wabush, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, and the pellet plant and dock facility are located in Pointe Noire, Quebec. The entire Pointe Noire complex is comprised of a pellet plant, railroad and port. Cliffs will continue to operate the rail and port operations and continue with its multi-year investment in the port’s expansion. The shipping facility serves the company’s Wabush and Bloom Lake operations.
In November 2012, Cliffs suspended the Phase II expansion at the Bloom Lake mine in the Labrador Trough Iron Range.
However, for this year, Cliffs is maintaining its full-year sales and production volume expectations of 9 million to 10 million tons out of its Eastern Canada business segment including 3 million tons of both iron ore pellets and concentrate products from the Wabush operation with Bloom Lake making up the remainder.
Full-year 2013 cash cost for Cliff’s Eastern Canada iron ore segment is expected to be US$120 to US$125 per ton.
Coal, potash and other commodities hope to benefit from a major C$90 million road, rail and utility corridor along British Columbia’s North Coast.
Construction has begun to build a C$90 million road, rail and utility corridor at the Port of Prince Rupert in northern British Columbia, which will boost Canada’s trade capacity and exports to Asia-Pacific markets.
The project includes construction of five parallel rail tracks, a two-lane roadway, and a port-owned power distribution system along an eight kilometer corridor that will enable expansion of existing export facilities. This will provide shared infrastructure for proposed potash, natural gas and other terminals on the Ridley Island industry site at the port.
Ridley Terminal, located south of Prince Rupert, was originally built to provide export facilities for metallurgical and thermal coal in northeastern British Columbia. According to the Prince Rupert Port Authority, 11.5 million tonnes of coal were shipped out of Ridley Terminals last year. Ridley Terminals is currently looking to expand its coal capacity from 12 million tonnes to 25 million tonnes a year.
Ridley is also an important shipping point for potash and other commodities. Among the proposed new Ridley Island projects are a potash export terminal, being advanced by Saskatchewan potash marketing and logistics company Canpotex, that will have the capacity to provide a throughput of 13 million tonnes annually.
The C$90 million utility coordinator is being funded jointly by the governments of Canada and British Columbia, which contributed C$15 million each, and the CN [Canadian National Railway] and the Prince Rupert Port Authority, who have each committed C$30 million.
Vale (NYSE:VALE) affirmed that it will be shelving its $6-billion Argentine potash project, Potasio Rio Colorado in the Mendoza province. Work on the potash mine was already halted. Back in January Vale said it was suspending work on Rio Colorado.
BNamericas reported that nationalization worries and excessive government regulations may have caused Vale to pull the plug. Inflation is also running at 25% annually, which was harming the economics of the project.
Vale released this press release regarding the suspension: Vale S.A. (Vale) informs that it communicated to the Argentinean government that is suspending the implementation of the Rio Colorado project, in Argentina, as in the current macroeconomic environment the economics of the project are not in line with Vale’s commitment to discipline in capital allocation and value creation. In case of resuming the implementation, preference will be given to the project’s current employees.
Vale will keep honoring the commitments related to the concessions and searching alternatives that enhance the economics of the project, to then evaluate its resumption.
Potasio Rio Colorado is a potash development project located in the Mendoza Province of Argentina. The mining project is owned by Vale and was acquired from Rio Tinto back in 2009. Vale was expected to invest $5.9 billion in the project. Start-up was scheduled for 2014, and mine life was expected to exceed 50 years. Average annual production is estimated at 2.4 million tones potash in Phase 1 and rising to 4.3 million tones per year in Phase 2.
Sumitomo Metal Mining do Brazil has begun operations to acquire and/or explore for copper, gold and nickel assets.
Japan's Sumitomo Metal Mining announced recently it has established subsidiary, Sumitomo Metal Mining do Brasil LTDA, with the goal of acquiring copper, gold and nickel resources in Brazil.
"SMM aims to become a non-ferrous major company and is looking to expand its mining operations," the company said in a new release.
"Brazil has great mineral resource potential, and in order to proactively advance exploration and other activities with the goal of acquiring an interest in superior resources in Brazil, SMM has commenced operations at its Brazilian subsidiary," the company added.
"As the global competition to acquire resources intensifies, the acquisition of interest in superior mines is becoming progressively more challenging," SMM observed. "It is against such a backdrop that great expectations are being are being placed on the development of the rich mineral resources possessed by Brazil that include copper, gold and nickel."
Business Standard recently reported that Steel Authority of India (SAIL) has earmarked an investment of INR 2,952 crore for expanding capacity of its Gua iron ore mine and setting up of beneficiation and pellet plants in Jharkhand.
Steel Minister Mr Beni Prasad Verma said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha that "The proposal for capacity expansion and setting up of 12.5 million tonnes per annum beneficiation and 4 million tonne per annum pellet plant was approved 'in-principle' by SAIL Board at a cost of INR 2,952 crore."
The Minister said that tender documents are also in the last lap of finalization and SAIL is in the process of obtaining necessary clearances for the project.
Mr Verma said that "Tender for expansion of Gua mine along with setting up of beneficiation plant and pellet plant is in advances stage of finalization. SAIL is also in the process of obtaining necessary approvals and statutory clearances for the project.”
Due to non availability of sinter making facility at Burnpur the fines generated in the due course of production got accumulated in the mine and remained unutilized. He said that "After merger of IISCO and SAIL there is no addition of fines to the dump as freshly generated fines from the mining process is being consumed in other steel plants of SAIL. Installation of beneficiation and pellet plants will enable utilization of fines dumped over the years.”
Gua mine started operations in 1919 and was a captive mine for IISCO for its Burnpur plant. SAIL proposes to increase iron ore mining capacity at the Gua mine in Jharkhand to 10 million tonne per annum from the existing level of 2.4 million tonne per annum.
Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. (SMM) announced recently it has decided to construct a scandium recovery pilot plant at its majority owned subsidiary, Coral Bay Nickel Corporation (CNBC), located on Palawan Island in the Philippines.
Scandium is a rare earth element used in a variety of applications including: as an additive to enhance the strength, heat resistance and corrosion resistance of aluminum; as an electrolyte used in solid oxide fuel cells; and as an electrode used in metal halide lamps and alkaline batteries.
Small amounts of scandium are contained in the ore used at Coral Bay in the production of nickel-cobalt mixed sulfide applying high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) technology.
“For some time SMM has been working to develop a scandium recovery method at its Niihama Research Laboratories in Ehime Prefecture,” said the company. “This effort has not led to the attainment of technology enabling efficient recovery of scandium from the nickel-cobalt mixed sulfide production process.”
Plans call for the scandium oxide pilot plant to be constructed by the end of 2013 and for trial production to commence at a level of 10 kg per month in 2014. “Based on the results of the test operation of the pilot plant, the company will aim for construction of a scandium oxide production line of commercial scale and the launch of (a) related business in 2015,” Sumitomo said in a news release.
Global production of scandium is estimated at 10 tonnes per year. Major producers of the rare earth element are the United States, Ukraine, Russia and China.
In a letter to the Philippine Stock Exchange, CNBC minority shareholder, Nickel Asia Corp. Senior Vice President, Emmanuel L. Sampson, said the ore being supplied to CNBC comes from Nickel Asia’s Rio Tuba Nickel Mining Corp. mining operations adjacent to the CNBC plant.
If the CNBC pilot plant is successful, “it will represent the country’s first production of a rare earth element, an important step in the development of the Philippines’ mineral resources sector,” said Sampson.
“It is also anticipated that if successful, a similar process to recover Scandium oxide will be used by Taganito HPAL Nickel Corp., also majority owned by SMM, which is constructing the country’s second HPAL plant (THPAL) in Taganito, Surigao del Norte,” said Nickel Asia. “Construction of the plant is nearing completion and will be commissioned shortly. It will source its lateritic nickel ore from our 65%-owned subsidiary, Taganito Mining Corp.”
Nickel Asia has a 6% equity interest in CNBC and a 22.5% equity interest in THPAL.
“Owing to its modest volume of production and high cost, to date demand for scandium has been limited,” said Sumitomo, “but as supplies stabilize, growth is anticipated particularly in conjunction with its main applications as an aluminum additive and as an electrolyte used in solid fuel cells.”
“Leveraging its progress in developing scandium recovery technology, going forward SMM aims to strive for efficient recovery of other useful metals,” said the Tokyo-based base metal mining and smelting company.
Environment Minister Tony Burke says the tougher laws are in response to mounting public concern about protection of fragile water resources from the impact of extraction.
Australia will impose tougher environmental hurdles on coal and coal seam gas mining, responding to mounting public concern about protection of fragile water resources from the impact of extraction, Environment Minister Tony Burke said recently as reported by Reuters.
The government would amend national environment laws to force coal seam gas and large coal mining developments to now receive national government approval and assessment of their impact on water, Burke said.
Australia has a booming coal seam gas industry with around $50 billion worth of projects underway in the country's northeastern Queensland state.
Under Australian laws, state governments approve coal seam gas and coal mine projects. New projects will now also need national government approval, with companies providing environmental impact data to a new independent expert scientific committee.
"Up until now, we have only been able to take account of water to the extent there has been an impact on issues such as threatened species or a RAMSAR (protected) wetland," Burke said.
Mounting public concern about environmental impacts has threatened to hurt the minority Labor government at national elections on September 14, with several election-swinging seats near coal seam gas developments in New South Wales state.
An alliance of community groups last week launched a political campaign against coal seam gas mining, arguing that existing extraction licences or applications in Australia now covered an area 18 times the size of Great Britain.
The NSW government last month banned coal seam gas exploration near residential areas, wineries and horse breeders, in a move aimed at cracking down on an industry that environmentalists and farmers fear could pollute water supplies.
The southeast Victoria state last year barred hydraulic fracturing, a technique used to produce hard-to-reach gas deposits, and stopped issuing new coal seam gas exploration licenses until a national regulatory framework was put in place.
Burke said projects already underway would not have to begin the time-consuming approval process again.
"It will not be a broad trigger that affects everything relating to water," he said. "My department is writing to every company affected advising them as to what the additional information is, so that they can get to work on that."
The coal seam industry in New South Wales is still in the early states of development. Energy firms such as Dart Energy Ltd. say coal seam gas resources can be developed without causing environmental damage and that limiting the industry will push up gas and electricity prices.
AGL Energy, which has invested in coal seam gas developments in New South Wales, said the fuel was one of the multiple new sources of domestic gas supply needed as the country ramps up its gas exports in a few years just as domestic gas supply contracts expire.
Strong performer Sirius Resources has become Australia's newest billion-dollar company as shares rose following more promising drilling results from its Fraser Range nickel-copper project, The Australian reported.
The latest jump comes after the announcement that the most recent drill hole into the Conductor 6 prospect has returned a broad intersection of mineralisation, meaning the deposit could be larger than expected.
In December the company said it would raise $44 million in a placement priced at $2 a share, issuing 22 million new shares to institutional clients, which at the time represented 11.5 per cent of its issued capital.
At the time Sirius’ managing director Mark Bennett said the funds will add value to the company without high levels of financial risk and enable increased exploration around the company’s Nova nickel-copper deposit located near Balladonia in Western Australia.
"We are now fully funded for the entire resource definition and feasibility process through to a potential future project financing decision," he previously said.
Late last year Grant Thornton’s national head of corporate finance Paul Gooley spoke about opportunities and used Sirius Resources as a prime example.
He said at the time that the Australian based nickel and copper miner was down to their last drilling exercises funding would allow when they managed to hit a large nickel seam. Subsequently their shares rose 4500 per cent in two months from .6 cents in July to peak at $3 a share, valuing the company at more than $600 million.
“You need to keep focusing on your core, you need to keep exploring, you need to be true to your strategy, because that’s why everyone’s in this game it’s about hitting that big seam and despite the issues if you remain core to your strategies there are opportunities," Gooley said.
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