The Mining Industry Analysis and Forecast has been recently updated. A new Plant Database section has been added to the report—U.S. and European Plants. The database is searchable by Facility Name and Location, linked from the top banner of the report.
Additionally, the Overview section information has been updated, including a new list of the Top Mining Companies based on cash flow.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Market for Hybrid Cars is Expected to Drive up Demand for Lithium
Chinalco Pursuing Investment Opportunities with Rio
China Shanxi Province to Grow Coal Output 30% in 2010
Rio Tinto Indonesian Unit Receives Permit for Nickel Operation
NALCO Receives Approval for New Bauxite Mining Lease in Eastern India
First Quantum Continues to Expand
China Showing Strong Interest in SA Mines
Newmont Mining’s Boddington to Hit Full Gold Production by Year End
Allied Gold Lifts Resources to 7.8 million ounces
Silver Lake Opens Up New Gold Hopes in Murchison
Kagara: New Drill Assays Provide Big Hits Outside Resource Boundary
GE’s Technology Turns Coal Mine Water into Useful Resource
HPAL Process Crucial to Future Nickel Market Development
Quadra Mining in Talks to Sell Half of Sierra Gorda
Glencore to Rebuy Prodeco Coal Operations from Xstrata
Kinross to Acquire Underworld Resources at 36% Premium
Goldcorp's Project Pipeline, Acquisitions to Yield Even More Gold Ounces in 2010
Western Lithium Looking for Strategic Partners for Nevada Mine
Market for Hybrid Cars is Expected to Drive up Demand for Lithium
Lithium, a lightweight element long associated mostly with mood-stabilizing drugs is drawing more interest from mining executives. As awareness spreads that lithium is a crucial ingredient for hybrid and electric cars, a global hunt is under way for new supplies of the metal.
Toyota Tsusho, the material supplier for the big Japanese automaker, announced a joint venture in January with the Australian miner Orocobre to develop a $100 million lithium project in Argentina. That deal came only days after Magna International, the Canadian car parts company that is helping develop a battery-powered version of the Ford Focus, announced that it was investing $10 million in a small Canadian lithium firm that also has projects in Argentina.
They were the latest in a series of deals and projects announced over the last year, reflecting a new urgency among companies to assure themselves future supplies of the metal.
About 60 mining companies have begun feasibility studies in Argentina, Serbia and Nevada that could lead to more than $1 billion in new lithium projects in the next several years, while dozens of smaller projects are being proposed in China, Finland, Mexico and Canada.
The companies are competing for construction financing, and the future of most of the projects will depend on how popular electric cars eventually become. That is an open question since batteries remain expensive, recharging stations need to be developed, and consumer taste for cars that depend on regular stops at electric outlets remains untested.
In the meantime the four biggest current producers, which mine and otherwise gather lithium in Chile, Argentina and Australia, say they are planning to expand long-running projects as future demand warrants.
In Bolivia, which has almost half of the world’s reserves, the leftist government is building a pilot production plant and is drilling exploratory holes. That Bolivia is a remote, unstable country often hostile to foreign investment has helped spur interest in producing lithium in neighboring Argentina and Chile, in Australia, and in the United States. Several Canadian and American companies are making claims about future production prospects in Nevada, though few analysts foresee large-scale production from that state.
While most experts are skeptical that meaningful amounts of lithium can be produced domestically, they maintain that adequate supplies will be available from sources outside of Bolivia for many years to come and note that the biggest producer, Chile, is a dependable American ally.
Lithium-ion batteries are the favored battery type for electric and hybrid vehicles because they carry more energy with less weight than other materials and because they lose their charge more slowly. They store about three times as much as energy per pound as a nickel-metal hydride battery.
Lithium is found in trace amounts in many places, but it is being produced commercially mainly by two methods. One is through mining and processing, a relatively expensive method that produces the metal mostly for glass, ceramics and the manufacturing of television tubes.
The more economical and significant method is through evaporation of lithium-containing brines, mostly in salt flats in the highland areas in South America and western China. Lithium reservoirs have been formed over millions of years in highland bowls, after rivers and hot springs washed over lithium-laden rocks and leached the mineral from them. Producers drill wells into the salt flats and pump the brine into evaporation ponds. With the removal of water, the lithium content in the brine increases to a level where it can be collected and shipped to a chemical plant for processing.
The industry leader in this method of production is Sociedad Química y Minera, a Chilean fertilizer company in which the Potash Corporation, a Canadian fertilizer giant, holds a major stake. The other important producers in Latin America include FMC Corporation and Chemetall, a subsidiary of Rockwood Holdings, which also operates a small brine reserve in Nevada.
By the standards of traditional gold and copper booms, the increase in interest in lithium is still muted among big mining companies. Supplies of lithium are plentiful for now, and the price of lithium chemicals actually declined at the end of last year because of the economic slowdown. The price for lithium carbonate, the basic lithium compound used in batteries, had been around $5,000 a ton for the last five years or so, and has leveled at about $4,000 since October.
But with several major auto companies promising to market electric cars around the world over the next few years, demand may be poised to increase. Nissan will introduce the Leaf, a five-passenger electric car, and General Motors will introduce the Chevrolet Volt, a plug-in hybrid, within the next year.
Source: The New York Times
Chinalco Pursuing Investment Opportunities with Rio
Aluminum Corp. of China, the nation’s biggest aluminum producer, is pursuing investment opportunities with Rio Tinto Group amid reports they are in discussions to jointly a $12 billion iron-ore project.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the companies are in talks to develop the Simandou iron-ore project in Guinea.
Rio is trying to repair relations with China, its biggest customer, after scrapping a $19.5 billion investment by its largest shareholder Chinalco, and the arrest of Rio employees in Shanghai. Chinese companies spent more than $30 billion buying up mines and oil deposits globally last year, taking advantage of the global recession to add resources to feed domestic economic growth.
“We will continue to work towards extending our relationship with Chinalco and to pursue business opportunities that may be to our mutual benefit,” Rio Chairman Jan du Plessis said in the London-based company’s annual report, which was posted on its Web site.
Chinalco, which is Rio’s largest investor, is actively seeking representation on Rio’s board, Chairman Xiong Weiping said March 5. The Beijing-based company would pay for its stake in Simandou by financing the next stage of the project’s pre- development, with Rio remaining the senior partner, the Herald reported.
Rio is also in talks with Chinalco about the Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold project in Mongolia, iron ore exploration in China, and bauxite and alumina refining in Australia, the Herald said.
Source: Businessweek
China's Shanxi Province, traditionally the country's top coal producer, expects its coal output to rise by up to 30 percent in 2010, the province's party boss said recently.
"The coal orders we have received have exceeded 700 million tonnes. We expect to produce 700 million to 800 million tonnes," said Zhang Baoshun, the party secretary of the province.
The figure is higher than an earlier estimate of 600 million to 700 million tonnes. Shanxi produced 615 million tonnes of coal in 2009, about 20 percent of China's total, the official Xinhua news agency said earlier.
This year China is targeting national coal output of 3.15 billion tonnes, a 3.3 percent increase, the country's economic planning ministry, the National Development and Reform Commmission, said in its annual economic plan recently.
That growth rate is slower than most analysts' demand forecasts and the NDRC's expectation that electricity output, most of which is coal-powered, will rise 6.6 percent this year.
Shanxi launched a consolidation push in the coal industry last year during the economic slowdown, causing its annual coal output to fall about 5 percent.
The Shanxi consolidation drive, which aimed to close small, dangerous and inefficient mines, was a major factor in turning China into a net importer of coal last year, with a tripling of import volumes, mostly from Australia, Indonesia and Vietnam.
China is heavily dependent on coal for power generation, but the government wants to cut back on the dirty fuel, with hydropower, wind, nuclear and gas playing larger roles.
Those energy sources, costlier than coal, could make quicker strides if consolidation pushes up coal prices, either by cutting supply or raising safety standards and production costs.
The head of one of China's top five power firms, China Power Investment Corp, said recently he wanted a hike in electricity prices to reflect the rising cost of coal.
Other provinces are also consolidating their coal mining sectors. Henan announced a year-long push for more consolidation recently. Shandong and Inner Mongolia are expected to do so soon, Xinhua reported.
Shanxi's consolidation drive is almost complete. More than 99 percent of merger and acquisition contracts between small mines and bigger mining companies have been signed, a government document showed.
"Reconstruction of and upgrading (coal mines) is the main task this year," said Shanxi governor Wang Jun at a provincial delegation meeting.
Datong Coal Mine Group, which is one of the country's top coal producers and is based in the province, expects its output to grow more than 20 percent this year to about 150 million tonnes, Wu Yongping, the group's chairman, told Reuters.
"The growth in output is partly due to the consolidation. In addition, we have many large shafts which are expected to complete construction this year," said Wu on the sidelines of the meeting.
Datong Coal Mine Group is the parent of Shanghai-listed Datong Coal Industry Co.
Source: Reuters
Indonesia has given the local unit of Rio Tinto a mining permit for a nickel project in Sulawesi worth $2 billion, the company said recently.
The long-awaited permit is the first to be issued under a new Indonesian mining law passed in 2008 and could help increase certainty and lift flagging investment in the country's mining sector.
Rio Tinto launched an application for a mining contract of work—a type of mining license under the previous mining law—in 1999 for its nickel project on Sulawesi island.
But when the new coal and mining law was passed the firm was required to apply for a shorter-term mining permit.
"Rio Tinto will now focus on completion of an order of magnitude study to progress with identifying the best value development pathway," the company said in an email sent to Reuters.
The Sulawesi nickel project is expected to have a capacity of 46,000 tonnes per year of nickel metal.
The government awarded the last contract of work to Australia's Indo Mines Ltd. for its pig iron project in November 2008, a month before the new mining law was passed in December.
Indo Mines was also the first mining firm to sign a mining contract for a decade.
Southeast Asia's largest economy has struggled to lure foreign investment into mining in recent years, compounded by some politicians taking a nationalist line on resource exploitation and also because of uncertainty over regulations tied to the new mining law.
The government has said it expected mining investment to hit $2.5 billion this year, up from $1.81 billion in 2009, supported by greater certainty after the introduction of new mining regulations.
Indian state-run National Aluminium Co Ltd (NALCO) (NALU.BO) has got an approval for a new bauxite mining lease in eastern India, a senior government official said recently.
The new mine in Potangi, a few kilometres from NALCO's existing mine in the coastal state of Orissa, is estimated to have bauxite reserves of over 70 million tonnes, Orissa's steel and mines secretary, A.M.R. Dalwai, told Reuters.
B.L. Bagra, finance director at NALCO, said the company would now need the clearance from the federal government after which operations could take 3-5 years to begin. NALCO, India's third-largest aluminium maker that also exports alumina and aluminium via much-watched global tenders, currently produces 4.8 million tonnes of bauxite annually from its mine in Panchpatmalli.
"It was very necessary to have Potangi at this stage," Bagra said, adding the Panchpatmalli mine could last only for the next 20 to 25 years.
In September last year, NALCO, which produced 361,262 tonnes of aluminium in 2008/09, had got the federal government's nod to explore new mines in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh state, estimated to have bauxite reserves of 85 million tonnes.
Bagra said the company was also looking for 50 million to 60 million tonnes of bauxite deposits in the western state of Maharashtra.
"We have identified the deposits and we are preparing mining lease applications," he said.
First Quantum, the African copper-gold miner, now expanding into nickel beyond the continent, reported a sharp turnaround in its fortunes for 2009.
First Quantum produced 374,000 tonnes of copper in 2009, and is anticipating 385,000 tonnes this year. Gold production for 2009 was 193,000 ounces, with 240,000 ounces anticipated this year.
First Quantum's group copper production has grown from 29,500 tonnes in 2003, all from Bwana (Zambia) and Lonshi (just across the border in the DRC). Group gold production started out at a modest 14,300 ounces in 2005. The group owns and operates 80% of the Kansanshi copper-gold mine in Zambia ("a foundation asset"), 95% of Frontier in the DRC, and 80% of the Guelb Moghrein gold-copper mine in Mauritania.
First Quantum is expanding in Africa, and also moving offshore. On 23 November 2009, First Quantum announced it would acquire London-listed Kiwara for USD 260m, mainly for its controlling interest in mineral prospecting licence 267, covering 2,850 km² on the periphery of the Kabombo Dome in Zambia.
On 30 November, First Quantum announced the go ahead for its Kevitsa, Finland project, with a capital cost of USD 400m and first production anticipated for 2012. The mine will produce a cocktail of concentrates, with metals that include copper and gold, led by nickel.
On 8 December First Quantum announced the USD 340m acquisition of Ravensthorpe, Australia from BHP Billiton. Ravensthorpe, approved in March 2004, was built at a cost of USD 2.1bn but operations were suspended in January 2009, following the precipitous decline in nickel prices, long among the most volatile of any commodity.
First Quantum has commenced work at Ravensthorpe, modifying the crushing, conveying, stockpile and reclaim areas, and will continue work for about the next 12 months, followed by about six months of commissioning and ramp-up.
First Quantum expects Ravensthorpe's average annual production of nickel metal at about 39,000 tonnes for the first five years, after recommencement of operations, and an average annual production of 28,000 tonnes of nickel metal over the expected life of mine of 32 years. The total modification cost is estimated at about USD 150m.
First Quantum is distinguished as one of just a few miners that have kicked off in Africa and expanded outside the continent. The group started mining at Lonshi, just over the DRC border, in August 2001; a 36km laterite road was built to haul ore from Lonshi to Bwana Mkubwa, near Ndola. The Lonshi orebody was mined out during 2008, by which time First Quantum had made it into the major league.
South Africa's mines minister said recently that China had shown strong interest in investing in the African country's mining sector, and reassured investors there were no plans to nationalize mines.
China, Africa's biggest emerging market partner, has been investing in the continent's mining and energy sectors, and the minister said South Africa was a willing but cautious partner.
"There is a lot of interest from China. They are interested in manganese, platinum, uranium and I would say almost every commodity," Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu told the Reuters Global Mining and Steel Summit in New York.
"But we are also cautious to see if their investment is going to benefit South Africa. It is critical for us to ensure our own interest is catered for."
Shabangu said the Chinese were keen to invest in the processing of minerals in the country, a key priority of South Africa's government, which hopes to extract as much value from its mines as possible and boost job creation.
Shabangu said investor appetite for South Africa's mining sector, one of the country's major employers, was high, and she was keen to attract just as many investors as in mining peers Australia and Canada.
Investors had expressed concerns to her about talk of nationalizing mines in South Africa, power shortages and regulatory hurdles and delays in acquiring mining rights.
Shabangu said nationalization of mines in South Africa, the world's biggest producer of platinum and a major gold producer, was not government policy and would not happen, but rather it was a debate being pushed by a minority.
Shabangu said that rather than grabbing mines, the country would run a state-owned firm focused on strategic minerals such as coal and uranium, which were required for power generation.
She said by mid-April she would complete the consolidation of the assets under one company.
Asked how the South African rand is affecting the mining industry, Shabangu told Reuters: "The rand is very strong. It is a concern."
She added that its impact would have to be addressed within the fiscal framework to ensure a balanced approach.
A strong rand has been eating into company profits.
Even so, a key concern for investors was the issuing of mining rights by the state.
She said mining rights would now be issued in six months instead of more than two or three years as in the past. Prospecting rights would be issued in three months, she added.
South Africa had sufficient power this year, including during the soccer World Cup, and the blackouts that crippled the mining industry in early 2008 would not be repeated this year.
Shabangu said she would hold a summit with mining sector players to carry out the first major review of the country's Mining Charter, an agreement requiring mining companies to sell a portion of their ownership to black people, in a bid to reverse decades of exclusion under white apartheid rule.
"We have not achieved much. It's a big lesson, we have to learn from that. The principle of the charter was to try to de-racialize the mining industry, which has not been achieved."
Production at Australia's new one million ounce per year super gold mine at Boddington south of the Perth metropolitan area in Western Australia, is expected to reach full production by the end of this calendar year.
The "on track" ramp-up forecast was announced at the opening day of the Paydirt Australian Gold Conference by owner Newmont Mining Corporation.
Newmont Asia Pacific's regional group executive-operations, Philip Stephenson said in the conference keynote address that the planned 12 month ramp-up schedule at Boddington, 130 kilometres southeast of Perth, is "on track and is currently about 70% complete".
Stephenson said the first gold at Boddington for "Newmont's cornerstone asset for many years to come", was poured and shipped in September last year "with recoveries for both gold and copper above design expectations".
"The ramp-up is at about 70% and climbing and we anticipate reaching full capacity late in 2010 as this is a mega project and will correspondingly take time to ramp-up," said.
"Newmont will, however. continue to further develop this under-explored and highly prospective greenstone belt - so do not be surprised if this operation goes for at least 30, maybe 40 years."
Newmont is also a 50% owner in Western Australia's giant Superpit gold mine at Kalgoorlie, as well as the Jundee mine in Western Australia's north eastern goldfields, Tanami mine in the Northern Territory and Waihi gold operations on New Zealand's North Island.
The resource inventory for Allied Gold has been lifted significantly with added measured to indicated resources on Simberi Island, part of the Tabar Island group north of the Papua New Guinea mainland.
Executive chairman Mark Caruso said that the objective this year was to have 3 million oz of reserves and 10 million oz of resources on the Tabar Islands and at Gold Ridge in the Solomon Islands.
Simberi Island has a measured to inferred resource of 156 million tonnes grading 1.13 grams/tonne for 5.89 million oz - representing a 170% increase in resources.
Gold Ridge has resources of 37.8 million t @ 1.74 g/t for 2.11 million oz gold.
Caruso said the recent upgrade of resources on the Pigibo and Pigiput deposits on Simberi had helped lift resources there by about 1.3 million oz.
He described the significant resources lift as "testament to the enormous upside of the geological address that we operate in."
"Hence, the position and rationale for the company's buyback of the Tabar and Tatau Island (projects) from Barrick was based on regaining control of 100% of the highly prospective 270 square kilometres exploration tenure in the Tabar Islands.
The company also had 130 sq km of "largely unexplored ground" at Gold Ridge in the Solomon Islands which has not been actively explored since 1996, other than limited drilling at the mine site.
A new drilling programme will be undertaken on Gold Ridge in the first half of this year. An updated reserve statement on company deposits is expected by the end of June.
Silver Lake Ltd (ASX: SLR) detailed some shallow, thick and medium to high grade gold intercepts at the Genesis prospect, just 20 metres east and parallel to the Tuckabianna main zone in the north Murchison region.
The drill intersections included 3 metres grading 10.2 grams/tonne, 4m @ 7.3 g/t, 6m @ 4 g/t and 2m @ 5 g/t gold. Mineralisation remains open to the north, south and at depth. Silver Lake's managing director Les Davis said there was potential for further near-surface mineralisation parallel to the 13 kilometre long Tuckabianna main zone.
The company is getting a significant cash flow from the Mount Monger mining centre, south of Kalgoorlie. Davis said the company's accelerated exploration plan is targeting to significantly increase resources at Tuckabianna, Comet and Moyagee all in the Murchison District. He said these projects have a combined resource of 7.8 million tonnes grading 3.8 g/t gold for 1 million ounces.
Genesis was a new discovery where a 21 hole shallow RC drill programme has been completed. Genesis contains multiple near surface, thick, high grade intercepts. Davis said the next phase of step-out drilling will initially target the area south of the Genesis discovery. "This exciting discovery greatly enhances our resource potential in the Murchison and confirms our belief that the region is significantly under explored.
Silver Lake's Mt Monger operation, 50 km south east of Kalgoorlie contains the Daisy Milano underground mine and the Christmas Flat open pit. The company has proved up new discoveries and extensions of old prospector mines at Mt Monger.
Gold ore from Mt Monger is transported to Silver Lake's 600,000 tonnes per annum Lakewood processing facility 5 km south east of Kalgoorlie.
Kagara (ASX: KZL) reported recently that assays had just been received from massive sulphide intersections outside of the current indicated and inferred Upper High Grade Resource boundary.
The company said Hole KUG033A intersected 17.67 metres grading 6.8% nickel, hole KUG037 intersected 34.44m @ 7.6% Ni and hole KUG067had 36.76m @ 6.6% Ni.
Executive chairman Kim Robinson said drilling has now been completed and a revised resource should be announced by the end of April with a reserve to be calculated for the upper part of the Lounge Lizard ore body by the end of May.
On the production front, three development drives have now been completed to the southern boundary of the Lounge Lizard ore body and 3,508 tonnes of development ore grading 3.3% Ni has now been processed through Western Areas' NL Cosmic Boy concentrator.
Robinson said now that development of the Lounge Lizard deposit is well underway, a A$3.2 million (US$2.92 million) diamond drilling exploration programme will start April along the remainder of the 15 kilometres of the prospective Western Belt held by Kagara.
This drilling campaign will take about 12 months to complete and any massive nickel sulphides encountered will be followed up with additional diamond drilling.
Lounge Lizard is on the Western Ultramafic Belt at Forrestania and is enveloped by mines and developments owned by successful regional nickel miner Western Areas NL (ASX: WSA) which late last year opened up its high grade Spotted Quoll open cut mine and New Morning operation, both south of Lounge Lizard.
Western Areas is carrying out underground mining at Lounge Lizard, using its Flying Fox decline and sending the ore to its Cosmic Boy concentrator. The concentrate is sold into Western Areas offtake agreement.
A new water treatment system, the first to be used in a North American coal mine, is being implemented by CONSOL Energy Inc. in one of the nation’s largest coal mines. The Buchanan No. 1 coal mine in Oakwood, Va., will receive GE’s advanced filtration membranes and thermal water treatment technology to treat the mine water, enabling about 99 percent of the water to be reused in part at the company’s preparation plant facility.
When in operation, the new system will significantly reduce the volume of mine water that must be managed. Further, it will reduce freshwater demand, as the processed water coming out of the system can be used at the mine’s preparation plant facility, reducing the need to obtain water from other sources. The salt that naturally occurs in the mine water will be removed through the filtration process.
The Buchanan mine is one of the nation’s largest underground coal mines, larger in area than some small cities. In 2009, the CONSOL Energy mine produced 2.84 million clean tons of coal and 71.45 billion cubic feet of associated coal bed methane gas from its Virginia operations.
“Our goal is not only to help customers solve specific treatment problems, but to help them recognize and take advantage of opportunities to recover additional value,” said Steve Watzeck, president of engineered systems — water and process technologies for GE Power & Water. “GE offers extensive know-how gained from decades of global project experience, combined with innovative products and cutting-edge research. The result is a unique solution that hits the mark operationally, environmentally and economically.”
Part of an overall infrastructure upgrade expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2010, GE’s zero liquid discharge (ZLD) system is capable of treating up to 1,600 gallons of water per minute utilizing a combination of ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, brine evaporation and salt crystallization technologies. In the process, dissolved minerals in the mine water, largely salt, will be left behind in a crystalline form. Mine operations will not be impacted during system installation. GE has teamed with building contractor Bowen Engineering Corporation on the project.
The system GE is providing to CONSOL Energy incorporates GE’s ZeeWeed™ ultrafiltration technology, which employs hollow-fiber membranes to separate particles from water, and GE’s reverse osmosis separation technology, which removes dissolved impurities from water through the use of a semipermeable membrane. The concentrated brine from these elements of the system is then treated by GE’s proprietary thermal evaporation, crystallization and drying ZLD technologies, which make up the heart of this integrated process.
The future of a number of new nickel projects hinges on the ability of operators to successfully implement the third generation of the High Pressure Acid Leach (HPAL) process, T.D. Newcrest metals analysts Greg Barnes told a large audience of mining professionals and analysts recently.
In a speech to the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada Conference, Barnes advised the success or failure of HPAL "will have a big impact on how the nickel market develops."
Barnes explained that 14 nickel projects are scheduled to come on line between 2010 and 2013, five of which will use HPAL. Ironically, he noted, if HPAL "works as advertised," there will be too much nickel produced between 2010 and 2013.
However, if HPAL only achieves half of its projected output, Barnes said the global nickel will be close to achieving a balance between supply and demand.
Referring to nickel as the most volatile of all metals, Barns forecast that the global market will be in deficit this year. A series of unanticipated events, which include a drop in stainless steel production, strikes at major nickel mines, and a cut in mine production may result in a nickel market that is in deficit this year, he predicted.
Barnes said a 2009 decision by nickel miners to cut production by 329kt or 23% "basically saved the nickel price."
The nickel market will also be positively impacted by a strong recovery in stainless steel production with 11% growth forecast this year. However, the nickel market could have a surplus of 46,000 tonnes next year, Barnes predicted.
Quadra Mining (QUA.TO) is in talks to sell half of its Sierra Gorda copper project in Chile, and aims to have a deal in place by mid-2010, the company's chief executive said recently.
Speaking at the BMO Capital Markets Metals and Mining conference in Florida, Paul Blythe said the company was talking to two or three potential partners on a deal that would help relieve the funding burden of the $2 billion-$2.5 billion project.
Quadra started the search for a partner after copper prices plunged in late 2008.
The company released a scoping study last July that forecast a 25-year mine that would produce between 250 million and 400 million pounds of copper per year, along with 33 million pounds of molybdenum over its first eight years.
Quadra is seeking a deal even though it has yet to release a feasibility study, which would provide more data on the viability of the deposit and likely drive up the asking price. Blythe said a deal would likely involved only one partner and would likely be for about half of the project.
Quadra's talks have involved "a number of entities including the major (mining companies) and different Asian trading houses, state enterprises," he said, adding that a deal could be done in the first half of the year.
Quadra runs three mines in the United States and Chile, and also owns the Malmbjerg molybdenum project in Greenland. Quadra expects to produce 250 million pounds of copper this year.
Swiss-based commodity trader Glencore said recently it was buying back its prized Prodeco coal operations in Colombia from mining group Xstrata. It exercised an option and will pay $2.25 billion, plus profits accrued and the net balance of any cash invested during the option period.
"Glencore will finance the repurchase in a manner consistent with its commitment to maintain its investment grade ratings," it said in a statement.
Glencore was forced to give up Prodeco last year for $2 billion when short of cash, but got an option to repurchase them. Glencore did not say whether it planned to bring in a partner to repurchase the mine and finance growth of the mines.
Xstrata said it would use the cash for its own growth programme, due to result in a 50 percent jump in volumes by 2014.
"Glencore's decision to exercise its option provides Xstrata's shareholders with a robust cash return on the initial purchase price and provides additional financial flexibility as Xstrata's capital expenditure programme ramps up," chief executive Mick Davis said.
Gold miner Kinross (K.TO) said recently it has agreed to acquire exploration company Underworld Resources (UW.V) in a deal worth C$139.2 million ($135.3 million), expanding its asset base in northwest North America.
Underworld is focused on exploration in Canada. It's flagship asset is the White Gold project, located in the Tintina gold belt in Canada's Yukon Territory. The project has indicated and inferred resources of about 1.5 million ounces.
Kinross owns the Fort Knox open pit mine in neighboring Alaska, which is expected to produce about 370,000 ounces of gold annually over the next five years.
The acquisition would seem to fit well with Kinross's stated goal of expanding its asset base in the American Cordillera, the chain of mountain ranges that form the western backbone of North America, Central America and South America.
Toronto-based Kinross is offering 0.141 of a Kinross common share, plus C$0.01 in cash for every share of Underworld. The offer represents a value of C$2.62 a share, a 36 percent premium to Underworld's closing price on March 10.
Kinross will issue about 6.8 million shares, or 1 percent of its current outstanding common shares, to pay for Underworld. Kinross already owns roughly 8.5 percent of Underworld's outstanding shares.
The deal, which has been unanimously approved by Underworld's board of directors, is subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals.
Goldcorp CEO Chuck Jeannes said record gold production, low cash costs, and acquisitions aimed at increasing gold reserves "made a very successful year for Goldcorp."
The company's revenues increased 13% last year to $2.7 billion on gold sales of 2.3 million ounces.
Goldcorp said a recently completed pre-feasibility study for the Élénore gold project in Quebec "confirmed management's expectation for a long-lived underground gold mine with strong, sustained production at low cash costs."
"Over a 16-year mine life expected to commence in 2015, annual gold production is expected to average approximately 330,000 ounces at cash costs below $400 per ounce," the company said, adding the initial capital expenditure for Élénore is expected to be $800 million.
Meanwhile, plans are progressing toward development of what Goldcorp called a "world class resource" at the Escobar silver discovery in western Guatemala. Measured and indicated resources as of December 31, 2009, totaled 130.1 million ounces of silver.
The company's flagship Red Lake mine remains on track to increase its annual gold production from 622,000 ounces last year to 675,000 ounces this year. Meanwhile total expenditures for the Cochenour project at Red Lake is expected to be $71 million this year.
The Los Filos mine in Mexico is expected to increase its production from 239,000 gold ounces last year to 300,000 ounces this year. The Marlin mine in Guatemala is expected to exceed 2009 gold production of 274,900 ounces to 290,000 ounces of gold this year.
Meanwhile commercial production at the world class Peñasquito mine in Mexico is expected to commence in the third quarter of this year.
Goldcorp hopes to invest $485 million in the Pueblo Viejo joint venture project with Barrick in the Dominican Republic this year.
Goldcorp reported 2.42 million ounces of gold production last year, up from 2.32 million ounces of gold mined in 2008.
Lithium miner Western Lithium is seeking strategic partners to help develop a planned mine in Nevada that it hopes to bring on line by early 2014, President Jay Chmelauskas said recently.
The company, which has a market capitalization of about $114 million, expects development of its Nevada mine to cost about $400 million, Chmelauskas said at the Reuters Global Mining and Steel Summit in New York.
The company is currently working on environmental impact filings for the Kings Valley Lithium Project, and hopes to win those approvals within the next two years. Last month, the company said its plan of operation had been approved by federal and state regulators.
"We're in discussions all the time. At the appropriate time, we'll bring in a partner," he said.
Western Lithium is betting that car makers' plans to develop electric vehicles will prove a boon to the lithium ion battery industry, lifting demand for lithium metal by two- or three-fold in the coming years.
"Our potential partners are strategics that would be able to give us better bank financing," Chmelauskas said.
The company currently has no production of lithium metal, but expects to reach an output of 27,000 tons per year in its planned mine's first stage.
The company expects to find a partner among the companies that currently supply the auto industry as it nears the start date for the mine, he said.
Worldwide demand is about 100,000 tons per year, up from 70,000 tons about five years ago, but is currently oversupplied, he said.
SQM SQMa.SN, the largest supplier of lithium metal, announced a price cut of 20 percent in September.
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