Aim- and TSX-listed Horizonte Minerals on Tuesday announced that it had a new high-grade resource that could serve either one of its two production centres in Brazil – Araguaia or Vermelho. The Serra do Tapa nickel deposit has a NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate in the measured and indicated category of 70-million tonnes, grading 1.22% nickel, at a 0.9% nickel cut-off.
The gold rally fueled by the US-China trade war is unleashing a growing wave of illegal miners who are increasingly pushing into fragile environments that range from Latin America’s Amazon to South Africa. Bullion has surged 18% over three months to the highest in six years. While that’s good news for mining companies, it’s spurring a burst of illegal prospecting that has helped fuel drug trafficking and organized crime within some of the world’s top gold-producing regions.
The first gold pour from the Fruta del Norte mine that Vancouver-based Lundin Mining is building in south-east Ecuador is only months away, with the mine forecast to deliver its first gold next quarter. Overall construction at the Fruta del Norte site is about 78% complete and the project remains on schedule and on budget, Lundin Gold president and CEO Ron Hochstein has affirmed.
As the global adoption of electric mobility accelerates and more charging stations are deployed across the world, demand for copper will increase substantially over the next decade. A report by research and consultancy group Wood Mackenzie states that more than 20-million EV charging points will be deployed globally by 2030, consuming more than 250% more copper than in 2019.
JSE- and TSX-V-listed Alphamin Resources has appointed Maritz Smith as its new CEO, with Boris Kamstra stepping down from the position with immediate effect. Kamstra will, however, continue to serve as an executive director of Alphamin with responsibilities that include investor relations, tin marketing and special value-add projects. Maritz has 18 years of experience with all aspects of directing mining operations and is, according to the miner, “well suited” to guide Alphamin through its next phase of operations and corporate objectives.
TSX-V-listed NRG Metals has filed its preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for the Hombre Muerto North (HMN) lithium project, which company president Adrian Hobkirk says “firmly establishes” the project as having “significant potential”. The HMN project’s main attributes are its relatively small environmental footprint, a short build time and excellent grades, Hobkirk said in a media statement on Monday.
Consultancy firm Fitch Solutions has raised its iron-ore price forecast for this year from $80/t to $90/t. The firm says the adjustment was on the back of supply disruptions, coupled with strong demand that resulted in a price really in the second quarter, which pushed the year-to-date average price higher to $92/t.
ASX-listed Australian Pacific Coal on Tuesday expressed its disappointment in the Independent Planning Commission’s (IPC’s) decision not to extend the mine life of the Dartbrook coal mine, saying it would "carefully review and consider" the reasons for the decision, and evaluate its available options. The IPC at the end of last week gave the green light for Australian Pacific Coal to restart underground operations at Dartbrook, in New South Wales, using bord and pillar mining.
