Covid-19 lockdown restrictions around Southern Africa have put the spotlight on mines’ supply chain security, especially with regard to key inputs like explosives and specialised blasting services. According to blasting specialist BME GM Albie Visser, mines have relied heavily on the flexibility and ingenuity of service providers to keep the supply chain functioning.
Alrosa Zimbabwe (Alrosa Zim), a joint venture (JV) between Russian diamond miner Alrosa and Zimbabwe State-owned miner Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC), has started prospecting and preliminary exploration works for primary diamond deposits. After getting special grants from the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, Alrosa Zim had the environmental-impact assessment (EIA) approved by the Environmental Management Agency (EMA), and is set to begin prospecting and exploration in the Masvingo... Читать дальше...
In line with the Minerals Council South Africa’s yearly day of health and safety on July 17, the council on July 21 published its Health and Safety in Mining Position Paper, which examines health and safety in South Africa’s mining industry. According to the paper, the industry – which is complex, technical and often labour-intensive – experienced a 92% overall decline in the number of yearly fatalities during 1993 to 2019.
Coal miner MC Mining has satisfied the conditions in a restructured loan agreement with the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa, with this condition required for the company to secure commitments for the issue of new equity for a collective R15-million. In terms of the agreement, the company will now draw down R40-million and these funds will be used to advance the Makhado hard coking coal project and for general working capital.
Precious metals miner Pan American is moving its Huaron and Morococha operations, in Peru, into care and maintenance in response to several workers at the mines recently testing positive for Covid-19. Testing and tracing of the Covid-19 virus are part of the protocols Pan American has implemented across all its operations in response to the pandemic.
Silver futures are latching on to gold’s rally, climbing above $20/oz to the highest since 2016 on rising haven demand and concerns about supply of the white metal. Gold and silver have surged this year as the coronavirus pandemic roiled the global economy, spurring sustained demand for havens even as some lockdowns were eased. The outbreak has yet to brought under control in many countries including the US, bolstering the case for holding the metals.
The US Army Corps of Engineers is poised to give its blessing later this week to an Alaska copper and gold mining project the Obama administration tried to block because of concerns it could harm the state's salmon industry. A final environmental impact statement (EIS) recommending development of Northern Dynasty Minerals' Pebble mine will be released on Friday, with a notice scheduled to be published in the Federal Register, Dave Hobbie, regulatory chief for the Army Corps's Alaska District, said in a Monday telephone news conference. Читать дальше...
Brazilian miner Vale said on Monday that its second-quarter iron ore production totalled 67.6-million tonnes, up 5.5% from a year earlier and 13.4% higher than the first quarter, despite the impact of the novel coronavirus. Vale said it was keeping its full-year outlook for iron ore fines production unchanged at 310-million to 330-million tonnes, but emphasised that the most probable scenario was for output to be at the lower end of that range. The result comes soon after iron-ore prices surged... Читать дальше...
Major BHP on Tuesday announced that it had met its full year production targets for iron-ore, metallurgical coal and its operated copper and energy coal assets, despite impacts from the Covid-19 pandemic. “BHP safely delivered a strong operational performance in the 2020 financial year, achieving record production in a number of our operations and an improved cost base. This performance, achieved in the face of Covid-19 and other challenges, is a result of the outstanding effort of our people and the support of our communities... Читать дальше...
