Peru gives approval for $1.4bn Tia Maria copper project
The Peruvian Government has reportedly given the go-ahead for Southern Copper’s $1.4bn Tia Maria project in the southern Islay province of the Arequipa region.
Reuters reported that the government has advised that the “right social and environmental conditions” will have to be met for the project to move forward.
Peru Prime Minister Vicente Zeballos was quoted by the news agency as saying: “But we also reaffirm that our government will not impose the Tía Maria mining project if there are not the environmental and social conditions for its development.”
South Africa’s Implats to acquire North American Palladium for $758m
South Africa-based Impala Platinum Holdings has agreed to buy 100% of Canadian platinum group metals miner North American Palladium (NAP) shares.
NAP’s majority shareholder Brookfield Business Partners holds 81.0% of the stake and will be was offered C$16.00 ($12) per share in cash.
The deal is valued at C$1.008bn ($758m), which will be paid through a mix of $288m in existing cash, $120m in cash raised through a metal prepayment of excess inventory, and a $350m loan.
Landslide at illegal gold mine in the DRC kills at least 16
A landslide that occurred at a gold mine in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has claimed the lives of at least 16 people and injured several others.
The accident happened at an illegal mine in the province of Maniema.
Maniema province Governor Auguy Musafiri was quoted by Reuters as saying: “There was an accident at the Kampene mine, and for the moment we were able to get 16 bodies from the site of the landslide.”
GMG unveils cybersecurity and electric mine working groups
The Global Mining Guidelines Group (GMG) has introduced two new working groups on cybersecurity and the electric mine.
GMG launched the working groups to create safe and sustainable mines.
The Cybersecurity Working Group will help mining stakeholders who look to design safe, secure and resilient cybersecurity infrastructure that adheres to regulatory and industry best practices.
Barrick Gold and Tanzania reach $300m deal on Acacia Mining
Barrick Gold has signed a deal to settle a long-running tax dispute between the Government of Tanzania (GoT) and mining group Acacia, which was acquired by Barrick in a $1.2bn buy-out deal approved by a British court last month.
As part of the agreement, Barrick will pay $300m to the Tanzanian Government to end the dispute which, according to the company, destroyed the value of the assets of its subsidiary Acacia Mining.
The agreement also included the lifting of a concentrate export ban.
Satellite comms firm Inmarsat joins Global Mining Guidelines Group
Satellite telecommunications firm Inmarsat has joined the Global Mining Guidelines Group (GMG) to further strengthen its commitment to the mining industry.
GMG serves as a hub for collaboration and innovation across the mining sector and is a multi-stakeholder organisation with representation from mining regions worldwide.
It is an open platform that brings together representatives from mining companies, regulators and other mining research organisations. The members regularly meet to discuss challenges and disruptive technologies that are transforming the mining industry.
Lithium royalty regime to encourage WA’s downstream processing
The Government of Western Australia (WA) has amended the royalty regime for the state’s fast-growing lithium industry that will encourage downstream processing and manufacturing.
The government capped the royalty rate for the lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate at 5%, where those are the first products sold and the feedstock is lithium spodumene concentrate.
The WA Government said that the royalty rates will be introduced as soon as possible.
Gespeg Copper to acquire three projects in Canada
Canadian exploration company Gespeg Copper Resources has signed an agreement with an independent party to purchase 100% undivided interest in three projects.
The projects are located on the Southern portion of the Gaspé Peninsula and the Chibougamau Region of Canada.
Chandler Project is the first among three acquired projects, comprising 19 claims with four known indicators, namely Ruisseau Bleu, T Nelson 1 and 2, Riviere St-Jean South and Route 102 S-W. It is situated west of the Municipality of Chandler.
Newmont Goldcorp achieves commercial production at Borden mine
Newmont Goldcorp has achieved safe and on schedule commercial production at Borden mine located near Chapleau in Ontario, Canada.
The company also noted that the mine achieved commercial production within budget.
With health and safety controls in place, the mine also features digital mining technologies and processes, as well as low-carbon energy vehicles.
Bass Metals signs MoU with downstream graphite processor Urbix
Australian graphite developer Bass Metals has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with downstream graphite processor Urbix Resources.
Under the MoU, the two companies will establish a joint venture (JV) facility in Madagascar for processing Bass Metals’ graphite into downstream products.
The proposed JV will combine Urbix’s expertise in the development of advanced and sustainable graphite products with Bass Metals’ large flake graphite resources, technical knowledge, government relations and sales relationships.
