Legacy Iron Ore completes acquisition of Queensland coal tenements

Legacy Iron Ore has completed the acquisition of six highly prospective tenements for quality coking and thermal coal in Queensland, marking its first foray into the state’s coal sector.

The acquisition forms part of Legacy’s strategy to build its portfolio of steelmaking raw material assets.

It is the first corporate transaction undertaken by Legacy since India’s largest iron ore producer and rapidly developing steel maker, NMDC, acquired a 50% stake in the company in December 2011.

Two tenements – EPCA 2303 and EPCA 2304 – near the townships of Mundubbera and Eidsvold, have now been granted allowing settlement by Legacy to occur, with the final four awaiting grant.

Highlighting the attractiveness of the region, the coal tenements are surrounded by mining giants BHP Billiton and Xstrata, as well as a number of major Indian corporations, which have made substantial coal investments in the area.

Combined, the tenements cover around 3,200 square kilometres with coal intersections identified from historical drilling.

In the Surat Basin, although no defined drilling has been conducted for coal, historical drilling for base metals and gold has intersected coal seams of between 0.3 and 3 metres thick from within the Evergreen Formation and the area covered by two of the exploration permits.

Based on historical data, EPCA 2303 and EPCA 2304 are likely to have an exploration target of 130 to 580 million tonnes with a raw ash of 12% to 26% and a gross calorific value of 5,500 to 6,500 kilocalories per kilogram.

These tenements are also strategically located close to infrastructure, with a railway line to the port of Gladstone just 21 kilometres east of the project area.

NK Nanda, chairman of Legacy Iron Ore, commented on the acquisition: “The acquisition of the two tenements is an initial entry into the Queensland coal sector, with the remaining four tenements awaiting grant.”

Nautilus signs off take agreement for Solwara 1 for undersea mining

In 2005 Nautilus Minerals of Vancouver set it sights on finding goldlargest producers of chrome ore chromite-copper massive sulphide deposits on the seafloor and mining them. That dream is a giant step closer since Nautilus signed an off take agreement with Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group, China’s largest importer of copper concentrate.

The agreement allows Tongling to purchase 1.1 million t/y of mineralized material from the Solwara 1 project for three years beginning in 2013. Nautilus will be recovering the material from the floor of the Bismarck Sea off the coast of Papua New Guinea. Tongling will import the material to China where the company will first prepare a concentrate and then smelt the concentrate in its facilities. Nautilus has adapted its production technology from that used by the offshore oil and gas industry, dredging and mining. Seafloor production tools loosely resembling road headers ply the...

State to crack whip on mine deaths

The department of mineral resources (DMR) is bringing out the big stick after a 42% surge in the equipment for execution of crusher run using g3 road basenumber of mining deaths so far this year. In the three and a half months to mid- April, 47 people were killed on SA’s mines. Almost half died on the deep-level gold mines where most of SA’s fatalities usually occur, but there was an unexpected trebling of the fatalities on platinum mines to 12.

This trend is surprising because for the past five years the mines have invested millions in improving safety technology and training employees. Webber Wentzel partner Warren Beech suggests part of the problem could be the way the Mine Health & Safety Act is being enforced, which is disrupting operations. For the past three years the DMR’s mine inspectorate has been auditing mines’ compliance with the act. Numerous mines have been shut down while management addresses the “s ection 54” notices in which the inspectors list non compliant areas. Shutdowns normally last 4-10 days, but longer if someone has been killed...

Navigator slumps on discounted rights issue

gold mine project plan

Shares in gold miner Navigator Resources plunged by nearly 50 per cent after the company announced a deeply discounted $31.7 million rights issue, admitted underperformance at its Bronzewing gold project and flagged a change of mine plan.

Navigator, which has been in week-long suspension, said the capital raising would allow it to resume trading de-geared, unhedged and fully funded as it went about changing its mine plan for Bronzewing to focus on sustainable long term supply of high grade ore from its Cockburn Pit in the shortest possible timeframe. The company had hoped to secure $4.5 million in cash from the sale of a further 30 per cent stake in its Cummins Range rare earths project to Kimberley Rare Earths but the deal was blocked by the ASX because it breached listing rules. Bronzewing has been dogged by production problems since Navigator began mining in April last year, including a partial pitwall failure in September last year. More recently, an ore supply shortfall has prevented the mill from operating at full capacity, causing the company to miss production targets...

Chinalco Mining to seek nod for up to $1 bln IPO

Chinalco Mining Intem sand manufacturing machinernational will seek approval from the Hong Kong stock exchange on May 17 for an IPO that could raise up to $1 billion, IFR reported on Wednesday.

The company, a Peruvian copper mining unit of state-owned Aluminum Corporation of China, plans to start pre marketing the deal in the week of May 21 once it gets the listing approval, the report added.

The early-stage mining company, with the $2.2 billion Toromocho Peru mine as its main asset, is expected to start production in the third quarter of 2013.

Bankers on the deal are closely monitoring the market response to the IPO of China Nonferrous Mining (CNMC), another non-Chinese copper miner.

CNMC is a state-owned copper producer with operations in Zambia. The company is currently pre marketing its Hong Kong IPO of $500 million and is looking to start book building as early as May 14. A pre-deal report expects the company's 2012 net profit to surge 120 percent year on year to $154 million.

BNP Paribas and Morgan Stanley are joint global co-ordinators on the CMCI transaction and joint bookrunners with CCB International, CICC, HSBC and Standard Chartered.

By Reuters

IMX finds new customer for second Cairn Hill ore shipment

Iron ore prcomo calcular enchimento de moinho de bolaoducer, IMX Resources Limited has reported that Sichuan Taifeng will be the purchaser of the second shipment of Cairn Hill ore after Juhua Group Corporation failed to provide a letter of credit for the shipment as required by the terms of the legally binding term sheet signedin January.

Under the legally binding term sheet between Hong Kong based Juhua Group Limited, Taifeng Yuanchuan International Development Co. Ltd and Termite Resources N.L., Juhua was due to purchase the shipment currently being loaded with Cairn Hill Phase 1 ore.IMXsaid in a statement thatJuhua failed to provide a letter of credit for the shipment as stipulated in the term sheet and sought to vary the agreed terms prior to its first shipment. Further discussions will be held with Juhua after the Chinese New Year to determine their performance for the balance of the shipments over four years.

Sichuan Taifeng has agreed to accept the current shipment under its life of mine offtake contract. As such there will not be any revenue or cost impact on IMX, or its operating subsidiary Termite Resources. The flexibility shown by Sichuan Taifeng in firstly agreeing to place ore with a second customer, then agreeing at very short notice to accept the shipment is very positive for the Cairn Hill project going forward.

Termite Resources and Sichuan Taifeng are currently seeking legal advice concerning this failure by Juhua. Subject to the outcome of further discussions with Juhua after the Chinese New Year, Termite Resources and Sichuan Taifeng will consider all options, including legal avenues, available to them.

Duncan McBain, Managing Director of IMX said, “While we are obviously disappointed with what has happened, the performance of Sichuan Taifeng has been very positive for Cairn Hill.”

”IMX and Sichuan Taifeng will try to resolve the situation with Juhua or alternatively seek to firm up arrangements with other potential customers. IMX may take this as an opportunity to amend the performance terms on secondary offtake agreements to allow for greater flexibility in procuring competitive alternative contractual buyers.”

IronClad gets cash boost to support maiden iron ore production at Wilcherry Hill

IronClad Mining is set to receive $840,000 towards the progressing of the definition circular elliptical linear motion vibrating screenWilcherry Hill Iron Ore Project from major shareholder and joint venture partner Trafford Resources by the end of the month.

Trafford plans to exercise all of the IronClad options held, about 1.12 million, at $0.75 each, by the expiry date on March 30, 2012. Funds from the exercise of options will be put towards advancing the Wilcherry Hill project, in which Trafford Resources is a joint venture partner with a 20% interest. The first stage of production at Wilcherry Hill is on target to commence in the current quarter, with the inaugural exports to be achieved in the June quarter this year. Earlier this month, IronClad began a 2,000 metre grade control drilling program at Wilcherry Hill, focused on the Weednanna deposit where mining will begin. The program is targeting near....

Davis to part ways with EMA

WA uranium hopeful Energy and Minerals Australia has suddenly psmall scale rock quarrying machineryarted company with its long-serving managing director, Chris Davis, in the middle of a Warden's Court battle over ownership of its Mulga Rock project. In a brief statement to the stock exchange this morning, EMA said Mr Davis "is to leave the company today".

No reason for Mr Davis' sudden departure was given, with EMA only saying it would begin a search for a new managing director. "The company is now in a period of transition from a resource valuation to development," EMA said in a statement. "We look forward to the appointment of a new managing director to drive the company towards its goal of uranium production. "Importantly, the company retains significant corporate, technical and financial capacity with executive director Mike Fewster, chief financial officer Shane McBride, general manager geology Xavier Moreau, and a team of highly-skilled employees and consultants." Mr Fewster is also EMA's dominant shareholder with a stake of about 74 per cent...

Miners may be forced to kick-in for training

The State Government is said to be about to force mining companies to pay more - possibly tens of millions of dollars - inmaquinaria para explotacion minera de oroto a training fund.

Sources say Training Minister Peter Collier has worked on a plan for months to increase the amount resources companies pay into the building and construction industry training fund. Mr Collier has long said the resources sector does not do its fair share of training. He also wrote to 60 mining companies last week urging them to take on more apprentices. This year he told an industry forum that the mining and petroleum industry's proportion of workers in training - 4.3 per cent - was far too low. He compared it with construction (6 per cent) and manufacturing (6.2 per cent). It is understood Mr Collier's plan could involve a change to the levy, which requires companies to contribute 0.2 per cent of the value of commercial and residential buildings. Fund executive director Ralph Dawson said building companies paid about...

Randgold says Mali projects unaffected by coup

Randgold Resources has said operations at its three projflying disc grinding millects in Mali are running normally despite reports of a coup, while other mining groups are monitoring the situation.

A military group said it had seized power and imposed a curfew in the west African state, and the whereabouts of the president, Amadou Toumani Touré, were unclear. Randgold, which is one of the top 100 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange, has around 70% of its production in Mali, and is expected to mine around 600,0000 ounces of gold there this year. Its chief executive, Mark Bristow, is in Mali and this week signed an agreement over its Gounkoto mine with Amadou Cissé, the mining minister. On the stock market Randgold's shares have lost nearly 12%, wiping nearly £700m off its value. Joshua Raymond, chief market strategist at City Index, said: "Investors hate uncertainty and with the country in a state of emergency we have seen...

Dragon Mining reports further gold intercepts at Kuusamo, Finland

Dragon Mining on Monday announced the final results of its second phase of drilling at the Juomasuo gold deposit at the Kuusamo Gold Project in northern Finland. The exploration company said analysis of the lquartz silicon machine manufacturersast three holes in the program returned further promising gold intercepts, including 4.15m at 6.10 g/t gold and 5.25m at 5.11 g/t gold.

The 9 hole, 3,500 metre second phase of drilling was undertaken between February and April 2011 and was designed to examine the strike and depth extensions of the known lodes in the southern portion of the Juomasuo deposit. "The program has returned a series of very encouraging intercepts, including previously reported highlights 13.65m at 3.13 g/t gold, 9.95m at 3.81 g/t gold, 34.90m at 9.30 g/t gold, 3.55m at 10.39 g/t gold and 7.30m at 8.18 g/t gold," a report read.

In addition to the confirmation of lodes at Juomasuo, multi-element analysis has also returned a number of strong cobalt intercepts and elevated levels of REE either in conjunction with gold mineralisation or separately, as well as the occurrence of sporadic elevated levels of copper and uranium. The Juomasuo gold deposit comprises a set of closely spaced sub-parallel lodes, which strike northwest-southeast and plunge steeply to the south and the southwest.

Drilling is scheduled to resume at the end of July following the requisite break for the northern summer, with two diamond core drill rigs recommencing activities on a 14 hole, 4,200 metre program targeting the strike and depth extensions of the known lodes in the northern portion of the deposit.

Centamin Egypt Completes Share Placement to Raise £86 Million

Centamin Egypt Limited, duaknowledge of vsi sand making machine designl listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE:CEY) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX:CEE), announces the completion of the placing announced earlier today.

A total of 51,502,917 new ordinary shares in the capital of Centamin (or Depositary Interests representing such ordinary shares) have been placed with institutions at a price of 167 pence per Placing Share. Based on the Placing Price, the gross proceeds of the Placing will be approximately £86 million.

The Placing Shares will, when issued, be credited as fully paid and will rank pari passu in all respects with the existing ordinary shares of the Company (“Ordinary Shares”), including the right to receive all dividends and other distributions declared, made or paid on or in respect of such shares after the date of issue of the Placing Shares.

The Company will apply for: admission of the Placing Shares to the Official List of the UK Listing Authority; trading on the London Stock Exchange plc’s main market for listed securities; and the approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange ("Admission"). It is expected that Admission will take place and that trading in the Placing Shares will commence on or about 14 December 2010.

Miranda Gold and Agnico-Eagle enter agreement for Ester Dome Project

Miranda Gold Corp. on Tuesday said that it had signed an exploration agreement with option to joint venture with Toronto Stock Exchange listed Agnicokeene gold ore crusher for sale-Eagle Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited, for Miranda's Ester Dome project in Alaska.

In the agreement, Agnico would possibly earn up to a 70% interest in the Ester Dome project located in the Fairbanks mining district of Alaska. "Under the terms of the Agreement, which replaces a Letter of Intent announced on October 14, 2010, Agnico can earn a 51% interest in Ester Dome by spending US$4,000,000 in qualifying expenditures over a five year period. Agnico may then elect to earn an additional 19% interest, for a total of 70%, by completing a feasibility study or by spending an additional US$10,000,000 at a rate of no less than US$1,000,000 per year," the company said on its website.

Upon signing the Agreement, Agnico agreed to pay Miranda US$30,000 and is obligated to fund a first year exploration budget of US$500,000.

European, U.S. Stock-Index Futures Sink on China Interest Rate Speculation

European and U.S. stock-index futures dropped and Asian shares fell amid speculation that China may raise its interest rates and some European countries’ will have to rgrain size of silica sand usesestructure their debt.

BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s largest mining company, may drop as the price of copper declined the most in two weeks. Enterprise Inns Plc may fall after UBS AG advised selling shares of the U.K.’s second-biggest pub owner. There’s “speculation that China’s lofty inflation rate will lead to more aggressive monetary tightening,” said Jonathan Sudaria, a trader at London Capital Group Holdings Plc in London. “Also adding to the negative momentum today will be escalating worries about Irish sovereign debt. The increased likelihood that the Irish will have to tap the European Union or International Monetary Fund for a bailout and the possible contagion effects to other peripheral members has curbed traders’ risk appetite.” Futures on the Euro Stoxx 50 Index lost 1.8 percent to 2,778 as of 7:26 a.m. in London. Futures contracts on the FTSE 100 Index expiring in December declined 1.2 percent and the MSCI Asia Pacific Index retreated 1.5 percent. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures expiring in December lost...

U.S. Stock-Index Futures Fluctuate, Newmont, Freeport Drop

U.S. stock-index futures fluctuated, with the Standaextrac iron ore with magnetic separation equipmentpage3rd & Poor’s 500 Index poised for second week of gains, as former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said the U.S. may soon face higher borrowing costs.

Newmont Mining Corp. and Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. led a decline among raw-material producers as copper dropped in London. Southwestern Energy Co. may retreat after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. removed the shares from its “conviction buy” list. Transocean Ltd., the owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig involved in the largest U.S. oil spill, rallied 5 percent in Germany. Futures on the S&P 500 expiring in September lost 0.1 percent to 1,111 as of 7:17 a.m. in New York, after earlier rising 0.2 percent. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 0.1 percent to 10,367, while Nasdaq-100 Index futures rose less than 0.1 percent to 1,910. “Markets will remain constrained because consensus growth estimates are already very optimistic” for...

Alaska voters say no to gold, copper mine

Voters in a small southwest Alaska borough narrowly passed a measure blocking a prock cutting and crushing machine from usaroposed gold and copper mine that conservationists said would have threatened one of the world's premier wild salmon fisheries in a local election that gained national attention, pitting environmental and business interests on opposing sides.

The vote bans large-scale resource extraction — including mining — that would destroy or degrade salmon habitat. The measure was aimed squarely at Pebble Mine, a massive gold and copper operation planned near the headwaters of Bristol Bay and one of the world's premier wild salmon fisheries. Unofficial results, released by the Lake and Peninsula Borough clerk late Monday, showed 280 in favor of the measure and 246 against. The mine is a joint venture of Canada-based Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. and Anglo American plc of the United Kingdom. The proposal, like the project itself, was the subject of an...

Mining projects 22 000 new jobs

South Africa’s mining sector anticipates adding jobs to the economy but the extent of jobgranite crushers manufacturers in belgium creation is tempered by the uncertainty around the nationalisation debate and the legislative framework. At least six mining companies, including Kumba Iron Ore, Nkwe Platinum and Xstrata, have said they planned to employ more than 22 000 people starting this year.

In a country beset with high unemployment, any new jobs are welcome, highlighted by the fact that job creation took centre stage in President Jacob Zuma’s State of the Nation speech. The South African mining industry employs about 491 000 people, down from 518 519 in 2008, a decline of 5.1 percent. Abdul Davids, the head of research at Kagiso Asset Management, said the creation of jobs was good news. “Prices (of commodities) are high because of flooding that happened in Australia. You find that higher prices attract more supply...

Signautre Metals Says Plant Refurbishment Underway at Konongo gold project

Signature Metals Lplanta lavado de hormigon y arenas de rioimited is very pleased to announce the commencement of the recommissioning of its 350,000 tonne per annum CIL plant located onsite at the Konongo gold project in Ghana.

The Company has engaged the services of AMITAAB Limited to carry out the structural, mechanical and electrical refurbishment of the plant. AMITAAB is a Ghanaian construction and engineering company which has previously carried out plant construction and refurbishment work for several companies including Anglogold Ashanti and Gold Fields as well as general engineering contracts within Ghana. Equipment and personnel were mobilised to site during the last fortnight and inductions completed this week.

The commencement of the work on the processing facility marks an important milestone in the company’s aim to be a producer within 9 months. The structural, mechanical and electrical refurbishment is projected to be completed by the end of 2010 and if work proceeds ahead of schedule the plant may well be commissioning towards the end of the year.

Hannans Reward says drilling at Kiruna Iron project, successful

Hannans Reward has announced that drilling at Rakkurijoki, Sweden has intersected wide iron minlists of crushers quarries in fujairaheralisation.

The company has released drilling results for Altavaara and has also intersected very wide low grade iron mineralisation .

Hannans Kiruna Iron Project, located in northern Sweden contains a number of deposits that are extremely well located with regard to infrastructure (rail, power and services) – the Rakkurijoki Project is located less than 100m from a major road, less than 1km from open access rail and 6km from Kiruna the Altavaara Project is located less than 650m from the E4 highway and 15km from Kiruna. Kiruna, a mining centre with a population of approximately 18,000 is connected to major ports at Narvik, Norway (180km north-west) and Lulea, Sweden (340km south-east)

Hannans is striving to compile 1 Billion tonnes of iron resources within 80km of the Kiruna mining centre, develop a central facility to process ore from a number of satellite deposits and then produce a premium quality iron concentrate.

The primary reason for drilling the latest deep hole was to test the footwall characteristics for geotechnical studies. If however the width and grade of the iron mineralisation continues to increase at depth, it is conceptually possible that potential mine life could be extended at the cessation of open pit operations, through the commencement of an underground operation.

Prior to completing additional drilling, preliminary metallurgical testwork will be carried out on samples from Altavaara to determine if the iron mineralisation can be upgraded to saleable specifications. If the results are favourable the next round of drilling at Altavaara will be aimed at establishing a maiden JORC inferred resource. The Altavaara mineralisation is geologically different to all of the other deposits in the Kiruna Iron portfolio and therefore requires detailed additional examination.

GVK wins state nod for $6.3 bln Australia coal mine

GVK Power & Infrastructure has cleared a key hurdle toward developing its A$6.4 billion Alpha coal project, winning state environmental approval for what would be one of Australia's biggest coal mines.

GVK's Alpha project has made the most progress towards development approval among sesecondhand mobile crushers in south africaveral in the untapped Galilee Basin in Queensland, where rival Indian group Adani Enterprises is planning a A$10.9 billion coal and rail project.

The Alpha project is being run by Hancock Coal, 79 percent owned by GVK and 21 percent owned by Asia's richest woman, Gina Rinehart, who sparked a political storm last week when she won the right to hire foreign workers to build an iron ore mine.

The Queensland coal project still needs environmental approval from the federal government in Canberra and a mining lease from the state to go ahead.

The Galilee Basin projects have been slow to win approvals, facing opposition from environmentalists concerned about coal burning, port dredging and ship traffic along the fragile Great Barrier Reef, as well as from landowners along the proposed rail route.

"We don't think GVK knew what they were getting into when they bought a majority stake in this mine," Greenpeace senior campaigner John Hepburn said in a statement, vowing to continue fighting against the mine.

The approval from Queensland's coordinator-general sets out 128 conditions for managing environmental impacts from building the 30 million tonnes-a-year thermal coal mine and a 495 km (310 mile) rail line from the mine to the port of Abbot Point.

"It's another step towards getting a mining lease and final approvals," Hancock Coal's spokesman Chris Bombolas said.

Hancock Coal is looking to sell down its stakes in the Alpha coal project and related port and rail assets to help fund the A$10 billion cost of the projects, with interest seen from Asian coal buyers, Chief Executive Paul Mulder told Reuters in March.

"There'll be an estimated A$11 billion boost to the economy during the mine's three year construction phase," Queensland deputy premier Jeff Seeney said in a statement.