Ce ver aux mâchoires géantes vivait il y a 400 millions d’années

Au Canada, des paléontologues ont découvert des mâchoires « géantes », de 1 cm, qui ont appartenu à un ver marin il y a 400 millions d’années. Il devait mesurer 1 m et témoigne d’une tendance au gigantisme qui a touché cette famille au Dévonien. Ces annélides sont devenus plus modestes depuis,...

from Les dernières actualités de Futura-Sciences http://ift.tt/2lS6YsX

Trappist-1 : comment y chercher la vie ? L'astrophysicien Franck Selsis nous l’explique

Les exoplanètes découvertes autour de l'étoile Trappist-1 sont présentées comme les premières où pourront être repérées des biosignatures d'ici quelques décennies. Qu'en est-il réellement et sont-elles seulement habitables ? Réponses à ces questions avec une interview exclusive de...

from Les dernières actualités de Futura-Sciences http://ift.tt/2mIpPV3

China closing 150 gold mines

China's official news agency Xinhua is reporting that the country is set increase annual gold output to 500 tonnes by the end of the decade from around 450 tonnes currently.

China overtook South Africa as the number one miner of the metal in 2007. China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) expects gold output to grow by an average 3% annually through 2020.

Last year output rose less than 1% to 453.5 tonnes according to the ministry:

[The MIIT] aims to consolidate and upgrade the industry by reducing the number of gold miners to around 450 from more than 600, and shutting down 40 tonnes of outdated production capacity by the end of 2020.

Last year, global gold demand increased 2% to 4,309 tonnes, the highest since 2013, but the improvement was mainly on the back of investment purchases in the West as physical demand from top consumers China and India fell data from the World Gold Council showed.

 

NOW READ: China's exhausting its gold reserves at 5x global rate

 

The post China closing 150 gold mines appeared first on MINING.com.

from MINING.com http://ift.tt/2lw3U3g

China’s coal consumption keeps plummeting, down for 3rd year in a row

China's coal consumption dropped in 2016 for a third year in a row, official data showed Tuesday, as the world's top consumer and producer of the fossil fuel continued tightening environmental rules aimed at dealing with pollution.

Coal accounted for 62% of the nation’s energy mix last year, down from 64% in 2015, and it is expected to fall further under the current five-year plan of capping it at 55% by 2020, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

Coal accounted for 62% of the nation’s energy mix last year, down from 64% in 2015.

Last month, Beijing resumed efforts to cut local coal mines’ output by 800 million tonnes a year until 2020. Authorities have also made public its intention of modernizing China’s coal-fired power plants by the end of the decade in an effort to cut “polluting” emissions by 60%.

The government also aims to add over 20 million kilowatts of installed wind power and more than 15 million kilowatts of installed photovoltaic power by the end of the decade, which underlines the country’s shift towards renewable energy.

Consumption of renewable sources, in fact, went up by 1.7% last year when compared to 2015, accounting for 19.7% of the country’s total energy mix.

Today’s figures suggest that China's CO2 emissions may drop by as much as 1% in 2017, Greenpeace said in a statement, adding it would be the "fourth year in a row of either zero growth or a decline" for the nation.

They also reinforce "China's growing status as a global climate leader, and sends a strong signal to US President Trump that his dirty energy agenda will send the American economy in the wrong direction," Greenpeace said.

According to the environmental campaigner group, China is virtually certain to overachieve its 2020 climate targets and could be on track to a much earlier CO2 peak if the rapid shift to clean energy and away from over-reliance on polluting industries continues.

The post China’s coal consumption keeps plummeting, down for 3rd year in a row appeared first on MINING.com.

from MINING.com http://ift.tt/2mpFD32

L’OMS liste 12 « superbactéries » contre lesquelles il est urgent d’agir

L’Organisation mondiale de la santé a publié une liste de 12 familles de bactéries contre lesquelles elle juge urgent de développer de nouveaux antibiotiques, en raison des risques que font peser leurs résistances sur les traitements actuels.

from Les dernières actualités de Futura-Sciences http://ift.tt/2lvmyYY

De Beers upbeat on diamonds outlook, despite sales drop

De Beers, the world’s No.1 diamond miner by value, reported Tuesday a drop in this year’s second sale of rough gems, as it fetched $545 million, down from the $617 million it sold in the same period last year.

The Anglo American’s unit sales were also lower than the $720 million it recorded last month, but the second cycle’s figure logged today is preliminary, which means it may increase slightly once finalized.

Despite the drop, chief executive officer Bruce Cleaver remains optimistic about future demand for rough diamonds.

"We continued to see good demand across our product range (…) Sentiment remains positive heading into the Hong Kong International Jewellery Show this week — an important barometer of trade confidence," Cleaver said.

The company is said to be considering moving out of its headquarters in London due to increasing rent and business rates, The Telegraph reports.

The post De Beers upbeat on diamonds outlook, despite sales drop appeared first on MINING.com.

from MINING.com http://ift.tt/2lPMDEF

Voici Robocar, la voiture de course autonome de Roborace

Roborace a profité du Mobile World Congress pour présenter le design définitif de la voiture de course autonome qui participera au futur championnat voulu par la Fédération internationale de l’automobile. Un bolide dont le dessin est directement inspiré des films de science-fiction.

from Les dernières actualités de Futura-Sciences http://ift.tt/2mGIQr0

Explorers frustrated with waiting times for permits in B.C., the Territories

Canada’s British Columbia and the Territories are the country’s mining districts where it takes the longest to obtain exploration permits, a new report released Tuesday shows.

According to a survey of mining executives by policy think-tank the Fraser Institute, while Canadian provinces and territories fared well compared to international competitors in terms of issuing permits in a timely manner, some provinces certainly have room for improvement.

A case in point is British Columbia, the study shows, where 60% of survey respondents said wait times have lengthened over the past decade, compared to just 38% in Quebec.

In contrast, not a single respondent in Saskatchewan, the world’s new top mining investments destination according to the report, said permit wait times were longer than 10 years ago.

Saskatchewan also ranked first in another category — approval within six months or less — with 91% of respondents saying yes, compared to 88% in Quebec, 80% in Ontario and only 73% in B.C.

Taken from: Fraser Institute’s “Permit times for mining exploration in 2016.”

On the level of transparency in the approvals process, jurisdictions in the US, Australia and Scandinavia performed better than Canada, the report shows.

“What we quite often hear from miners is that the process not only takes longer, but that it is also less transparent and less certain than it was in the past,” Taylor Jackson, senior policy analyst with the Fraser Institute and co-author of the study told MINING.com.

One province where the researchers saw clear improvements this year was Ontario, Canada’s second largest province, which last year was singled out as the region where it took the longest to obtain exploration permits.

A higher percentage of respondents indicated that Ontario granted them the necessary permits in six months or less, Jackson said. Respondents were also more confident that they would receive their licences, and transparency was less of an issue this year, he noted.

Taken from: Fraser Institute’s “Permit times for mining exploration in 2016.”

The post Explorers frustrated with waiting times for permits in B.C., the Territories appeared first on MINING.com.

from MINING.com http://ift.tt/2m8lhe6

Mars serait déjà en train de s'entourer d'anneaux

Deux chercheurs indiens qui ont étudié des données de la sonde Maven suggèrent que Mars est peut-être déjà en train de s'entourer d'anneaux. La matière qui les composerait proviendrait de l'une des deux lunes de Mars, probablement sous l'effet de ses forces de marée.

from Les dernières actualités de Futura-Sciences http://ift.tt/2lRYFfn

Trappist-1 : comment y chercher la vie ? L'astronome Franck Selsis nous l’explique

Les exoplanètes découvertes autour de l'étoile Trappist-1 sont présentées comme les premières où pourront être repérées des biosignatures d'ici quelques décennies. Qu'en est-il réellement et sont elles seulement habitables ? Réponses à ces questions avec une interview exclusive de...

from Les dernières actualités de Futura-Sciences http://ift.tt/2l7HKIu

Canada’s Saskatchewan and Manitoba are the world's new top mining destinations

Two Canadian provinces — Saskatchewan and Manitoba — are the world’s top two most attractive mining investment destinations, displacing Western Australia from the first to the third place, the latest annual global survey of mining executives released Tuesday by the Fraser Institute shows.

According to Canada’s policy think-tank’s Annual Survey of Mining Companies, the other seven jurisdictions that currently attract the most investors to their resources sector are the US state of Nevada, Finland, the Canadian province of Quebec, the US state of Arizona, Sweden, Ireland, and the Australian state of Queensland, in that other.

Inside Canada, Saskatchewan remains the top-ranked province, though Quebec is showing clear signs of improvement. It now ranks third in the country and 6th globally — up from 8th spot last year — and is the only other Canadian jurisdiction in the top 10 worldwide for overall investment attractiveness.

Saskatchewan's leading position can be partially explained by its richness of mineral reserves, coupled with competitive tax regimes, efficient permitting procedures and certainty surrounding environmental regulations, said Kenneth Green, senior director of the Fraser Institute’s energy and natural resource studies and co-author of the survey.

Chile, until recently an undisputed miners' darling, tumbled in the rankings from the 11th place to the 39th position, ranking now way below Peru.

The opposite can be said of two of Canada’s other large jurisdictions — British Columbia and Ontario — which dropped in this year’s rankings. Internationally, Ontario places 18th (down three spots from last year) and B.C. ranks 27th, more than ten places lower than its 2015 position (18th).

When it comes to Latin America, the survey — which ranked 104 jurisdictions around the world based on geologic attractiveness and the extent government policies encourage or deter exploration and investment — shows some surprises.

Chile, until recently an undisputed miners' darling, tumbled in the rankings from the 11th place it held in 2015 to the 39th position and currently ranks below Peru, which occupies the 28^th place.

Argentina continues to fall in the eyes of mining investors, with five provinces now at the very bottom of the ranking. Two of them — Jujuy and Neuquen — are now ranked even below Venezuela.

In contrast, Africa continued to better its performance, a trend that began in 2012, buoyed by Ivory Coast (17th), Botswana (19th) and Ghana (22nd). As a region, Africa now ranks ahead of Oceania, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean and Argentina for its investment attractiveness.

Permit times

The Fraser Institute also released a separate study examining issues surrounding the exploration permitting process.

Canadian provinces grant the necessary permits to explorers faster than in other international jurisdictions.

It found that, overall, Canadian provinces grant the necessary permits to explorers faster than in other international jurisdictions.

But there is still room for improvement, the report notes, especially in the Territories and BC, with Canada’s most westerly province performing worse than Ontario and Quebec when it comes to waiting times, transparency of the permitting process, and the confidence that explorers have that they will receive their permits at all.

“Time is money, and if permit approval times are unnecessarily long or lack transparency, confidence plummets, overall costs increase and investors will take their money elsewhere,” concludes Green.

Source: The Fraser Institute’s Survey of Mining Companies, 2016.

The post Canada’s Saskatchewan and Manitoba are the world's new top mining destinations appeared first on MINING.com.

from MINING.com http://ift.tt/2mFZF5u

Matériaux : des structures plus complexes grâce au kirigami

Puisque plier est plus compliqué que découper, des chercheurs de Harvard ont décidé de s’inspirer du kirigami plutôt que de l’origami pour concevoir, à moindre coût, des matériaux aux fonctionnalités étendues.

from Les dernières actualités de Futura-Sciences http://ift.tt/2m1kv1Q

SpaceX veut envoyer deux touristes autour de la Lune

SpaceX annonce un voyage autour de la Lune dès 2018. Les deux premiers touristes auraient déjà réservé. Elon Musk prévoit d'utiliser le Falcon Heavy et la capsule Crew Dragon. L'annonce d'un tel programme, réalisé dans des délais aussi courts, laisse perplexe. Ni la capsule ni le lanceur n’ont...

from Les dernières actualités de Futura-Sciences http://ift.tt/2lQyR2X

Copper price: Escondida deal beginning to look distant

In New York  on Monday copper for delivery in May was trading slightly for the better at $2.6980 per pound or $5,940 a tonne after conflicting reports about talks between BHP Billiton and workers at its Escondida mine in Chile.

Two weeks ago copper jumped to its highest level since late May 2015 after Escondida workers first went on strike and is showing year-to-date gains of 7%.

In a television interview with BHP CEO Andrew Mackenzie said talks had resumed with the main union representing 2,500 workers at Escondia, the world's largest copper operation by a wide margin, but he was contradicted by a spokesman of the union who said last Monday's government mediated talks were the last time the parties had been around a table. 

“Copper traders are voting with their feet that a resolution to the strike isn’t close as the red metal finishes near highs despite mixed messages from BHP and union leaders,” Tai Wong, director of commodity products trading at BMO Capital Markets, told Bloomberg in an e-mail.

"Copper traders are voting with their feet that a resolution to the strike isn’t close"

BHP, which operates and majority owns the mine with fellow Melbourne diversified giant Rio Tinto, declared force majeure at the mine on February 10. The previous labour deal was signed four years ago when copper was trading around $3.40 a pound.

In its financial results released last week BHP expected full-year production at Escondida of 1.07 million tonnes, which gives the mine a nearly 5% shares of global primary copper production. BHP also cut full year guidance by 40,000 tonnes to 1.62m tonnes.

Trouble in Indonesia

In Indonesia top listed copper producer Freeport McMoRan's Grasberg mine faces a concentrate export ban as it negotiates a new licence from the government of the Asian nation.

Phoenix-Arizona-based Freeport said last week in an update as a result its operating subsidiary in the country PT-FI "is proceeding with its plan to suspend investments in Papua, reduce its production by approximately 60 percent from normal levels and implement cost savings plans involving significant reductions in its work force and spending levels with local suppliers."

Freeport is proceeding with its plan to suspend investments in Papua and reduce production by approximately 60%

Freeport said its 25%-owned smelter in the Asian nation which has been hit by a strike expects to resume operations in March, but warned that its first quarter production has taken a substantial hit:

Assuming resumption of PT Smelting’s operations in March and a continuation of the ban on exports, FCX estimates its first quarter sales will be reduced, resulting in deferrals of approximately 170 million pounds and 270,000 ounces, representing a reduction of approximately 17 percent for copper and 59 percent for gold of its consolidated first quarter sales.

In January Freeport said for each month of delay in obtaining approval to export, the Indonesian subsidiary's share of production is projected to be reduced by approximately 32,000 tonnes of copper and 100,000 ounces of gold.

 

The post Copper price: Escondida deal beginning to look distant appeared first on MINING.com.

from MINING.com http://ift.tt/2m4wFYu

Citigroup: Gold price set to top $1,300 this year

Gold made headway for the sixth day in a row in heavy trade on Monday as the metal continues to make up lost ground following Donald Trump's victory and as the dollar weakens and interest rates in the US trend lower again.

Gold for delivery in April, the most active contract on the Comex market in New York with nearly 16m ounces traded by lunchtime, hit a high of $1,264.90, bringing its year-to-date gains to nearly 10%. Gold is now at it's the highest since November 11, erasing much of its losses since the US presidential election.

Another factor in gold's favour is renewed, albeit modest, physically-backed gold ETF buying with a net 63 tonnes flowing into listed funds last week

Because gold is not yield-producing and investors have to rely on price appreciation for returns, the metal has a strong inverse correlation to US government bond yields, particularly real rates after adjusting for inflation. The metal also usually moves in the opposite direction of the US dollar.

Gold bears had been making big bets that Trump's plans for fiscal stimulus, including a $500 billion infrastructure spending program, will lead to strong US economic expansion, higher interest rates and a more robust dollar.

David Wilson, head of metals research at Citigroup, tells Bloomberg TV, that gold should top $1,300 towards the end of the year as the "Trump reflation trade" reverses and subdued real interest rates, coupled with moderating dollar strength, provide "positive momentum" for the gold price.

Wilson says gold is also attracting buying over political concerns about upcoming elections in the Netherlands, France and Germany and the impact on the European Union.

Another factor in gold's favour is renewed, albeit modest, gold ETF buying with a net 63 tonnes flowing into listed funds last week.

 

The post Citigroup: Gold price set to top $1,300 this year appeared first on MINING.com.

from MINING.com http://ift.tt/2ls8Sy2

Détectez bientôt des sursauts radio galactiques avec votre smartphone

Un groupe d'astrophysiciens vient d'avoir une idée brillante : quelques milliers de possesseurs de smartphone répartis sur Terre, avec l'application adéquate, pourraient se transformer en radioastronomes continuellement à l'affût d'un éventuel sursaut radio rapide dans la Voie lactée.

from Les dernières actualités de Futura-Sciences http://ift.tt/2lNaNQb

Hedge funds up bullish gold price bets most since Trump win

Gold made headway for the sixth day in a row in heavy trade on Monday as the metal continues to make up lost ground following Donald Trump's victory, the dollar weakens and interest rates in the US trend lower again.

Gold for delivery in April, the most active contract on the Comex market in New York with nearly 16m ounces traded by lunchtime, hit a high of $1,264.90, bringing its year-to-date gains to nearly 10%. Gold is now at it's the highest since November 11, erasing much of its losses since the US presidential election.

Because gold is not yield-producing and investors have to rely on price appreciation for returns, the metal has a strong inverse correlation to US government bond yields. The metal also usually moves in the opposite direction of the US dollar.

Gold bears had been making big bets that Trump's plans for fiscal stimulus, including a $500 billion infrastructure spending program, will lead to strong US economic expansion, higher interest rates and a more robust dollar.

A number of prominent hedge fund managers and billionaires running family offices moved aggressively out of gold and into stocks.

That pattern seems to be reversing with hedge funds or so-called managed money investors in gold futures and options add to their exposure to the yellow metal by a fifth  last week according to trader positioning data supplied by the government.

Overall bullish positioning or net longs held by derivatives traders jumped to 8.2 million ounces, it was the biggest increase in bullish bets since the start of November. That's still well below July's all-time record of nearly 29 million ounces when gold was hitting its 2016 peak, but does mark a change in sentiment.

Gold helped to drag May silver contracts higher which were priced at $18.54 in New York, up close to 1% from Thursday's close. Silver has enjoyed nine straight week of gains for, the metal's best weekly run of gains in more than a decade. Year to date silver is up 14.7% and compared to lows hit January 2016, the metal has recovered 35% of its value.

Large scale speculators in silver have been  bullish on the price for a long time with CFTC data indicating that traders added to long positions and cut shorts – bets that silver can be bought back cheaper in future – for eight weeks in a row . Net bullish positioning has now reached the equivalent of close to 377 million ounces, a 21-week high.

The post Hedge funds up bullish gold price bets most since Trump win appeared first on MINING.com.

from MINING.com http://ift.tt/2m3wIDz

Nokia ressuscite le mythique 3310 et présente 3 nouveaux smartphones

À l'heure où les fabricants de smartphones rivalisent à coup d'innovations dernier cri pour tenter de se distinguer, la marque finlandaise Nokia fait son grand retour en jouant la carte de la nostalgie avec une version à peine modernisée de son célèbre 3310. Ce téléphone très simple et endurant...

from Les dernières actualités de Futura-Sciences http://ift.tt/2lYuAga

Cupric Canyon gets $50 million to develop Botswana mine

Cupric Canyon Capital, a private equity firm backed by the ex-Natural Resource Investments unit of Barclays and managed by former executives of Freeport McMoran, said Monday it now has $50 million to bring its Botswana copper-silver project into production.

Khoemacau is expected to initially produce 50,000 tonnes of copper and 1.4 million ounces of silver a year, but future expansions could increase annual output of copper to at least 120,000 tonnes.

Proceeds from the term loan facility agreement, inked between Cupric’s subsidiary Khoemacau Copper Mining (KCM) and Red Kite Mine Finance, will be used to fund the development of the Khoemacau underground mine in northwest Botswana, the firm said.

Funds will also be used to cover costs and front end engineering in advance of starting full-scale construction at the site, planned for the second half of the year, it added.

Located in the Kalahari Copper Belt, the $350 million mine is expected to produce 50,000 tonnes of copper and 1.4 million ounces of silver a year over its 25-year lifespan.

Future expansions could increase production to at least 120,000 tonnes copper a year, Cupric said.

KMC plans to utilize the processing plant at the nearby Boseto Mine, which it acquired in 2015 after the liquidation of Discovery Metals.

Founded in 2010, US-based Cupric is owned by its management, which includes former Freeport-McMoRan President Timothy Snider, and Global Natural Resource Investments (GNRI), formerly a unit of Barclays until a management buyout in late 2015.

First copper shipment to markets from Khoemacau is expected in 2019.

The post Cupric Canyon gets $50 million to develop Botswana mine appeared first on MINING.com.

from MINING.com http://ift.tt/2lgv6Cc

Ils veulent extraire l'uranium des océans !

La production mondiale d'énergie nucléaire devrait être amenée à augmenter mais, pour cela, encore faut-il disposer d'assez d'uranium. Une solution possible serait d'extraire cet élément de l'eau de mer. Les chimistes y parviendront-ils ?

from Les dernières actualités de Futura-Sciences http://ift.tt/2lgoOlO

Acacia Mining says West Kenya project holds high-grade gold

Africa-focused gold producer Acacia Mining (LON:ACA) declared Monday an inferred mineral resource of about 1.31m ounces of gold at 12.1 grams per tonne on the Liranda Corridor at its West Kenya project.

With six drill rigs currently active on site, and two more to follow soon, Acacia expects to increase the resource to 2 million ounces by the end of the year.

The company, which is majority owned by Canada’s Barrick Gold (TSX, NYSE:ABX) — the world’s No.1 gold miner — said all inferred material is located on the Acacia prospect with multiple lodes open laterally and at depth. It also noted its Bushiangala prospect, "which has known mineralization", had not yet been incorporated to the resource.

With six drill rigs currently active on site, and two more to follow soon, Acacia expects to increase the resource to 2 million ounces by the end of the year. It also plans to kick off a scoping study looking at the potential for an underground mining operation towards the end of the year.

“This is one of the highest grade projects in Africa today, and we believe that this initial resource is a first step in the delineation of a multi-million ounce high-grade corridor,” chief executive officer Brad Gordon said in the statement.

Acacia, which already operates Bulyanhulu, North Mara and Buzwagi mines in Tanzania, spent the past two years focused on bringing down costs, which were among the sector’s highest in 2013.

Last month, it was disclosed that it was in merger talks with Canada’s Endeavour Mining (TSX:EDV), which already owns five operating mines in Africa and it’s building its flagship Houndé project, in Burkina Faso.

Experts estimate a combination of both companies would create a $3.4 billion Africa-focused gold producer.

The post Acacia Mining says West Kenya project holds high-grade gold appeared first on MINING.com.

from MINING.com http://ift.tt/2lMopvb

Le déclin des pollinisateurs menace l’agriculture mondiale

Alors que s'ouvre le salon de l'agriculture 2017 et que le monde agricole est confronté à de multiples crises, rappelons-nous qu'il y a tout juste un an, des chercheurs, réunis dans l'IBPES, présentaient les résultats d'une vaste étude montrant la dépendance de l'agriculture mondiale aux animaux...

from Les dernières actualités de Futura-Sciences http://ift.tt/2l3MIpP

Sursauts radio galactiques : des astronomes veulent les détecter avec des smartphones

Un groupe d'astrophysiciens vient d'avoir une idée brillante : quelques milliers de possesseurs de smartphone répartis sur Terre, avec l'application adéquate, pourraient se transformer en radioastronomes continuellement à l'affût d'un éventuel sursaut radio rapide dans la Voie lactée.

from Les dernières actualités de Futura-Sciences http://ift.tt/2mvqDNY

Libido : le sport intense réduirait le désir masculin

Le sport intense ne ferait pas seulement fondre la graisse, il aurait aussi un impact négatif sur la libido. C’est ce que suggère une étude américaine qui a interrogé un millier d’hommes sur leur activité physique et leur vie sexuelle.

from Les dernières actualités de Futura-Sciences http://ift.tt/2l2N1B4

Europa Clipper : la Nasa va chercher des traces de vie sur Europe

Au début de la décennie 2020, la Nasa devrait envoyer une sonde qui survolera Europe, une lune de Jupiter célèbre pour son océan interne, considéré comme potentiellement habitable. La phase B de cette mission va commencer ce 27 février.

from Les dernières actualités de Futura-Sciences http://ift.tt/2muI29f

DeepCoder, l'IA de Microsoft qui écrit du code en pillant les autres programmes

Avec DeepCoder, Microsoft et l'université de Cambridge ont créé une intelligence artificielle qui est capable de produire du code informatique sans en avoir une connaissance a priori. Pour ce faire, elle pioche dans les codes d'autres logiciels qu'elle combine pour parvenir au résultat final....

from Les dernières actualités de Futura-Sciences http://ift.tt/2muw0wJ

Changes to U.S. coal mining royalties blocked

The Trump administration has made another pro-coal decision, this time relating to how Washington calculates royalties on coal mined from federal and Indian lands.

iPolitics reported on the weekend that the Interior Department has put on hold changes to the value of coal extracted from public lands, meaning current rules governing the industry will remain in place pending court decisions. The Obama administration had sought to change the rules – saying they were improperly calculated – and argued that the changes were to ensure that taxpayers were given a fair share of coal sales to Asia and other export markets.

Trump's decision is likely to be controversial. IPolitics quotes a Montana rancher saying “This announcement is a gift to coal companies trying to avoid paying their fair share,” but some Western U.S. politicians are on board with it. Rob Bishop of Utah, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, told the online news site the rule changes would increase electricity rates for consumers by forcing utilities to pay more for coal. “The Trump administration made the right decision to suspend this illogical and legally dubious rule,” he said.

On Feb. 16 President Trump signed legislation to end the regulation protecting waterways from coal mining waste. The Surface Mining's Stream Protection Rule was enacted by Obama but was resisted by coal miners.

The post Changes to U.S. coal mining royalties blocked appeared first on MINING.com.

from MINING.com http://ift.tt/2loH25F

IOC green-lights new iron ore pit in Labrador

The Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) is taking advantage of rocketing iron ore prices by pushing forward with its Wabush 3 iron ore mine in Labrador, Canada.

IOC, majority-owned by Rio Tinto (LON:RIO), said last week that a new pit will be constructed next to the existing Luce pit, which is part of the company's Carol project in Labrador City. The provincial government approved the Wabush 3 expansion in September 2015.

Through a $79 million investment, Wabush 3 is expected to increase output by around 5 million tonnes per annum, and extend the life of mine by 12 years.

Through a $79 million investment, Wabush 3 is expected to increase output by around 5 million tonnes per annum, and extend the life of mine by 12 years, CBC News reports. The project is expected to create about 70 jobs – which is welcome news for Labrador West, an iron ore-producing hub that has been hard hit by the mining downturn. Wabush Mines was closed in fall, 2014 by owner Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE:CLF), a victim of low iron ore prices. Around 500 workers lost their jobs, with a handful left on to handle care and maintenance.

Last year the gloom and doom over the small mining town of Wabush was temporarily lifted, when it was revealed that an American buyer, Virginia-based ERP Compliant Fuels, had submitted a bid to owner Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE:CLF). Hopes quickly faded away, as ERP decided last May not to proceed with the transaction.

The $250-million Wabush 3 mining project was put on hold in May last year as well, with the company citing poor performance including including "lower cash generation, shortfall in production, and failure to ship the quantity and quality of product to customers as scheduled," IOC president Kelly Sanders said in a memo to staff at the time.

Nine months later the mine appears to be in a better position. CBC quotes CEO and president, Clayton Walker saying "We've increased our productivity, our safety is on the way up, we're seeing increased attendance, all those things helped to to give the shareholders confidence that they could invest in the mine." Construction on Wabush 3 is expected to start in the spring, with production set for the second half of 2018.

Along with the Carol mine, concentrator and a pelletizing plant in Labrador City, as well as port facilities located in Sept-Îles, Quebec, IOC also operates a 418-kilometre railroad that links the mine to the port.

In operation since the 1960s, the Carol mine produces concentrated iron ore and processed pellets for transport by train to the port of Sept-Îles on the Gulf of St. Lawrence and from there to global customers.

The project currently consists of:

• four operating open pit mines (Humphrey Main, Humphrey South, Sherwood Pond and Luce);
• two dormant pits (Lorraine and Spooks);
• one completed pit (Smallwood); and
• two new deposits (Wabush 3 and Wabush 6), which are in the planning stages for future development

The post IOC green-lights new iron ore pit in Labrador appeared first on MINING.com.

from MINING.com http://ift.tt/2lUVoOa

Science décalée : une libellule traverse l’océan pour trouver l’amour

Pantala flavescens peut parcourir 6.000 km pour trouver l’âme sœur. Cette libellule répandue dans le monde traverserait même l’océan Indien. C’est le résultat d’une analyse génétique qui a comparé des populations qui sont pourtant géographiquement éloignées.

from Les dernières actualités de Futura-Sciences http://ift.tt/2lJMqBo

Robert, une intelligence artificielle pour étudier les exoplanètes

Comme le prouve le système planétaire de Trappist-1, les découvertes d'exoplanètes se multiplient... et leur étude devient un problème. Car on les voit pas ! Il faut analyser de minuscules modifications dans la lumière qui nous vient d'une étoile, ce qui prend des jours ou des semaines pour des...

from Les dernières actualités de Futura-Sciences http://ift.tt/2lTKlEV

Sciences décalée : vaut-il mieux avoir un gros ou un petit cerveau ?

S’il y a des millions d’années, le fait d’avoir un gros cerveau pouvait conférer un avantage évolutif, aujourd’hui c’est la tendance inverse qui est observée : les mammifères à gros cerveau sont plus souvent menacés d’extinction. Une tendance qui concernerait surtout les petits mammifères.

from Les dernières actualités de Futura-Sciences http://ift.tt/2laXe9H

La curieuse galaxie gorgée de matière noire

En 2017, les astrophysiciens sont toujours en quête de la nature de la matière noire, comme l'illustre la récente détection au cœur d'Andromède. En 2016, l’observatoire des Canaries débusquait une galaxie « ultradiffuse », VCC 1287, contenant, en proportion, 200 fois plus de matière noire que la...

from Les dernières actualités de Futura-Sciences http://ift.tt/2lGnRoN

Un mystère des abysses : le poisson au crâne transparent pour regarder à travers

En 2009, des océanographes de Californie montraient la première vidéo d'un poisson abyssal des plus étranges, dont le crâne est transparent. Ses yeux peuvent regarder vers le haut, à travers le crâne, donc, mais aussi vers l'avant pour gober ses proies, ce que l'on ignorait. Ce fut la fin d'un...

from Les dernières actualités de Futura-Sciences http://ift.tt/2kWoPQW

Exploration de Mars : comment cultiver un potager sur place ?

Au menu des projets spatiaux du futur : des légumes du jardin. Les essais ont déjà commencé, comme nous l'explique Victoria Da-Poian. Dans le désert de l'Utah, cette étudiante de Supaéro cultive un potager comme si elle était sur Mars, dans le cadre de la mission de simulation MDRS 175, qui fait...

from Les dernières actualités de Futura-Sciences http://ift.tt/2mhO2W1

10 mines still making good money if the gold price falls 50%

After coming unnervingly close to triple digits at the end of 2015, the price of gold ended a three-year losing streak last year. So far in 2017, gold has gained 9.5% in value, trading at more than $1,250 an ounce on Friday.

MINING.com's sister company IntelligenceMine looked at costs at 140 primary gold mines and found 10 operations that would still make money even if gold halves in value from today's levels.

IntelligenceMine ranked the mines on an all-in sustaining costs or AISC per ounce basis rather than cash costs, a measure that excludes many overhead outlays and sustaining capital for mine development and ongoing exploration.

The ranking also excludes mine complexes and gold operations where the precious metal is produced as a byproduct (where through some clever accounting gold can be mined at negative costs) or companies that report gold-equivalent output.

The ranking is based on annual costs for 2015 since 2016 mine-level cost breakdowns are not yet available from most of the miners in the top rankings. Quarterly reported costs at the same mine can also vary widely so in order to find the consistent winners annual data was used.

These are the 10 mines – and there are only 10 in the world – that mine gold for less than $600 an ounce:

1. Novoshirokinskoye

Image: Highland Gold

Highland Gold's underground mine in the Zabaykalsky region of Russia enjoys lucky $777 margins at today's price. In 2014, the open stope mine which also produces silver, lead and zinc, also kept costs below $600. The mine about 350 km west of the city of Chita near the border with China opened in 2009. Average winter temperatures at the site is a teeth-clattering -30 degrees centigrade. London-listed Highland Gold is targeting 255koz–265koz of production for the full year.

2. Voro

Doesn't cost much to keep the lights on at Voro. Image: Polymetal

Polymetal International's Voro gold-silver mine and processing facility is located in the Sverdlovsk region of Russia. AISC costs to mine the orogenic deposit ranks Voro as one of only three operations in the world that can produce an ounce of gold for less than $400 (see BTRP below). The opencast and heap leach operation started up in 2000 and have another nine years of life. London-listed Polymetal operates eight gold and silver mines in Russia, Kazakhstan and Armenia.

3. Blagodatnoye

Blagodatnoye boasts Russia largest gold processing plant. Image: Polyus Gold

Polyus Gold, the world's eighth largest gold producer, commissioned AISC $444/oz Blagodatnoye in Krasnoyarsk eastern Siberia in July 2010. Processing capacity at the open pit, located 25km from the Moscow-based company's flagship Olimpiada mine, is 6m tonnes of ore per year, which makes it the largest facility of its kind in Russia. Blagodatnoye AISC dropped further over the first nine months of 2016 to just $402 an ounce. Poluys has six operating mines (two of which made this ranking) and claims the world’s fourth largest gold reserves of 64.3 million ounces.

4. Lagunas Norte

Lagunas Norte. Image: Barrick Gold

Barrick Gold's Lagunas Norte in La Libertad region of Peru, 140 kilometers east of the coastal city of Trujillo is the largest mine on the list with 2015 output of just over 560,000 ounces although ounces produced in 2016 fell by more than 100,000 ounces. All-in costs in 2015 was a measly $514 per ounce and Barrick's most recent breakdown saw costs creep up only by $15 an ounce during Q3 last year. Lagunas Norte sits at an elevation of 4,000 to 4,260 meters above sea level. It's an open-pit, valley-fill heap leach operation. Proven and probable gold reserves as of December 31, 2015, were 3.7 million ounces (63.6 million tonnes, grading 1.82 grams per tonne).

5. Verninskoye

Verninskoye. Image: Polyus Gold

Polyus Gold's Verninskoye mine is a conventional shovel-and-truck open-pit operation that was commissioned at the end of 2011. In 2015 Verninskoye produced 161,000 ounces for $530 per ounce all in. For the first nine months of 2016 the company was able to shave off another 3% of costs at the mine in the Irkutsk region of Eastern Siberia. Verninskoye, the Russian company's third mine, hosts 3.8 million ounces of proven and probable reserves and 6 million ounces of gold resources. Across Polyus's portfolio of mines costs are now below $600 thanks to falling costs at Olimpiada up to Q3 last year. Polyus hopes to produce 2.7 million ounces per year by the end of the decade.

6. Belaya Gora

Processing plant Belaya Gora, Highland Gold. Image: Step

Highland Gold started up Belaya Gora located in the Khabarovsk region of Russia in 2014, but small scale mining in the area dates back to the 1930s. Highland worked with Barrick drilling the property and in 2010 Highland expanded the licence to cover 37km². Belaya Gora which last year achieved average grades of 1.23g/t and produced 46,000 ounces is an open pit, gravity and cyanide leaching operation.

7. Otjikoto

Otjikoto gold mine in Namibia. Image: B2Gold

B2Gold produced a record amount of gold in 2016, it's eighth year of output expansion. The Vancouver-based miner's Otjikoto mine in northern Namibia produced 166koz last year, 14% or 20.5koz more than in 2015 thanks to a mill expansion project completed in September 2015. 2017 production should match last year's but costs at the 90%-owned open pit, are creeping up. From a skinny $565 an ounce overall in 2015, B2Gold now expects 2017 costs will be in the mid- to high $800s. Otjikoto, acquired in 2011 through the takeover of Auryx Gold in 2011 poured its first gold in December 2014.

8. Gwalia

Gwalia gold mine in Australia. Image: By Geomartin [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Gwalia in its current incarnation was commissioned in 2008 by 100%-owners St Barbara, but Welsh miners (Gwalia is an archaic term for Wales) established the mine in Western Australia more than a hundred years ago. The storied mine must also be the only gold operation that employed a future US president – Herbert Hoover served as mine manager at Gwalia during 1898 after convincing his London employers to acquire the property. Now an underground mine, Gwalia produced 267koz of gold at an all-in cost of $573 an ounce in 2015, but last year costs accelerated, albeit to a still healthy $644 an ounce. ASX-listed St Barbara will spend around $36 million expanding the operation that uses long hole stoping and cement paste back fill, trucking ore and waste to the surface. Proven and probable reserves come in at 9.4 million tonnes grading a mouthwatering 6.6g/t as at June 2016.

9. Akyem

Newmont Mining Akyem gold mine Ghana. Image: Newmont Mining

Newmont Mining's Akyem mine produced 473koz at AISC of $574 an ounce in 2015 and the Denver-based giant managed to keep costs at the operation in eastern Ghana, 180km for the capital Accra, at the same level in 2016. But Newmont's Q4 earnings released last week indicates that Akyem will fall out of the top 10 this year as costs jump to $745 – $795 an ounce and production drops off due to processing harder, lower-grade ore and following the depletion of high-grade stockpiles. Full production at the surface mine started in October of 2013 with a 16-year mine life.

10. Agbaou

Agbaou gold mine in Cote d'Ivoire. Image: Endeavour Mining

Endeavour Mining's Agbaou mine in Côte d'Ivoire is the Cayman Island-based miner's largest and lowest cost with 2016 production of a record 196koz. West Africa-focused Endeavour which has five operating mines in the region managed to squeeze all-in costs at Agbaou further in 2016 – $535 an ounce vs the $576 an ounce that places it tenth on this ranking. Endeavour says it's spending $27 million ($7 million on a drill program) at Agbaou this year with the operation returning to more normalized and sustainable production in 2017 around 175–180koz with fresh ore representing 50% of the total. Costs will jump to $660–$700 an ounce.

Bonus: BTRP

BTRP tailings processing mine. Image: Pan African Resources

With all-in costs per ounce of just $503, BTRP ranks no.4, but unlike others on this list Pan African Resources' operation in South Africa processes tailings and is not a mine producing ore. Hydromining waste of the Fairview and New Consort underground mines in the historic 1885 gold rush region around Barberton in the east of the country near the Swaziland border, BTRP produces 25–30koz a year with a life of mine in excess of 14-years. Just how rich the Barberton gold fields once were is evidenced by the fact that head grades from the tailings dams is still an above average 1.7g/t.

 

Data retrieved from the IntelligenceMine database. Get access to more than 12,000 listed and private company profiles, 33,000 mines, projects and processing facilities and 1.6m regulatory and source documents.  IntelligenceMine also provides powerful multi-faceted search with comparative result grids, sorting and download capabilities, an online interactive mapper and more.

The post 10 mines still making good money if the gold price falls 50% appeared first on MINING.com.

from MINING.com http://ift.tt/2lDMJiV

Scientists find new way to extract uranium from seawater

A group of scientists form Stanford University is working on a new method to extract uranium from the ocean, which could be particularly useful in areas with no uranium mines but that need the material to power nuclear plants.

The team’s main goal is to come up with a much more environmentally friendly alternative to extracting the radioactive material than the current mining techniques, according to a statement.

A method for extracting high quantities of uranium in a short time could help make nuclear power a viable part of the quest for a carbon-free energy future, the team says.

While the presence of traces of uranium in seawater has been a known fact for years, the amounts present are very low and difficult to extract. But if the researchers at Stanford University can prove their method is cost effective, the situation could quickly change.

“Concentrations are tiny, on the order of a single grain of salt dissolved in a liter of water,” Yi Cui, one of the researchers, said in the statement. “But the oceans are so vast that if we can extract these trace amounts cost effectively, the supply would be endless.”

When uranium comes in contact with the oxygen from the ocean, it forms the compound uranyl. The team plans to collect the vast supplies by using amidoxime, a compound that would pull only uranyl from the water. The amidoxine coats a pair of carbon electrodes, which are able to accumulate large amounts of the uranyl that could then be sent off for processing.

The scientists put their method to the test and found they were able to extract three times as much uranyl in an 11-hour period compared to their previous method of using only an amidoxine-coated brush. The new method also sustained the electrodes for future uses.

Despite the team’s success, there is a long way to go before large-scale application. To be commercially viable, the benefits of the extraction method must outweigh its costs. The process also needs to be streamlined to treat large quantities of water. "We have a lot of work to do still but these are big steps toward practicality," Cui concludes.

The researchers’ findings have been published in the journal Nature.

The post Scientists find new way to extract uranium from seawater appeared first on MINING.com.

from MINING.com http://ift.tt/2lSiHIQ

Gold, silver prices at 15-week highs as Trump trade unwinds

Gold made headway for the fifth day in a row in heavy trade on Friday as the Trump-trade on financial markets begin to unwind, the dollar weakens and interest rates in the US trend lower again.

Gold for delivery in April, the most active contract on the Comex market in New York with nearly 19m ounces traded be early afternoon, was exchanging hands at $1,261.10, bringing its year-to-date gains to 9.5%. Gold is now at it's the highest since November 11, erasing much of its losses since the US presidential election.

Gold bears had been making big bets that Trump's plans for fiscal stimulus, including a $500 billion infrastructure spending program, will lead to strong US economic expansion, higher interest rates. A number of prominent hedge fund managers and billionaires running family offices moved aggressively out of gold and into stocks.

Gold bulls pointed to likely inflation arising from deficit spending by a Trump administration, burnishing gold status as a hedge against inflation and geopolitical uncertainty boosting gold's allure as safe haven asset.
Statements yesterday by US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin bolstered arguments made by the gold bulls camp
Statements yesterday by US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin bolstered arguments made by the gold bulls camp. Mnuchin said that the Trump administration's proposed tax cuts and other stimulus measures would have a limited impact on the economy this year which sent the dollar lower which usually moves in the opposite direction of gold.

A relatively dovish Federal Reserve statement this week also convinced the bond market that rate hikes this year may be fewer than expected and may only happen later in the year. Because gold is not yield-producing and investors have to rely on price appreciation for returns, the metal has a strong inverse correlation to US government bond yields.

Gold was also buoyed by safe haven buying as uncertainty about upcoming elections in the Netherlands, France and Germany and the impact on the European Union.

Gold helped to drag May silver contracts higher which were priced at $18.46 in afternoon trade in New York, up 1.5% from Thursday's close. It is the ninth straight week of gains for the silver price, the metal's best weekly run of gains in more than a decade. Year to date silver is up 13.7% and compared to lows hit January 2016, the metal has recovered more than 34% in value.

Hedge funds diverge on gold, silver price

Hedge funds or so-called managed money investors in gold futures and options cut their exposure to the yellow metal further last week according to trader positioning data supplied by the government.

Overall bullish positioning or net longs held by derivatives traders fell 10% to 6.7 million ounces, well below July's all-time record of nearly 29 million ounces when gold was hitting its 2016 peak.

Large scale speculators in silver is taking a different tack with CFTC data indicating that traders added to long positions and cut shorts – bets that silver can be bought back cheaper in future – at the same time. Net bullish positioning has now reached the equivalent of close to 354 million ounces, a 20-week high.

Source: www.tradingfloor.com

The post Gold, silver prices at 15-week highs as Trump trade unwinds appeared first on MINING.com.

from MINING.com http://ift.tt/2mlABkV

Diamond producers go after Millennials with Oscars-time spot

The Diamond Producers Association, founded in 2015 by seven of the world’s leading diamond companies, is hoping to capitalize on one of television’s swankiest nights, the Academy Awards, with a film-like spot that targets Millennials.

According to a study published last year by De Beers, Millennials were the biggest diamond buyers in 2015.

The group, which includes some of the biggest names in the diamond industry including Alrosa, DeBeers and Rio Tinto Diamonds, makes its first televised appearance Sunday, with well-crafted commercial that uses sassy imagery and concepts believed to be highly valued by those aged 17 to 37.

“This is a generation that has never been exposed to a category of [diamond] marketing geared toward them,” DPA chief executive officer Jean-Marc Lieberherr, told WWD at the “Real is Rare” campaign launch in October.

“Millennials are looking for something genuine and authentic. What’s unique about diamonds is that they are a natural resource finite in nature and when you tell [Millennials] that diamonds are billions of years old and from the earth, they really respond.”

According to a study published last year by Anglo American’s De Beers, the target group was the biggest diamond buyer during 2015, a year in which most commodities plummeted, hitting the mining industry very hard.

The spot, titled “The Runaways,” is one of the several the industry body, which aims to boost demand for the precious stones, has put together since launching the campaign.

You can watch the commercial here:

The post Diamond producers go after Millennials with Oscars-time spot appeared first on MINING.com.

from MINING.com http://ift.tt/2lNMFNQ

Windows 10, l'OS de Microsoft, aura droit à deux mises à jour majeures cette année

Alors que la première mise à jour majeure de Windows 10 surnommée « Creators Update » est attendue au printemps, Microsoft en aurait une seconde dans ses tiroirs prévue pour la fin de l'année.

from Les dernières actualités de Futura-Sciences http://ift.tt/2lDIEJX

US Lithium to mine for copper, nickel, cobalt in Canada’s Saskatchewan

Shares in US Lithium (OTCMKTS:LITH) went ballistic Friday after the exploration firm announced it had acquired a copper, nickel, cobalt project in Canada’s Saskatchewan.

Demand for lithium and cobalt has increased significantly in the past two years thanks to the growing production of electric and hybrid cars that use them in their batteries and other components.

The Gochagar Lake project, until now property of Diamond Hunter, consists of four claims covering 3,759 hectares located in northern Saskatchewan approximately 75 km north of the town of La Ronge, the Nevada-based company said.

Other than copper, expected to be the best performing commodity this year, the area is know for having semi-massive and massive Ni-Cu deposits with significantly elevated levels of cobalt, a vital component in the manufacture of the latest generation of lithium ion batteries.

“With over 50% of the world’s cobalt currently supplied from the conflict-stricken Democratic Republic of the Congo, we welcome the opportunity to explore for this critical mineral in the mining friendly jurisdiction of Saskatchewan,” the company’s chief executive Greg Rotelli said in the statement.

Demand for lithium and cobalt has increased significantly in the past two years thanks to the growing production of electric and hybrid cars that use those elements in their batteries and other components. Mobile phones, computers, glass, ceramics, lubricant greases, polymers and drugs are among other products that use those metals.

Speculators hoping to profit from the raising appetite for cobalt and lithium expect that demand for electric cars will surpass market expectations, pushing the price of those metals to new highs. Cobalt, in particular, has benefitted from the growing demand, and it's currently trading at about $21 a pound, more than 50% higher than its November value.

Meanwhile battery makers such as Panasonic, which makes battery cells for Tesla, are rushing to lock-up supplies of the scarce metal, FT.com reports (subs. required).

US Lithium stock was up almost 42% to 0.0640 on the news at 10:16 am ET.

 

The post US Lithium to mine for copper, nickel, cobalt in Canada’s Saskatchewan appeared first on MINING.com.

from MINING.com http://ift.tt/2l7JzjK

Vidéo 360° : la surface de l'exoplanète Trappist-1d comme si vous y étiez

Offrez-vous une balade sur Trappist-1d, une des sept planètes rocheuses découvertes autour d’une naine rouge à 39 années-lumière de la Terre. Ou du moins sur ce qu'elle pourrait être. Le paysage en images de synthèse a été imaginé par la Nasa à partir des premières données collectées. Dans cette...

from Les dernières actualités de Futura-Sciences http://ift.tt/2lAwfbj

ISS : une appli pour vivre une sortie dans l'espace en réalité virtuelle

Le studio britannique Rewind associé à la BBC a créé une expérience de réalité virtuelle inédite grâce à laquelle on peut se glisser dans le scaphandre d'un astronaute pour accomplir une sortie à l'extérieur de la Station spatiale internationale.

from Les dernières actualités de Futura-Sciences http://ift.tt/2lDn1sX

Endeavour extends Karma mine’s life to over 10 years

West Africa-focused Endeavour Mining (TSX:EDV) confirmed this week that a drill program at the North Kao deposit, located at its Karma gold mine in Burkina Faso, has added 262,000 ounces to the already detected reserves, extending the mine life to more than 10 years.

The Canadian firm, which last month revealed is in merger talks with African gold producer Acacia Mining, said the program was completed last year and comprised 68 core holes of 7,571 m and 488 reverse circulation holes of 39,554 m. The sections were spaced by 50 m, with 35 m between holes.

Endeavour Mining inherited the low-cost Karma gold mine last year, after acquiring fellow Canadian miner True Gold in a Cdn$240 million deal.

Endeavour Mining inherited the low-cost Karma gold mine last year, after acquiring fellow Canadian miner True Gold in a Cdn$240 million deal.

Chief executive and president, Sébastien de Montessus, said that when his company took possession of Karma it was confident in its exploration potential and the ability to quickly extend the mine’s life.

“Following the conversion of resources at North Kao to reserves, Karma now meets our strategic portfolio criteria of having a minimum life of ten years and an ability to produce at an all-in-sustaining cost of below $850/oz,” he said in the statement.

“Looking ahead, our 2017 programme will focus on the Rambo West and Yabonsgo near-mill targets, which we believe could further improve the mine's outlook,” he added.

Endeavour Mining already owns five operating mines in Africa and it’s building its flagship Houndé project, also in Burkina Faso, which is set to begin production in the fourth quarter of the year.

The development of the Houndé project is expected to lift Endeavour's production to over 900,000 ounces of the precious metal, considerably more than the 584,000 ounces it mined in 2016.

There was no mention in the Karma update of the possible merger between the firm and Barrick Gold’s controlled Acacia Mining, but experts estimate that the combination of both companies would create a $3.4 billion Africa-focused gold producer.

The post Endeavour extends Karma mine’s life to over 10 years appeared first on MINING.com.

from MINING.com http://ift.tt/2lA9J2h

ISS : la Nasa cherche des solutions pour transporter ses astronautes en 2018

Pour la Cour des comptes américaine, il ne fait guère de doute que ni Boeing ni SpaceX ne seront prêts à transporter des astronautes à destination de la Station spatiale internationale en 2018. Une situation qui contraint la Nasa à réfléchir à une solution alternative pour transférer ses...

from Les dernières actualités de Futura-Sciences http://ift.tt/2lgYCZu

La matière noire brille peut-être au centre de la galaxie d'Andromède

Les particules de matière noire restent toujours insaisissables directement mais peut-être pointent-elles indirectement le bout de leur nez au centre de la galaxie d'Andromède. Le satellite Fermi y voit, tout comme dans le cas de la Voie lactée, un intriguant excès de rayons gamma.

from Les dernières actualités de Futura-Sciences http://ift.tt/2lRliD0

Et si le CO2 devenait une source d’énergie

Pour limiter les effets sur le climat du dioxyde de carbone (CO2), on peut travailler à réduire son émission dans l’atmosphère. On peut également chercher un usage à ce gaz à effet de serre réputé indésirable. Et pourquoi ne pas en tirer de l'énergie ? C'est l'idée de scientifiques britanniques,...

from Les dernières actualités de Futura-Sciences http://ift.tt/2lz0Vtj

Pirater un ordinateur via la LED de son disque dur, c'est possible

Une équipe de l'université Ben Gourion a mis au point une technique de piratage d'un ordinateur qui s'appuie sur le décodage de l'activité de l'indicateur lumineux de son disque dur. Les chercheurs ont pu récupérer des données en utilisant notamment un drone muni d’une caméra.

from Les dernières actualités de Futura-Sciences http://ift.tt/2lyDTCH

La Natac, un dirigeable français révolutionnaire signé Voliris

Mi-dirigeable mi-avion, la Natac (Navette aérienne de transport automatique de conteneurs), de la société française Voliris, pourra, malgré son volume réduit, porter 30 tonnes, au format d’un conteneur, dans des régions désertiques. Son enveloppe, en forme d’aile, assure une force portante en...

from Les dernières actualités de Futura-Sciences http://ift.tt/2lC12CB

Greenfields share of exploration spending drops to record low

A new report by SNL Metals and Mining on Corporate Exploration Strategies in 2016 shows an industry still caught in a deep downturn after four years of sharp declines.

According to SNL, part of S&P Global Market Intelligence, 2016 exploration budgets at the 1,580 companies covered by the study totalled $6.9 billion, the lowest in 11 years.

Source: S&P Global Market Intelligence

Other measures show the extent of the damage to the sector: The average 2016 exploration budget was $4.4 million, the lowest since 2009, and the median budget was $800,000, the smallest in more than a decade.

Spending was dominated by the industry's largest companies with just the top 10 companies were responsible for over $1 of every $5 spent on exploration – mainly for copper and gold – worldwide last year.

SNL notes that "conventional wisdom holds that the major companies leave grassroots exploration to the juniors," but today early-stage exploration is being driven by the majors. The 20 biggest spenders alone contributed 34% of all greenfields allocations in 2016.

Source: S&P Global Market Intelligence

A consequence of this shift was a drop in overall spending on finding new deposits with greenfield exploration dropping to a new low of some $1.9 billion or 28% of total budgets. Minesite exploration reached a record high share of 35%, almost surpassing late stage exploration pegged at around $2.6 billion:

Historically, minesite exploration attracted the smallest share of annual exploration budgets; however, 2016 marked the third consecutive year in which companies allocated more to minesite work than to grassroots. The decline in grassroots’ share of overall budgets since the 1990s corresponds with the upward trend in the shares allocated to late-stage and minesite budgets.

That constitutes a year-on-year drop of 21% and barely one-third of the record amount of spending in 2012.

Companies have spent proportionally more on late-stage projects to move them towards production or to make them attractive for acquisition, while minesite work has been perceived as a less expensive and less risky means of replacing and adding reserves.

Source: S&P Global Market Intelligence

In 2017, SNL does not expect significant shifts in budget share by stage as spending by juniors continue to shrink and larger companies increase budgets only slightly.

SNL points out that the low level of exploration at earlier-stage projects in recent years, it is no surprise that initial resource announcements have been declining.

The steep decline after the 2008-09 financial crisis has been surpassed by the low numbers of new deposits (including new zones at mines and projects with previously defined reserves or resources) announced in recent years.

Last year 55 initial resources with a value of $130.4 billion was announced, up from 44 in 2015 worth $103.2 billion. That's a healthy improvement, but pales in comparison to the 168 new deposits found in 2012 which was valued at $366.5 billion.

The post Greenfields share of exploration spending drops to record low appeared first on MINING.com.

from MINING.com http://ift.tt/2lwZR9p

Glencore sees zinc, nickel, copper price rally continuing

Miner and commodities trader Glencore (LON:GLEN) produced some stellar results on Thursday and the Switzerland-based company also provided a positive outlook for 2017, particularly for its base metals business.

Glencore is the world's number four copper producer and top 3 zinc supplier and its clout on base metals markets is only amplified by its trading arm.

Last year Glencore's metals and minerals division recorded revenues of $66.3 billion with 'marketing activities' contributing $42.1 billion of the total.

The Baar-HQed company's 'industrial activities' revenue jumped 25% last year thanks to better fundamentals and rising metal prices which it expects to continue in 2017.

Here are some highlights from Glencore's outlook:

Copper

Near-term demand prospects appear positive. A political transition year in China should ensure continued positive fundamentals while the actual and looming infrastructure programs in Japan and North America should start to lend support to non-Chinese consuming regions.
Supply-side fundamentals also improved markedly during the year. Despite some scaremongering, the “wall of supply” failed to emerge.
The stresses induced by 18 months of low pricing and related actions to enhance cash flows are only just starting to manifest themselves
New supply growth from Peru was almost fully offset by production decreases in Chile and elsewhere, and continued shutdowns in the African copper belt. Indeed, the copper market appears to be reverting to form, with an unusually low volume of mine disruptions seen in H1 2016, but increasing in the second half of the year.

The stresses induced by 18 months of low pricing and related actions to enhance cash flows are only just starting to manifest themselves.

The prospect of demand growth across Asia, Europe and the US, as well as the likelihood of difficult labour contract negotiations at some of the industry’s major mines over the coming year, suggest that pricing risks lie to the upside in 2017.

Nickel

We estimate global stainless production in 2016 at over 45 million tonnes, up over 7% on the prior year, including over 24 million tonnes from China. Globally 300S austenitic production totalled over 25 million tonnes which is a 10% increase versus 2015.

Developments in non-stainless remain mixed, with special steel producers reporting challenging conditions primarily due to continued oil and gas weakness, whilst demand from the critical alloys industry and battery sector remains robust.
Overall we estimate primary nickel demand in 2016 of 2.05 million tonnes, representing an ~8% increase versus 2015.

Whilst inventories remain elevated, the outlook is for continued deficits and further draws in primary nickel inventories as demand remains strong

Nickel supply continued to fall in 2016 with further shutdowns (BCL, Tati, Votorantim, Mirabella), and lower nickel unit exports (in ore) from the Philippines all driving a fall in projected nickel output to approximately 1.95 million tonnes of nickel, down 2% versus 2015.

Consequently the market entered its first material deficit since 2010 enabling global inventories to fall by around 100,000 tonnes. Whilst inventories remain elevated, the outlook is for continued deficits and further draws in primary nickel inventories as demand remains strong. Supply increases relate to Indonesia exporting more nickel units in nickel pig iron, with production elsewhere continuing to flat-line or even fall.

Zinc and Lead

The widely anticipated zinc mining output reduction materialised and resulted in significantly tighter physical market conditions, particularly for zinc concentrate. Confirmation of decreasing supply, in combination with better than anticipated demand conditions driven by the recovery of the Chinese real estate and global automotive market, has resulted in destocking of both zinc concentrates and metal during the year and a higher corresponding LME price.
The widely anticipated zinc mining output reduction materialised and resulted in significantly tighter physical market conditions, particularly for zinc concentrate
2016 Chinese zinc mine production was similar to 2015, despite the incentive of a higher SHFE zinc metal price, and a reduction in zinc mine production from the rest of the world (“ROW”) of around 900kmtu (10.8%). Consequently, realised Benchmark TCs reduced by $32/dmt ($243 to $211) while average spot TCs were down by $99/dmt ($201 to $102).

The tightness in zinc concentrates is yet to impact Chinese zinc metal production, even though Chinese concentrate imports were down by 640kmtu and domestic mine production was flat year-over-year. Chinese smelters reported similar production as in 2015, which is attributed to destocking of concentrates stock built up in prior years. ROW zinc metal production was down by 244kmtu compared to prior year.

ROW zinc metal continues to be shipped to China, following the trend of the last few years. Metal imports into China were stable year on year, causing further inventory drawdowns from LME exchanges (stocks down from 463kt to 428kt), while SHFE (199kt to 153kt) and Shanghai Metal Market stocks have also been drawn to cover the needs of the Chinese physical market. Published non-exchange stocks in China have also reduced by a further 50-80kt. Real estate and infrastructure end markets in China are performing better than expected, supported by Chinese government actions in H1 2016, while the automotive market continues to show strong growth both in China and ROW.

The lead supply side trend is similar, given that it is generally a by-product of zinc. Lead benchmark TCs were down by $22.50/dmt ($170 versus $192.50), while spot was down by $60/dmt ($117 versus $177) compared to 2015 averages. Chinese lead concentrates imports were also down by 24% year over year.

Going forward, we expect tight zinc concentrates supply to translate into lower metal production in 2017, which should cause further inventory drawdowns and provide support to the metal price.

The post Glencore sees zinc, nickel, copper price rally continuing appeared first on MINING.com.

from MINING.com http://ift.tt/2lPABw9

Stellar Diamonds to operate Tonguma mine in Sierra Leone

Shares in West Africa-focused Stellar Diamonds (LON:STEL) closed slightly up on Thursday after the company revealed it had inked an agreement to operate the Tonguma mine in Sierra Leone, adjacent to the company’s own Tongo mine.

Stellar originally intended to combine its Tongo project with Tonguma, which would have created Sierra Leone’s second largest diamond mine.

The company, which applied for large-scale mining in the African nation in 2015, originally intended to combine its Tongo project with Tonguma, owned by junior Octea Mining.

The deal would have created Sierra Leone’s second largest diamond mine, with a combined annual production of 250,000 carats.

However, Stellar opted out of the proposed acquisition and, instead, has agreed to run the mine and sell the extracted diamonds, paying a 10% of the revenue after deduction of government royalties to Octea.

The new deal, which is pending legal and government approval, was unveiled as the company announced it had raised £324,500 through the issue of 5.9-million new ordinary shares, at 5.5p each.

The company also expects to raise £250,000 at 5.5p each through an open offer.

Proceeds of the placing and the open offer, as well as a $175,000 management fee, will be use to advance the deal with Octea Mining, the company said.

Shares in the company closed up 1.33% to 7.22p.

The post Stellar Diamonds to operate Tonguma mine in Sierra Leone appeared first on MINING.com.

from MINING.com http://ift.tt/2lvuqMr

Sclérose en plaques : une nouvelle piste pour régénérer de la myéline

Certains patients atteints de sclérose en plaques régénèrent mieux la myéline que d’autres. Des chercheurs de l'Inserm viennent de comprendre pourquoi, ce qui laisse entrevoir de nouvelles stratégies thérapeutiques.

from Les dernières actualités de Futura-Sciences http://ift.tt/2lv219j

Vale swings back into the black on soaring iron ore prices

Brazil's Vale (NYSE:VALE), the world's No.1 iron-ore producer, profited from a sharp surge in iron ore prices that helped the company swing to a net profit of $525 million in the fourth quarter from a $8.6bn loss for the same period a year earlier.

The Rio de Janeiro-based company logged a net profit for the full year of $3.98 billion, a significant recovery from a loss of $12.13 billion it reported for 2015, the biggest in the miner's history.

"With strong production and the recovery in prices, it was forecast we'd have a strong quarter and finish the year strongly. And that's exactly what happened," Vale's Chief Financial Officer Luciano Siani said in a video on the company's website.

Unlike several analysts and even companies that predict iron ore prices are set fall sharply in the medium-term, Vale see the steelmaking material staying strong, down only to about $80 per tonne from the over $91 a tonne is currently trading.

According to company, the modest price correction will be the result of increasing steel demand and a smaller rise in new production entering the global market.

More to come…

The post Vale swings back into the black on soaring iron ore prices appeared first on MINING.com.

from MINING.com http://ift.tt/2mp1VOp

Glencore’s profit soars on commodities rebound

Miner and commodities trader Glencore (LON:GLEN) became Thursday the latest company to prove the mining industry is coming back up from one of the sector's most severe downturns by posting a 48% increase in 2016 profits.

A surge in commodity prices combined with Glencore’s multibillion-dollar asset fire-sale not only helped it swing back to profit, but also to declare it is now better financially-positioned than ever before. This, said the Swiss company, gives it the chance to resume expansion plans and even pay large dividends.

After swinging back to profit, Glencore said it had never been so well-positioned financially.

“The plan of action we initiated in September 2015 to sensibly bring down our financial leverage and strengthen our balance sheet is now complete,” chief executive officer Ivan Glasenberg said in a statement.

Net debt, quite the burden in 2015, dropped 40% cent to $15.5 billion at the end of last year, and could fall below $10 billion by the end of 2017, Glasenberg noted.

He also said Glencore is in position to offer a significant one off payout to shareholders if net debt falls below $10 billion.

“We will have room to kick out a $20bn special dividend if we really want to get aggressive and there’s nothing else to do on the M&A space,” he said while presenting the results. But he added his company wouldn’t pay it in one shot. “I’m just saying the calculations allow you do that,” Glasenberg said.

Glencore’s boss also opened the door for acquisitions, saying the company is already looking for opportunities, mainly around in assets where it already has stakes or partnerships.

In fact, it has already begun doing some of that as last week, the company bought stakes in Mutanda and Katanga copper and cobalt operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo for $960 million.

The company’s board has recommended a dividend of 7 cents per share after Glencore promised late last year it would reinstate payouts.

This year, the firm expects between $2.2 billion to $2.5 billion in marketing profits, adding the low range reflected the sale of 50% of its agriculture business in December 2016.

The post Glencore’s profit soars on commodities rebound appeared first on MINING.com.

from MINING.com http://ift.tt/2l3DaG6

Tesla Model 3 : la production débutera en juillet 2017

Tesla Motors l'a confirmé : la production de sa prochaine voiture électrique, la Model 3, débutera cet été (juillet 2017). Il s'agira du modèle le plus abordable de la marque. Plus de 375.000 commandes ont déjà été enregistrées.

from Les dernières actualités de Futura-Sciences http://ift.tt/2lujcYF

Réalité augmentée : Microsoft prépare de nouvelles lunettes HoloLens pour 2019

Alors que la première version des lunettes de réalité augmentée HoloLens s'adressait aux développeurs, Microsoft travaille sur un nouveau modèle vraisemblablement plus compact et plus abordable. Il n'arrivera pas avant 2019.

from Les dernières actualités de Futura-Sciences http://ift.tt/2maSINB

L’espérance de vie va continuer à progresser dans les pays développés

Une étude sur l'évolution de l'espérance de vie dans 35 pays montre que celle-ci devrait continuer à progresser. Les femmes nées en 2030 pourraient espérer vivre plus de 90 ans en Corée du Sud. Les Françaises et les Japonaises se rapprocheraient elles aussi des 90 ans d’espérance de vie.

from Les dernières actualités de Futura-Sciences http://ift.tt/2mfc5BG

World's deepest mine gets $1 billion injection

AngloGold Ashanti's Mponeng mine (which for most of its life went by the much more mundane moniker of Western Deep Levels No. 1) is a superlative mine in many ways (see below).

But from its owners' perspective perhaps the most standout feature is it's longevity.

Located less than a 100km west of Johannesburg, work on Mponeng's first shaft began in 1981. AngloGold is currently putting together a brownfields expansion feasibility study that will extend the life of mine beyond 2050.

Despite the challenges of working 4km below the earth's surface, Mponeng has the lowest cash costs of AngloGold's South Africa operations

Output has been decreasing steadily from the 600,000 ounces produced a decade ago with 2016 output at 253,000 ounces. Despite the challenges of working four kilometres below the earth's surface, Mponeng has the lowest cash costs of AngloGold's South Africa operations at $779 an ounce.

The expansion project could bring Mponeng back to its glory days reports Mining Weekly quoting AngloGold's chief operating officers as saying that the phased development strategy "has been swapped for a combined, twin-reef extraction approach, which is looking at shafts and a combination of declines:"

The new approach, which optimises the project as a whole, is expected to set up Mponeng as a producer of 450 000 oz/y of gold for more than 20 years, with all-in sustaining costs improving to about $750/oz.

The capital cost of the Mponeng project will be about $1-billion nominal but is spread over ten years with a maximum capital spend of only $80-million a year.

The Johannesburg-based company added 2.2 million to Mponeng's resource base (which includes uranium) in 2016 which is already indicated at 37 million ounces, 13 million of which is in the proven and probable category. Even more remarkable, those reserves grade at 9.6g per tonne.

 

---

The post World's deepest mine gets $1 billion injection appeared first on MINING.com.

from MINING.com http://ift.tt/2lrkXWr

New Toyota technology a blow for platinum, palladium price

Toyota sold more than 10 million vehicles last year placing it in a virtual tie with Volkswagen as the world's number one automaker.

Stricter pollution regulations around the world and intense competition mean that top priority for  traditional car companies is to cut costs and reduce emissions.

A new technology unveiled by Toyota on Wednesday is win for the Japanese company on both counts. Toyota announced the availability of a new, smaller catalyst that uses 20% less precious metal in approximately 20% less volume, while maintaining the same exhaust gas purification performance.

Toyota's "world's first integrally-molded Flow Adjustable Design Cell (FLAD)" is not the first time researchers have found innovative ways to reduce pricey platinum group metals in exhaust systems. But those technologies seldom make it all the way to the assembly line.

There’s a simple reason – today's fuel cell cars need a full ounce of platinum versus a 2 – 4 grams PGM loading for your average gasoline or diesel vehicle

What sets Toyota's FLAD apart is that the company says it's ready to start mass producing the catalyst. The first vehicle to sport the the new catalytic converter, Toyota's luxury flagship Lexus LC 500h, will get it later this year. Volume models further down the ranks will gradually follow says the company.

Roughly 75% of palladium demand is from the autocatalyst sector while demand for application of platinum is more evenly spread with jewellery and other industrial uses making up more than half the total.

Clearly it will take a long time for FLAD to work its way through to PGM markets, but a 20% cut is substantial.

On Wednesday, the palladium price was trading down with Nymex contracts exchanging hands for $767 an ounce, down 1.5% on the day. Last week palladium hit a 21-month high just shy of $800 and the precious metal is trading 14.5% for the better so far in 2017.

Platinum has  gained nearly 12% year-to-date, exchanging hands for $1,002 an ounce on Wednesday after hitting its highest level since August earlier this month.

Toyota taketh away, but giveth too

Toyota launched its first mass-produced fuel cell car – the Mirai or "future" in Japanese – for the European market in Volkswagen's back yard in October 2015.

Toyota has the backing of Tokyo for its push into hydrogen. In Japan the government will give you $25,000 – nearly half the total cost – if you buy a fuel cell vehicle. The country also has a program to install hydrogen fuel cells into 10% or 5.3m Japanese households to replace grid electricity by 2030.

The hydrogen society is probably further into the future than its promoters want you to believe but it’s impact on platinum could be enormous.

There’s a simple reason – today's fuel cell cars need a full ounce of platinum versus a 2 – 4 grams PGM loading for your average gasoline or diesel vehicle.

Given fuel cell cars' still hefty price tag, Toyota is spending billions on research to reduce that requirement. But even if they manage to cut it in half we are looking at 12-15 grams per vehicle.

The post New Toyota technology a blow for platinum, palladium price appeared first on MINING.com.

from MINING.com http://ift.tt/2m8YRd9

Caterpillar touts automation solutions as top miners swing back to profit

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT), the world's No.1 heavy machinery maker, is telling miners not to rest on their laurels now that the industry is finally coming back up from a brutal downturn that forced companies to cost cuts and closed down operations.

In a presentation at the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration’s (SME) meeting 2017 this week, the Peoria, Illinois-based firm (soon to move to Chicago) showed how its Cat MineStar — a comprehensive suite of mining technology products aim to increase productivity and profit — can help firms reap even more benefits from the current recovery in commodity prices.

The world's No.1 heavy machinery maker is telling miners to stay focused on maximizing returns and efficiency even if the downturn seems to be over.

Cat’s automation tools contained in MineStar enable miners to configure technologies to fit their needs, providing everything from material tracking to sophisticated real-time fleet management, machine health systems, autonomous equipment systems and more.

The package of solutions, designed to support and maximize returns and efficiency of mining operations, has already been adopted in 220 sites across the globe, Cat said in the presentation. The majority of its users, it noted, are based in The Asia-Pacific region and North America, but the company sees huge opportunities in other markets such as South America and Europe, especially now that miners have begun climbing out of one of the industry's most severe slumps.

In the past 12 months, as sales were stalled, Caterpillar focused on developing ways to improve current equipment performance.

Together with increasing the presence of company representatives at mine sites, whose mission is to help operators make the most out of their acquisitions, Cat has been heavily investing in research and development of digital solutions, the firm’s President for Resource Industries, Denise Johnson, recently told MINING.com.

The goal, though seems counterintuitive, is to reduce the amount of mining equipment needed at operations. That means that during a downturn, such as the one that wrecked the industry lately, Cat continued to thrive in terms of sales beyond those related to equipment.

Now that many are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, the company said it would continue to work on bringing mining customers improved operational decision-making capabilities.

Learn more about MineSite here:

Download (PDF, 4.42MB)

The post Caterpillar touts automation solutions as top miners swing back to profit appeared first on MINING.com.

from MINING.com http://ift.tt/2kN3n0l

BHP has lost 41,000 tonnes of copper due to strike at Escondida

World’s largest miner BHP Billiton (ASX, NYSE:BHP) (LON:BLT) has already lost 41,000 tonnes of copper production due to an ongoing strike at its Econdida mine in Chile, the world’s largest.

According to 24 Horas (in Spanish), there seems to be no end in sight for the stoppage, which completed 14 days Wednesday, following a failed government-mediated meeting between workers and the company held on Tuesday.

BHP said is willing to return to the negotiating table as many times as necessary to reach a new collective agreement.

Both sides have yet to reach an agreement over topics such as shift pattern changes, one-off bonus sizes and fresh wages, but a mine’s spokesman said Wednesday management is willing to return to the negotiating table as many times as necessary to reach a new collective agreement, PubliMetro reports (in Spanish). He added the firm it won’t replace any workers until the 30 days of legal labour action have ended.

While it’s difficult to estimate the potential financial impact of the strike, BHP — which declared force majeure on shipments from the mine last week — has said it expected to produce about 1.7 million tonnes of copper this year. Considering that figure represents a daily output of 2,931 tonnes, the company is already 41,000 tonnes behind its estimate.

Based on BHP’s latest earnings report released on Tuesday, health and safety are part of the company's values and the miner said it was "committed to providing a safe workplace."

In the same release, the Melbourne, Australia-based firm noted that total copper output guidance for 2017 was currently under review due to the strike at Escondida. BHP also stated it was on track to deliver $1.8 billion of productivity gains within the 2017 financial year, excluding any impact from the ongoing industrial action at its largest copper mine.

The post BHP has lost 41,000 tonnes of copper due to strike at Escondida appeared first on MINING.com.

from MINING.com http://ift.tt/2mm7cWX