Copper prices comfortably above $10,000 and iron ore prices at seven-month highs continue to defy predictions as Chinese PMIs drop into contraction territory.
A reading of official Chinese purchasing managers’ indexes (PMIs) for March shows a sharp fall in economic activity. Construction and manufacturing activity in China, responsible for more than half the world’s consumption of industrial metals, has an outsize impact on prices.
The composite PMI released by the Chinese government fell to 48.8 from 51.2, its second lowest level on record and well below consensus estimates. A PMI reading over 50 indicates growth or expansion while a reading under 50 suggests contraction.
The March survey is an indication that the Chinese economy is contracting at its fastest pace since the initial covid outbreak in Wuhan in February 2020 according to Capital Economics, a London-based researcher.
While the services sector showed the sharpest pullback, manufacturing also fell below the 50-level in March.
For steel and copper demand there are positive signs too with the construction index ticking up from 57.6 to 58.1, “which hints at a further pick-up in infrastructure spending amid increased fiscal support,” Capital Economics points out:
“The near-term outlook remains highly uncertain and will largely depend on how the virus situation develops. Cases are rising in Shanghai but seem to be falling elsewhere, leaving us hopeful that the current wave can still be contained.
But even if the outbreak is brought under control soon, it will still take a while for the economy to get back on track.”
Chaque nouvelle capsule Crew Dragon de SpaceX porte un nom, à la manière des navettes spatiales américaines. La capsule de la mission Crew-4 s'en est trouvé un, ce sera « Freedom ».
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pCloud est loin d'être un petit nom sur le marché des services de stockage cloud. Le prestataire suisse jouit de nombreuses qualités et d'un modèle économique qui devrait plaire au plus grand nombre. Pas convaincu ? Futura vous propose 3 mois d'essai gratuits !
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Grosse mise à jour annoncée par la Nasa ce lundi 21 mars : le programme est décalé de deux ans et les échantillons ne reviendront pas sur Terre avant 2033. De plus, la mission de récupération des échantillons est maintenant divisée en deux.
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Dès les premiers jours de l'invasion de l'Ukraine, l'armée russe a très rapidement pris le contrôle de la centrale nucléaire de Tchernobyl. Dans cette zone d’exclusion où toute activité humaine a cessé depuis 1986, l'intense agitation militaire fait craindre la libération de particules...
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For the third time in a decade, the clouds are gathering above rare earths. China – already controlling 85% of global production – has consolidated its rare earth assets to further increase state influence. In the last 2 years, prices of key rare earth elements have nearly tripled.
All at a time when demand is predicted to explode – driven by the electric cars, wind turbines, and efficient manufacturing technologies that underpin climate transition as well as the smart phones, electronics, and appliances that define modern life.
The solution that dominates today’s narrative, both in the US and Europe, is an increase in domestic supply. Digging new mines. Building processing and manufacturing capabilities for finished products from the ground up. But, as critics in the Wall Street Journal have pointed out, these solutions will likely fall short. Mining permits are often slow and hard to come by. Rare earth mining poses massive environmental issues.
The necessity of subsidized solutions raises financial sustainability concerns. Replicating the competitiveness of Chinese rare earth production is a losing game of catch up – China benefits from massive scale and forty years of relatively uncontested expertise development.
The answer is not to bet it all on ramping up domestic rare earth supply, it’s to take a lesson from the companies who, a decade ago, faced the 2011 Rare Earth Crisis and came out stronger – win through innovation. We have three routes to do so: design optimization, alternative materials, and recycling.
Design optimization to reduce rare earth content is the innovation we saw most commonly in 2011 – automakers found ways to switch from rare earth neodymium magnets to weaker ceramic magnets, oil companies used less lanthanum in refining, electronics manufacturers redesigned to reduce the need for dysprosium. We’re seeing it again today – both in established companies, like HVAC giant Daiken committing to phase out all rare earths by 2025, and startups, like the collaboration between California-based Wind Harvest and UK firm GreenSpur that bucks traditional design conventions to deliver a rare earth-free wind turbine.
Design optimization can be encouraged by fostering partnerships between incumbents and innovative new firms, as well as targeted procurement efforts to incentivize design away from rare earths. It is a critical lever to reduce dependence and our most promising source of quick wins. However, we use rare earths for a reason, so using fewer is not a solution on its own.
Alternative materials didn’t factor into the 2011 solutions with MIT providing a simple explanation at the time: “Inventing substitutes and getting them into motors will take years”. Fortunately, the last 10 years didn’t go to waste.
In September 2011, ARPA-E (the Department of Energy equivalent to DARPA, which famously invented the internet) launched their Rare Earth Alternatives in Critical Materials (REACT) program, funding 14 projects at universities, government labs, and private companies to reduce US rare earth dependency.
Today, the REACT investment is bearing fruit with iron nitride and cerium-based compounds. Researchers in Germany have done the same with iron phosphide. Though some of these alternatives are still academic, others are on the horizon of commercialization. Toyota is already making use of a technique to partially substitute scarce rare earth elements with abundant ones in next-generation Prius motors.
While material science holds great uncertainty, a decade of work developing and refining solutions means that this time it’s different. Properly supported for scale-up, alternative materials are potentially game changing.
And lastly there is recycling. While demand growth means we cannot solely recycle our way out of supply challenges, there will always be uses where rare earths cannot be designed out and alternative material properties are incompatible – here recycling will be critical to augment any realized domestic supply. This is taking place at a small scale today – like Texas-based Urban Mining Company and Geomega Resources in Canada – but recent estimates still suggest only 1% of rare earths are recycled. Experts are pushing for government intervention to mandate recycling, increase recovery rates, and reduce costs.
Increasing domestic rare earth supply is a worthwhile effort, but it is foolish as a standalone approach. If the US, Europe, and their allies hope to mitigate the impact of China’s rare earth dominance, they must diversify their bets and change the dominant narrative. Not playing catch up, but supporting innovation in design optimization, alternative materials, and recycling to jump ahead.
Tom Grainger is the Director of Strategy & Business Development atNiron Magnetics. He advises on climate and innovation policy for various nonprofit organizations.
The international mineral exploration and mining industry is once again gearing up for the annual Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada’s (PDAC) Convention in Toronto, following its first virtual convention in 2021.
This year signifies the return of the in person event from June 13-15, as well as an online portion from June 28-29. This is the first time in the PDAC Convention’s 90 years that it will be offered as a hybrid event, and a fitting way to honour the milestone.
“The pandemic has had us on a rollercoaster over the past couple of years and the feedback we are consistently hearing from our stakeholders is that they want to get back to doing business in person, and for anyone connected to the mineral exploration and mining industry, that means getting together face to face for the PDAC 2022 Convention” said Alex Christopher, PDAC president.
While the pandemic created challenges, it also demonstrated the resilience of the sector as it navigated health and safety, accessibility and supply chain obstacles, while conversations turned to the security of precious metals and the industry’s role in the transition to a low carbon future.
“We have watched precious metals and gold prices soar to record highs, applaud conversations recognizing the industry’s critical role in the clean energy transition, and throughout the pandemic have watched companies offer support to Indigenous and remote communities where it may otherwise have not existed,” added Christopher.
“This is just a small glimpse into the importance of the minerals industry, and as the world reopens, professionals — including analysts, executives, geologists, prospectors, investors, students and government officials — need timely and relevant programming and short courses that can be tailored to their needs, and the PDAC 2022 Convention offers exactly that.”
The PDAC Convention provides a platform for experts to connect and talk, learn and collaborate about the opportunities and challenges faced by the industry. Highly-acclaimed topics — such as Capital Markets, Indigenous, Student & Early Career, Sustainability and Technical — will return to in person and online programming, along with Short Courses, the seventh annual International Mines Ministers’ Summit (IMMS), Events & Networking, and a newly expanded Keynote Program for experts to present on commodities, the mineral outlook, innovation and new discoveries.
More than 800 exhibitors will display their expertise and latest core samples in Core Shack, Investors Exchange, Prospectors Tent and Trade Show.
But the excitement is not limited to only in person with an outstanding lineup of programming scheduled for the online portion.
“It is important that we can offer the online portion of PDAC 2022 for a very important group of stakeholders across the world who want access to information directly from their home or office, and we are excited to be able to give them that,” said Lisa McDonald, PDAC executive director.
“But it is the in person element that is being craved this year and we can’t wait to welcome the world’s mineral exploration and mining industry to PDAC 2022 after all this time, we’ve certainly missed everyone.”
Le constructeur britannique Dyson vient de lever le voile sur un casque audio à réduction de bruit active qui intègre un purificateur d’air censé protéger l’utilisateur de la pollution atmosphérique et acoustique. Le Dyson Zone sera commercialisé en 2023.
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C'est une première : du microplastique a été détecté dans le sang humain ! L'équipe néerlandaise à l'origine de la détection a aussi réussi à déterminer la concentration de plastique qui circule dans notre corps.
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La liste des nouvelles espèces de poissons d'eau douce découvertes en 2021 vient d'être établie. Elles sont plus de 200 à émerveiller les scientifiques qui confirment que tous les mystères des créatures sous-marines que porte la Planète sont bien loin d'être révélés.
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Après avoir connu une période de douceur remarquable, le nord de la France va être concerné par une descente d'air froid en provenance directe de l'Arctique. Ce changement de temps radical pour les premiers jours d'avril sera accompagné de neige en plaine sur certains départements.
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Canada’s Kinross Gold Corp (TSX: K; NYSE: KGC) has entered exclusive negotiations with an unnamed third-party mining company after receiving several proposals to sell all its Russian assets.
As part of the exclusivity agreement, Kinross’ Russian subsidiaries will continue to operate the Kupol mine and other assets to maintain them properly.
Kinross noted in a media release Tuesday afternoon that any potential divestiture or change of control would have to receive Russian government approval.
Kinross will also continue to manage and mitigate the environmental impacts of its Russian operations. This includes overseeing monitoring systems and transporting industrial materials to the Kupol mine that are not allowed to remain at the port to maintain safety and regulatory compliance.
Kinross said it would continue to prioritize the well-being of its more than 2,000 employees in the country as it developed its transition plan.
Kinross will not benefit financially from the Russian operations while the transition plan is finalized. According to Kinross, current activities will be funded through resources already in-country, with no additional investment required by the parent company.
Kinross said it would suspend its Russian operations this month, including the Udinsk development project and Kupol mine. Kinross expects to treat its Russian business as an asset held for sale from an accounting perspective until a change of control is completed.
Several companies with exposure to Russia are taking steps to comply with sweeping Western sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO) also said it is cutting ties with Russian businesses, while miner Glencore (LSE: GLEN) sold its stake in Russia’s Russneft in February.
With gold prices approaching $2,000 per oz., gold exploration and mine development remain important drivers for many mining companies. Here are eight global gold explorers to watch.
Anacortes Mining
Vancouver-headquartered Anacortes Mining (TSXV: XYZ; US-OTC: XYZFF) is exploring its 100%-owned Tres Cruces project in the prolific Quiruvilca mining district of northern Peru, about 127 km east of the city of Trujillo on the Pacific coast.
Tres Cruces project. Image from Anacortes.
According to Anacortes, Tres Cruces ranks among the highest-grade gold oxide development projects globally, with 9.6 million indicated tonnes grading 1.37 grams gold per tonne for 425,000 contained oz. of gold in oxide material. The project also hosts an additional indicated resource of 31 million tonnes at 1.84 grams gold for 1.8 million oz. of gold in leachable sulphides.
Mineral resources for Tres Cruces currently stand at 46.5 million indicated tonnes grading 1.65 grams gold per tonne for 2.5 million oz. contained gold and 2.6 million inferred tonnes of 1.26 grams gold for 104,000 oz. gold.
In March, the company released an initial preliminary economic assessment for the project.
The early-stage study envisions an open pit heap-leach mining operation producing 68,000 oz. of gold annually over an initial oxide mine life of seven years, with peak production of 81,000 oz. in the second year for a total output of 558,000 oz. of gold over the life of the mine. All-in sustaining costs (AISC) were estimated to be $734 per ounce.
Initial capital costs were pegged at $125.5 million, with $5.2 million budgeted for sustaining capital over the life of the mine. The resulting after-tax net present value is estimated at $165.9 million, using a 5% discount rate and a gold price of $1,700 per oz., and an after-tax internal rate of return 33%. The initial capital outlay would be paid back in just over two years.
Anacortes recently received approval for exploration drilling on Tres Cruces, expected to start in mid-April. The Phase I drilling program is designed to confirm previous drill results, expand oxide resources at the edges of known mineralization, test targets beyond areas of known mineralization, convert indicated oxide resources to the measured category, and obtain “fresh” oxide samples for metallurgical testing.
The company is also seeking further growth opportunities in the Americas with the aim of becoming a mid-tier multi-asset gold producer.
Anacortes Mining has a market capitalization of $49.1 million.
Augusta Gold
Augusta Gold (TSX: G; US-OTC: AUGG) is advancing its Bullfrog gold project in the southern part of the prolific Walker Lane trend in Nevada, about 193 km northwest of Las Vegas.
The company controls approximately 31.6 sq. km of mineral rights, including the past-producing Bullfrog, Montgomery, and Bonanza deposits and the Paradise Ridge and Gap Target zones. It has also identified additional mineralization around the existing pits and defined several exploration targets that it believes could further enhance the project.
Augusta says Bullfrog benefits from extensive infrastructure that would allow for rapid development of the project, including access roads and paved in-pit haulage ramps, a 25-kilovolt power line and substation on site, and a paved highway that crosses the project.
Mineralization on the property occurs in upper and lower stockwork zones that are subparallel to the high-grade brecciated vein within the main fault structure.
In March, Augusta released an updated resource for Bullfrog.
The project now contains 71 million measured and indicated tonnes grading 0.53 gram gold per tonne and 1.26 grams silver per tonne for 1.2 million oz. contained gold and 2.9 million oz. silver. Inferred resources stand at 16.7 million tonnes of 0.48 gram gold and 0.96 gram silver for 257,900 oz. gold and 515,720 oz. silver.
According to Don Taylor, Augusta’s CEO, the updated resource estimate “confirms our view of the Bullfrog project and its expansion potential adding substantially more ounces at similar grades while reducing the strip ratio of the currently outlined resource.”
He added that the company is now focused on de-risking the project through environmental and engineering studies “that will form the foundation for our permit applications.”
The updated resource was based on 1,331 drill holes totalling 269,864 metres of drilling since the initial resource estimate in June 2021. The estimate included combined oxide and sulphide mineral resources for the Bullfrog, Montgomery-Shoshone, and Bonanza deposits.
All three deposits have historical gold production. Bullfrog and Montgomery-Shoshone produced 2 million and 220,000 gold ounces, respectively, from open-pit and underground mines; and Bonanza produced 72,000 oz. from an open-pit operation.
Augusta Gold has a market capitalization of $71.1 million.
Fosterville South Exploration
Fosterville South Exploration(TSXV: FSX; US-OTC: FSXLF) is an exploration company looking for gold deposits in Australia.
Image courtesy of Fosterville South Exploration.
The Vancouver-headquartered junior has a portfolio of assets in the Fosterville area of the state of Victoria. These include three high-grade past-producing projects — Lauriston, Walhalla, and Golden Mountain, and a large land package with historical production immediately south of and adjoining Agnico Eagle Mines’ (TSX: AEM; NYSE: AEM) Fosterville gold mine, the world’s highest-grade and lowest-cost underground gold mine.
Fosterville South says that drilling during the first quarter will focus on its Lauriston, Providence, Beechworth, and Golden Mountain projects. According to the company, Lauriston offers the best potential to be the southern extension of the Fosterfield Goldfield belt outside of Agnico’s tenements.
The company is planning to carry out an extensive diamond drilling campaign on Lauriston. The drilling will focus on high-priority targets identified during initial reconnaissance drilling and exploration work completed in 2021.
Lauriston has historical production of 233,215 oz. of gold at 20.7 grams gold per tonne.
Drilling has already started on the Comet target on the project, which aims to confirm the structural controls of broad zones of gold mineralization discovered last year, and at the New Trojan target, approximately 3 km north of Comet, which will see its first modern drill program.
In January, Fosterville South released the first drill results from its Beechworth project, about 115 km northeast of Lauriston. Drilling on the Homeward Bound prospect and the Bon Accord prospect, about 180 metres west of Homeward Bound, returned solid gold grades.
Highlights included drillhole HBDH002. Drilled on Homeward Bound, that hole intersected two separate zones of mineralization of 3.2 metres grading 3.38 grams gold per tonne from 295.5 metres and 4.4 metres of 2.51 grams gold from 256.6 metres downhole.
Hole BHVP30, drilled on Bon Accord, returned 1 metre of 20.9 grams gold from 60 metres and 1 metre at 33.4 grams gold from 68 metres.
The company is also conducting an ongoing drilling campaign on the Reedy Creek zone at its Providence project.
Fosterville South Exploration has a market capitalization of $35.2 million.
G2 Goldfields
G2 Goldfields(TSXV: GTWO; US-OTC: GUYGF) is an explorer with assets in Guyana, including the Oko-Aremu and Puruni properties located in the north-central part of the country.
A drill crew at G2 Goldfields’ Guiana Shield project in Guyana. Credit: G2 Goldfields/Twitter.
The Canadian-based junior’s focus is the 77.7-sq.-km Oko project covering 17 km of prospective strike length along the Oko-Aremu trend, approximately 120 km west of Guyana’s capital, Georgetown.
Several multi-kilometre zones of mineralization have been identified on the property, including the Ghanie, Oko N.W., Oko Main, and Oko East zones in addition to the past-producing Peters, Jubilee, and Aremu mines.
In March, the company reported the highest-grade drill intercepts yet on the property. Drilled on Oko Main, drillhole OKD-106 intersected 15.5 metres grading 8.5 grams gold per tonne from 133.5 metres downhole, and OKD-110 returned 5 metres of 16.4 grams gold from 101 metres, with a higher-grade interval intersecting 6.4 metres of 74.8 grams gold from 193 metres.
To date, G2 has drilled 116 holes in Oko Main over 1 km of strike length.
The company expects to release its first mineral resource estimate for the project in March this year and plans to continue drilling targets at Oko N.W., Jubilee, and Peters, which the company believes hosts significant mineralization.
G2 also holds the Peters Mine concession within Guyana’s Puruni district, about 38 km southwest of Oko. The concession is the site of the past-producing high-grade Peters mine, Guyana’s first producing mine, which produced 41,915 oz. of gold from 1905-1910.
The company plans to conduct a six-hole drill program on the concession down to 500 metres to test southwest-plunging shoots containing high-grade flat lodes, generate further drill targets, and develop a district-scale mineralization model.
G2 can also earn a 100% interest in the Jubilee open-pit mine and plans to conduct an initial six-hole program to target the high-grade vein system, where historical exploration has returned vein material up to 23 grams gold per tonne.
G2 Goldfields has a market capitalization of $74 million.
GoGold Resources
GoGold Resources (TSX: GGD; US-OTC; GLGDF) is a Canadian gold and silver producer and explorer with assets in Mexico.
Drilling at Los Ricos South in Mexico. Credit: GoGold Resources
The Halifax-based company is focused on its flagship Los Ricos property in Jalisco state, about 100 km northwest of the city of Guadalajara. The more than 220 -sq.-km property comprises two projects; Los Ricos South and Los Ricos North, approximately 25 km apart.
GoGold is conducting a 100,000-metre drilling campaign focused on expanding the initial mineral resource estimate for Los Ricos North, with key targets including El Favor East and Gran Cabrera.
Recent drilling on El Favour East primarily focused on expanding the initial resources with up-dip and down-dip drilling and strike expansion on the zone towards the east.
In March, the company released drill results from five drill holes on the target. Highlights included drillhole LRGF-21-113, which intersected 45.5 metres grading 0.52 gram gold per tonne and 97 grams silver per tonne (135.7 grams silver-equivalent) from 274.2 metres, including a higher-grade core of 0.9 metre of 13.05 grams gold and 716.3 grams silver (1,695 grams silver-equivalent).
A December 2020 resource estimate outlined indicated resources of 22.3 million tonnes grading 122 silver-equivalent grams per tonne for 87.8 million silver-equivalent oz. (186,000 oz. gold and 53.51 million oz. silver).
An induced-polarization survey in September identified several high-chargeability anomalies that GoGold has interpreted as representative of sulphide mineralization along the El Favor-El Favor East zone.
The company completed a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for Los Ricos South in January 2021. The study was based on 10 million measured and indicated tonnes grading 199 grams silver-equivalent for 63.7 million silver-equivalent ounces and inferred resources of 3.3 million tonnes grading 190 grams silver-equivalent for 19.9 million ounces. The PEA forecast a net present value at a 5% discount rate of $295 million, and pegged the capex at C$125 million.
There are several historical mines at Los Ricos South, including El Abra, El Troce, San Juan, and Rascadero. GoGold also has several other targets, including Cerro Colorado, Las Lamas, and East Vein.
The company’s other projects include Parral in Chihuahua state and Santa Gertrudis in Sonora state.
GoGold Resources has a market capitalization of $749.4 million.
Moneta Gold
Toronto-headquartered Moneta Gold (TSX: ME; US-OTC: MEAUF) is developing gold deposits in Ontario’s Timmins camp, one of Canada’s most prolific gold mining camps.
Aerial view of the Windjammer gold zones at Moneta’s Golden Highway project in northern Ontario. Image from Moneta.
The company says it holds one of the largest land positions in the camp, covering over 263 sq. km, including its 100%-owned Tower Gold and Matheson area properties.
Moneta recently completed a 130-hole (72,500 metres) drill program at Tower Gold. The drilling tested extensions of the current mineral resource area, which contains the combined Golden Highway property and Garrison property covering 17 km of the Destor Porcupine Fault Zone, about 100 km east of Timmins.
The drilling was part of the company’s 2020/21 drill program and extended mineralization by 200 metres to the west and 300 metres to the east of the current resource estimate at the 55 zone – confirming mineralization over an area 800 metres long, 250 metres wide, and down to depths of over 300 metres.
Highlights included drillholes MGH21-200, which intersected 37 metres grading 1.04 grams gold per tonne from 75 metres downhole, including 4 metres of 5.31 grams gold; and MG21-202, which returned 4 metres of 4.87 grams gold from 194 metres, including 2 metres of 9.07 grams gold.
Tower Gold contains open pit resources of 116.7 million indicated tonnes at 0.89 gram gold for 3.3 million contained oz. gold and inferred resources of 79.4 million tonnes of 0.89 gram gold for 2.3 million oz. gold. Underground indicated resources are estimated at 4.9 million tonnes of 4.05 grams gold for 632,000 oz. gold, with inferred resources adding 17.7 million tonnes of 4.21 grams gold for 2.1 million oz. gold.
Recent metallurgical testing of samples from the project averaged recoveries of 95.5%, with 38.8% of the gold reporting to the gravity circuit, the company said.
Moneta plans to release an updated resource estimate for Tower Gold in the first half of 2022, followed by an updated preliminary economic assessment.
Moneta Gold has a market cap of $174.9 million.
New Found Gold
Canadian explorer New Found Gold (TSXV: NFG; NYSE: NFGC) holds properties in Newfoundland and Labrador and Ontario.
High-grade core from the Keats zone at the Queensway gold project in Newfoundland. Credit: New Found Gold
The company is focused on advancing its 100%-owned Queensway project in Newfoundland, about 15 km west of Gander.
New Found says it has completed about 37% of a planned 400,000-metre drilling campaign on the 1,510-sq.-km. property, which began in 2020. The campaign is focused on high-grade targets along 7.8 km of the Appleton fault and 12.4 km of the JBP fault zones.
Recent drilling comprised 51 diamond drill holes designed to test targets over a 3.5-km by 1-km area of the JBP fault zone encompassing the 1744 and Pocket Pond target areas.
The drilling intercepted several near-surface high-grade occurrences. Highlights included drillholes NFGC-21-180, which intersected 2.1 metres grading 31.88 grams gold per tonne from 32 metres downhole; and NFGC-21-304, which returned 2.3 metres of 25.4 grams gold from 81.6 metres.
The company said that the ongoing drill program comprises step-out drilling from significant gold mineralization intervals and the testing of high-grade gold targets over the JBP fault zone corridor tracts.
Currently, 11 core rigs are operating on the property, which it plans to increase to 14 rigs by the end of the first quarter.
New Found has about C$116 million in working capital and says it is well-funded to complete its planned exploration program.
Significant investors in the company include Palisades Gold (TSXV: NFG; NYSE: NFGC), which holds a 31% interest; Eric Sprott, the Canadian mining billionaire, who holds 22%; and Novo Resources (TSX: NVO; US-OTC: NSRPF), which holds 9%. Management and insiders hold 3%.
New Found’s other asset is the Lucky Strike project in the Abitibi greenstone belt in Ontario, approximately 20 km northeast of Kirkland Lake. The project contains the past-producing Walsh Mine and two exploration shafts at the Copper King and Norwood Kirkland.
New Found Gold has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion.
O3 Mining
O3 Mining (TSXV: OIII; US-OTC: OIIIF) has a portfolio of projects spanning over 1,370 sq. km in Quebec. The Canadian junior is focused on advancing its Marban project, part of the company’s wholly-owned Malartic property located near the town of Val-d’Or.
Marban property in Val-d’Or, Québec. Credit: O3 Mining Inc.
In March, the company reported a 29% increase in resources for the project from the previous estimate in September 2020. The updated estimate includes drill results from 209 holes (39,207 metres) of infill and expansion drilling.
Marban now contains 67.2 million measured and indicated tonnes grading 1.07 grams gold per tonne for 2.3 million contained oz. gold and inferred resources of 2.1 million tonnes at 1.2 grams gold for 80,000 oz. gold.
A preliminary economic assessment for the project in October 2020 outlined an 11,000-tonne-per-day open pit operation with a mine life of 15.2 years. The first 12 years will target annual production of more than 130,000 oz. of gold, peaking at 161,000 oz. in year nine, for an average yearly output of 115,000 oz. And total life-of-mine production of 1.8 million ounces.
The study forecast cash costs of $741 per oz. and all-in sustaining costs (AISCs) of $822 per ounce. The initial capex, pegged at C$256 million, would be paid back, after taxes, in four years. The study estimated Marban’s after-tax net present value (NPV) at C$423 million, based on a 5% discount rate and a gold price of $1,450 per oz., and its internal rate of return at 25.2%.
O3 recently consolidated Marban by acquiring Emgold Mining‘s (TSXV: EMR; US-OTC: EGMCF) East-West property, which sits adjacent to Marban. Under the agreement, O3 will acquire a 100% interest in the property for a cash payment of C$750,000, 325,000 common shares in O3, and the grant of 1% net smelter returns (NSR) royalty to Emgold, which O3 has the right to buy back.
O3 is also progressing its Alpha property, 8 km east of Val-d’Or. This year, it plans to complete 33,000 metres of drilling focused on expanding the known deposits at Kappa and Bulldog, following up on Sigma-type veins in the Omega sector, and resource conversion of the Akasaba deposit.
O3 Mining has a market capitalization of $128.7 million.
Les mécanismes cellulaires impliqués dans la sensation douloureuse sont différents chez les hommes et chez les femmes. Et ce n’est pas seulement psychologique ! Cette nuance est trop peu souvent considérée dans la prise en charge de la douleur chez les patientes.
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Le visage d'une femme ayant vécu en Suède il y a 4.000 ans a été modélisé par des artistes. Les éléments du crâne tels que la mâchoire prognathe et le front abrupt confèrent une remarquable individualité à cette jeune agricultrice de l'âge de pierre.
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Comment les souvenirs se transmettaient-ils à la Préhistoire ? Une étude révèle que des hommes du Proche-Orient recyclaient d'anciennes pierres taillées et les incorporaient au jeu d'outils qu'ils créaient, probablement pour conserver la mémoire de leurs ancêtres.
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La vie peut parfois décider de changer brusquement de direction. Pour le pire, mais aussi pour le meilleur. Il est bon de ne pas le perdre de vue en ces temps bousculés. Un premier job, un mariage ou encore la naissance d’un enfant sont autant de moments qui marquent une vie. De nombreux
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Les recherches se poursuivent. Inlassablement. Mais les scientifiques n’ont toujours pas trouvé de trace de vie ailleurs dans l’Univers. Alors beaucoup d’espoirs sont placés dans le télescope spatial James-Webb. Il ouvrira en effet l’accès à des informations cruciales sur les atmosphères des...
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En Antarctique, un bloc de glace grand comme les villes de Los Angeles ou Rome s'est détaché lors d'une journée marquée par des températures anormalement élevées. Il s'agit de l'un des plus importants effondrements de barrière de glace depuis 20 ans.
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Des scientifiques ont comparé les dates de ponte de 72 espèces d’oiseaux et ont constaté que la hausse des températures les force à pondre leurs œufs un mois plus tôt qu’il y a un siècle.
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Les mécanismes cellulaires impliqués dans la sensation douloureuse sont différents chez les hommes et chez les femmes. Et ce n’est pas seulement psychologique ! Cette nuance est trop peu souvent considérée dans la prise en charge de la douleur chez les patientes.
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Les spinosauridés étaient de redoutables prédateurs en milieu terrestre mais étaient-ils capables de poursuivre une proie sous l'eau ? Une étude comparant la densité des os de nombreux dinosaures et d'espèces actuelles montre que le milieu aquatique n'échappait pas à ce groupe de grands prédateurs…
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Adopter une attitude écoresponsable pour sauver la Planète. C’est louable. En un sens, même, un peu héroïque. Mais tout cela ne peut pas être durable si nous en oublions nos envies, nos besoins. C’est le crédo de l’application The Good Habits. Une version bêta peut être testée sur la plateforme...
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En combinant les données astrométriques du satellite Gaia de l'ESA et les données astrochimiques du télescope au sol chinois Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fibre Spectroscopic Telescope (Lamost), une équipe d'astronomes vient de préciser la chronologie de la Voie lactée qui serait différente de...
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Two new species of endangered glass frogs, the Mashpi glass frog (Hyalinobatrachium mashpi) and the Nouns’ glass frog (Hyalinobatrachium nouns) were identified near active mining areas in the Ecuadorian Andes.
In a paper published in the journal PeerJ, lead researchers Becca Brunner and Juan M. Guayasamín say that given the Ecuadorian government’s embrace of exploratory and extractive activities in the area, they recommend listing both species as “Endangered” under guidelines established by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Both H. mashpi and H. nouns are found in forest regions that have suffered agriculture-related deforestation over the past decades. H. nouns were observed in areas with active mining operations, while H. mashpi was observed in areas adjacent to existing mining leases.
“The few remaining patches are now under the pressure of mining activities, which are highly polluting and have the opposition of numerous local communities,” Guayasamín said in a media statement.
The scientist explained that a frog’s ability to breathe underwater through cutaneous respiration—a process where gas exchange occurs across the skin rather than lungs or gills—makes them highly vulnerable to water-related pollution and habitat destruction.
In addition to this, the narrow distribution of species in the Andes makes H. mashpi and H. nouns incredibly susceptible to disruption.
“If a mining company came in and destroyed the few streams where we know these frogs exist, that’s probably extinction for the species,” Brunner said.
The ID process
The Mashpi glass frog and the Nouns’ glass frog display similar colour patterns and transparent abdomens and they resemble other members of the genus. They also exhibit similar behavioural patterns—namely extended parental care—as related species of glass frogs.
Thus, the researchers were only able to confirm they hadn’t been identified before when they ran a bioacoustic analysis of the Mashpi glass frog’s unique call. To differentiate it from other frogs’ calls, they compared it to call recordings from similar species in Central America, Colombia, and other areas of Ecuador.
Improvements to DNA sequencing also helped the taxonomists differentiate the species from their closest relatives.
More than 1,000 amphibian species live in the Andes, a majority of which can only be found in the narrow mountain ranges and river valleys that dot the terrain.
“A lot of these sites are incredibly remote, which is one of the reasons why we were able to discover new species,” Brunner said.
Un essaim sismique a débuté il y a quelques jours sur l’île de São Jorge. Bien que cette activité puisse être strictement d’origine tectonique, la vigilance est de mise car elle pourrait annoncer une éruption volcanique future. Les autorités sont en alerte…
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Les applications « Messages » et « Téléphone » de Google, installées sur plus d’un milliard de smartphones, enregistrent l’activité de l’utilisateur et envoient ces données sur les serveurs de la firme. Les utilisateurs ne sont pas informés de cette collecte, qui ne respecterait pas le RGPD, et...
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Alors que l'épidémie de Covid-19 s'accélère à nouveau après plusieurs semaines de baisse, des médecins de Boston avertissent que les très jeunes enfants infectés peuvent déclarer un croup. Qu'est-ce que le croup et comment est-il soigné ?
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Après la mise en orbite du premier télescope solaire chinois Chase en octobre 2021, c’est bientôt au tour du télescope ASO-S de partir étudier le Soleil depuis l’orbite héliosynchrone. Il devrait décoller au printemps.
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L’explosion cambrienne peut être observée dans différents gisements, notamment celui de Chengjiang, en Chine. Une nouvelle étude de ce site montre que la vie des premiers animaux, il y a plus de 500 millions d’années, tire son origine dans un delta.
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La couverture vaccinale en France est plutôt bonne. De nombreuses personnes ont déjà attrapé le virus. Et pourtant, le nombre de nouveaux cas quotidiens est toujours impressionnant. Pourquoi ? Parce qu’il semblerait qu’il soit possible d’attraper le variant Omicron plusieurs fois.
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Les récifs coralliens au nord de la mer Rouge sont majoritairement protégés de l'acidification des océans et semblent en bonne santé. Une nouvelle étude montre que, malgré les apparences, leur biorythme naturel subit d'importants dégâts.
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Saviez-vous que le hamster domestique (Mesocricetus auratus), aussi innocent semble-t-il, est un grand amateur d'alcool ? Si on présente à un hamster de l'eau ou de l'éthanol à 15 %, il choisit... l'éthanol ! Le hamster aime tellement s'enivrer qu'il peut consommer près de 20...
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À partir de la prochaine mise à jour, Microsoft a décidé d'afficher en permanence un message d'alerte si votre PC n'est pas optimisé pour Windows 11. Des utilisateurs se plaignent déjà, mais Microsoft n'entend pas l'enlever.
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Les chiffres de l’épidémie sont à la hausse. Même si la couverture vaccinale est importante en France, il y a encore des personnes qui refusent de se faire vacciner. Comment les convaincre ? Une équipe de chercheurs français a eu l’idée de modéliser la stratégie de vaccination réactive pour...
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Ce fossile de Triceratops datant de la fin du Crétacé est le plus complet au monde. Son crâne de plus de 200 kg, sa colonne vertébrale, ses membres et les marques de ses tendons permettront de mieux comprendre l'écologie de ce géant disparu.
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Même si les batteries quantiques ne sont pas encore une réalité, les recherches théoriques montrent qu’elles pourraient résoudre le problème du temps de recharge des véhicules électriques. Des chercheurs coréens ont calculé qu’une batterie quantique pourrait se recharger en quelques secondes.
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Aujourd’hui, la charge mentale liée à la contraception repose quasi exclusivement sur les femmes dans la majorité des couples hétérosexuels. Demain, cela pourrait changer ! En effet, la pilule pour homme pourrait très bientôt voir le jour.
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Ce lundi 21 mars, le monde célébrait la Journée internationale des forêts. Pour rappeler à tous l’importance de préserver ces écosystèmes. Aujourd’hui, des chercheurs soulignent que ce n’est pas qu’une question de stockage de carbone. La déforestation menace de faire basculer tout un équilibre.
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Aujourd’hui, la charge mentale liée à la contraception repose quasi exclusivement sur les femmes dans la majorité des couples hétérosexuels. Demain, cela pourrait changer ! En effet, la pilule pour homme pourrait très bientôt voir le jour.
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The Mining Schools Act of 2022 (also known as the Technology Grants to Strengthen Domestic Mining Education Act of 2022) has been introduced and would require the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy to establish a competitive grant program that would provide $10 million a year for eight years to eligible colleges and universities to train the next generation of mining engineers and other mining professionals.
The Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME) said the bill is an important first step in addressing what has been a longstanding decline in both mining school enrollment and graduation rates.
“Since 1980, the number of colleges and universities with accredited mining engineering programs has decreased from 25 to 14 in 2020,” Dave Kanagy, SME Executive Director, said in a media statement.“
“The number of graduating students with mining engineering degrees has also declined substantially.” Kanagy said. “A briefing paper prepared by SME illustrates the severity of this trend, noting that the number of graduates has decreased by 43% since 2015 alone.
“The decline in mining school enrollment and graduation rates is a national crisis,” he said. “And it comes at a time when the nation is becoming even more reliant on critical and rare earth minerals imported from foreign countries.” Minerals are needed to support the U.S. economy, national security, and the transition to clean energy.
The bill would allow eligible colleges and universities, including both public and private institutions, to apply for competitive grants to assist with recruitment of the best and brightest students; to fund important research of technologies to increase domestic production of critical minerals and reduce dependence on imported minerals; and to develop better technologies to protect the environment.
Sponsored by Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), ranking Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Joe Manchin (D-WV), the Committee Chair, the bill will be referred to that committee for a hearing in the coming weeks.
Metso Outotec is launching the Ferroflame LowNOx (nitrogen oxides) burner for travelling grate pelletizing plants to enable pellet plant operators to achieve the stringent NOx emission targets with ease. The new burner is part of the company’s Planet Positive offering focused on environmentally efficient technologies.
The Ferroflame LowNOx burner uses high-speed dilution, which is an effective way to improve the combustion process and reduce NOx emissions. It works seamlessly with natural gas, and tests demonstrate that can also be used with diesel and coke oven gas.
“We are very excited about the Ferroflame LowNOx burner, our emission- and cost-efficient alternative to minimize NOx emissions from the combustion process. Its functionality and performance with natural gas have been proven on-site. The burners have been operating successfully at a client site since 2019,” said Andreas Munko, senior product manager, ferrous and heat transfer, at Metso Outotec.
Metso Outotec’s Ferroflame LowNOx burner provides the following benefits:
Up to 80% reduction of NOx emissions
Expected thermal penalty on natural gas (approximately 10%)
Increased pellet homogeneity and quality
Increased refractory lifetime
Optimization of NOx vs Opex with digital solutions possible
Proven technology
Easy retrofit of existing plants
More information about Ferroflame burners is available here.
Le célèbre groupe d'hacktivistes a fait tomber les sites Internet d'entreprises françaises encore en Russie. En parallèle, les Anonymous annoncent qu'ils ont piraté les serveurs de la banque d'État de la Fédération de Russie et qu'ils vont publier des dizaines de milliers de documents...
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Après avoir officialisé son entrée sur le marché de la voiture électrique en septembre dernier avec la création d’une filiale, Xiaomi vient d’annoncer qu’il présentera un premier prototype dans le courant du troisième trimestre. D’après le site chinois Auto Bit, il devrait s’agir d’une berline...
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Si le pouvoir d’achat fait toujours figure de principale préoccupation des Français à moins de trois semaines maintenant du premier tour de l’élection présidentielle, les questions environnementales semblent vouloir s’accrocher au peloton de tête des thèmes qui vont peser dans le choix final....
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Alors que le Starship de SpaceX et le SLS de la Nasa, construit par Boeing, pourraient tous les deux réaliser leur premier vol au printemps, découvrons les similitudes et ce qui différencie ces deux lanceurs lourds qui promettent la Lune et Mars.
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Un essaim sismique a débuté il y a quelques jours sur l’île de São Jorge. Bien que cette activité puisse être strictement d’origine tectonique, la vigilance est de mise car elle pourrait annoncer une éruption volcanique future. Les autorités sont en alerte…
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La couverture vaccinale en France est plutôt bonne. De nombreuses personnes ont déjà attrapé le virus. Et pourtant, le nombre de nouveaux cas quotidiens est toujours impressionnant. Pourquoi ? Parce qu’il semblerait qu’il soit possible d’attraper le variant Omicron plusieurs fois.
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Une start-up suisse a créé un fauteuil électrique capable d’accéder quasiment partout. Le Scewo Bro est doté de chenilles afin de grimper les escaliers en l’absence de rampe d’accès, il peut se régler en hauteur et s’équilibre automatiquement.
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Il y a environ 66 millions d’années, l’impact d’un astéroïde, avec les éventuels effets conjugués de forts épisodes volcaniques, aurait mené à l’extinction de la majeure partie des espèces vivantes, notamment via d’importantes variations climatiques. Une équipe de géologues pointe du doigt...
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Il y a environ 66 millions d’années, l’impact d’un astéroïde, avec les éventuels effets conjugués de forts épisodes volcaniques, aurait mené à l’extinction de la majeure partie des espèces vivantes, notamment via d’importantes variations climatiques. Une équipe de géologues pointe du doigt...
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Grosse mise à jour annoncée par la Nasa ce lundi 21 mars : le programme est décalé de deux ans et les échantillons ne reviendront pas sur Terre avant 2033. De plus, la mission de récupération des échantillons est maintenant divisée en deux.
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Even before Russia invaded Ukraine, shocking oil and natural gas markets, an energy crisis had already been brewing in Europe – a crisis that was somewhat self-induced.
The Western world may be at an inflection point in the energy transition – one that underscores the dangers of miscalculating how much traditional energy (oil, coal and natural gas) will still be needed as advanced, industrial societies try to move away from them, and how much alternative sources of energy are needed to replace them.
The current energy crisis – marked by high oil, gasoline and natural gas prices – underscores the urgency of moving away from fossil fuel dependency, especially in Europe, while at the same time highlighting just how stubborn and important fossil fuels still are to energy security and the global economy.
“The world may be entering a period of profound energy scarcity,” said Joseph Calnan, an energy security analyst at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute (CGAI).
“Traditional energy companies are investing as if we are on track for the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) net zero scenario. Meanwhile, clean energy investment is not expanding enough to even meet the IEA’s stated policies scenario. We are potentially facing a global shortage of both traditional and renewable energy in the next decade.”
Despite Western Canada’s significant reserves of both oil and gas, it is in no position to ride to the rescue with oil tankers and liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers brimming with crude and natural gas. The best Western Canada may be able to do is maximize existing pipeline and rail capacity to pump a bit more oil and gas to the U.S. and learn some lessons from Europe on the need to carefully balance old and new energy sources.
“The way that Canada handles its own energy resiliency in the coming years could determine whether we are caught off guard by this energy shortage, or whether we will be able to master it, and perhaps even thrive, as a secure and trustworthy supplier of desperately needed traditional energy and minerals for the world,” Calnan wrote in a recent analysis for the CGAI.
The last major energy crisis in the 1970s was all about oil and conflict in the Middle East, and it led to one of the deepest recessions North America has ever experienced. This one is different, and for Europe is it somewhat self-made.
Germany, France, the U.K., the Netherlands and other European countries banned fracking, denying themselves a domestic source of natural gas, and making Europe thrall to Russia, which supplies Europe with 45 per cent of its natural gas imports.
And while it has invested heavily in wind, solar and biofuels, Germany is at this very moment in the final phase of shutting down all of its remaining nuclear power plants.
A severe winter that depleted European natural gas stores, a drastic shortage of wind power and a lack of nuclear power left Europe short of both electricity and natural gas in 2021, sending energy prices through the roof.
And now war in Ukraine and the redrawing of the Iron Curtain around Russia threatens to turn a regional energy crisis into a global one as the world suddenly finds itself short on both oil, natural gas and clean alternatives.
High oil and natural gas prices theoretically should accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels. After all, making fossil fuels expensive through measures like carbon taxes in order to discourage their use is a key climate change policy tool.
But Western governments have also found themselves in conflict with some environmentalists pushing renewable wind and solar power, to the exclusion of all other mitigation approaches, like nuclear power, coal or gas power with carbon capture and storage, and even some biofuels.
“When politicians get to power who are really influenced by environmentalists, those aren’t necessarily good market-oriented people,” said Simon Fraser University sustainable energy economist Mark Jaccard, who is currently working on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Working Group 3 sixth assessment.
“What it means is you’ve started to really narrow your ability to switch off fossil fuels. What’s happening in Europe is the alternatives to fossil fuels are not developing as fast as they should, and they’re going to need some shocks to make that happen.”
Canada’s role in transition
When the global economy recovered from a pandemic-induced contraction, the world found itself short by about two million barrels of oil compared to pre-pandemic levels. Normally, oil producers simply respond to rising demand and prices by drilling more wells.
But Canadian and American producers have been told by some environmentalists, banks, pension funds and politicians that they need to “keep it in the ground,” and shale producers in the U.S. in particular have done just that. They are not investing in new wells as one might expect in such a high-price environment.
Meanwhile, some argue not nearly enough has been invested in alternative sources of energy or electric vehicles either.
The isolation of Russia – one of the world’s largest oil and gas producers – by Western countries is having a profound effect on oil and gas supplies and prices. Russia supplies about 10 per cent of the world’s crude oil and about 45 per cent of Europe’s natural gas.
Given that Canada has the third-largest oil reserves in the world as well as significant amounts of natural gas, the country could theoretically step up production but is not necessarily in the position to do so. It has limited ability to increase exports, owing in part to government policy in both the U.S. and Canada – policies that are unlikely to change.
Following her recent attendance at CERAweek, a major energy conference, Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage said existing pipeline and rail capacity is sufficient to allow Alberta oil producers to make up about one-third of the oil that the U.S. will lose from Russia – about 200,000 barrels per day.
“There’s really a pretty clear theme coming through from CERAWeek as a whole, and generally it’s that government needs to start treating our oil and gas reserves as a strategic asset to be proud of, not a liability to phase out,” Savage said.
“The supply disruption and the need to weed out Russian barrels really put a strong focus on this. And it put a really strong focus on the weakness of North American energy policy. Governments around the world have dropped the ball on energy security.”
The expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline will add 590,000 barrels per day in capacity, which will allow Canadian oil producers to export more oil. But the expansion is now not expected to be finished until 2023. By then, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the U.S. and possibly Iran may be making up for whatever oil exports are lost from Russia, which could very well find a home for its oil in China and India.
“If the Canadian oil industry is saying this is a reason to build not only Trans Mountain, but some other pipeline, that’s complete self-serving nonsense,” Jaccard said. “The oil markets will reequilibrate very quickly.”
He said there may be a stronger argument to be made for increasing Canada’s ability to export natural gas in the form of LNG, however. Pointing to the Coastal GasLink pipeline, which will supply the LNG Canada plant in Kitimat, B.C., Jaccard said: “Maybe this pipeline is justified, and maybe another one will be.”
The LNG Canada project is one of three major projects under construction around the world that were supposed to be in operation by 2024, but which are now likely to be delayed until 2025, according to the IEA.
There is a proposal for a new East Coast LNG project – Pieridea Energy Ltd.’s (TSX:PEA) Goldboro LNG – that could conceivably meet some demand for LNG in Europe, and another West Coast LNG project – the Haisla First Nation’s Cedar LNG project – making its way through the environmental review process.
Calnan doubts an LNG terminal will be built on the Atlantic coast and doesn’t think Canada can compete with the U.S. when it comes to building major LNG projects on the scale of LNG Canada.
The biggest contribution Canada may be able to make to address a critical demand for LNG in Europe is through increased exports of natural gas from Western Canada via existing pipeline networks to the U.S. Gulf Coast, where major LNG terminals are located.
“We don’t have the industrial base setup,” Calnan told BIV. “We don’t have a streamlined permitting process like they have down in the States. It’s a bit of a mess, to be honest, and it’s a real failure of our governments not to seize onto this.”
The global refined copper market showed a 92,000 tonne deficit in December, compared with a 123,000 tonne deficit in November, the International Copper Study Group (ICSG) said in a new data release.
For the full year, the market reported a deficit of 475,000 tonnes compared with a 484,000 tonne shortfall a year earlier, the ICSG said.
World refined copper output in December was 2.11 million tonnes, while consumption was 2.2 million tonnes. Production amounted to 24.5 million tonnes and 25.33 million tonnes of consumption for the year.
The ICSG said mine production grew by around 2.3% in 2021 but noted this compared to a low 2020 basis when rolling global lockdowns severely impacted the copper mining industry to stem the spread of covid-19. The average annual growth over 2019-2020 was only 0.3%.
Because of the lockdowns, production in Chile, the world’s largest copper mine producing country, was down by 1.9% in 2021, with concentrate production falling by 1.3% and SX-EW output declining by 3.6%, mainly at the Escondida mine. Chilean 2021 total production was 2.8% below that of 2019.
Output in Peru, the world’s second-largest copper producing country, increased by about 7% primarily since the Peruvian mining industry was one of the most severely impacted by a covid-19 related lockdown in 2020. Despite the recovery, 2021 production remained 6.5% below that of 2019.
Indonesian output increased by about 49% because of the continued ramp-up of underground production at the Grasberg mine. Substantial increases were also seen in the Democratic Republic of Congo (+12%), Panama (+61%) and China (+10%) due to additional output from new and expanded operations or improved operational levels.
The ICSG also commented that the Russian copper industry is mainly centred on three companies, Norilsk, UMMC and the Russian Copper Company. Russian copper mine output has increased by around 28% over the last five years, mainly due to the start-up of two new mines, and reached about 875,000 tonnes of copper in 2021, accounting for about 4% of the total world copper mine production.
According to the ICSG, there are currently no copper mines operating in Ukraine, and refined production and usage are estimated at 20,000 tonnes of metal per year.
This week, the London Metal Exchange said it had no immediate plans to ban Russian metals, including copper, from trading on its platform, despite calls from some members to do so.
A ban on Russian metal could lead to shortages and further price surges at a time of rising inflation worldwide.
The global copper market is already tight, with exchange stocks close to a 16-year low. Prices touched a record high of $10,845 a tonne last week and traded at $10,320 on March 18. The red metal last traded at $10,173 per tonne on March 22.
Click here for an interactive chart of the copper price.
Privé de lanceurs Soyouz suite à l’invasion de l’Ukraine par la Russie, OneWeb a trouvé un accord avec SpaceX pour le lancement de plusieurs de ses satellites. Un accord qui devrait permettre à OneWeb de mettre en service sa constellation d’ici la fin de l’année.
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À partir de la prochaine mise à jour, Microsoft a décidé d'afficher en permanence un message d'alerte si votre PC n'est pas optimisé pour Windows 11. Des utilisateurs se plaignent déjà, mais Microsoft n'entend pas l'enlever.
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Toute nouvelle un tant soit peu souriante est bonne à prendre lorsque l’on parle de la guerre en Ukraine. En voici une : le site Loser.com a décidé de se payer Vladimir Poutine en pointant vers la page Wikipédia en anglais du président russe. Ce nom de domaine, dont la traduction en français...
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Une nouvelle technique de phishing vise les utilisateurs de Google Chrome. Grâce à une fausse page de connexion qui affiche l’adresse de la vraie, un hacker pourra tromper les internautes pour obtenir l’identifiant et le mot de passe de comptes Microsoft, Google, Apple ou autre.
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A group of chemists at Tsinghua University have developed a nano-scale structure that combines copper, gold and silver to work as a superior catalyst in a reaction whose performance will be essential if carbon capture efforts are to succeed in helping to mitigate global warming.
In a study published in the journal Nano Research, the team behind the development explains that they focused on a chemical reaction called the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (eCO2RR or ECR). This uses electricity to power the conversion of the gas into other usable substances by separating CO2’s carbon atoms from its oxygen atoms.
Water can also provide hydrogen “donors” in some varieties of ECR whereby the carbon atoms are combined with hydrogen to produce various species of hydrocarbons or alcohols.
Key to ECR is using the right catalyst or chemical substance whose structure and charge enable it to kick off or speed up a chemical reaction. Various different metals have been used as catalysts depending on which end product is desired. Catalysts employing just one type of metal include tin to produce formic acid, silver for carbon monoxide, and copper for methane, ethylene or ethanol.
Proposed possible mechanism for the electrochemical CO2RR on (a) Au@Ag NRs and (b,c) asymmetric AuAgCu NSs. (Image from Nano Research).
However, the researchers say the performance of the process can be limited when ECR competes with the tendency of hydrogen atoms within the electrochemical splitting of water to pair up with themselves instead of joining up with the carbon atoms. This competition can lead to the production (or “selection”) of a different chemical end product than the one desired.
To avoid this issue, scientists have started looking into heterostructures that incorporate two distinct metals whose combined properties produce different or superior outcomes to either of the individual materials on their own.
Some of the heterostructures that have been tested so far for ECR include combining silver and palladium in a branchlike formation and various other combinations of two metals in sandwich-like, tube-like, pyramidal and other shapes.
Previous research has been successful in employing bimetallic heterostructures that include copper—a metal that is very good at converting CO2 into products that use two carbon atoms. Among such bimetallic heterostructures, some incorporate silver-copper, zinc-copper and gold-copper with the latter enjoying particular selectivity success for methane, C2 and carbon monoxide.
“We thought if two metals were producing good results, then perhaps three metals would be even better,” Zhicheng Zhang, co-author of the study, said in a media statement.
The idea led Zhang and his colleagues to build a trimetallic nanostructure that combined gold, silver and copper and was asymmetric in form. The shape and precise ratio of the three metals can be altered via a growth method involving multiple steps. Specifically, gold “nanopyramids” were first synthesized and used as “seeds” for subsequent growth of various trimetallic structures involving different ratios of the three metals.
Following this arrangement, the researchers found that as a result of the unique form of their heterostructure design and by altering the ratios of the three metals, they could carefully tune the selectivity toward different C2-based products.
Production of ethanol, in particular, was maximized by using a heterostructure with the feeding ratio involving one atom each of gold and silver combined with five copper atoms.
In Zhang’s and his team’s view, this work sets out a promising strategy for the development of other trimetallic nanomaterials within ECR development.
Dans un communiqué de presse, l'Assurance maladie a confirmé que des hackers avaient récupéré les données personnelles de plus d'un demi-million d'assurés. Les pirates avaient capté l'accès à 19 comptes professionnels, et un système automatisé de connexion aux dossiers de patients leur a permis...
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L’agence spatiale des Émirats arabes unis accélère son programme lunaire. Le rover Rashid devait d’abord s'envoler vers la Lune d’ici 2024 mais il partira finalement cette année. Il y a une semaine, l’agence a annoncé avoir testé un prototype.
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C’est le grand retour sur la Lune ! Initié en 2019 par l’ancien vice-président américain Mike Pence, le programme Artemis de la Nasa a pour but de faire revenir des astronautes sur la Lune, comme lors des missions Apollo. Artemis est toutefois plus ambitieux. Le but est de se servir des missions...
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Pour lutter contre le réchauffement climatique, nous devons, de toute urgence, réduire nos émissions de gaz à effet de serre. Cela semble évident. À défaut d’être simple. Mais des chercheurs nous rappellent aujourd’hui que les mesures d’atténuation devraient être décidées aussi en fonction des...
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Barrick Gold has ended a long-running dispute with Pakistan and will now start to develop one of the world’s biggest gold and copper mining projects under an agreement signed on Sunday.
Under the out-of-court deal, an $11 billion penalty slapped against Pakistan by a World Bank arbitration court and other liabilities will be waived and Barrick and its partners will invest $10 billion in the project, Pakistan Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin said.
The Reko Diq project in southwestern Pakistan, which hosts one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper and gold deposits, was suspended in 2011 after Pakistan denied Barrick Gold and Chile’s Antofagasta a licence to develop it.
Barrick said in a statement it will operate the project which will be granted a mining lease, exploration licence and surface rights.
In a separate statement, Antofagasta said it had agreed to exit the project as its growth strategy was now focused on the production of copper and by-products in the Americas.
“The new project company shall be owned 50% by Barrick Gold. The remaining 50% shareholding shall be owned by Pakistan, divided equally between Federal Government and the provincial government of Balochista,” a statement from the office of Prime Minister Imran Khan said after the signing ceremony in Islamabad.
The Barrick-Antofagasta joint venture discovered the vast mineral deposits more than a decade ago at the foot of an extinct volcano in the Balochistan region on Pakistan’s borders with Iran and Afghanistan.
It said it had invested more than $220 million.
(Reporting by Asif Shahzad in Islamabad and Syed Raza Hasan in Karachi. Editing by David Clarke and Emelia Sithole-Matarise).
Researchers at Northwestern University set up to study the mechanisms that allow methanotrophic bacteria to consume 30 million metric tons of methane per year and their natural ability to convert the potent greenhouse gas into usable fuel. Their goal is to use this information for the development of human-made biological catalysts that convert methane gas into methanol.
Methane is 25 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide and it is a major product of coal mining and oil extraction. At present, coal mines release 52.3 million tonnes of methane per year, while oil fields emit 39 million tonnes per year. Mining operations for all commodities combined release the equivalent of 4.32 billion tonnes of CO2 to the atmosphere every year.
In a paper published in the journal Science, the NU researchers explain that they are taking a first step towards addressing this problem by focusing on the enzyme called particulate methane monooxygenase (pMMO), which the bacteria use to catalyze the reaction. The substance, however, is a particularly difficult protein to study because it’s embedded in the cell membrane of the bacteria.
Cryo-EM illuminated never-before-seen structures in the membrane of the protein. (Image courtesy of Northwestern University).
Typically, when researchers study these methanotrophic bacteria, they use a harsh process in which the proteins are ripped out of the cell membranes using a detergent solution. While this procedure effectively isolates the enzyme, it also kills all enzyme activity and limits how much information researchers can gather.
To avoid this issue, the scientists put the enzyme back into a membrane that resembles its native environment. They used lipids from the bacteria to form a membrane within a protective particle called a nanodisc and then embedded the enzyme into that membrane.
“By recreating the enzyme’s native environment within the nanodisc, we were able to restore activity to the enzyme,” Christopher Koo, first author of the study, said in a media statement. “Then, we were able to use structural techniques to determine at the atomic level how the lipid bilayer restored activity. In doing so, we discovered the full arrangement of the copper site in the enzyme where methane oxidation likely occurs.”
The scientist and his colleagues used cryo-electron microscopy, which allowed them to visualize the atomic structure of the active enzyme at high resolution for the first time.
“As a consequence of the recent ‘resolution revolution’ in cryo-EM, we were able to see the structure in atomic detail,” senior author Amy Rosenzweig said. “What we saw completely changed the way we were thinking about the active site of this enzyme.”
Rosenzweig said that the cryo-EM structures provide a new starting point to answer the questions that continue to pile on. How does methane travel to the enzyme active site? Or does methanol travel out of the enzyme? How does the copper in the active site do the chemical reaction?
Given these questions, the team’s next step is to study the enzyme directly within the bacterial cell using a forefront imaging technique called cryo-electron tomography.
If successful, they will be able to see exactly how the enzyme is arranged in the cell membrane, determine how it operates in its truly native environment and learn whether other proteins around the enzyme interact with it. These discoveries would provide a key missing link to engineers.
“If you want to optimize the enzyme to plug it into biomanufacturing pathways or to consume pollutants other than methane, then we need to know what it looks like in its native environment and where the methane binds,” Rosenzweig said. “You could use bacteria with an engineered enzyme to harvest methane from fracking sites or to clean up oil spills.”
Un des monuments de l'astrophysique du XXe siècle vient de nous quitter presque centenaire. Eugene Parker, qui avait prédit l'existence du vent solaire alors que personne ne le croyait, vient en effet de décéder à l'âge de 94 ans. La sonde solaire portant son nom s'est approchée comme jamais du...
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Les pulsars sont des étoiles à neutrons en rotation. On savait qu'ils pouvaient produire des jets de particules contenant de l'antimatière, mais celui du pulsar PSR J2030 + 4415 est un monstre battant un record. Son existence a des implications sur les détections indirectes de particules de...
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L’eau est un élément important dans la génération du magma. Mais des chercheurs viennent de montrer que la quantité d’eau dans le magma influencerait également sa capacité à remonter dans les conduits volcaniques.
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Le Festival international des jardins du Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire va avoir lieu du 21 avril au 6 novembre 2022. Notez dans vos agendas ce rendez-vous intergénérationnel et venez vous promener parmi ces dizaines de jardins qui se déclinent sur le thème du « jardin idéal...
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Dans une étude clinique unique en son genre, des chercheurs montrent comment nos yeux pourraient nous aider à mieux comprendre – et traiter – les maladies neurodégénératives telles que la maladie d’Alzheimer.
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On découvre une vraie guerre en Europe, impression de revenir 80 ans en arrière… mais là il ne s’agit plus, comme on en avait « l’habitude », d’un pays pauvre, désertique et montagneux, mais de grandes puissances agricoles (en particulier céréalières) et énergétiques. Et les conséquences en...
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Un bruit, une présence, un téléphone qui sonne..., comment le cerveau opère une sélection entre ce qui mérite de s'y intéresser et ce qui doit être ignoré ? Une équipe de chercheurs a localisé, visualisé et chronométré ce système de tri sélectif grâce à des enregistrements intracrâniens.
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Canada is among the world’s premier jurisdictions for mineral exploration and mining and has become a go-to destination for the industry. Below, we present seven companies with exciting projects to watch.
Arianne Phosphate
Arianne Phosphate (TSXV: DAN; US-OTC: DRRSF) is focused on its shovel-ready Lac à Paul phosphate project north of Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean, Que. Once in production, this operation could create 1,000 jobs and contribute C$12 billion in economic benefits to the region, according to the company. Arianne is also in talks with the Nova Scotia government about building a phosphoric acid plant in Belledune.
Lac à Paul has a large resource base capable of supporting production for over 50 years. The proven and probable reserves stand at 472.1 million tonnes grading 6.88% phosphorus pentoxide (P2O5). There are also 702.7 million measured and indicated tonnes at 7.16% phosphorus pentoxide and 26 million inferred tonnes at 6.58% P2O5. These numbers represent only the Paul deposits and their extensions. Resource estimates for four other phosphate deposits have also been made.
Field crew at Arianne Phosphate’s Lac à Paul project in Quebec. Credit: Arianne Phosphate
A 2013 feasibility study outlined a 26-year open pit mine and mill (located at the Saint-Rose-du-Nord port) capable of producing 3 million tonnes of apatite concentrate (38.6% P2O5) annually. The initial capital commitment would be $1.2 billion, an amount to be paid back in less than five years. The phosphate price per tonne used in the study was $213, compared to the total operating cost of $93.68 per tonne. Lac à Paul is fully permitted. The study forecast a net present value with an 8% discount rate of $1.1 billion and an internal rate of return of 16.7%, both after-tax.
Arianne completed an internal update to these figures in 2020, improving grade and recovery substantially, however the study has not been released. The company says it is possible to make a 40% concentrate using lower temperature process water. Recoveries would be higher at 91% to 92% rather than the 90% estimated in the 2013 feasibility study. Offtake and marketing agreements are in place.
Arianne Phosphate has a market cap of C$108 million.
Callinex Mines
Callinex Mines (TSXV: CNX; US-OTC: CLLXF) is exploring established mining camps near Flin Flon in Manitoba, Brunswick in New Brunswick, and Buchans in Newfoundland. The three regions have a long history of mining copper, gold, zinc, and silver.
An aerial view of Callinex Mine’s Pine Bay project in Manitoba. Credit: Callinex Mines
In the third quarter of 2021, Callinex discovered the Rainbow deposit at its 100%-owned Pine Bay copper-gold project. Drilling has returned 37 metres grading 6% copper, including 1 metre of 18.81% copper and 1 metre of 18.3% copper from hole PBM-138. Hole PBM-129-W2 returned 67 metres grading 2.73% copper, including 13 metres of 8.75% copper and 2.1 metres of 17.6% copper. The last hole, PBM-129-W1, returned 4.9 metres grading 15.2% copper, including 2.8 metres of 21% copper. Assays are pending on about half of the holes in the 35,000-metre drill program completed last year.
In New Brunswick, the company is testing the Nash Creek project, which is also wholly owned. A 2018 preliminary economic assessment outlined an open pit mine with a 10-year mine life. There are two zones with total indicated resources of 13.6 million tonnes grading 2.68% zinc, 0.58% lead, 17.8 grams silver per tonne, and 3.21 grams gold per tonne. The project also has total inferred resources of 5.9 million tonnes grading 2.68% zinc, 0.47% lead, 13.9 grams silver per tonne and 3.11 grams gold per tonne. The estimate used a 1.5% zinc-equivalent cut-off grade.
Nash Creek has a pre-production capex of C$168 million and an after-tax payback of 2.8 years. The after-tax net present value with an 8% discount rate is C$128 million, and the internal rate of return is 25%.
Callinex’s 100%-owned Point Leamington volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) project in Newfoundland has a pit-constrained indicated resource of 5 million tonnes grading 0.9 gram gold per tonne, 12.2 grams silver per tonne, 0.54% copper, 0.01% lead, and 1.39% zinc (2.49 grams gold-equivalent per tonne). The in-pit inferred resource is 13.7 million tonnes grading 0.8 gram gold per tonne, 14.04 grams silver per tonne, 0.36% copper, 0.02% lead, and 1.74% zinc (2.24 grams gold-equivalent per tonne).
An out-of-pit inferred resource of 1.7 million tonnes grading 0.9 gram gold per tonne, 15.3 grams silver per tonne, 0.35% copper, 0.07% lead, and 2.72% zinc (3.06 grams gold-equivalent per tonne) has also been calculated.
The most recent drilling at Point Leamington expanded a high-grade zinc-gold zone, which remains open at depth. The best intersect was 4.7 metres grading 15.05% zinc, 437 grams gold per tonne, 57.88 grams silver per tonne, and 0.36% copper.
Callinex is also drilling the Superjack and Headway VMS project near the former producing Brunswick #12 mine.
Callinex Mines has a market capitalization of C$43.9 million.
Century Global Commodities
Century Global Commodities (TSX: CNT; US-OTC: CEUMF) is investigating three major iron ore projects in Quebec. The company’s flagship property is the 100%-owned Joyce Lake direct shipping ore (DSO) project. Located about 19 km northeast of Schefferville and straddling the border with Labrador, the project is poised for near-term production, having a completed environmental impact statement and having received major permits.
Century Iron Mines’ Joyce Lake DSO project, approximately 20 km northeast of Schefferville, Quebec. Credit: Century Iron Mines
A 2015 feasibility study on Joyce Lake using an iron ore price of $95 per tonne, outlined an open pit mine life of five to seven years, producing about 2.5 million tonnes of lump and fines product annually. The post-tax net present value (NPV) with an 8% discount rate was C$61.4 million and the internal rate of return (IRR) 13.7%. The capex of C$96.6 million could be paid back in just under five years. Proven and probable reserves stand at 17.7 million tonnes grading 59.7% iron.
A 2015 preliminary economic analysis of Century’s nearby Full Moon taconite project forecast a mine life of more than 30 years. Using the same iron ore price of US$95 per tonne, the study put the NPV (8%) for that mine at $3 billion and the IRR at 12.4%. The initial capex of $7.2 billion could be paid back in 6.3 years. Full Moon has measured and indicated resources of 7.3 billion tonnes grading 30.2% iron, and inferred resources of 8.7 billion tonnes at 29.9% iron.
Last year, Century Global analyzed Joyce Lake and Full Moon as a single undertaking and reported that the post-tax economics were much improved: an NPV (8%) of $766.2 million and an IRR of 75.2%. The project would pay for itself in 1.2 years after the start of production.
At the company’s 100%-owned Duncan Lake magnetite project near Radisson in the James Bay region of Quebec, a PEA completed in 2013 forecast a 20-year life. Using a base case iron ore price of $125 per tonne, the early-stage study outlined a post-tax NPV (8%) of C$2.2 billion and an IRR of 15.9%. Payback of initial capex of C$3.9 billion would take 4.8 years, after taxes.
Century Global is also the sole owner of the Black Bird DSO project 65 km northwest of Schefferville and the Hayot taconite project 20 km north of Schefferville.
Century Global has a market capitalization of about C$17.2 million.
Fjordland Exploration
Fjordland Exploration (TSXV: FEX; US-OTC: FEXXF) is focused on its Renzy nickel-copper project, which it says could become Canada’s next nickel mine. The project is located near Maniwaki, Que., about 290 km northwest of Montreal. The former Renzy mine operated from 1969 to 1972 when 650,000 tonnes were mined and concentrates were sent to Falconbridge in Sudbury, Ontario.
The South Voisey’s Bay property in Labrador. Credit: Fjordland Exploration
The past-producer is known for high-grade intersects such as 10.8 metres of 1.3% nickel and 1.8% copper drilled in 2005. A National Instrument 43-101 compliant resource estimate estimated 51,000 indicated tonnes at 0.78% nickel and 0.72% copper and an inferred resource of 280,000 tonnes grading 0.82% nickel and 0.89% copper.
Fjordland was granted an option in 2020 to earn 100% of Renzy (previously known as Vulcain) by owner Quebec Precious Metals and is particularly interested in the potential to outline large mineralized bodies at depth, deeper than 100 metres below surface.
It has identified three high priority drill targets as having a similar electromagnetic signatures as that from the past-producing Renzy pit area. No modern surveying or drilling has been done south of the shear zone, although a magnetic high similar to the one at the pit has been identified. Based on last year’s virtual time-domain electromagnetic survey, Fjordland plans to drill at Renzy this winter.
The company is also exploring in Labrador at its South Voisey’s Bay project, which is located in an intrusive complex similar to that supporting Vale’s large Voisey’s Bay copper-nickel mine, 80 km to the north. Fjordland says over C$2.8 million has been expended at the project since 2017, and in 2020 the company completed geophysical reinterpretation and conducted a small geophysical survey.
Fjordland optioned 100% of the project from Commander Resources, and then invited High Power Exploration, a private company led by Robert Friedland, to earn a 65% interest in the project.
The company also holds a minority share in the Milligan West copper-gold project in central British Columbia, and earlier this year acquired the Witch copper-gold porphyry project west of Mount Milligan, B.C.
Fjordland Exploration has a market capitalization of C$7.5 million.
FPX Nickel
FPX Nickel’s (TSXV: FPX; US-OTC: FPOCF) flagship is the Decar nickel project in central British Columbia. The Baptiste deposit at the property could support one of the world’s 10 largest nickel mines producing 99 million lb. nickel annually in each of 35 years of production.
The Baptiste nickel deposit area on FPX Nickel’s Decar Nickel District property in central British Columbia. Credit: FPX Nickel
One interesting aspect of the Decar project is that the nickel mineralization occurs as awaruite, a natural nickel-iron alloy containing 75% nickel, 25% iron and no sulphur. The operation could produce both a ferronickel concentrate for the stainless steel market and separate nickel and cobalt sulphates for the electric vehicle (EV) market.
At a cut-off grade of 0.06% Davis tube recoverable (DTR) nickel, the deposit has 2 billion indicated tonnes grading 0.122% DTR nickel for 5.4 million lb. contained metal. The inferred resource is 592.9 million tonnes at 0.114% DTR nickel for 1.5 billion lb. contained nickel.
A preliminary economic assessment completed in 2020 put the pre-production capital requirement at $1.7 billion, followed by sustaining costs of $1.1 billion. The project would pay for itself in four years after taxes and have an all-in sustaining cost of $3.12 per lb. nickel. The project was given an after-tax net present value with an 8% discount rate of $1.7 billion and an internal rate of return of 18.3% using a nickel price of $7.75 per pound.
FPX is moving the Decar open pit project toward a prefeasibility study, including metallurgical testing and pilot testing to optimize production of ferronickel concentrate, nickel sulphate and cobalt sulphate.
Six kilometres north of the Baptiste deposit, FPX has made another discovery at the Van target. The first drill program there, which started last year, returned 101 metres grading 0.15% DTR nickel starting at 27 metres from the surface. Drilling will continue this year.
The company has other exploration projects including Mich in Yukon and Orca, Wal and Klow in British Columbia..
FPX Nickel has a market cap of C$150.5 million.
Noront Resources
Noront Resources (TSXV: NOT; US-OTC: NOSOF) was the target of a heated takeover contest, won by Australian miner Wyloo Metals last year. A shareholder vote on the takeover is slated for mid-March and the acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter. Noront’s assets are located in Ontario’s Ring of Fire, near James Bay. It holds 100% interests in the Eagle’s Nest high-grade nickel-copper-platinum group metals deposit, the Blackbird chromite discovery, and the Black Thor chromite deposit. It also holds a 70% interest in the Big Daddy chromite deposit and a 100% interest in the Black Label deposit.
Noront Resources’ Esker camp in Ontario’s Ring of Fire. Credit: Noront Resources
With so many riches in the ground, there remains much to be settled about the Ring of Fire — Indigenous participation, rail or road access, economic production decisions, and financing. A ferrochrome production facility is under consideration, perhaps in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
Noront has already produced a preliminary economic assessment for the Eagle One deposit (2008), a PEA at McFaulds Lake (2010), a prefeasibility study for Eagle’s Nest (2011), a feasibility study for Eagle’s Nest (2012) and a 43-101 technical report for the Nikka copper-zinc deposit (2020).
The first development in the Ring of Fire will probably be Noront’s Eagle’s Nest project. The feasibility study gave the project an after-tax net present value with an 8% discount rate of C$543 million and an internal rate of return of 28%. A conventional 3,000 tonne per day, blasthole open stope underground mine with paste backfill is planned. Returning the tailings underground as fill means there would be no management facility at surface.
The Eagle’s Nest project has proven and probable reserves of 11.2 million tonnes grading 1.68% nickel, 0.87% copper, 0.89 gram platinum per tonne, and 3.09 grams palladium per tonne. The inferred resource is 9 million tonnes at 1.1% nickel, 1.14% copper, 1.16 grams platinum per tonne, and 3.49 grams palladium per tonne. Production of concentrates containing 34.2 million lb. nickel, 19.2 million lb. copper, 23,470 oz. platinum and 90,022 oz. of palladium annually is planned.
Capital costs were estimated at C$609.4 million with operating costs of C$1.1 billion over the life of the project. The study used metal prices of $9.43 per lb. nickel, $3.60 per lb. copper, $1,600 platinum per ounce, and $599 palladium per ounce.
The decision to begin development on Eagle’s Nest or any other of Noront’s projects in the Ring of Fire is dependent on the new owner.
Noront Resources has a market cap of C$605 million.
UEX Corp
UEX Corp. (TSX: UEX) is focused on northern Saskatchewan’s Athabasca Basin, where it has interests in several advanced exploration stage uranium projects and one wholly owned nickel-cobalt project.
The camp at UEX’s Christie Lake property in northern Saskatchewan. Credit: UEX
The most advanced of UEX’s undertakings is the Horseshoe Raven project between Cameco’s Rabbit Lake and McClean Lake uranium mines. The deposits lie between 100 and 450 metres below surface with no sandstone cover. The company is currently investigating the potential of using heap leach techniques to recover the uranium oxide.
The Horseshoe deposit contains an indicated resource of 5 million tonnes grading 2.15% uranium oxide for 23.6 million lb. contained uranium oxide, and the Raven deposit contains an indicated resource of 5.4 million tonnes at 0.117% for 13.8 million lb. contained uranium oxide.
The company also holds a 66% direct interest (along with joint venture partner JCU Canada) in the Christie Lake uranium project. The property hosts the Paul Bay, Ken Pen and Orora deposits about 9 km northeast of and along strike with Cameco’s MacArthur River uranium mine. With a 0.2% cut-off grade, the three deposits have a total inferred resource of 588,000 tonnes grading 1.57% uranium oxide (U3O8) for 20.35 million lb. contained uranium oxide.
UEX plans 9,000 metres of drilling this winter at Christie Lake to target basement-hosted deposits below, down-dip and down-plunge of the known deposits. The down-dip extension of previous uraniferous holes in the gap zones between the deposits will also be drilled. Targets have been chosen after completion of a structural reinterpretation of the Yalowega trend.
UEX’s cobalt-nickel project, West Bear, was discovered during exploration of the area surrounding the West Bear uranium deposit between 2002 and 2005 in the eastern part of the Athabasca Basin. The West Bear uranium deposit now forms part of UEX’s 100%-owned Hidden Bay project. UEX has spun out CoEX Metals to advance the West Bear cobalt-nickel project.
Previous drilling in one hole at West Bear returned 8 metres grading 4.9% cobalt and 2.08% nickel, and in a second hole, returned 10.5 metres of 2% cobalt and 1.26% nickel. The indicated resource is 1.2 million tonnes grading 0.19% cobalt and 0.21% nickel for 5.1 million lb. contained cobalt and 5.7 million lb. contained nickel. UEX estimates that 87.2% of the cobalt and 78.9% of the nickel is contained within a high-grade core. The deposit is open in all directions and suitable for open pit mining.
The company’s Shea Creek project is located in the western Athabasca Basin, 18 km south of the past-producing Cluff Lake uranium mine. It is a joint venture between UEX (49.1%) and Orano (50.9%). There are four deposits that if combined, form one of the largest undeveloped uranium resources in the region. All four of the deposits remain open for expansion.
Shea Creek hosts an indicated resource of 2.1 million tonnes grading 1.48% uranium oxide for 67.7 million contained lb. uranium oxide, and an inferred resource of 1.3 million tonnes at 1.005% for 28.2 million lb. contained uranium oxide.
UEX Corp. has a market capitalization of C$213.3 million.
