Engineering & Mining Journal

FEB 2013

Engineering and Mining Journal - Whether the market is copper, gold, nickel, iron ore, lead/zinc, PGM, diamonds or other commodities, E&MJ takes the lead in projecting trends, following development and reporting on the most efficient operating pr

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REGIONAL NEWS - U.S. & CANADA Asian Consortium Takes 15% Stake in ArcelorMittal Mines Canada ArcelorMittal Mines Canada operates two iron ore mines in Quebec, Mont-Wright (shown here) and Fire Lake. Following a recent agreement, a consortium led by POSCO and China Steel will take a 15% share in these assets. (Photo courtesy ArcelorMittal) ArcelorMittal announced on January 2, 2013, an agreement pursuant to which its wholly-owned subsidiary ArcelorMittal Mines Canada and a consortium led by Korean steelmaker POSCO and China Steel Corp. of Taiwan will enter into a joint venture partnership that will own ArcelorMittal's Labrador Trough iron ore mining and infrastructure assets in Quebec. The consortium will acquire a 15% interest in the joint venture for total consideration of $1.1 billion in cash, with ArcelorMittal Mines Canada and its affiliates retaining 85%. As part of the transaction, POSCO and China Steel will enter into long-term iron ore off-take agreements proportionate to their joint venture interests. The transaction is subject to various closing conditions, including regulatory clearance by the Taiwanese government, and is expected to close in two installments in the first and second quarters of 2013. Peter Kukielski, chief executive-mining at ArcelorMittal and a member of the group management board, said, "We are committed to growing ArcelorMittal's mining business. This joint venture incorporating a 8 E&MJ; • FEBRUARY 2013 long-term off-take agreement is consistent with our strategy to forge strategic relationships with key customers as we build our global mining business. The consortium will be an excellent partner as we pursue further expansion at ArcelorMittal Mines Canada." ArcelorMittal Mines Canada operates two large open-pit iron ore mines, MontWright and Fire Lake. The Mont-Wright site is linked by company rail to its PortCartier industrial complex, which includes a pellet plant, storage areas, and port facilities for shipping. The company produces about 15 million mt/y of iron ore concentrate and more than 9 million mt/y of iron oxide pellets. Copper Fox Reports Positive Feasibility for Shaft Creek Copper Fox Metals has announced the results of a positive feasibility study for the Schaft Creek open-pit copper-molybdenum-gold-silver project in northwestern British Columbia. The project has a nominal 130,000-mt/d milling capacity over a 21-year mine life. Initial capital costs to develop the project are estimated at C$3.256 billion, which includes contingencies of $374 million. The Shaft Creek project's life-of-mine average annual production of metal in concentrates is estimated at 105,000 mt/y copper, 10.2 million lb/y molybdenum, 201,000 oz/y gold, and 1.2 million oz/y silver. Based on drill data through May 23, 2012, proven and probable mineral reserves at Schaft Creek total 940.8 million mt containing 5.6 billion lb of copper, 363.5 million lb of molybdenum, 5.7 million oz of gold, and 51.7 million oz of silver. Metal grades in the proven and probable reserves are 0.27% copper, 0.0176% molybdenum, 0.19 g/mt gold, and 1.72 g/mt silver. Mining of the Schaft Creek deposit is planned as a conventional truck-shovel open-pit operation. Ore from the pit will be conveyed to the process plant approximately 8 km northeast of the pit. Ore processing will utilize a conventional grinding and flotation circuit to produce a highquality copper concentrate with significant gold and silver credits and a separate molybdenum concentrate. Trucks will transport the copper concentrate to the port facility at Stewart, British Columbia, and the molybdenum concentrate to the Fairview Terminals in Prince Rupert, British Columbia. The Schaft Creek feasibility study outlines a five-year development period based on the following schedule: permitting completed June 2014; engineering completed February 2016; access road construction completed March 2016; construction Phase I completed July 2019 and Phase II March 2020; and commercial production Phase I start December 2019 and Phase II August 2020. Copper Fox is currently preparing the Province of British Columbia Environmental Assessment (EA) Application and a Federal Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The company anticipates submitting the EA Application and EIS as early as the third quarter of 2013. The Schaft Creek deposit has 171.16 million mt of inferred resources within the pit shell, grading 0.25% copper, 0.018% molybdenum, 0.164 g/mt gold, and 1.58 g/mt silver. For purposes of the feasibility study, these resources were treated as www.e-mj.com

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