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
Issue link: https://emj.epubxp.com/i/822333
REGIONAL NEWS - U.S. & CANADA 10 E&MJ; • MAY 2017 www.e-mj.com vestment company focused on the min- ing and metals value chain with a strong track record of successful investments and value creation. Peak and its part- ners, Appian Natural Resources Fund and International Finance Corp. (a divi- sion of the World Bank), are developing the Ngualla Project in Tanzania into a low cost next generation rare earth project. Imperial Becomes Sole Owner of Huckleberry Huckleberry Mines Ltd. has exercised its right of first refusal to purchase for cancel- lation all the shares of Huckleberry held by a syndicate comprised of Mitsubishi Materials Corp., Dowa Metals & Mining Co., Ltd., and Furukawa Co., Ltd., in ex- change for cash consideration of $2 mil- lion. The transaction is expected to close during April and will result in Imperial Metals Corp. holding 100% of the shares of Huckleberry through HML Mining Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Imperial. Huckleberry has retained a core group of mine personnel and has kept the mine on care and maintenance since Septem- ber 2016. As a result, the mine could resume operations quickly. Management has also been reviewing a number of al- ternate mine plans that would further en- hance the mine's operating performance and potentially extend the mine life. Recent exploration on the Whiting Creek prospect, located just north of the mine continued to expand the potential of this large area of porphyry mineralization. Drilling has also confirmed the potential to expand the Main Zone, which hosts the probable reserves that are included in the current mine plan. Huckleberry said it will conduct a comprehensive review of the ex- ploration potential of the entire property. Victoria Gold Nearing Construction Start at Eagle Gold Project in Yukon Victoria Gold has awarded JDS Energy & Mining in partnership with Hatch the EPCM contact for its Eagle open-pit, heap leach gold project in central Yukon, Cana- da. Initial work is directed toward advanc- ing engineering to enable a start to site construction activities. Victoria has also entered into an ex- clusive agreement with Finning (Canada) for the supply a fleet of Caterpillar min- ing equipment for the Eagle project, in- cluding two 6040 FS hydraulic shovels, eleven 150-ton-capacity 785D off-high- way trucks, and various auxiliary mining equipment. The total cost of the new fleet will be approximately $50 million. Deliv- ery is expected between late 2017 and the third quarter of 2018. Victoria and Finning (Canada) have further agreed to identify opportunities to employ used auxiliary Caterpillar equip- ment at the project. The Eagle project feasibility study supports development of a mine produc- ing an average of about 200,000 oz/y of gold over an 11-year mine life, with ex- pansion potential. Proven and probable reserves total 2.7 million oz in 123 mil- lion mt at a grade of 0.67 g/mt gold. Initial capital expenditures to develop the Eagle project are estimated at C$370 million, and all-in sustaining costs of pro- duction are estimated at $638/oz. The project already holds all major permits for construction and operation, and a "Coop- eration Benefits Agreement" is in place with the local First Nation. Victoria Gold has budgeted C$6.2 million for its Phase 1 2017 exploration program, with approximately half of the spending to be focused on the rapidly developing Olive-Shamrock deposit, a high-grade satellite to the Eagle project. The company will continue step-out and definition drilling at Olive-Shamrock, with the intention of expanding the known, near-surface, minable tonnage along the mineralized shear zone. Additionally, five first order targets along the 13-km-plus Po- tato Hills trend will be tested during 2017. In addition to their geological potential, these targets are each proximal to Eagle and largely accessible by existing roads. South32 Earning Into Trilogy's Alaska Assets Trilogy Metals has signed an agreement with South32 Ltd. that grants South32 an option to form a 50:50 joint venture with respect to Trilogy's assets in the Am- bler mining district in northwest Alaska. South32 must contribute a minimum of $10 million each year for a maximum of three years to keep the option in good standing and may exercise its option at any time to form the 50:50 joint venture. To subscribe for 50% of the joint venture, South32 must contribute a minimum of $150 million, plus any amounts Trilogy spends at the Arctic project over the next three years to a maximum of $5 million per year, less an amount of the initial funding contributed by South32. Trilogy Metals was formerly known as NovaCopper. The name change was effec- tive September 8, 2016. Trilogy's explo- ration efforts in the Ambler district have focused on the high-grade, polymetallic Arctic deposit and the Bornite carbonate replacement deposit, both located within the company's land package of approxi- mately 143,000 ha. South32's initial funding of $10 mil- lion for Trilogy projects in 2017 is being spent on exploration at the Bornite pro- ject to test the extension of high-grade copper at the deposit. Trilogy is undertaking a pre-feasibility study (PFS) of the Arctic deposit with com- pletion scheduled for the first quarter of 2018. The deposit hosts copper-zinc-lead- gold-silver mineralization at an average grade of 6% copper equivalent and has the potential to be mined as an open-pit. The Huckleberry mine in British Columbia was placed on care and maintenance during September 2016.