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/131325
REGIONAL NEWS - U.S. & CANADA in Tata's Timmins 4 deposit for C$3 million, payable from ore sales from the deposit. Tata has an option to infuse up to an additional C$25 million into the Howse project in the future to further increase its interest in the Howse deposit to 70%. The Howse deposit is located about 25 km north of Labrador Iron Mines' James mine and Silver Yards processing plant. The deposit has a historical resource of 28 million mt and is part of the company's proposed Stage 3 project, currently expected to be developed in 2020. It is expected that significant cost savings and synergies can be achieved by processing Howse ore through Tata's adjacent Timmins Area plant. Tata's direct shipping ore project has 125 million mt of resources spread over 25 deposits. When fully commissioned this year, the project will have capacity to produce 6 million mt/y of sinter fines. North American Palladium Investing in 2013 Expansion North American Palladium has budgeted C$79 million for capital investment in 2013 toward completion of Phase I of the ongoing expansion at its underground Lac des Iles mine in northern Ontario. The expansion is based on the upper third of reserves in the mine's Offset Zone, which is currently being accessed via ramp from the older, shallower Roby Zone. A shaft is being sunk on the Offset Zone that will allow transition to shaft production during the third quarter of 2013, allowing an increase in the underground mining rate at reduced cash costs/oz. The shaft is initially being sunk to the mine's 825-m level. New mine levels are being completed, and mining stopes are being established. Initial production through the shaft is planned at 3,500 mt/d. Should additional resources be converted to reserves, a second production platform could be established, potentially allowing the underground mining rate to increase to 5,500 mt/d. Initial Offset Zone reserves total 7.7 million mt at a grade of 4.30 g/mt palladium, representing approximately 1.1 million oz of contained palladium. These reserves are all above the mine's 990 level and represent only about one-third of the total Offset Zone measured and indicated resource. However, much of the infrastructure spend associated with developing these reserves is expected to be utilized for additional mining phases in the future. 14 E&MJ; • APRIL 2013 North American Palladium believes there remains significant upside potential from continued exploration at the Lac des Iles property, where a number of surface and underground targets have been identified for follow-up drilling. The Offset Zone remains open to the west, south and at depth, and management is confident that further drilling has a high probability of finding more resources close to the new underground infrastructure. North American Palladium Sells Gold Division: In other news, North American Palladium reported on March 22, 2013, that it had closed the sale of its Quebecbased gold division, NAP Quebec Mines Ltd., to Maudore Minerals Ltd. The sale includes the Vezza mine, the Sleeping Giant mine and mill complex, and a nearby portfolio of exploration properties. The purchase price paid by Maudore consisted of C$18 million in cash and 1.5 million common shares of Maudore, which shares are listed for trading on the TSX Venture Exchange. North American Palladium intends to use the net proceeds from the sale to fund the mine expansion at Lac des Iles. Maudore Chairman Kevin Tomlinson said, "The acquisition of the Sleeping Giant mill and tailings facility run by its highly skilled and experienced work force is truly the most transformative event in the history of our company. With new mining facilities and advanced stage exploration properties contiguous to our existing properties, we now have a total land package of 144,000 ha. This represents the first in a series of planned steps for Maudore to consolidate significant holdings in the prolific northern Abitibi region of Quebec and positions the company to become a leading Canadian gold producer capable of delivering shareholder value through the exploration, development and production of our properties." Financing Question Confronts Mt. Hope General Moly reported on March 20 that its legal counsel had suspended until further notice work on the $665-million term loan that was being negotiated with China Development Bank (CDB) for the development of the Mt. Hope molybdenum project in Eureka County, Nevada. The suspension related to media reports that Liu Han, chairman of Sichuan Hanlong Group, had been detained by Chinese authorities. Hanlong owns a 13% interest in General Moly, and Hanlong or an affiliate is obli- gated to arrange and guarantee the term loan throughout its life. Media reports indicated that Liu Han was being held on suspicion that he helped hide a brother who was a murder suspect. The capture of his brother as a "major murder suspect" was also reported, but no other details were available. General Moly was seeking clarification from Hanlong as to the implications for the company. General Moly CEO Bruce D. Hansen said, "We have been making good progress negotiating the term loan and are disappointed that this work has been suspended until further clarification is received from Hanlong. We hope to re-establish term loan negotiations with Hanlong and CDB in the near-term but will concurrently assess other financing alternatives." General Moly reported on March 8 that early construction activities were progressing as planned at Mt. Hope, including cultural clearance, clearing and grubbing, wood harvesting, and the development of wells and water pipelines. Kautz Environmental Consultants had completed field mitigation activities for all 32 cultural sites identified in the Phase I Cultural Mitigation of the initial construction program. Official releases from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the State Historical Preservation Office had been obtained for 27 of the 32 cultural sites. Ames Construction mobilized in early January and had cleared and grubbed approximately 1,000 acres at the Mt. Hope site in preparation for starting major earthworks. The mine, process plant, and tailings dam areas and associated roads had been substantially cleared. Ames also had begun work on 8 miles of water pipeline to supply construction water from the permitted well field to the plant site. The Mt. Hope project operating company, Eureka Moly LLC, had ordered or purchased most of the project's long-lead milling equipment, haul trucksvand mine production drills, and had entered into a preliminary agreement for the purchase of electric shovels. While equipment procurement was in progress, firm orders for some loading equipment and some other process equipment were awaiting completion of project financing. Mt. Hope is a large, high-grade project that has an expected mine life of more than 40 years. The project is expected to produce about 40 million lb/y of molybdenum in concentrate over its first five years of operations. www.e-mj.com