On 1 February a European consortium launched a new Horizon 2020 project: Blue Nodules. This project addresses the challenge of creating a viable and sustainable value chain to retrieve polymetallic nodules from the ocean floor. It will develop and test new highly-automated and sustainable technologies for deep-sea mining with minimal environmental pressures.The technical side of the...Read More
LONDON/NEW YORK/ASIA, 5 February, 2016 - Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP's Global Project Finance group has been recognized by Project Finance International (PFI) for five separate transactions at the PFI Awards Dinner held in London on Feb. 3. The awards dinner gathered the most senior and successful market professionals to celebrate industry excellence.The firm acted as counsel in the fo...Read More
Energy, mining, and utilities workers across the world are the least happy in their jobs, a new study published this week shows.TinyPulse, an HR service that attempts to prevent employees burnout, looked at over 500,000 survey responses from over 60,000 employees in 13 different industries worldwide.According to the results, the top three happiest industries last year were Consumer Products & Serv...Read More
English researchers at the University of Exeter have developed a new, inexpensive method to uncover copper deposits.Dr Ben Williamson, of the university's Camborne School of Mines, and Dr Richard Herrington from the London Natural History Museum, worked together to develop the new technique, which they say could become a very cost-effective way of discovering porphyry-type copper deposits.These ki...Read More
Mining stocks were soaring Thursday following a disappointing report on US services sector growth released Wednesday and comments from a top Federal Reserve official suggesting concern over rising economic risks.As the US dollar continued to sink, investors turned to assets considered more stable, such as gold and other metals, which boosted stocks across the mining sector.One of the biggest winne...Read More
Canadian miner Centerra Gold (TSX:CG) can finally proceed with plans for developing its 1.6-million ounce Gatsuurt gold deposit near its Boroo Mine, Mongolia's parliament ruled Thursday.The decision, which comes after five years of negotiations, grants Centerra a 66% ownership in the project, with the government of Mongolia holding the remaining 34% of equity.The approval also follows an agreeme...Read More
From its peak in 2011 to the beginning of 2016, the global mining sector has gone through a wrenching 90% reduction in global market capitalization, wiping out an estimated US$1.5 trillion. Following the sub-prime mortgage crisis, the International Monetary Fund estimated that financial institutions around the world ultimately lost US$1.5 trillion directly or indirectly from their holdings of subp...Read More
State-owned Indian firm KIOCL may invest an initial $59 million to build an iron ore pellet complex in Iran, with the objective of offering cheaper supplies of the processed material to Iranian steel mills.The company is also negotiating the sale of more than 2 million tonnes of seaborne to the Gulf country now free from trade sanctions, Reuters reports.Iran is said to have more than $10 billion...Read More
In its pre-budget submission to the Government of Canada, the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) outlines its priorities for Federal Budget 2016 to support Canada's mineral exploration and development sector. The PDAC recommends the Government take action to improve the flow of capital to the junior exploration sector, and address the infrastructure deficit in northern and remot...Read More
Caserones, a copper mine in northern Chile property of Japan's top smelter, JX Nippon Mining & Metals, will have to pay $10.8 million for breaching conservational rules, an environmental court has ruled (in Spanish).The fine, the second-highest the country's environmental authority -SMA- has ever imposed, was set in March last year, after the regulator found a number of infractions at the mine. T...Read More
Anglo American's shrinking market value could eject the global miner from London's blue-chip equity index at the next reshuffle in March, potentially triggering a broader sell-off.Plunging commodity prices last year shrank Anglo's market capitalisation to $5.6 billion (3.9 billion pounds) as its shares fell 76 percent to record lows in 2015, making it the worst performer in the benchmark FTSE 100...Read More
Prospectors are an optimistic bunch. But that optimism is being severely tested in a global economy that's dragging down commodities and Canadian mineral prices, Carl Schulze of All-Terrane Mineral Exploration Services said January 25 at the Mineral Exploration Roundup at Canada Place.Schulze, a geoscientist based in Whitehorse, Yukon, helps mining firms find gold and other metals and minerals acr...Read More
South Africa's Sibanye Gold (JSE:SGL) (NYSE:SBGL) is actively considering acquisitions as the miner seeks to take advantage of its strong current position and the weakness of most competitors.The company's shares have performed exceptionally so far this year. They are up 55% in Johannesburg and 46% in New York, after hitting a record intraday high on Jan. 28, helped in part by a weak rand that has...Read More
Canada's Royal Nickel Corp RNX.TO, capitalizing on discount asset prices as commodity markets swoon, announced two cash and stock acquisitions on Monday that transform the mine developer into a cash-generating nickel, copper and gold producer.Royal Nickel Chief Executive Mark Selby said the company will acquire a 67 percent stake in Australia's privately-held Salt Lake Mining Pty, in a deal worth...Read More
Toronto Ontario, Feb 1, 2016 - Nautilus Minerals Inc. (TSX:NUS, OTCQX:NUSMF, OTC:NUSMF Nasdaq Intl Designation) (the "Company" or "Nautilus") announces that the Solwara 1 Joint Venture (comprising Nautilus 85% and Eda Kopa (Solwara) Limited 15%) has taken delivery of the three Seafloor Production Tools ("SPTs") from Soil Machine Dynamics Limited's ("SMD") facility in Newcastle upon Tyne.The three...Read More
Beleaguered Anglo American (LON:ALL) is said to be planning a complete exit from Brazil, where the company has already put its $1 billion niobium and phosphate business up for sale.First-round bids for those assets are due on Feb. 15, date that - reports local newspaper O'Globo (in Portuguese) - may bring some major surprises. According to veteran columnist Angelmo Gois, Anglo is also seeking to s...Read More
Courtesy of: Visual CapitalistClick here for a larger version of this infographic.In the past, we've published visuals of the biggest public companies in each U.S. state, as well as the largest oil and gas companies in the world.Today's post, however, shows the largest companies by revenue in each U.S. State. (Note: the graphic says 2015 revenue, but we believe it meant to say 2014 revenue as many...Read More
Dr. Thomas Hillig, CEO of THEnergy, participated in and presented at the Energy and Mines Summit that took place in London on January 28 and 29, 2016. More than 200 delegates from the mining, renewable energy and finance sectors attended this event. THEnergy is a German-based consulting company specializing in renewable energy solutions for the mining industry, and it tries to bridge the gap betwe...Read More
Tiny Aston Bay Holdings (BAY-V), a junior with a copper-zinc project in Nunavut, seized the market's attention today by announcing a preliminary joint-venture deal with the world's largest mining company.According to the exclusive letter of intent, BHP Billiton would pay a minimum of $40 million in exploration expenditures over 9 years - including $2.5 million within 2 years of signing a final d...Read More
Teck Metals Ltd. is expected to be hit with substantial fines after the company admits in court next week to causing pollution in Trail, in southeast B.C.The provincial court registry shows Teck, which operates the largest lead-zinc smelter in the world in the small town on the banks of the Columbia River, intends to plead guilty Monday to 15 charges.The charges, which follow an investigation by E...Read More