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Hudbay’s Pampacancha to reach production in 2021 – CEO

Amanda Stutt | July 24, 2020

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Hudbay’s Constancia in Peru is the lowest cost open-pit sulphide copper mine in South America. The property also includes Pampacancha, a high-grade satellite copper deposit.

Hudbay expected to start mining the Pampacancha satellite deposit in late 2020, but restrictions imposed to fight the coronavirus pandemic limited the government’s ability to consult with a local indigenous community, Kukielski said in February.

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He also said Hudbay is aggressively advancing development of the Pampacancha deposit, and is expected to be in production early in 2021.

“It utilizes Constancia’s infrastructure and when it is in full production we expect to produce over 100,000 tonnes of copper from our Peru business,” he said.

Constancia on its own produced 113,825 tonnes of copper in 2019.

Donald Trump Jr. calls for blocking giant Pebble mine

Cecilia Jamasmie | August 5, 2020

Opponents of Northern Dynasty Minerals’ (TSX: NDM) proposed Pebble copper-gold-molybdenum mine in Alaska found a new ally on Tuesday, as US President’s son Donald Jr. took to Twitter to oppose the project supported by his father’s administration.

Trump Jr. said he “100%” agreed with Vice President Mike Pence’s former chief of staff, Nick Ayers, in opposing the mine.

“The headwaters of Bristol Bay and the surrounding fishery are too unique and fragile to take any chances with,” the President’s first-born son tweeted.

His comments come less than two weeks after Northern Dynasty secured a final environmental impact review from the Army Corps of Engineers for the mine.
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The Bristol Bay area, where the mine would be located, is the world’s largest commercial sockeye salmon-producing region. Opponents of the project have long feared its discharges could contaminate local waters, causing irreparable damage to the aquatic habitat.
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Northern Dynasty announces mineral resource estimate of Pebble project

22 August 2020

Alaska mine developer Northern Dynasty has announced the results of an updated mineral resource estimate for its Pebble copper, gold and molybdenum deposit in the Bristol Bay region in south-west Alaska, US.

Covering a large area on the state-owned land designated as a potential site for mineral exploration and development, the Pebble deposit is a greenfield project.

The project is being developed by the Pebble Partnership, a subsidiary of Northern Dynasty.

Studies of the mineral resources at Pebble confirmed that the deposit also comprises quantities of Rhenium.
Rhenium is a metal that has uses in the defence sector, making it a critical material for the US. The metal is used in jet engines and other military applications. It is also used for producing high-octane fuels.

The Pebble deposit is now estimated to contain 2.6 million kilograms of rhenium, 57 billion pounds of copper, 71Moz of gold, 3.4 billion pounds of molybdenum, as well as 345Moz of silver.

Northern Dynasty president and CEO Ron Thiessen said: “Certainly the US military has identified Rhenium as a critical mineral, and one the United States must develop additional domestic production of in order to enhance its military security.

“The development of Alaska’s Pebble Project would clearly go a long way toward filling that gap, while also addressing substantial US domestic supply deficits for other critical minerals – notably copper and silver.”

The Pebble deposit will not only be able to produce base and precious metals, but also a critical mineral required by the US for securing military dominance.

Earlier this week, Northern Dynasty revealed that the Alaska Republican Party officially passed a resolution in support of the responsible development of the Pebble mine.

The mine has been controversial since it was first proposed. In July last year, Northern Dynasty announced that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) withdrew its proposed restrictions on mining operations in Bristol Bay.

This move came after the agency reconsidered an Obama-era decision that suspended development on the deposit citing concerns it could harm Alaska’s salmon fishing industry.

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Given that total rhenium resources in the US are currently estimated at 5 million kg, Pebble’s total endowment would represent an 84% increase to the nation’s known rhenium resource base.

According to the USGS, about 8,400 kg of rhenium was produced across six domestic operations last year, and the US imported an additional 39,000 kg of the metal, which is often recovered as a byproduct through treatment of molybdenum concentrates at mines developed on porphyry copper deposits like Pebble.

As a significant deposit of rhenium on US soil, development of the Pebble resource will materially advance the nation’s goal of achieving self-sufficiency in the critical minerals needed to support and sustain its economic growth, military security, manufacturing industries and transition to a lower carbon future, Northern Dynasty said.

La production de rhénium est utilisée aux trois quarts pour la fabrication de superalliages pour les turbines, principalement aéronautiques (voir en:Rhenium#Alloys dans la Wikipédia anglophone). Dans son initiative Matières premières (2008), la Commission européenne a déclaré que « les superalliages au rhénium sont un élément indispensable dans la production d'aéronefs modernes[12] »

Paving the way in Botswana for Khoemacau copper project

Aug 28, 2020



Tackling the demanding conditions of Botswana’s Kalahari Desert, Concor Infrastructure is nearing completion of a 35 km access road for the Khoemacau copper silver starter project.

The Khoemacau copper project, located in the central Kalahari copper belt some 65 km south-west of Maun, is developing underground operations at its flagship Zone 5 deposit. The mine plan involves three adjacent underground mines at Zone 5, each producing over 1.2 Mtpa in their first five years of production.

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The Khoemacau starter project expects to produce 62 000 t of copper and 1.9 Moz of silver each year over its planned life of more than 20 years.

Covid-19 : flambée des prix du cuivre sur fond de déficit de l’offre et d’augmentation de la demande

Agence Ecofin 4 sept 2020

Le cuivre a atteint 6 800 $ la tonne cette semaine et la hausse pourrait continuer selon plusieurs analystes. Le déficit de l’offre, induit par une hausse brutale de la demande chinoise et une production en baisse, constitue le moteur de cette situation qui devrait profiter à la RDC et à la Zambie.

Le cuivre s’est négocié cette semaine à 6 800 $ la tonne sur les marchés mondiaux, soit son plus haut niveau depuis deux ans. Selon plusieurs analystes relayés par Bloomberg, la tendance haussière du métal rouge devrait se poursuivre dans les prochaines semaines, notamment en raison d’une baisse de l’offre mondiale.

Cela se justifie, apprend-on, par une demande accrue en provenance de Chine, premier consommateur mondial, dont l’économie se relève de la pandémie de Covid-19. La reprise économique dans l’empire du Milieu s’est en effet accompagnée d’un achat massif de cuivre, alors même que l’offre n’a pas encore retrouvé ses niveaux d’avant la crise. Les mines d’Amérique latine, qui fournissent la majeure partie de la production mondiale, ne sont pas encore pleinement opérationnelles, après les restrictions liées au coronavirus.

« C’est comme si nous entrions dans une période où il n’y a tout simplement pas assez de cuivre […], car la Chine absorbe tout », explique George Daniel, gestionnaire de fonds chez Red Kite Capital Management, précisant que le métal pourrait atteindre bientôt 7 500 $ la tonne. Les experts de Citigroup vont même plus loin, prévoyant 8 000 $ si l’offre mondiale ne comble pas rapidement la demande.

Alors que la plupart des opérations minières en Afrique fonctionnent sans perturbations depuis le début de l’année, la hausse des prix du cuivre est une bonne nouvelle. La RDC et la Zambie, principaux producteurs africains, mais aussi la Namibie ou l’Afrique du Sud, devraient augmenter leurs recettes d’exportation dans ce secteur.

Freeport Indonesia expects sales jump after transition to underground mine at Grasberg

Reuters | September 4, 2020


Grasberg mine in Indonesia (Credit: Freeport)

Freeport Indonesia expects its annual copper and gold sales to jump next year as it transitions to operating in its underground mine, CEO Tony Wenas told a virtual conference on Friday.

Freeport Indonesia expects this year’s copper and gold sales to be lower than usual at 0.77 billion lbs and 0.82 million ounces respectively.

When it transitions to an underground mine, however, sales of copper in 2021 are expected to jump to 1.4 billion lbs while gold sales are expected to increase to 1.4 million ounces, Wenas said.

Freeport Indonesia, operator of Grasberg, the world’s second-biggest copper mine, is on track shift to all-underground mining by 2022.

Freeport’s Grasberg go-go days back as gold, copper prices rally

Frik Els | September 10, 2020



Phoenix-based Freeport McMoRan’s (NYSE:FCX) iconic Grasberg mine in the Papua province of Indonesia will become an entirely underground operation in a little over a year – nearly doubling copper and gold output in the process.

Freeport Indonesia (PT-FI) expects this year’s copper and gold sales to be lower than usual at 0.77 billion pounds (350kt) and 820,000 ounces, CEO Tony Wenas told investors last week, but said that figure will jump to 1.4 billion pounds (635kt) and 1.4 million ounces next year.

At full tilt in 2022, the Grasberg complex will produce 1.55 billion pounds (703kt) of copper and 1.6 million ounces of gold per year, which at today’s prices are worth $7.9 billion.

Freeport CEO Richard Adkerson pointed out during the company’s Q2 conference call that at full production, Grasberg is the globe’s largest gold mine, even though the gold is a byproduct:

“The high grades of copper combined with this gold component make Grasberg one of the mining industry’s truly most valuable fabulous assets in its history.

“As gold prices approximate $1,800 an ounce, revenues from gold are projected to completely offset the total cost of production at Grasberg.”

With gold predicted to scale $2,000 again (futures advanced to $1,975 on Thursday) in the not too distant future and silver credits at the mine also growing nicely, Adkerson’s praise of Grasberg may turn out not to be all that fulsome.

Copper’s 50% rally since March to top $3.00 a pound coupled with gold’s record-breaking run has seen Freeport’s stock triple in just six months for a market value of $23.4 billion.

Plenty P&P
Mined since the 1967 by Freeport, during its heyday in the early 2000s the complex located in the remote Sudiman mountains, hit peak production of 3.5 million ounces of gold and 1.9 billion pounds of copper (861kt).

Discovered in 1938 by a Dutch geologist, the Ertsberg (ore mountain) skarn and porphyry systems are still being exploited today as part of the DMLZ underground mine and are expected to produce through 2041.

Grasberg’s proven and probable reserves estimate at its four producing mines and one undeveloped mine at end-2019 was pegged at 46.4 million ounces of gold, 18.9 million tonnes of copper, and 291 million ounces of silver.

At ruling prices, the in-situ value of the contained metals tallies up to $228 billion, second only to Escondida in Chile.

After years of wrangling, majority ownership of Grasberg was transferred to the Indonesian government at the end of 2018, reducing Freeport’s stake to just shy of 49%.

Under the deal, Freeport’s economic interest in its Indonesian operations is pegged at 81.3% through 2022. Mining rights are extended to 2041, subject to Freeport building a new smelter in the Asian nation.

Zambie : les ressources minérales de la mine de cuivre Kansanshi dépassent les 900 millions de tonnes

Agence Ecofin 16 sept 2020

En Zambie, selon une mise à jour publiée le 17 septembre par First Quantum, les ressources mesurées et indiquées du projet Kansanshi totalisent désormais 939,6 millions de tonnes. Une augmentation qui conforte la société dans ses plans d’agrandir la mine afin d’en augmenter la capacité de production.

Les ressources minérales et les réserves de la mine de cuivre ont augmenté respectivement de 70 % et 40 % pour atteindre 842,7 millions de tonnes titrant 0,64 % de cuivre et 939,6 millions de tonnes à une teneur de 0,67 % en cuivre. C’est ce qui ressort d’une nouvelle mise à jour de ressources, publiée cette semaine par le propriétaire First Quantum Minerals. La compagnie minière précise avoir obtenu ces résultats grâce à 1,5 million de mètres de forages réalisés depuis la dernière estimation de 2015.

Il faut souligner qu’avec ces nouveaux chiffres, la mine dispose maintenant d’une durée de vie de 24 ans, avec la possibilité d’augmenter de 25 millions de tonnes la capacité annuelle de l’usine de traitement. Cela conforte la société dans son intention d’investir pour agrandir la mine. Elle a déjà lancé le projet en 2013, mais a interrompu les travaux en raison des conditions du marché à l’époque et de l’environnement fiscal difficile.

First Quantum espère désormais obtenir les autorisations nécessaires et démarrer les travaux en 2023. Les installations agrandies, comprenant également une fonderie plus performante, entreront toutes en production en 2024 grâce à l’investissement de 650 millions $.

Rappelons qu’en dehors de Kansanshi, First Quantum Minerals exploite en Zambie la mine de cuivre Sentinel. Elle vise cette année une production comprise entre 755 000 et 805 000 tonnes de cuivre.

Phase one of three, Kakula, could be up and running in less than a year and according to the definitive feasibility study, (DFS) will average 284,000 tonnes of copper per year for the first 10 years, processing 6.2% Cu ore at a pedestrian pace of only 6 million tonnes per annum.

The expanded Kamoa-Kakula will have a run rate of just over half a million tonnes copper in the first decade at 5.1% Cu grade and at peak production returns 805,000 tonnes of copper per year, processing 19 million tonnes of ore per year at an eye-watering 7% Cu grade.

RDC : Ivanhoe Mines va doubler plus tôt que prévu la capacité de son usine de traitement au projet de cuivre Kakula

Agence Ecofin 23 sept 2020

En RDC, Ivanhoe Mines a commandé à l’avance certains équipements destinés à doubler dès le deuxième trimestre 2022, la capacité de l’usine de traitement de la mine de cuivre Kakula. En réduisant d’environ neuf mois le délai initial, la compagnie entend profiter du déficit attendu de l’offre.

En RDC, la direction de la compagnie minière Ivanhoe Mines a approuvé la commande immédiate de certains équipements nécessaires à la future usine de traitement de la mine de cuivre Kakula. Alors que l’installation devait doubler sa capacité de traitement annuelle seulement au troisième trimestre 2023 (7,6 millions de tonnes contre 3,8 millions actuellement), cette décision permettra d’obtenir le même résultat au plus tard fin juin 2022, afin de profiter du déficit d’approvisionnement attendu sur le marché.

« Plusieurs observateurs avisés croient fermement que le cuivre se rapproche de plus en plus d’un écart important entre l’offre et la demande avec une quantité de cuivre produite dans le monde largement inférieure à la demande […]. Nous voulons donc nous assurer que le projet Kamoa-Kakula atteigne aussi vite que possible son meilleur potentiel de production à court terme », explique Robert Friedland, co-président exécutif de la compagnie.

Notons que les travaux de construction de la mine avancent selon le calendrier avec une entrée en phase de production du gisement Kakula prévue pour le troisième trimestre 2021.

Ivanhoe Mines veut faire du projet Kamoa-Kakula la deuxième plus grande mine de cuivre en production au monde, avec une livraison annuelle de 740 000 tonnes de cuivre dès la douzième année d’exploitation.

Taseko advances Florence permitting in Arizona

Canadian Mining Journal Staff | September 22, 2020


Construction of the Florence Copper production test facility. Image courtesy of Taseko Mines

Taseko Mines’ Florence copper project in Arizona received strong support at a public hearing held by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ), which is part of the process required to obtain an Aquifer Protection permit (APP), the company has announced.

According to Russell Hallbauer, Taseko’s CEO and director, “30 interested parties spoke at the hearing, communicating great support for the company and the project, with only one individual not in favour. The ADEQ heard loud and clear that the community wants this project to advance to commercial production.”

Hallbauer added that Taseko has worked to inform the community about the safeguards in place at Florence and about the environmental benefits of the in-situ copper extraction process, done using a water-based solution, proposed for the project.

“The extensive data collected from 18 months of operating the test facility is proof that the process works, both from a technical perspective as well as environmentally.”

The ADEQ will continue to take written submissions for three weeks, until Oct. 12, before a final permit is written and issued.

Taseko envisions a two-phase development for the wholly owned Florence copper project, located midway between Tucson and Phoenix. The first production test facility, with 24 wells and a solvent extraction and electrowinning plant, has been operating since December 2018, to generate copper cathode. A commercial-scale facility would follow, with the permitting process aimed at transitioning the project into the second phase – this would include an expanded wellfield and plant.

According to a third-party technical report from 2019, the Florence copper commercial facility would produce an average of 85 million lb. of copper annually at a cost of $1.13 per lb. over a 20-year life.

In addition to the Aquifer Protection permit, Taseko is working towards an Underground Injection Control permit for Florence from the Environmental Protection Agency. The company expects to have the final permits in hand by early 2021.

Zambie : EMR Capital veut des allègements fiscaux pour procéder à l’agrandissement de la mine de cuivre Lubambe

Agence Ecofin 2 oct 2020

EMR Capital a publié les résultats d’une étude de cadrage devant permettre à terme d’atteindre annuellement une production de 160 000 tonnes de cuivre à sa mine zambienne Lubambe. Cependant, elle ne pourra mobiliser les fonds nécessaires (1 milliard $) qu’après l’obtention d’allègements fiscaux.

Lubambe Copper Mine Limited, filiale zambienne de la société EMR Capital, a annoncé le 1er septembre, une étude de cadrage pour étendre la capacité de production de la mine de cuivre Lubambe. Les résultats ont montré que le projet pourra livrer annuellement dans sa première phase 90 000 tonnes de cuivre avant qu’un agrandissement ne porte ce chiffre à 160 000 tonnes.

Si la société a encore plusieurs étapes à franchir, comme l’étude de préfaisabilité, elle attend un soutien du gouvernement zambien afin d’atteindre son objectif final. Selon des informations relayées par Reuters, la double imposition actuellement en vigueur dans le régime fiscal zambien constitue un handicap à l’investissement de 1 milliard $ nécessaire à ce projet. EMR Capital souhaite donc, en plus des approbations réglementaires, un certain nombre d’allègements fiscaux.

Pour rappel, Lubambe est une mine souterraine actuellement en production dans la province du Copperbelt. Elle héberge une ressource minérale de 235 millions de tonnes titrant 3,7 % de cuivre et est détenue à 20 % par le gouvernement zambien via la ZCCM-IH, le reste appartenant à EMR Capital.