Adavale Resources has commenced mobilisation of a multi-purpose reverse circulation diamond drill rig following completion of the 9 recent HEM surveys conducted over the company’s Kabanga and Luhuma Nickel Projects located within the East African Nickel Belt of Tanzania.
The drill program will initially focus on 7 high-priority nickel target areas within the Kabanga North-East/Luhuma extension, Kabanga East and Kabanga West Licences. The program will be subject to ongoing refinement based on drill results, field assessments and the final processed data from the HEM contractor.
“I’m very pleased that having completed the recent comprehensive geophysical survey work, the company is now entering into a very exciting phase of drill testing multiple targets. We are preparing for a highly active exploration period in the December quarter and expect a similar level of regular updates to the market.” said Adavale’s Executive Director, David Riekie.
Adavale’s Technical Director, John Hicks stated that the company’s initial high-priority target drill program will focus on 7 broad target areas which encompass the HEM survey areas 1 to 4 and 7 to 9.The drill rig will initially mobilise to Kabanga West to evaluate the HEM areas 7-9, which are on a similar latitude to our neighbor’s 58Mt @ 2.62% Ni, Kabanga Nickel deposit.
“We will remain flexible to ongoing adjustments to the drill program based on ongoing field assessment of drill locations, drill results and the receipt of all final processed HEM survey data from the contractor, which is due over the coming weeks. Interpretation and modelling of the HEM data therefore remains ongoing at this point.
HEM survey area plan showing broad internal target areas and the location of the Kabanga nickel sulphide deposits and associated mafic intrusions
“We plan to test a number of anomalies identified within the broader target areas with diamond drill holes up to 500m deep, typically targeted at deeper coincident gravity and EM anomalies. Shallower RC holes may be drilled into individual gravity anomalies, to confirm the presence of prospective mafic-ultramafic bodies at depth. Down hole electromagnetic (DHEM) surveys will be performed on most holes to aid ongoing drill targeting.” he added.
The current drilling program is scheduled to continue over the 3-month period to December 2022 and be reviewed for ongoing refinement and reassessment including extensions to the program, based on results and additional drill target locations.
IAMGOLD Corporation has filed a technical report for the long life Côté Gold project in Canada which is expected to commence production in early 2024.
In 2019, SLR prepared an updated Côté Mineral Resource estimate which included the incorporation of additional drilling and updated mineralization wireframes, recognized local grade trends, eliminated the Fault domain, and used a new classification approach. Côté Measured and Indicated Resources total 365.5 million tonnes (Mt) at an average grade of 0.87 g/t Au, containing 10.20 million ounces (Moz) Au.
An additional 189.6 Mt at an average grade of 0.63 g/t Au, containing 3.82 Moz Au are estimated in the Inferred Mineral Resource category. The Mineral Resources are estimated at a 0.3 g/t Au cut-off grade, based on a gold price of US$1,500/oz Au, and have an effective date of December 19, 2019.
Exploration Status Exploration programs to date have identified the Côté and the Gosselin deposits and have evaluated several nearby gold showings for their potential to be bulk-mineable gold deposits. Exploration programs to date have been sufficient to screen many areas for the presence of a Côté-style deposit, with grid line spacing and general traverse spacing of <200 m (some areas <100 m spacing for traverse/grid line density). Litho-sampling and geological mapping is representative over much of the property land holdings, with some exceptions where glacial till and lacustrine deposits form thick mantles on the bedrock.
In areas of thick overburden, induced polarization (IP) geophysical surveys and diamond drilling has helped screen these overburden-covered areas.
Capital costs spent on the Project prior to May 1, 2022, amount to $1,057 million. IAMGOLD has forecasted capital expenditures of $1,908 million for the remaining pre-production period. An additional $1,136 million of sustaining capital is estimated during the LOM.
Mining Method Pit optimization parameters, financial assumptions, pit-shell selection, and mining dilution and recovery factors remain unchanged from 2018. The current Mineral Reserves are based on an updated mine design which optimizes pit phasing, ramp location, and waste stripping, resulting in negligible changes to Mineral Reserves compared to the previous estimate, and small reductions in waste.
Production Schedule Pre-production commenced with contractor works in Q1 2021 consisting of overburden removal, supply of material for construction, and initial bench establishment. Contractor mining will continue for a period of two years until Q2 2023. In parallel, delivery and assembly of autonomous equipment has begun and owner mining will commence in Q1 2023. Mechanical completion, first gold, and commercial production are planned in Q4 2023.
Related: IAMGOLD reviews evaluation options for Rosebel The Côté deposit is planned to be mined in five phases included within the ultimate pit limit. The scheduling constraints establish the maximum mining capacity at 70 Mtpa and the maximum number of benches mined per year at eight in each phase. Additional constraints were used to guide the schedule and to obtain the desired results.
The company says that the project may still experience further increases in capital expenditures, although given the stage of advancement, the risk is reduced. In addition, construction and permitting delays could result in a prolonged schedule and increased project costs, and delay impacting mining activity or commissioning of the mill plant, which ultimately could impact the timing of production.
Similarly, yet for different reasons, copper mining is also important, with experts forecasting major shortages in the years ahead. This is despite copper’s recycle value being quite high, where premium-grade scrap is said to have circa 95% of the value of the primary metal from newly mined ore.
Lithium mining projects are complex to manage, and often come in over-budget and off-schedule. The involvement of multiple vendors, consultants, and internal stakeholders can lead to costly miscommunications.
Further, a lack of common standards across various vendors can lead to extra engineering hours and project delays, and a lack of integration can impact future operations and plant efficiency.
Rockwell Automation solutions for lithium and copper mining (amongst other minerals), which in the form of Integrated Architecture can help increase operational efficiency, improve visibility and enable better decision making, enable a modernized and empowered workforce, allowing superior mine-to-market integration, while operational transparency and monitoring help to manage environmental concerns & community integrity.
On 20 July,Rockwell Automation and Mining Review Africa hosted a Webinar on how integrated systems and scalable analytics enable improved mine-to-market visibility and allow for better decision-making to build and operate more efficient and sustainable lithium and copper mines.
TSX-listed Barrick Gold Corporation replaced its depletion of gold mineral reserves by 150%, before acquisition and equity changes at South Arturo and Porgera, and improved the quality of its group reserve grade by 3% in 2021, the company’s annual reserve and resource declaration has reported.
Reported at $1,200/oz, attributable proven and probable mineral reserves now stand at 69 Moz at 1.71g/t, increasing from 68 Moz at 1.66g/t in 2020.
President and chief executive Mark Bristow said in a sector feeling the pinch of dwindling reserves and resources, successful exploration continued to replenish the company’s asset base and target pipeline, securing its business plans well into the future.
“While we look closely at all new business opportunities, we believe finding our ounces is always better than buying them. That’s why we’re still discovering real value at the end of our drill bits,” he said.
The growth was led by the North America and Africa & Middle East regions, which contributed over 8.4 Moz of attributable proven and probable reserve gains before depletion.
In North America, significant gains were driven by the completion of the updated feasibility study of the Goldrush underground project, which increased Goldrush’s attributable proven and probable mineral reserves by 3.6 Moz to 4.8 Moz at 7.29g/t. At the Turquoise Ridge complex, attributable proven and probable reserves increased by 1.4 Moz before depletion, principally off the back of a revised geological model at Turquoise Ridge Underground.
In Africa, Bulyanhulu completed an updated underground feasibility study on the Deep West portion of the orebody, allowing us to increase attributable proven and probable reserves by 0.77 Moz before depletion through the conversion of inferred mineral resources. Staying in Tanzania, a fully optimized integrated mine plan at North Mara has increased attributable proven and probable reserves by 1.1 Moz before depletion. Barrick’s two Tier One mines in Africa also delivered strong results, with Kibali able to more than replace depletion of reserves and Loulo-Gounkoto replenishing 98% of depletion for the year.
Total attributable group gold resources, excluding the impact of disposition and equity changes mainly related to Lagunas Norte and Porgera, grew net of depletion, resulting in a 126% replacement of depletion. Mineral resources are reported inclusive of reserves and at a gold price of $1,500/oz. Attributable measured and indicated gold resources for 2021 stood at 160 Moz at 1.50g/t, with a further 42 Moz at 1.3g/t of inferred resources.
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The significant increase in attributable mineral resources was led by the Carlin complex in Nevada where a total of 0.91 Moz of measured and indicated resources and 3 Moz ounces of inferred resources were added year-on-year. This was driven by two maiden inferred resource additions, with North Leeville delivering 0.43 Moz at 11.5g/t and Ren contributing 0.76 Moz at 7.3g/t on an attributable basis. Both projects represent future growth for the Carlin complex and drilling continues on both targets, with mineralisation open in all directions.
The remaining year-on-year growth in attributable mineral resources at the Carlin complex mainly came from the open-pits at Gold Quarry and South Arturo as well as the underground at Leeville and Rita K. Staying in Nevada, the Turquoise Ridge complex also increased year-over-year attributable measured and indicated resources by 1.5 Moz mainly off the back of a revised geological model at Turquoise Ridge Underground.
Copper mineral reserves for 2021 are estimated using a copper price of $2.75 per pound and mineral resources are estimated at $3.50 per pound, both unchanged from 2020.
Attributable proven and probable copper reserves were 12 billion pounds at an average grade of 0.38% in 2021. Attributable measured and indicated copper resources were 24 billion pounds at an average grade of 0.35%, and inferred copper resources were 2.1 billion pounds at an average grade of 0.2% in 2021. Mineral resources are reported inclusive of reserves.
Mineral resource management executive Rodney Quick said, “The geological improvements and remodelling are now starting to make a real impact. The incorporation and integration of mine design optimisations are also driving many of the mineral resource additions. A sound understanding of the geological orebody has been integrated with a better understanding of local variations in the geotechnical and metallurgical disciplines to produce integrated and optimized mine designs.”
South32 and partner Alcoa Corporation will restart their Brazil-based Alumar aluminium smelter (Brazil Aluminium), which will be powered 100% by renewable energy, placing it in the second quartile of the global aluminium site cost curve.
First production is expected in the June 2022 quarter, with full capacity from the smelter’s three potlines of 447 000 tpa (100%) to be achieved in the March 2023 quarter. Once at full capacity South32’s wide annualised equity share of aluminium production is expected to lift by 16% (or 179 000 t) to 1 269 000 t.
With the smelter’s energy requirements secured under long term contracts, the alumina supply will be sourced from the co-located Brazil Alumina refinery (36% South32 share), offering substantial efficiencies.
Brazil Aluminium has been on care and maintenance since 2015. South32 expects to invest ~US$70 million (40% South32 share) across FY22 and FY23 to support the smelter’s restart, including ~US$10 million in capital expenditure.
“We are excited to participate in the restart of the Alumar smelter using 100% renewable power. With the smelter benefitting from existing infrastructure, access to our own supply of alumina and long-term green energy sources, we expect our investment to deliver strong returns through the cycle,” says South32 CEO Graham Kerr.
“We see strong long-term market fundamentals for aluminium. By investing along our existing alumina-aluminium value chain with the smelter’s restart and the expected increase to our shareholding in Mozal Aluminium, we are further integrating our business and meaningfully increasing our share of metal produced utilising green energy.
“With this decision we continue to make substantial progress in reshaping our portfolio, increasing our exposure to the base metals required for the critical transition to a low carbon future.”
About Brazil Alumina and Brazil Aluminium
Brazil Alumina comprises South32’s 14.8% interest in the Mineração Rio do Norte (MRN) bauxite mine and our 36% interest in the Alumar alumina refinery. Brazil Aluminium comprises South32’s interest in the Alumar aluminium smelter (40%). The MRN mine is located in the Trombetas region in the state of Pará, Brazil. The Alumar alumina refinery and Alumar aluminium smelter are located at São Luís in the state of Maranhão, Brazil.
Nevada Gold Mines (NGM) is demonstrating the impact of operator and majority-owner Barrick’s strategy of combining the best people with the best assets to deliver the best returns, says Barrick president and chief executive Mark Bristow.
Speaking at an update for local media and community leaders, Bristow said NGM – the world’s largest gold mining complex – stood out from the rest of the industry not only because of its size but because its wealth of projects and prospects secure its future as a high-quality, long-life operation for decades to come.
“The combination of the Nevada assets of Barrick and Newmont has unlocked the vast geological potential of this mineral-rich region by consolidating mines, processing facilities and landholdings. Anchored by the massive Carlin and Cortez mines, NGM is building up the third Tier One1 asset, Turquoise Ridge, while Goldrush, a world-class project in its own right, heads up a long pipeline of quality prospects,” he said.
“NGM has also built strong relations across the full spectrum of the mines’ previously neglected stakeholders, and its wide-ranging support for educational and other community development initiatives is securing its social licence as a valuable partner with Nevada and its people.”
Bristow cited Turquoise Ridge as an example of the transformative effect of asset consolidation. The high-grade underground orebody at Turquoise Ridge, then a Barrick property, was mined for years without a full understanding of its geology and was also constrained by the lack of its own processing plant.
At the same time, Newmont’s neighboring Twin Creeks was facing the decline of production from its open pits and its processing facilities had never been pushed to deliver. The ramp-up of underground production at Turquoise Ridge, based on a completely new geological model, will pick up speed when its third shaft is completed next year, more than offsetting the drop in production from the now-integrated Twin Creeks. The integration of the two assets has also delivered new exploration opportunities in the gap between the two.
During the past quarter, the Goldrush project’s official Notice of Intent was published, putting NGM well on the way to permitting its next major orebody. The updated feasibility study and the successful processing of the first ore samples has strengthened confidence that additional resources will be converted to reserves later this year.
NGM continued to optimize its portfolio through the South Arturo/Lone Tree asset swap, which removed a closure liability from its balance sheet while securing additional ounces and geological upside by bringing the other 40% of South Arturo under its control. In the meantime, brownfields exploration is confirming a significant upside through prospects such as a major deposit in North Leeville and the promising Phoenix gold and copper satellite.
Bristow says NGM was continuing to invest in infrastructure capable of supporting mining far into the future. This includes advancing data analysis capabilities and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. An example of the latter is the second phase of the TS solar power facility which will increase its solar capacity to 200MW and is the cornerstone of NGM’s commitment to cutting GHG emissions by 20% by 2025.
Reviewing the past quarter, Bristow said improved run times at all of NGM’s major processing facilities had lifted NGM’s performance while the restoration of the Carlin mill operations had set it up for a strong end to the year.
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The first half of 2022 reflects a loss of £237,000 from administrative costs, this corresponds to the company’s expenditure on overheads, operational and exploration costs, and legal and professional expenses primarily related to the proposed transaction to acquire a series of exploration assets in Morocco and a proposed move to the Standard List of the London Stock Exchange,” explains Charles Bray, executive chairman.
“Additional expenditure was incurred on the Musasa JV and HCK JV operations in Rwanda. Over the period, management maintained its protocols for cash management and refrained from receiving salaries.”
During the reporting period, management continued working towards the completion of the transaction announced on the 22 November 2021. The company signed a sale and purchase agreement to acquire 100% of the share capital of Aterian Resources, a 100% owned indirect subsidiary of Altus Strategies, through the issuance of new ordinary shares of £0.01 par value in the company, the grant of warrants to purchase new shares and the grant of certain mining royalties.
Subsequently Altus has merged with Elemental Royalties Corp. and the combined entity, Elemental Altus Royalties Corp, is listed on TSX-V in Canada and OTCQX in the US.
Aterian is advancing a portfolio of 15 copper and silver prospective exploration projects in the Kingdom of Morocco. Concurrent with the acquisition, the company will apply for admission to the Official List and to trading on the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market for listed securities and change its name to Aterian Plc.
“Upon the successful completion of the acquisition, which is conditional upon the company listing on the LSE, we will welcome EARC as a significant beneficial shareholder. This proposed transaction transforms the Company into a multi-jurisdiction, multi-commodity, critical and strategic metals exploration and development company and we are excited that EARC will become a key shareholder,” states Bray.
HCK JV – southern Rwanda
Reconnaissance prospecting and geochemical soil sampling have resulted in the discovery of multiple new pegmatite zones. Prior to commencing fieldwork, two occurrences or zones, referred to as HCK-1 and HCK-2, were known. We have now identified a further 16 zones of pegmatite, bringing the total to 18 locations on the project that will require further assessment and evaluation. The significance of these discoveries is that pegmatite dykes in Rwanda are the primary host rock for Tantalum-Niobium mineralisation.
HCK-1 exploration
The company is conducting a shallow exploration pitting programme along the strike of the HCK-1 pegmatite zone to determine the overall geometry of this occurrence. The pits are excavated along sections, spaced approximately 100 m apart, orientated perpendicular to the general strike trend of HCK-1, and separated roughly 50 m along the section lines.
Initial reconnaissance of HCK-1 had estimated the strike length to be c. 650 m. The current work indicates that the pegmatite zone continues for at least 1,500 m, with additional pitting expected to extend this further. Although additional infill work is required, the width of the zone in places is more than 100 m.
Environmental management plan
The company commissioned a local, Rwandan government registered, environmental consultancy to undertake an Environmental Management Plan (EMP) over the licence area. Although not a government requirement for an exploration project, the Company undertook the survey to outline the baseline conditions over the area, including the outcomes resulting from previous artisanal operations.
Musasa JV
Musasa operations
Based on the recommendation of our on-site processing consultants, Quiver Limited, several significant changes have been made to the plant. Material coarser than 1mm is now fed into the cone crusher on a continuous feed circuit to reduce the material to sub 1mm. The material flow circuit around the 16 shaking tables has been re-routed ensuring the product is recycled to maximise recovery.
Six additional slurry pumps were installed to ensure better material flow and, more importantly, the recycling of washed material to allow for multiple passes through the separation process and better overall recoveries.
Quiver is providing a plant manager, based on site to control and manage the daily operations and a metallurgical consultant to develop short and long-term process improvements and associated plant upgrade strategies to increase and optimise plant production, with additional material testing and analysis at approved laboratories.
“As of the end of the reporting period, the plant operation has been temporarily halted to allow for additional off-site metallurgical testing and the on-site evaluation of a new set of separation spirals recently imported from South Africa. We will continue to evaluate how to best implement changes proposed by our processing consultants to optimise the plant’s productive capability.”
Kassava exploration
“In March, we commenced surface exploration over the Kassava Prospect, one of the five currently identified areas of mineralisation known on the project. The Kassava Prospect is located only 300 m south of the wash plant and follows a southeast trending ridge. Shallow vertical pits are being manually excavated to define the margins of the pegmatite, with data indicating the Kassava pegmatite to be lens-shaped with a maximum horizontal width of 80 m, with pits covering a strike length of 250 m.”
The geological team has identified several positive geological indicators, such as very coarse-grained muscovite, in addition to sub-cropping pegmatite, over a lateral distance of c. 500 m to the east of Kassava, suggesting the zone may be quite extensive.
“The licence application to extend the area of interest at Musasa up to 400 hectares remains pending with the Government of Rwanda. We will be working closely with the Rwanda Mines and Petroleum Board to accelerate the grant of the licence. This application may entail a change in the working relationship with our partner, Kuaka Cooperative, to allow for faster review and possible amendment of the application.”
Metal trading
The company has been granted a licence to trade both locally and internationally in metals mined from the region. To fully activate this potentially valuable revenue stream opportunity, the company has initiated the application process to seek membership of the ITRI Tin Supply Chain Initiative (“ITSCI”).
ITSCI (the) is part of a traceability and due diligence program designed to address concerns over ‘conflict minerals’ such as tin, tantalum, and tungsten from the Democratic Republic of Congo and adjoining countries. Membership is a prerequisite for trading in Rwanda.
Gold Lion Resources has signed a mineral option agreement dated effective September 19, 2022, with Ermazon SARL, a wholly owned subsidiary of Elcora Advanced Materials (Elcora), pursuant to which Gold Lion has the option to acquire up to a 50% interest in a mining license in Morocco.
Ermazon has applied for the exploitation license of the manganese concession which will fortify ongoing strategies to supply battery and electric vehicle end-users.
The manganese site was a former French mine that was in operation for decades that Ermazon and Elcora intend to leverage on-site infrastructure and facilities. Up to 600 tonnes of raw ore from the mine is ready for processing; this development and exploration project will determine whether an open pit or underground mining operation is launched.
On execution of the option agreement, Gold Lion has acquired a 25% interest in the License by making a cash payment of $75,000 and by issuing an aggregate of 5,000,000 common shares of Gold Lion, at a deemed price of $0.05 per Share, representing an aggregate value of $250,000 for the Shares.
The shares were issued pursuant to available prospectus exemptions and will be subject to a hold period of four month and one day from the date of issuance pursuant to applicable securities laws.
Gold Lion has the option to: (1) acquire a further 15% interest in the License by making a cash of payment of $125,000 within five business days of receiving notice that Ermazon has secured the exploitation license of the manganese concession; and (2) acquire a further 10% interest in the license by making an additional cash payment of $50,000 within 15 business days of receiving notice of anticipated commencement of commercial production on the license.
Manganese represents a critical link in the lithium-ion battery supply chain. Electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD) is an upgraded form of manganese that serves as a key ingredient of lithium-ion, alkaline and zinc-manganese batteries.
Europe’s energy crisis will propel the demand for (EV) electric vehicles that can serve as a back-up battery or utility storage bank. Batteries are necessary to fast forward electromobility, they store green energy, and can ensure that critical European infrastructure runs smoothly.
Morocco’s proximity to Europe is a significant benefit that will support the European battery manufacturing infrastructure that is largely dependent on critical raw material imports, notably cobalt, lithium, nickel, and manganese.
Gold Lion is now a vertically integrated precious metals mining and recycling company generating sustainable economic value for the lithium−ion battery/electronics supply chain.
Battery needs continue to be at the forefront of growth for the EV and electronic industries, we are actively seeking to acquire properties and establish partnerships that will yield the minerals required for the sustainable circular supply chain. The partnership with Ermazon and Elcora will allow Gold Lion to leverage its expertise and participate in large-scale battery metal production.
Gold Lion currently has 9 primary North American property claims and we are focused on exploring the full range of opportunities that these locations present for critical metals and minerals such as cobalt, copper, nickel, manganese, gold, silver, and zinc.
Furthermore, our environmentally benign proprietary recycling methodology will optimize the efficiency of the recycling process and will address the requirements of future customers and partners by drawing on the Group’s expertise in metals extraction process engineering and its operational expertise in hydrometallurgy.
Guy Bourgeois, Gold Lion’s CEO commented:
“Gold Lion is well-positioned to capitalize on the increased need for sustainable battery recycling and critical battery materials. According to the European Parliament, global battery and minerals supply chains need to expand 14-fold to meet projected critical minerals needs by 2030 and Gold Lion is actively transforming the battery supply chain.”
Pursuant to the option agreement, Ermazon will operate and manage the mining of the ore from the license for a fee equal to 20% of the pre-tax profits generated from such mining; Ermazon will manage the processing and refining of the ore mined from the license for a fee equal to 20% of the pre-tax profits generated by such processing and refining; Ermazon and Gold Lion will share the net profit from the license on an ownership pro rata basis; and Ermazon and Gold Lion will share on an ownership pro rata basis, the additional capital expenditures required to develop the License and for processing and refining.
In addition, the parties have agreed to form a joint venture respecting the License and will use their best reasonable efforts to negotiate, settle, execute, and deliver a JV Agreement in respect of the license.
The transaction is an arms-length transaction for the company and does not constitute a fundamental change or result in a change of control of the company, within the meaning of the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange.
In digital conversations with experts in the energy and mining sectors we will consider how mines can move away from grid-connected power and embrace a more independent generation strategy.
Together with our speakers, we will try to understand the reasons for considering moving beyond the grid, the implications for the bottom line and what companies need to factor into their decision
