Mining giant Rio Tinto (NYSE: RIO; LSE: RIO; ASX: RIO) says it’s investing US$55 million to start underground mining and expand production at its Kennecott copper operations, the world’s largest open pit mine, near Salt Lake City, Utah. 

The move will add 30,000 tonnes of copper production from early 2023 to 2027, alongside the site’s open pit operations, the company said in a news release. The open pit produced 159,400 tonnes of copper last year.  

The new underground ore will come from the mine’s Lower Commercial Skarn, which has a measured resource of 200,000 tonnes at 2.52% copper, 1.27 grams gold per tonne, 10.56 grams silver per tonne and 0.056% molybdenum, Rio Tinto said.  

Rio Tinto Copper chief executive officer Bold Baatar said the investment would help the miner build knowledge and capabilities as it evaluates larger scale underground mining at Kennecott. 

“We are progressing a range of options for a significant resource that is yet to be developed at Kennecott, which could extend our supply of copper and other critical materials needed for electric vehicles and renewable power technologies,” the CEO said in the news release.  

International Battery Metals (CSE: IBAT; OTC: IBATF), which is looking to commercialize a first-of-its-kind modular, mobile lithium extraction plant, has made a further step towards its sustainable lithium extraction goals. An independent review by SLR International, a global leader in environmental and engineering services, has verified that the company’s patented technology extracts more than 65% of available lithium from brine, effectively strips out impurities, and recycles and reuses more than 94% of water.

“The results of this independent review are a strong validation of our ground-breaking technology,” said Dr. John Burba, CEO of IBAT. “IBAT’s technology is faster and more economical because it can be built, deployed and brought on-line in a fraction of the time, and at a fraction of the cost of traditional lithium mining models, and further, we can extract more lithium from a given resource with less environmental impact than any other available technology.”

The modular direct lithium extraction (MDLE) plant located in Lake Charles, Louisiana, has been flow-testing lithium-bearing brine since early May 2022, and extracting lithium chloride (LiCl) since mid-May, making IBAT the first company globally to successfully operate a commercial-scale mobile lithium extraction plant.

The third-party independent review also confirmed the robust modular design of the plant and ease of transportation and relocation, which could allow access and a means to capitalize on a more diverse range of lithium-bearing brine resources globally, including smaller sites in varied terrain – such as those in the U.S. – that are currently considered uneconomical due to the current, dominant extraction technologies.

As configured, the plant is designed to produce 5,738 tonnes of LiCl per year, or 5,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate-equivalent per year from a brine with a lithium concentration of 1,800 parts per million. SLR’s operational review consisted of observation of continuous processing of a brine, containing 300 ppm of lithium, through the plant and monitoring the solution chemistry by sampling at regular intervals to determine the performance of the process equipment and the absorption media through three loading and elution cycles.

The brine was sourced in the U.S. and delivered in significant volume to the plant via tanker truck. In the first phase of extraction from the raw brine, SLR found that “lithium extraction for the three cycles ranged from 72.6% Li to 87.5% Li with an average extraction of 81% Li.” In the second phase, which recovers the lithium from the absorbent material to develop commercial-grade lithium chloride and lithium carbonate, recovery “ranged from 58.3% Li to 89.0% Li with an average of 68.8% Li.”

This is significantly higher than the industry-wide average of 50% for evaporative lithium processing, based on data from the National Renewable Energy Agency (NREL), a laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy.

According to the SLR report, an important part of IBAT’s MDLE process is the selectivity of the absorbent, which strips out the lithium but leaves other naturally occurring elements in the brine, which allows the brine to be reintroduced into the environment, vastly reducing the overall environmental impact.

Furthermore, with its highly efficient capture of impurities and reinjection of brine back into the original resource, coupled with industry-leading water recycling, IBAT’s sustainable environmental performance enables the creation of a clean lithium extraction industry in North America and around the world, SLR concluded.

“From the beginning, our goal has been to create a technology that is environmentally friendlier than any technology currently in operation, while demonstrating consistently superior lithium recovery, scalability and mobility, and we believed we could do it all at a lower cost,” added Burba. “We are thrilled that a team as experienced, technically skilled and globally-renowned as SLR were able to validate the technology on our first operational and commercially available plant.”

More details on IBAT’s advanced lithium extraction technology can be found at www.ibatterymetals.com.

WSP Global (TSX: WSP) has completed its previously announced acquisition of the environment and infrastructure business (E&I) of John Wood Group through a sale and purchase agreement. E&I provides engineering, remediation consulting, environmental permitting, inspection, monitoring and environmental management services to mining clients, industrial, infrastructure, oil and gas, power, water, and government. E&I’s 6,000 professionals are based in 100 offices in over 10 countries, mainly in the U.S., Canada and the U.K., with a secondary presence in Latin America and Europe.

“We are pleased to welcome E&I’s 6,000 professionals into the WSP family and are excited to create a strong market leader from two respected organizations with bold ambitions. Joining forces will allow us to offer our clients expanded world-class multidisciplinary services while bringing new solutions and enhanced value. This transaction will also enable us to further seize opportunities in the fast-growing environmental and water sectors,” said Alexandre L’Heureux, WSP’s president and CEO.

“Aligned with our global strategic action plan, this acquisition, along with our other recently announced transactions, will contribute to the achievement of our strategic ambitions while expanding our geographical range and adding expertise in key sectors. This will create even greater momentum as we future-proof our cities and our environment,” he added.

“We are excited to join a world-leading consulting firm, where our combined expertise will add value for our clients through strengthened service capability, global reach and deep portfolio of technical experts. Together with WSP, we will be a unique advisor and provider for clients across all sectors and services, and the aspirations of our people for a more sustainable future have room to grow. We are now an industry leader at a time when environmental and infrastructure needs are a global priority,” said Joe Sczurko, executive president of E&I consulting.

The aggregate cash consideration payable in connection with the acquisition is approximately US$1.8 billion (approximately $2.4 billion), subject to adjustments. The acquisition and other related transaction costs were financed using a US$1.8 billion term credit facility with various tenors of up to five years in length.

To find out more, please visit www.wsp.com.

As part of the targeting program underway ahead of future drilling at its Tintic copper-gold project in Utah, Ivanhoe Electric (TSX: IE) recently resampled drill core from a number of historic holes and has received assay results indicating the presence of high-grade copper and precious metals mineralization near the historic Mammoth underground mine, specifically within the New Park Reserves area.

The New Park Reserves represents a viable exploration area identified by Ivanhoe Electric beneath the historic mine workings. The area was partially mined with crosscuts by Kennecott (now a division of Rio Tinto) and drilled in the 1960s by the New Park Mining (now Newpark Resources, an oilfield services group). Six sections from five New Park Mining drill holes were resampled, one of which assayed 1.95% copper, 1.69 g/t gold and 129 g/t silver over a length of 20.4 metres.

Speaking at the annual Denver Gold Forum on Tuesday, Ivanhoe chairman and CEO Robert Friedland said: “We continue to be astounded by the high-grade mineral potential of the Tintic district. A lot of copper, gold, silver, lead and zinc ended up at Tintic, and it certainly did not fall from the sky. These results from the New Park Reserves area continue to demonstrate that the old-timers did not mine all of the high-grade copper, gold and silver. In addition, these results provide further evidence of the presence of one or more large-scale porphyry copper-gold deposits located at depth at Tintic.

“Using our proprietary high-powered Typhoon geophysical surveying system, we completed a 72-km², three-dimensional induced polarization and resistivity survey and imaged three large-scale anomalies – each comparable with the scale of the nearby Bingham Canyon copper-gold mine,” Friedland continued.

Bingham Canyon, more commonly known as the Kennecott copper mine among locals, is an open pit operation owned by Rio Tinto. Over the past 119 years, it has milled more than 2.7 billion tonnes of copper-gold ore and produced over 20 million tonnes of refined copper metal and more than 28 million oz. of gold.

According to Friedland, Ivanhoe’s geologists continue to identify new features that support the thesis that one or more of these Typhoon anomalies may be the porphyry targets that have produced all of the copper and precious metals in the historic Tintic district. “These anomalies are located at depth from surface, meaning any potential mining operation at Tintic would likely be an underground operation,” he added.

Mineralization in the Tintic district was first discovered in 1869, and by 1871 significant mining camps were established in the nearby city of Eureka and the now defunct towns of Silver City and Diamond. The area saw nearly continuous mining operations from 1871 through to 2002 with variations in the level of activity and commodity extracted.

The Mammoth mine was historically one of the most significant mines in the Tintic mining district, operating between the late 1890s and the 1930s. While much of its early productive history went unrecorded, from 1901 onwards Mammoth is known to have produced approximately 1.18 million tonnes of ore grading 9.7 g/t gold, 349 g/t silver, 1.42% copper and 1.39% lead.

For more information, visit ivanhoeelectric.com.

Continuing its commitment during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in the U.S., Martin Engineering is inviting customers to “Go pink!” For the month of October, along with replacing the traditional Martin orange paint scheme on truck vibrators, the company will add the option of conveyor guarding, twist tensioners and inspection doors to go pink as well.

Along with the colour change, the equipment retains the same high-quality standards. Discharging heavy and often compacted material from dump trucks, hopper rail cars, and other vehicles can require a lot of vibration power in a punishing environment putting high demands on equipment. Operators choose Cougar DC truck vibrators and Cougar THD hydraulic vibrators to replace OEM vibrators that tend to have a limited service life. Reliable and durable truck vibrators like the DC and THD reduce manual labour and downtime while ensuring the safe evacuation of cargo. Faster unloading increases the number of trips by operators, improves efficiency and reduces the cost of operation.

By merely saying “Make mine pink” when purchasing of the company’s popular Cougar DC truck vibrator or Cougar THD hydraulic vibrator, Martin Engineering will donate a portion of its sales revenue to support the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

“Since 2017, this popular campaign has allowed Martin Engineering to donate almost $50,000 to the Susan G. Komen organization,” said vibration business development manager Susie Orlandi. “Every contribution supports those in need today, while the researchers continue their work for a cure.

In addition to its donations, Martin Engineering is also hosting a team in Komen Peoria’s More Than Pink Walk to raise awareness and encourage individual contributions to this worthy cause.

“Every year, our customers generously join us in this fight, placing orders to contribute to its success,” Orlandi added. “Programs like this allow the pink colour scheme to represent the cause year-round, generating awareness and getting people talking.”

To learn more, visit www.martin-eng.com.

McEwen Copper, a subsidiary of McEwen Mining (NYSE: MUX; TSX: MUX), has inked a deal with Rio Tinto (ASX, LON: RIO) that gives the global miner an option to become a majority joint venture partner in the Elder Creek project, in Nevada.

To exercise the option, Rio’s subsidiary Kennecott Exploration would have to invest US$18 million over a maximum of seven years. After that the two companies would form an unincorporated joint venture where Kennecott would be the largest partner and project operator.

Elder Creek is an early-stage copper- gold porphyry project, located about 9 km from SSR Mining’s Marigold mine complex in northern Nevada.

It consists of 577 unpatented mining claims in Nevada, which is prospective for porphyry copper mineralization and well placed in a district hosting several large copper and gold mines, including Marigold, Lone Tree and PHoenix.

McEwen holds a 1.25% net smelter return royalty on all the claims that comprise the Elder Creek property.

The company also owns Los Azules copper project in San Juan, Argentina. This is an advanced large-scale porphyry copper exploration project located in the Andean Cordillera copper belt, about 90 km north of Glencore’s El Pachón project and near the border with Chile.

The core focus of the 2022 program remains step-out drilling of the Waterpump Creek carbonate replacement deposit (CRD) to gauge the overall footprint of the bonanza silver-zinc-lead mineralization encountered in 2021 and further explored in 2022.

Located due north of the Illinois Creek airstrip in Alaska, the Waterpump Creek deposit contains a historical resource (non NI 43-101 compliant) of 166,000 tonnes at 297 g/t silver, 16.1% lead, and 5.5% zinc. A modern resource estimate will be completed once the 2021-22 drilling has been completed.

Earlier this month, the company reported the first assay results for massive CRD sulphide mineralization cut in the Waterpump Creek target area. One hole intersected 11.5 metres of massive sulphide grading 337 g/t silver, 16.7% zinc and 10% lead, including 3.1 metres grading 565 g/t silver, 8.9% zinc and 15% lead.

Proceeds of the financing will additionally be used to further explore along trend in the Last Hurrah area based on the recently completed system-wide controlled-source audio-magnetotellurics (CSAMT) program.

Funds will also be used to initiate metallurgical studies, continue Yukon River access route and environmental baseline studies, fund expenditures in anticipation of the 2023 drill program, and general corporate purposes.

For more information, visit www.westernalaskaminerals.com

Pandora, the world’s biggest jeweller, is launching a collection using exclusively lab-made diamonds in the U.S. and Canada as part of the company’s strategy to eliminate mined gems and create more affordable products with less associated emissions.

The Danish company, which plans to make its operations carbon neutral within three years, said the collection is the first one crafted with 100% recycled silver and gold.

“This brings greenhouse gas emissions of the collection’s entry product – a silver ring with a 0.15 carat lab-created diamond (US$300) – down to 2.7 kg CO2e, which is equal to the average emissions of a t-shirt,” Pandora said.

The flagship product, a one carat lab-created diamond set in a 14k solid gold ring  and sold for about US$1,950, has a footprint of 10.4kg CO2e, which is less than the average emissions of a pair of jeans.

The jeweller, best known for its charm bracelets, has committed to craft all its pieces from recycled silver and gold by 2025.

Pandora launched its first Pandora Brilliance collection using only man-made diamonds in the U.K. last year.

“Lab-created diamonds are just as beautiful as mined diamonds, but available to more people and with lower carbon emissions,” chief executive officer Alexander Lacik said in the statement.

While producing diamonds is energy-intensive, Pandora said its gems would be made using only renewable energy.

Since 2011, when prices peaked thanks to China’s younger shoppers, diamonds have faltered. Lab-grown stones, initially priced confusingly close to the real thing, posed a challenge.

Top diamond makers reacted to the new kind of diamonds, widely embraced by young consumers as they look identical to the mined ones, by launching a joint marketing campaign.

Under the motto “Real is Rare”, the Natural Diamond Council (formerly the Diamond Producers Association), which groups the world’s leading diamond companies, launched a series of film-like spots targeting millennials — those born between 1981 and 1996.

Failing that, they begun selling man-made diamonds themselves. Anglo American’s De Beers, for one, created the Lightbox brand to sell alternative diamonds for a fraction of the price of the mined ones.

Ethical concerns

Despite the establishment of the Kimberley Process in 2003, aimed at removing conflict diamonds from the supply chain, experts say trafficking of precious rocks is still ongoing.

Miners and world famous jewellers including Tiffany & Co, have come up with innovative ways of certifying their stones as ethically mined, mostly based in blockchain technology. In 2020, the New York-based company began providing customers with details of newly sourced, individually registered diamonds that trace a stone’s path all the way back to the mine.

This article originally appeared on www.Mining.com.

Graphite One (TSXV: GPH; OTC: GPHOF) has arranged a private placement of up to 13.5 million units priced at $1.15 each to raise gross proceeds of up to $15.5 million. Each unit consists of one common share of the company and one common share purchase warrant that is exercisable at $1.50 for two years.

Net proceeds from this offering will be used by Graphite One to support an upcoming feasibility study (FS) for its battery anode materials project centred around the Graphite Creek property in Alaska. The project’s pre-feasibility study (PFS) is currently nearing completion and is expected to be released by month-end.

Situated on the Seward Peninsula, about 60 km north of Nome, Graphite Creek is host to America’s largest high-quality graphite deposit, as defined by the U.S. Geological Survey, with 11.0 million tonnes of measured and indicated resources at a graphite grade of 7.8% Cg (graphitic carbon), for some 850,000 tonnes of contained graphite.

With this resource, Graphite One is looking to build a vertically integrated enterprise to mine, process and manufacture high-grade anode materials, developing what would be the first domestic graphite source for the electric vehicles market in the U.S.

A preliminary economic assessment (PEA) on Graphite Creek envisions a 40-year operation with a mineral processing plant that is capable of producing 60,000 tonnes of graphite concentrate (at 95% purity) per year.

The upcoming PFS is expected to include results from Graphite One’s 2021 program and according to its CEO Anthony Huston – should increase confidence that Graphite Creek is a “generational asset.” The company previously released results from its 2021 field program, yielding numerous high-grade, near-surface intercepts including 15.2 metres of 22.2% Cg.

In early 2021, the Graphite Creek project was designated a high-priority infrastructure project (HPIP) by the U.S. government’s Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Committee (FPISC).

For additional information, visit www.graphiteoneinc.com.

Cementation Americas has announced the completion of the full faced raise bored raise at Solvay Chemicals #5 shaft in Green River, Wyoming. Project requirements were to complete a 6.7-metre diameter shaft, complete with concrete liner, from surface to a depth of 459 metres. Concrete liner thickness increased as the depth of the shaft increased, so the initial concept was to complete a pilot slash raise with a raise bore drill and then slash from the top down to achieve the differing diameters to accommodate concrete liner thickness.

Cementation instead proposed a full face raise bored shaft solution with variable diameters for each section. We worked closely with Sandvik to design, engineer and manufacture a reaming head that could be diminished in diameter rather than manufacturing different diameters of outside wings. Final design allowed for five diameter options; maximum of 8.1 metres, down to 7.5 metres, in increments of approxximately 15 cm. The 8.1-metre diameter reamer consisted of 12 individual sections, 46 cutters and weighed 136,000 lb.

Following completion of 20.7-metre deep collar excavation and lining, Cementation’s Strata 950 raise drill was set up over the collar and a 40-centimetre diameter pilot hole was drilled with Micon’s rotary vertical drilling system (RVDS). When the completed pilot hole was surveyed, the total deviation from vertical was found to be less than 10 cm over entire length of pilot hole.

Based on the pilot hole survey, it was determined that the first leg of the shaft would be reamed to 9-metre diameter for 179.2 metres of shaft, followed by 7.6-metre diameter for the next 86.9 metres of shaft and 7.5-metre diameter for the final 163.1 metres of shaft to surface.

Reaming of the shaft was completed on April 24, 2022, and the Cementation shaft crews are  now in the process of completing the shaft lining. This raise was one of the largest ever pulled in the America’s and was completed without incident. Its success was the result of a collaborative effort by all parties involved by providing the best technical solution for the Solvay Chemicals #5 shaft.

For more information on Cementation, visit www.cementation.com.