First Majestic Silver (NYSE: AG; TSX: FR) has entered into an equity distribution agreement to sell, with BMO Capital Markets and TD Securities acting as agents, common shares of the company “at-the-market” that would raise aggregate gross proceeds of up to US$100.0 million. The agreement is valid through June 18, 2023.

The sales agreement replaces the previous equity distribution agreement entered into between the company and the agents dated May 28, 2021, under which all sales have been completed (for total of US$100 million).

First Majestic expects to use the net proceeds of the offering, together with its current cash resources, to develop and improve the company’s existing mines. It presently owns and operates three silver/gold mines in Mexico – San Dimas, Santa Elena and La Encantada – and one gold mine in Nevada, Jerritt Canyon.

During the second quarter of 2022, the company saw its total silver production rise by 6% and gold production by 1% over the first quarter, thanks in part to a successful ramp-up of the Santa Elena mine leading to a record output in terms of silver equivalents.

As a result, its second half and full year 2022 production guidance has been revised to reflect the improved milling efficiencies at Santa Elena as well as increased head grades at Jerritt Canyon. Total silver production is expected to fall between 5.8 million and 6.5 million oz., while gold production is in the range of 138,000 to 154,000 oz.

Details on First Majestic’s Q2 2022 results can be accessed via www.firstmajestic.com.

Teck Resources (TSX: TECK.A, TECK.B; NYSE: TECK) has entered into an agreement with PolyMet Mining (TSX: POM; NYSE: PLM) to form the 50:50 joint venture New Range Copper Nickel to advance PolyMet’s NorthMet project and Teck’s Mesaba mineral deposit in northeast Minnesota.

Glencore (LSE: GLEN), which owns about 70% of Polymet, will retain its majority interest in the company and provide financial support to the joint venture. The two copper projects are located near each other in the Duluth complex.

“The NewRange Copper Nickel joint venture brings together two large, well defined mineral resources in the established Iron Range mining region of Minnesota,” Teck CEO Don Lindsay said in a press release. “This agreement will help unlock a new domestic supply of critical metals for the low-carbon transition through responsible mining.”

PolyMet CEO Jon Cherry described the venture as “extraordinary” and expects it to become one of the largest clean-energy mineral resources in the world. 

“With both projects representing approximately half of the known resources of Minnesota’s Duluth Complex…Minnesota emerges as a global leader…in developing strategic minerals to feed the North American supply chain for clean energy technologies,” Cherry said.

KEEP READING AT NORTHERN MINER

Focused on site restoration and redevelopment of gold-antimony-silver deposits in the Stibnite-Yellow Pine district of central Idaho, Perpetua Resources (NASDAQ: PPTA; TSX: PPTA) has initiated work to improve the water quality at the historic Stibnite mine site, which, after 100 years of mining activity, has seen millions of tonnes of unconstrained tailings and mine waste left behind by previous operators.

The company was joined by community members, government officials and local business leaders at a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the beginning of early cleanup activities and water quality improvements at the historic Stibnite mining district. The ceremony marked the start of a multi-year, multi-million-dollar investment designed to improve environmental conditions at the mine site.

Perpetua has worked with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for more than three years to receive permission to conduct time critical, early action cleanup activities. After consultation with other interested parties, including the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, Perpetua, the EPA and USDA signed an administrative settlement agreement and order on consent in 2021, paving the way for the company to address legacy issues in key areas of the Stibnite district.

The first four-year phase of the project includes removing 325,000 tonnes of legacy waste and tailings away from the river and rerouting streams to keep clean water clean. High-ranking elected officials from across the state agree that the work being done by Perpetua is a model for private investment to help address legacy environmental issues at historic mine sites.

“We did not cause the contamination that has worsened water quality in the historic Stibnite mining district for decades, but we are part of the solution,” Laurel Sayer, CEO of Perpetua, commented in a media release.

“Idaho’s natural resources can contribute a steady domestic supply of the materials we need to advance our economy,” said Idaho Governor Brad Little at the groundbreaking ceremony. “At the same time, cleanup projects like you see here at Stibnite are a critical part of the future of responsible mining in Idaho.”

Mining activity in the Stibnite district first started in 1899. The historic Stibnite mine then gained national significance during the Second World War when the U.S. government commissioned antimony and tungsten production from the site to help with the war effort. In fact, Stibnite produced the majority of both minerals used by the U.S. during the war, and the U.S. Munitions Board credited the mine for shortening the war by a year and saving a million American lives.

However, most of the mining that occurred at Stibnite took place long before modern protections and regulations were established. As a result, the site was never fully reclaimed. Today, about 10.5 million tonnes of unlined tailings and waste leach arsenic and antimony into ground and surface water. Perpetua has proposed a redevelopment plan to mine the site for gold and the critical mineral antimony, while concurrently restoring the environment. Early cleanup actions have now begun.

As for the Stibnite mine project, it is currently under regulatory review. The Stibnite project is considered one of the highest-grade, open pit gold deposits in the U.S., with 6 million oz. of gold contained in 132.3 million tonnes grading 1.42 g/t gold in measured and indicated resources. Over the 12 years projected mine life, Stibnite is expected to recover more than 4 million oz. of gold. It also has the largest known antimony resource in the country, containing 205.9 million lb. measured and indicated.

A 2020 feasibility study gave the project an after-tax net present value (5% discount) of US$1.35 billion and an internal rate of return of 22.3%, with a capex payback period pegged at 2.9 years.

To learn more about the project and Perpetua’s redevelopment plan, visit www.perpetuaresources.com.

American silver producer Hecla Mining (NYSE: HL) has agreed to acquire all shares of Canadian Alexco Resource (NYSE.A: AXU) (TSX: AXU) it doesn’t already own, in a deal that values the target’s shares at 47 U.S. cents each.

The Coeur d’Alene, Idaho-based miner, said the figure represents a premium of 23% based on Alexco’s five-day volume weighted average price on the New York Stock Exchange on July 1.

At Friday’s closing price of US$4.01, the value of the shares would be valued at around US$72.2 million.

Founded in 1891, Hecla Mining is the largest silver producer in the United States.

Hecla’s president and chief executive Phillips Baker Jr. said integrating Alexco’s Keno Hill project in the Yukon Territory, could also make the company Canada’s largest silver producer.

“Silver is a critical element to decarbonize the economy and the need for domestic supply is growing,” Baker said. “Acquiring Keno Hill allows Hecla to further meet this need with a secure high-grade silver development and exploration project that has a small environmental footprint.”

Hecla Mining has also agreed to pay Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE, TSX: WPM) US$135 million in its own shares for the company to terminate its silver streaming interest at Alexco’s Keno Hill.

The two transactions would boost Hecla’s already significant reserves, which reached in 2021 the second highest level in the company’s 130-year history – to 200 million ounces.

Global demand for silver, used in solar panels, electric vehicles and other key green technologies, is on the way up and expected to reach a record this year of 1.112 billion ounces, according to the Silver Institute.

The organization, whose figures are prepared by consultants Metals Focus, said last week it expected global silver demand for industrial use to jump 5% this year to a new high of 552 million ounces.

In an effort to raise additional funds to continue its operations, Nevada Copper (TSX: NCU; OTC: NEVDF) has agreed terms with its senior lender KfW IPEX-Bank and its largest shareholder Pala Investments for a loan of up to US$70 million by way of a new tranche extension to the existing senior credit facility with KfW.

The funding would be provided by Pala, with the potential participation of other lenders. Of the total amount, US$50 million will be committed to be advanced by the lenders (including the outstanding amount of the previously announced up to US$20 million promissory note provided by Pala). An additional US$20 million may be available for future draw by the company on an uncommitted basis.

Nevada Copper is in ongoing discussions with KfW, Pala and other lenders with the aim of executing binding agreements during the month of July 2022. While these negotiations are going on, the company plans to make further draws under the US$20 million promissory note from Pala in order to meet its immediate cash needs. If implemented, the proposed financing package will provide access to “significant further liquidity” for the company to maintain the assets at the Pumpkin Hollow underground copper mine, it says.

Pumpkin Hollow was the first copper mine to come online in the U.S. over the past decade. The underground mine is capable of producing 50 million lb. of copper annually during a 13.5-year mine life, but most mining activities were suspended at the beginning of the month.

Furthermore, the financing would allow Nevada Copper to pursue certain projects such as completing the dike crossing to gain access to the East North mining zone, the largest mining area within the underground mine. The company would be able to work on the Pumpkin Hollow open pit project, which it is advancing towards feasibility status, and to explore further financing and strategic options.

Additional details on the Pumpkin Hollow mine can be found at www.nevadacopper.com.

Copper is pivotal to the global transition to a clean energy future. The red metal is an essential ingredient for the electric vehicles (EVs), energy storage systems, and renewable energy technologies underpinning this transition.

However, declining ore quality, mine closures, and the absence of additional investment in new supply could lead to a shortfall of 16 million tonnes by 2040, according to global research and consultancy firm Wood Mackenzie.

The challenge is to find new supplies of copper to support the electrification of transportation systems and energy networks, particularly for the U.S., which is currently a net importer of copper.

“The world will need a lot more copper to support the move away from fossil fuels – and we are developing a potentially significant new resource,” says Steve Dunn, president and CEO of US Copper (TSXV: USCU; US-OTC: USCUF).

The company is focused on advancing its Moonlight-Superior copper project to the production stage and “could be a major new source of copper to help meet the rising demand from the green technologies sector and the infrastructure needed to support it.”

The 34-km² property lies within the Lights Creek copper district of Plumas County in northeast California, approximately 140 km northwest of Reno, Nev. The project hosts two past-producing underground mines, Superior and Engels, which produced over 161 million pounds of copper at a grade of 2.2% between 1915 and 1930.

Moonlight-Superior “has had over 500 holes drilled on it, with past operators spending around US$50 million in today’s money on the property,” says Dunn. “A historical resource estimate by the previous owner, Placer Amex, estimated a 4-billion-lb copper resource for the project, but we definitely have a lot more than that.”

The property, he adds, also benefits greatly from existing infrastructure. “It can be accessed year-round by a paved road, which also connects it with State Highway 89, about 11 km to the southwest, a power line runs 3 km to the south, and a rail line, 11 km to the southwest, connecting the project to a deep water port at Sacramento, about 240 km southwest. We also have a skilled workforce close at hand.”

Copper mineralization at Moonlight-Superior comprises sulphide and oxide resources hosted in three advanced-stage deposits – Moonlight, Superior and Engels – and several partially tested and untested exploration targets.

A 2017 mineral resource estimate for the Moonlight deposit estimated 228 million indicated tonnes grading 0.25% copper for 576,696 tonnes contained copper and inferred resources of 99 million tonnes grading 0.24% copper for 242,218 tonnes of copper.

According to Dunn, the estimate was based on drill results from a drilling campaign “that was still intersecting mineralization at the bottom of the deposit when the drilling was stopped, suggesting there is more ore beneath the current Moonlight resource.”

A preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for Moonlight in 2018 envisaged a mining operation with a 17-year mine life producing an average of 147,871 tonnes (326 million lb.) of copper concentrate per year for a life-of-mine production of 1.5 billion lb. of copper.

The early-stage study pegged initial capital costs at US$513 million, with US$71 million budgeted for contingency. Using an 8% discount rate and copper price of US$3.15 per lb., the after-tax net present value is estimated at US$237 million with an after-tax internal rate of return of 16.4%. The capital outlay would be paid back in 4.8 years.

The PEA “did not factor in the two other smaller, but higher grade deposits, Superior and Engels, which have similar mineralization to Moonlight, or numerous untested copper occurrences across the property,” says George Cole, a non-executive director with US Copper. Cole was previously vice-president of exploration of Cominco American until he retired in 2001.

“Further exploration success at Moonlight and inclusion of the other deposits and untested mineral showings, could significantly enhance the size and economics of the project.”

In addition, the oxide resources at Moonlight, he notes, were treated as waste material in the PEA, with Placer Amex estimating a historic resource of 11.1 million tonnes of copper grading 0.54% for the project’s oxide cap.

Cole says delineating an oxide resource for inclusion in the mine development plan “is also likely to boost the value of the project.”

This year, US Copper plans to drill about 3,000 metres at the Engels deposit. The drilling will target an approximate 240 metres by 120 metres by 213 metres envelope of open pit grade copper mineralization surrounding the historic underground Engels mine.

The mineralization was initially identified in underground drill holes during the 1915-30 mining operation, but was “too low-grade for an underground mine,” says Cole. However, he noted that more recent historical surface drilling encountered significant intervals of copper sulphide mineralization “that could be amenable to an open pit mining operation.”

According to Dunn, the company currently has around $2 million in the treasury and “will be more than enough to fund the proposed drill program, which we expect to start in the fall of this year.”

The preceding Joint Venture Article is PROMOTED CONTENT sponsored by US COPPER and produced in co-operation with The Northern Miner. Visit www.uscoppercorp.com for more information.

Canada’s Hudbay Minerals (TSX, NYSE: HBM) unveiled Wednesday a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for its Copper World Complex in Arizona, which includes recently discovered deposits at the property as well as the Rosemont asset.

The document comes only two weeks after a U.S. court cleared the path for the company to proceed with its planned Copper World mine.

Hudbay’s other major copper project in Arizona, the larger and neighbouring Rosemont, which suffered a major setback in early May after a judge confirmed a 2019 ruling that halted the US$2 billion project on environmental grounds.

The company said Copper World’s two-phase mine plan has an after-tax net present value of almost US$1.3 billion and will generate an 18% internal rate of return, based on a copper price of US$3.50 per pound.

Total project capital costs included in the PEA are estimated to be US$1.9 billion for Phase I of Copper World, including US$572 million of owner’s costs associated with mining equipment, pre-stripping activities as well as all operating costs capitalized before the start of production, Hudbay said.

The Toronto-based miner said it did not believe any federal permits were required for the first phase of complex mine plan as it sits on private land, rather than federal land.

“The [Copper World] project is significantly de-risked and has the potential to nearly double our annual copper production while maintaining Hudbay’s first quartile cash cost positioning,” chief executive Peter Kukielski said in the statement.

The first phase focuses on a standalone operation with processing infrastructure on Hudbay’s private land.

The mine is expected to churn out up to 100,000 tonnes of copper a year over a 16-year mine life. These includes about 86,000 tonnes of copper from mined resources at average cash costs and sustaining cash costs of US$1.15 and US$1.44 per pound of copper, respectively.

Phase II would need a US$885 million investment to cover costs associated with the expansion of the crushing facility and flotation plant, to accommodate the higher sulfide throughput, as well as US$264 million of owner’s costs related to the construction of a new tailings’ facility.

The second phase would increase average annual copper production up to roughly 125,000 tonnes over the remaining mine life, including approximately 101,000 tonnes of copper from mined resources, Hudbay said.

Four pits

The Copper World Complex is planned to be a traditional open pit shovel and truck operation with a copper sulfide mineral processing plant and an oxide leach processing facility producing copper cathode, molybdenum concentrate, and silver.

The overall mining operation is expected to consist of four open pits in Phase I with two of the pits expanding onto federal land in Phase II.

Hudbay expects to advance a pre-feasibility study for Phase I of the Copper World complex in the second half of 2022, which will focus on converting the remaining inferred mineral resources to measured and indicated.

The firm expects to complete a definitive feasibility study on Phase I in 2023 and receive all required state and local permits for Phase I.

The development of copper mines is considered critical for the world’s transition to a greener economy, in which electric vehicles (EVS) and renewable energies will take center stage.

Copper demand is expected to grow as a result, with analysts warning the global industry needs to spend more than US$100 billion to build mines able to close what could be an annual supply deficit of 4.7 million tonnes by 2030.

Integra Resources (TSXV: ITR) has released results of drilling at its DeLamar gold-silver project in southwestern Idaho, targeting the bulk-tonnage resource at Sullivan Gulch, the eastern portion of the deposit.

Delamar is host to a historic mine of the same name previously owned by Kinross. This open pit and underground operation lasted for over 100 years, during which it produced a total of 1.6 million oz. of gold and 100 million oz. of silver until its closure in 1998. Since then, no exploration took place on the property. Approximately 1,575 historic drill holes and 145,940 metres of drilling have been outlined in the project database.

Integra acquired the DeLamar mine in 2017, and the program at Sullivan Gulch was intended to further define a high-grade gold-silver feeder system, in conjunction with the bulk tonnage resource. The War Eagle, Florida Mountain and Black Sheep targets at DeLamar also have future potential for expansion.

The Sullivan Gulch exploration results comprised two drill holes, one of which intersected highest-grade silver intersected to date on the project: 4.1 g/t gold and 446.92 g/t silver over 26.97 metres, including 80.4 g/t gold and 14,054 g/t silver over 0.4 metre. Also included in the interval are 13.47 g/t gold and 1,909.45 g/t silver over 5.63 metres, and 40.74 g/t gold and 2,839 g/t silver over 0.76 metre.

This result, as Integra says, confirms for the first time the presence of a new, northwest-trending structural zone hosting high-grade gold-silver dipping to the northeast. All previous drilling at Sullivan Gulch targeted a north-northwest structure dipping to the southwest, suggesting these new intercepts may represent a new, high-grade feeder system that has not been previously encountered.

“As a potential new high-grade discovery, these results announced today further underscore that resource upside is not at all capped, but in fact further enhanced by results such as these shown today, as a large measure of today’s intercepts reside outside of current resource limits and mine plans,” Integra’s president and CEO George Salamis commented.

In February, Integra released a pre-feasibility study (PFS) on the DeLamar project, which outlined a two-stage heap leach and mill operation with an after-tax net present value of US$412 million and internal rate of return of 27% (assuming a base case scenario of US$1,700/oz. gold and US$21.50/oz. silver).

Annual production over a 16-year mine life would average 71,000 oz. gold and 3.1 million oz. silver, based on proven and probable mineral reserves of 123.5 million tonnes grading 0.45 g/t gold and 23.27 g/t silver, containing 1.8 million oz. gold and 92.4 million oz. silver.

“The immense value of the DeLamar project was recently highlighted in the February 2022 PFS resource estimate which included a large gold and silver resource. This resource base tied into a robust mine plan that demonstrated low-cost gold-silver production and a mining scenario that we believe can be permitted in a simple and straight-forward manner,” Integra president and CEO George Salamis said.

More details about the DeLamar project can be found at www.integraresources.com.

Mining and commodities trader Glencore (LON: GLEN) has settled probes into bribery and market manipulation in the U.K. and U.S., which have hung over the company for years.

The company, which in February announced it had set aside US$1.5 billion cover the costs of settlements in the U.S., U.K. and Brazil, confirmed on Tuesday it would appear in court in the U.S. today in connection with “proposed resolutions” to probes into its activities.

Later in the day, the U.K. Serious Fraud Office (SFO) charged Glencore with seven counts of bribery in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and South Sudan. A London judge will sign off on separate penalties for Glencore at a sentencing hearing June 21.

In the U.S., the miner pled guilty to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, agreeing to pay a US$429 million fine and to forfeit more than US$272 million to U.S. authorities.

Over the past four years, Glencore has been under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the U.K. Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and Brazilian authorities for alleged money laundering and corruption. 

The Swiss company disclosed in 2018 that the DOJ had requested documents related to the group’s business in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Nigeria and Venezuela as part of a probe into possible corruption and money laundering.

Brazil also kicked off an investigation into Glencore and trading groups Vitol and Trafigura over alleged bribery of employees at state-run oil company Petrobras.

A year later, the U.K.’s SFO confirmed it was investigating suspicions of bribery by both the company and its staff.

The Swiss Attorney General followed suit, saying the probe was the result of a wide-ranging investigation by law enforcement agencies opened in early 2020.

Glencore, which is also subject to investigations from Swiss and Dutch authorities, has said the timing of those probes remains uncertain but would expect any possible resolution to avoid duplicative penalties for the same conduct.

International Battery Metals (CSE: IBAT; OTC: IBATF) has successfully completed the systems and safety testing for what would be the world’s first commercial-scale mobile lithium extraction plant.

The modular plant will now begin flow-testing with lithium-bearing brine, which has been sourced in the U.S. and is being trucked in. Once the efficacy and safety of the flow tests have been confirmed, International Battery Metals will begin extracting lithium chloride (LiCl).

The company expects extraction to begin in the coming days, becoming the first globally to successfully operate a commercial-scale mobile lithium extraction plant.

The unique modular design of the company’s lithium plant allows for rapid deployment and swift onsite assembly. The plant, located in Lake Charles, Louisiana, was assembled in 10 days by a crew of nine workers and has the potential to produce 5,000 tonnes of commercial-grade lithium chloride, on a lithium-carbonate-equivalent basis, each year. Thanks to its modular design, this same plant also has the potential to be expanded to produce up to 20,000 tonnes of lithium chloride per year, based on the capacity and unique composition of the brine resource.

“This modular plant represents a fundamental evolution of direct lithium extraction (DLE), with the clear potential to achieve commercial scale at a much lower cost than traditional extraction methods, while at the same time achieving vastly superior environmental performance,” John Burba, CEO of International Battery Metals, commented. “Our patented, proprietary technology not only allows for the rapid extraction of lithium chloride at high concentrations, but sets a new standard for environmental care. We’re thrilled to begin flowing brine through the system this week.”

International Battery Metals anticipates that its patented modular and mobile design will allow access and a means to capitalize on a more diverse range of lithium-bearing brine resources, including smaller sites in varied terrain that are currently considered uneconomical due to the conventional extraction technologies, which are larger in size, require more capital and time to build, and are more harmful to the environment.

“Our modular plant technology can be built, deployed and brought on-line in a fraction of the time of traditional lithium mining plants and at a fraction of the price,” Burba added. “This technology is the first of its kind, but it arises directly from the foundation of the initial DLE patents I filed with Dr. Bauman in the 1980s and 1990s, and commercialized through FMC in the 1990s. We are excited to be breaking the mold once again.”

More details on this advanced lithium extraction technology can be found at www.ibatterymetals.com.