Australia/New Caledonia/Papua New Guinea Mining – Page 28

Barrick looking to reopen Porgera gold mine in Papua New Guinea (Mining Technology – November 13, 2020)

November 13, 2020

Barrick Gold president Mark Bristow reportedly held discussions on royalty arrangements with landowners in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (PNG).

The latest move comes as the company seeks to ‘negotiate a reopening’ of the Porgera gold mine, Reuters reported citing landowners. The Porgera gold mine is located in Enga Province, 600km north-west of Port Moresby.

Barrick’s lease over the gold mine, which it operated alongside Zijin Mining, expired when PNG Prime Minister James Marape refused to extend it in April this year.

Australian mining magnate plans global green energy drive – by Dominic Ellis (Mining Global – November 12, 2020)

November 13, 2020

https://www.miningglobal.com/

Australian mining magnate Andrew Forrest has outlined ambitious plans to build a renewable energy business, aiming to compete with oil giants to provide low-cost green energy globally.

The billionaire owner of Fortescue Metals Group – the world’s fourth-biggest iron ore miner – says Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) has signed preliminary deals in countries like Papua New Guinea, as well as in African countries, and a team of executives is looking for other partners.

“We are building a portfolio of renewable assets, energy producing assets around the world,” Forrest, Fortescue’s chairman, told the company’s annual meeting via video link from Paraguay, according to a Reuters report.

End of an era: Argyle Mine officially closed – by Arabella Roden (Jeweller Magazine – November 11, 2020)

November 11, 2020

https://www.jewellermagazine.com/

The source of more than 90 per cent of the world’s pink diamonds, the Argyle Mine in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, has been permanently closed by owner Rio Tinto after more than 30 years of operation.

The mine’s last day of operation was 3 November, with employees and traditional owners of the land attending an event to mark the start of the closure process.

Rio Tinto estimates it will take five years to dismantle and decommission the Argyle site, which will be rehabilitated, monitored, and returned to traditional owners.

Australian gold sector defies decline in reserves – by Nickolas Zakharia (Mining Australia – November 9, 2020)

November 9, 2020

Home

Australia’s gold exploration expenditure increased to $304.4 million in the June quarter of 2020, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The prospect of discovering another project the quality of Fosterville in Victoria is part of what has led to an exploration revival as prices for the commodity have also risen. Australian gold companies have also continued to stay the course in growing their portfolios.

Leading Australian gold producer Northern Star Resources spent $288.7 million on its exploration and evaluation assets in the 2020 financial year. Saracen Mineral Holdings invested $273 million on growth projects and exploration in the same period to prepare its business for the future.

Canada still a go-to destination for Australian investors and miners (Mining Review Africa – November 9, 2020)

November 9, 2020

https://www.miningreview.com/

It comes as no surprise that 2020 has seen a lot of changes in the way businesses and individuals operate, where, with whom, and how. In this article, we specially look at Canada, and its relation to mining and resources’ investment and operational interests from Australia.

The Canadian Government is supporting the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) Online this year to promote trade and investment opportunities for Canada, specifically to the Australian market.

We asked Bertrand Raoult, Trade Commissioner, Foreign Investment Attraction from the Consulate General of Canada based in Australia, why this is important to his Government?

Australia tells the world it is open for business when it comes to critical minerals – by Valentina Ruiz Leotaud (Mining.com – November 8, 2020)

November 9, 2020

https://www.mining.com/

The Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) in collaboration with Geoscience Australia and the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources recently published the second edition of the Australian Critical Minerals Prospectus, a document aimed at highlighting the country’s position on critical materials supply.

To prepare the report, the Australian government examined lists of critical minerals published in markets such as the United States, the European Union and Japan, and matched those against Australia’s known geological endowment.

The result is a list of 24 critical minerals that are either being produced or could be produced in Australia.

Asia Today: Court upholds state border closings in Australia (Lethbridge News Now – November 5, 2020)

November 6, 2020

https://lethbridgenewsnow.com/

CANBERRA, Australia — Australia’s highest court on Friday upheld a state’s border closure and dismissed billionaire businessman Clive Palmer’s argument that the pandemic measure was unconstitutional.

The seven High Court judges ruled that Western Australia’s state border closure to non-essential travel applied during “a hazard in the nature of a plague or epidemic” complied with the constitution.

All Australian states and territories have used border restrictions to curb infections and a court ruling against Western Australia could have impacted their pandemic responses.

Estrella confirms massive nickel sulphides – Matt Birney (The West Australian – November 4, 2020)

November 5, 2020

https://thewest.com.au/

Estrella Resources looks to have hit paydirt at the T5 nickel discovery near Carr Boyd Rocks in WA posting an assay intercept of 2.5m at an eye-catching 3.66 per cent nickel.

This strike confirms the presence of high-grade nickel at the prospect and clears the way for an extended program across the emerging discovery. The company has already identified substantial electromagnetic targets in close proximity to this pivotal drill hole and is set to kick off follow up drilling in the coming days.

Diamond drill hole CBDD030, the star of the show at T5 to date, was designed to test a deep geophysical target within the prospect. The drill hole successfully intersected 15m of sulphide mineralisation at more than 400 metres below surface, as per its design.

Australia accepts human rights complaint against Rio Tinto over Bougainville – by Staff (Mining.com – November 4, 2020)

November 4, 2020

https://www.mining.com/

Australia’s Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC) issued a statement saying that the residents of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea have welcomed this week’s decision by the Australian government to accept a human rights complaint against mining giant Rio Tinto (ASX, LON, NYSE: RIO) for investigation and conciliation.

The complaint, which was filed by the HRLC on behalf of 156 Bougainville residents, alleges environmental and human rights violations caused by Rio Tinto’s former Panguna mine on the island.

The operation was run by Rio Tinto subsidiary Bougainville Copper (BCL) and was abandoned in the 1990s due to a civil war that was largely fought over how mine profits should be shared. Some 25 years later, in 2016, Rio handed its shareholding to national and local governments.

Gina Rinehart’s wealth soars as Hancock Prospecting reports $4b profit – by Nick Toscano (Brisbane Times – November 4, 2020)

November 4, 2020

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/

Australia’s richest person Gina Rinehart has added to her wealth after her mining company Hancock Prospecting reported a 50 per cent surge in profit on the back of soaring prices for iron ore.

Days after Mrs Rinehart topped The Australian Financial Review’s 2020 Rich List with an estimated $29 billion fortune, financial accounts reveal her private company’s after-tax profit rose from $2.6 billion to $4 billion in the past financial year.

While many of Australia’s top export commodities such as coal and liquefied natural gas have faced sharp falls due to various impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, iron ore has soared and remains above $US110 a tonne, providing a windfall to mining giants such as Fortescue, BHP, Rio Tinto and Hancock Prospecting’s majority-owned Roy Hill.

BHP takes copper pledge – by Esmaire Iannucci (MiningWeekly.com – November 2, 2020)

November 2, 2020

https://www.miningweekly.com/

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Major BHP has committed its copper operations in Chile and Australia to the Copper Mark voluntary programme, designed to hold the copper industry accountable to responsible practices in critical areas including environment, community, human rights and governance issues.

The Copper Mark is a credible assurance framework to demonstrate the copper industry’s responsible production practices and contribution to the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals.

“We know that our long-term sustainability credentials are important to our customers and increasingly important to end consumers of copper products, such as buyers of electric vehicles and copper intensive consumer durables,” says BHP group sales and marketing officer Michiel Hovers.

Thermal coal demand in Asia to rise – report – by Esmarie Iannucci (MiningWeekly.com – October 28, 2020)

October 29, 2020

https://www.miningweekly.com/

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – New research conducted on behalf of the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) has noted that the demand for thermal coal imports in the Asia Pacific region will grow by more than 270-million tonnes to 2030, to reach 1.1-billion tonnes a year.

The report by Commodity Insight, noted that there were several fundamental factors driving this growth in demand, including high electricity demand, high population growth, significant coal-fired generation capacity, and the inability of domestic coal production to keep pace with demand growth.

$14 trillion investor coalition puts Australia’s miners on notice over Indigenous rights – by Nick Toscano (Sydney Morning Herald – October 29, 2020)

October 29, 2020

https://www.smh.com.au/

A coalition of global investors managing a collective $14 trillion has written to Australia’s biggest mining companies describing Rio Tinto’s destruction of Aboriginal rock shelters as a wake-up call and demanding assurances about their relationships with First Nations peoples.

In a letter circulated on Thursday, the investor group which included America’s Fidelity, the Church of England Pensions Board and several top local super funds said their long-term investments meant they needed to have confidence in how miners obtained and maintained their “social licence” with the traditional custodians of their land on which they operated.

The push comes after traditional owners were left devastated and investors shocked and outraged at Rio Tinto’s ill-fated decision to blast through two culturally significant 46,000-year-old rock shelters at Western Australia’s Juukan Gorge to enlarge an iron ore mine.

Banks Don’t Want to Lend to Australia’s Coal Miners Any More – by James Thornhill (Yahoo/Bloomberg – October 28, 2020)

October 29, 2020

https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/

(Bloomberg) — Financing options open to Australia’s coal operators dwindled further after another of the country’s largest banks said it would end almost all investment in thermal mines and power stations by 2030.

The move by Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. will add to the increasing difficulty miners face in funding new operations or expanding their existing assets in the nation, the world’s second-biggest exporter of thermal coal.

Financial institutions across the globe are bowing to pressure from shareholders and lobby groups to avoid investments in the fuel. Meanwhile, Australia’s mining lobby forecasts a booming market, on Tuesday saying that it expects Asian demand to rise 35% over the next decade.

Fortescue sees strong iron ore demand as China churns out record steel – by Nick Toscano (The Age – October 29, 2020)

October 29, 2020

https://www.theage.com.au/

The head of mining giant Fortescue says the strength of the Chinese steel sector has beaten all expectations this year, pushing annual output towards a record 1 billion tonnes and supporting ongoing demand for Australia’s top export, iron ore.

After Fortescue lifted its Western Australian iron ore shipments by 5 per cent in the past three months, chief executive Elizabeth Gaines said China was exhibiting robust demand for the steelmaking raw material and had churned out more than 781 million tonnes of crude steel so far this year.

This marked an increase of 4.5 per cent in steel production for the first nine months of the year compared to the same time last year, and has helped drive a stunning price rally, Ms Gaines said.