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Nevada Mining

E.P.A. Is Moving to Designate Contaminated Nevada Copper Mine a Superfund Site (Associated Press/New York Times – December 24, 2015)

http://www.nytimes.com/

RENO, Nev. — Fifteen years after federal regulators started assessing damage and health risks at an abandoned Nevada copper mine, the Environmental Protection Agency is moving to designate the contaminated land a Superfund site, a step the state could still oppose.

Rural neighbors of the World War II-era mine that has leaked toxic chemicals for decades won a $19.5 million settlement in 2013 from companies they accused of covering up the contamination to drinking water wells near Yerington, about 65 miles southeast of Reno.

The E.P.A. sent a letter to Gov. Brian Sandoval this week announcing its intention to place the mine on the Superfund’s National Priority List of the nation’s most polluted sites to “mitigate exposures that are a substantial threat to the public health or welfare or the environment.”

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[Nevada] Mining Not Major Threat To Sage Grouse, Says Mining Association – by Casey Morell (Nevada Public Radio – December 22, 2015)

http://knpr.org/

The battle over the sage grouse continues.

The National Mining Association, a group representing mining companies, is protesting the federal government’s plan to protect the sage grouse.

Specifically, the group does not want the Bureau Of Land Management to protect the bird on land that can be mined for gold and minerals.

“I think our major concern is the proposed withdrawal of 10 million acres of land from mining operations,” said Katie Sweeney, senior Vice President of Legal Affairs and General Counsel, National Mining Association.

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Tesla in stand-off over lithium supply – by Henry Sanderson (Financial Times – December 15, 2015)

http://www.ft.com/

On the edge of the Nevada desert, Tesla, the electric carmaker, is building the world’s largest battery plant.

The mile-long, so-called Gigafactory is expected to boost demand for lithium, the raw material used in the batteries that power most electric cars.

But the company has yet to announce any lithium supply deals with big producers, leaving it unclear where it will source the lightweight natural material it will need to start producing batteries by 2017 with Panasonic, its partner.

The Gigafactory is set to supply batteries for the 500,000 cars Tesla hopes to produce by the end of the decade, as well as to power homes.

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There’s lithium in them thar … lakebeds – by Sandra Chereb (Las Vegas Review-Journal – December 13, 2015)

http://www.reviewjournal.com/

CARSON CITY — A new mining boom is taking shape in Nevada, one focused not on gold and silver but brines and clay containing an element critical to a 21st century world.

Interest in Nevada’s lithium supplies spiked after Tesla Motors Inc. chose the Northern Nevada desert as the site for its $5 billion lithium-ion battery factory, a joint venture with Japanese company Panasonic Corp.

Elon Musk, Tesla’s billionaire CEO, said mass production of the batteries is key to his goal of making the company’s fast and sexy electric cars affordable to the general public.

Since factory construction began last year, Musk has launched another endeavor — making energy storage units for homes and businesses capable of storing solar-produced electricity for use when the sun doesn’t shine.

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Barrick sells $720-million of Nevada assets as it copes with low gold prices – by Ian McGugan (Globe and Mail – November 13, 2015)

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

Barrick Gold Corp. has sold several Nevada properties for $720-million (U.S.) in a flurry of transactions that underline how the gold industry is reshaping itself to deal with falling prices for the precious metal.

Kinross Gold Corp. of Toronto is the major purchaser of the assets. It will pay Barrick $610-million for its Bald Mountain mine and for its half interest in the Round Mountain mine. Kinross already owns the other half of the Round Mountain property.

In addition, Waterton Precious Metals Fund II of Toronto will pay $110-million to Barrick for its Ruby Hill mine and for a 70-per-cent interest in the Spring Valley project.

The deals demonstrate the impact of falling gold prices. Over the past four years, the metal has tumbled from $1,900 an ounce to below $1,100 an ounce.

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NEWS RELEASE: Barrick Announces Sale of Non-Core Assets for $720 Million (November 12, 2015)

http://www.barrick.com/

TORONTO, November 12, 2015 — Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:ABX)(TSX:ABX) (“Barrick” or the “company”) today announced that it has entered into agreements to sell a number of non-core assets in Nevada for $720 million in cash, including 100 percent of the Bald Mountain mine, 100 percent of the Ruby Hill mine, Barrick’s 50 percent interest in the Round Mountain mine and the company’s 70 percent interest in the Spring Valley project.

Including these transactions, Barrick has announced asset sales, joint ventures and partnerships worth $3.2 billion since the start of 2015. The company is on track to meet its stated debt reduction target of $3 billion for 2015, which, when completed, will represent a 23 percent reduction in total debt since the start of the year.

“The sale of these assets is consistent with our strategy to create long-term value for our shareholders by strengthening the balance sheet and further focusing our portfolio on core mines that will drive free cash flow growth,” said Barrick President Kelvin Dushnisky.

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EWS RELEASE: Kinross Acquires Strategic Nevada Assets (November 12, 2015)

http://www.kinross.com/

Strengthens Portfolio With Two Quality Mines in World-Class Jurisdiction; Large Prospective Land Package Offers Clear Path to Upside Potential

TORONTO, ON, Nov 12, 2015 (Marketwired via COMTEX) — Kinross Gold Corporation (K) KGC, -2.78% announced today that it has entered into a definitive asset purchase agreement to acquire 100% of the Bald Mountain (“Bald Mountain”) gold mine, which includes a large associated land package, and 50% of the Round Mountain (“Round Mountain”) gold mine in Nevada from Barrick Gold Corporation for $610 million in cash.1

(This news release contains forward-looking information about expected future events and financial and operating performance of the Company. We refer to the risks and assumptions set out in our Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information located on page four of this release. All dollar amounts are expressed in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise noted.)

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Radioactive dump that burned in Nevada had past troubles (Associated Press/Mining Gazette – October 25, 2015)

http://www.mininggazette.com/

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The operator of a closed radioactive waste dump that caught fire in southern Nevada had trouble over the years with leaky shipments and oversight so lax that employees took contaminated tools and building materials home, according to state and federal records.

The firm, now called US Ecology Inc., had its license suspended for mishandling shipments in the 1970s — about the same time that state officials say the material that exploded and burned last weekend was accepted and buried.

Nevada now has ownership and oversight of the property, which opened in 1962 near Beatty as the nation’s first federally licensed low-level radioactive waste dump and closed in 1992. State officials said this week they didn’t immediately know what blew up.

A soundless 40-second video turned over by US Ecology to state officials showed bursts of white smoke and dirt flying from several explosions on Oct. 18 from the dump in the brown desert about 110 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

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Editorial: Gold reigns over a menagerie of minerals (Elko Daily News – October 21, 2015)

http://elkodaily.com/

They say all that glitters is not gold, but here in Nevada that amounts to only about 15 percent.

Gold mining accounts for 85 percent of mineral revenue in the state, Nevada Division of Minerals Administrator Rich Perry recently explained. Still, there are a couple dozen other minerals that are regularly mined here – in addition to resources such as geothermal, oil and gas — and some of them have significant economic potential.

Northeastern Nevada’s quest for diversification beyond gold may include some of these marginal minerals. So far, it’s been a mixed bag.

Elko County’s fracking “boom” seems to have stalled out as quickly as it started. Noble Energy has drilled several exploration wells but whether they go into production depends on test results and oil prices – which have been at rock bottom.

The drilling activity has boosted production of barite, including a grinding mill constructed by NOV Minerals at Elko’s railport.

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Lithium Market Set To Explode – All Eyes Are On Nevada – by James Stafford (Oil Price – October 6, 2015)

http://oilprice.com/

While other commodities are floundering or completely collapsing in this market, lithium—the critical mineral in the emerging battery gigafactory war—is poised to explode, and going forward Nevada is emerging as the front line in this pending American lithium boom.

Most of the world’s lithium comes from Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Australia and China, but American resources being developed by new entrants into this market have set up the state of Nevada to become the key venue and proving ground for game-changing trade in this everyday mineral. Nevada is about to get a boost first from Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) upcoming battery gigafactory, and then from all of its rivals.

For several years, experts have been predicting a lithium revolution, and while investors were being coy at first, the reality of the battery gigafactories is now clear, and nothing has hit this home more poignantly than Tesla’s recent supply agreements with lithium providers who will be the first beneficiaries of this boom, followed by a second round of lithium brine developers that are climbing quickly to the forefront.

As Jeb Handwerger—founder of Gold Stock Trades—recently told the Resource Investor: “This is just the beginning. We’re in the early stages of a revolution in powering transportation and homes.

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Barrick closing Utah office and copper unit in cost-cutting effort – by Rachelle Younglai (Globe and Mail – September 18, 2015)

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

Barrick Gold Corp. is shutting a major American office and dismantling its copper unit, the company’s latest steps to cut costs and overhaul operations amid the slump in gold prices.

The closing of its Salt Lake City office along with the unwinding of its copper business will help the world’s biggest gold producer save $2-billion (U.S.) by the end of next year, the company said.

Four years of declining gold prices have forced a broad retreat at Barrick and battered the company’s share price. In addition to selling a slew of mines and non-core assets, Barrick recently reduced its dividend again and sold a stake in its top copper mine in Chile as well as part of one of its most profitable gold mines, in the Dominican Republic.

Barrick’s Salt Lake office, which employs about 110 staff, will close in November after supporting the miner’s core Nevada operations for nearly two decades. It follows the shutdown of Barrick’s Perth bureau and job cuts in its Santiago office.

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Tesla plans to buy lithium for Gigafactory from nearby Nevada mine – by Katie Fehrenbacher (Fortune Magazine – September 16, 2015)

 

http://fortune.com/

The electric carmaker may get some of the lithium it needs for its Nevada battery factory from a local mining project.

Tesla plans to buy lithium, a critical ingredient in its batteries, from a mining project that’s under development 200 miles from its battery factory near Reno, Nev.

Pure Energy Minerals, which is leasing the Nevada land for mining, announced the supply agreement with the electric car maker on Wednesday.

The deal is highly unusual in the world of battery manufacturing. Much of the world’s lithium comes from Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Australia and eastern China, and is shipped long distances to battery makers in Asia.

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Tesla and the mining business – by Don Brunell (The Star – September 16, 2015)

http://www.grandcoulee.com/ Grand Coulee Dam Community

Tesla is the premium entry in the electric car market, with a starting price of $75,000. According to the Wall Street Journal, the high-end “Signature” model costs $132,000, slightly more than the base price for Porsche’s AG’s 911 GT3.

Even with a $7,500 federal tax credit, an assortment of state tax credits, and $10,000 in fuel saving over five years, the driver’s investment is over $110,000 – far beyond the reach of the average family.

However, Tesla’s luxury styling and impressive performance give high-end buyers the best of both worlds – luxury transportation and the satisfaction of environmental stewardship. In that light, it might surprise some that Tesla’s success depends, in large part, on lithium mining.

Tesla cars are made of carbon fiber and powered by racks of lithium-ion batteries. Strong, light, and cost-efficient, carbon fiber is being used increasingly by commercial airplane manufacturers. On board Boeing’s 787, the batteries are lithium-ion as well.

Like Boeing and Airbus, auto manufacturers are under economic and regulatory pressure to produce more fuel-efficient products.

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Once booming, Nevada gold output falls to 1988 level – by Sean Whaley (Las Vegas Review Journal – September 12, 2015)

http://www.reviewjournal.com/

CARSON CITY — Gold production in Nevada fell to less than 5 million ounces in 2014, the first time since 1988 that output of the precious metal has dipped so low.

A new state Division of Minerals report shows 4.94 million ounces of the precious metal was taken from 30 Nevada mines in 2014. There was about 5.5 million ounces of gold produced in Nevada in 2013.

The peak year in recent memory was 1998, with just under 9 million ounces.

Richard Perry, administrator of the Division of Minerals, said it appears production has leveled off in the 5 million ounce range over the past five years. While production has fallen, Nevada mines still throw of gold valued at $5.5 billion, at $1,100 per ounce, he said.

“We need better gold prices to see more projects and new mining,” Perry said. The lower gold production is due largely to the price of gold, which hit a high of nearly $1,800 per ounce in 2012 but has dropped to about $1,100 as of Friday.

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Tesla interest could spark new Nevada gold rush for lithium – by Andy Colthorpe (Storage-PV Tech.com – September 07, 2015)

http://storage.pv-tech.org/

A gold exploration and mining company has agreed to purchase a potential site for excavating lithium in Nevada, citing the “great deal of attention” brought onto the state by Tesla’s decision to locate its mammoth manufacturing facility there.

The EV-maker’s decision to go into stationary storage, officially confirmed at the end of April, followed a period in which Tesla was supplying its partner SolarCity with battery-based energy storage in a number of pilot projects for houses and for the installer’s DemandLogic commercial solution.

The confirmation brought high-profile attention onto the energy storage industry, sparking mainstream media interest. By that point, it was already well known that Tesla was building a “Gigafactory” in Nevada and the announcement of the launch of Powerwall, for houses, and PowerPack for the commercial and utility-scale markets merely confirmed the company’s ambitions beyond EVs. The Gigafactory’s planned “500,000 battery packs by 2020” of production would be soaked up by stationary storage too.

In the final week of August this year, Tesla signed a conditional long-term lithium hydroxide supply deal with Canadian company Bacanora and British company Rare Earth Minerals.

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