Global projects and exploration
Brazil
Largo secures permit
Canadian mining company Largo Resources
announced that it has secured the environmental
license for its Maracás Menchen vanadium mine
expansion project in the Bahia State of Brazil. The
mine said in a statement that the license had been
published by the Instituto do Meio Ambiente e
Recursos Hidricos (INEMA).
Largo’s expansion project focuses on increasing
the production capacity of the milling, fusion
(de-ammoniator, furnace, and flaking wheel), leaching,
and filtering areas. The expansion will see production
capacity at the Maracás Menchen Mine increase
25% from the nameplate rate of about 800 tonnes
per month (tpm) of vanadium pentoxide (V205) to
1 000tpm.
The enhanced production rate at the Maracás
Menchen Mine is expected to result in an additional
200t of V2O5 being produced per month from and
after June 2019, and capital expenditures for the plan
are anticipated to total approximately USD15.5-
million using current exchange rates. Construction
began at the beginning of June 2018, with an
expected timetable for completion of about 12
months, including the required commissioning.
According to standard practice, INEMA
published confirmation of the license for the
expansion project on 26 October 2018. The license
is valid for a period of two years and may then be
further extended in accordance with the company’s
standard operating license, which was confirmed on
5 October 2018.
“Securing this permit was a key milestone in
our expansion project and we now look forward to
delivering a substantial increase in capacity, on time
and on budget. “Demand for vanadium continues to
increase worldwide and the supply-side fundamentals
continue to indicate a shortage of the commodity
in the near-term. Largo continues to believe that an
elevated price environment for vanadium will persist
and being one of the lowest cost producers of the
metal should continue to benefit greatly as a result,”
says Mark Smith, CEO at Largo.
Australia
Exploration upside at Horn Island
Gold explorer Alice Queen has upgraded the
mineral resource estimate for its flagship Horn
Island gold project in the Torres Strait, Queensland.
The revised mineral resource estimate is 7.96 million
tonnes at 1.9 grams a tonne (g/t) of gold for 492 000
ounces of gold using a 0.5g/t gold cut-off grade.
Alice Queen announced that recent work by
several industry consultants, together with the body
of work the company has compiled since listing
in 2015, had revealed a profound change in the
geological understanding and exploration potential
of Horn Island.
[10] MINING MIRROR JANUARY 2019
This has extended the exploration potential of
the asset well beyond the current inferred mineral
resource area.
Australia
Assays confirm lithium extensions
Encouraging assay results from ASX-listed Liontown
Resources’ Buldania project in south-western
Australia, has enabled the company to confirm
significant extensions to the lithium discovery. The
result was obtained from a second phase of reverse
circulation (RC) drilling.
The latest assays have extended mineralisation for
at least another 200m to the south-east, confirming
that the mineralisation extends over a continuous
strike length of at least 850m.
In addition, step-out drilling comprising single
holes on 100m-spaced lines have intersected
spodumene-bearing pegmatites for a further 500m
to the south-east, bringing the total possible strike
extent to at least 1.3km.
Turkey
Zenith scopes out gold
Follow-up drill testing is under way at Zenith
Minerals’ Kavaklitepe gold project in the western
region of Turkey.
According to the company, the main aim of this
reverse circulation (RC) programme is to scope out
the size and grade of the gold mineralisation system
at the Kuzey prospect (north prospect). The north
prospect is one of three gold mineralisation zones
within the Kavaklitepe project, where drilling has
returned encouraging results.
Exploration and evaluation of the Kavaklitepe
gold project is managed by a Turkish affiliate of
Teck Resources through the Turkish joint venture
company Kavak Madencilik A.S. that is 30% owned
by Zenith Minerals. Both Teck and Zenith’s parent
entities have agreed to contribute their share (70%
and 30%, respectively) of joint venture funds towards
the drill programme to maintain their respective
project interests.
Argentina
Copper on the altar
The transaction between South African-based mining
giant Sibanye-Stillwater and Regulas Resources’
newly formed subsidiary, Aldebran Resources, has
successfully been concluded.
According to a statement released by Sibanye,
they will benefit from upfront proceeds of about
USD15-million while retaining a direct interest in the
Altar project of either 40% or 20% (should Aldebaran
exercise its additional earn-in option), as well as an
indirect exposure through its 19.9% shareholding in
Aldebaran. Sibanye-Stillwater will also gain indirect
exposure to the Argentine exploration assets that
Aldebaran will be acquiring from Regulus as part
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