The world’s largest iron ore export hub, Port Hedland in the Pilbara region of Australia, is in operation again after the passing of what has been named Cyclone Sean. According to a Reuters report, citing an interview with the Pilbara Ports Authority, the hub reopened Monday after being idled since Saturday, 18 January, as the storm arrived in the region.…
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SSR Mining, thanks to an independent review report commissioned by Call & Nicholas (CNI) of a heap leach failure it suffered at the Çöpler operation, now knows the most likely cause was a deeply-rooted flaw in the third-party engineered design of the heap leach pad. The review found that the assessment of the test data overestimated the shear strength properties…
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Photo: MMG Ltd Hong Kong-based MMG resumed operations at its Dugald River MMG in MMG on January 14 after an approaching grassfire near its perimeter was contained, reported Reuters. The miner, which is backed by state-owned China Minmetals Corporation, said it does not expect any material impact on its full-year production outlook for Dugald River. In fiscal 2023, the mine…
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First Majestic Silver has completed its acquisition of Gatos Silver, the company announced, with 98.44% of First Majestic’s shareholders and 99.23% of Gatos Silver’s stockholders voting in favor. Under the terms of the merger agreement, First Majestic has acquired all issued and outstanding shares of Gatos Silver, making it a wholly-owned subsidiary. The takeover was first announced om September 2024…
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Canadian-based Rio2 Limited is making strides at its Fenix gold mine in the Maricunga Gold Belt of the Atacama region of Chile. Pre-construction activities first commenced in 2022, prior to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the project being rejected by the Chilean environmental regulators. Those activities included ordering and securing of long lead items for the construction of the…
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At the end of 2024, the White House released the first Quadrennial Supply Chain review, detailing supply chains critical for national and economic security, including the U.S. Geological Survey’s accomplishments mapping potential new sources of critical minerals in the U.S. Full story.
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Precious metals miner Sierra Madre Gold and Silver commenced full commercial production at its Guitarra mine complex in Mexico’s Silver Belt on January 1. Full story.
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Two of Australia’s major miners and its biggest steelmaker plan to develop the country’s largest ironmaking electric smelting furnace (ESF) pilot plant in the Kwinana Industrial Area, south of Perth, in Western Australia. The companies formed the NeoSmelt collaboration in February 2024, combining BHP and Rio Tinto’s deep knowledge of Pilbara iron ore, with BlueScope’s unique operating experience in ESF…
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The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Worker’s Compensation Programs has issued a final rule revising the regulations under the Black Lung Benefits Act related to self-insurance by coal mine operators. Full story.
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Swedish miner Boliden has entered into a definitive agreement with Lunding Mining to acquire the Neves-Corvo mine in Portugal and the Zinkgruvan mine in Sweden for up to US$1.5 billion in total consideration. “The addition of two cash flow generative zinc and copper mines in Portugal and Sweden has a strong industrial logic as well as a strategic fit,” said…
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