Engineering ‘flaw’ at center of Çöpler incident

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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Operations restart at Dugald River mine

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 closes Gatos takeover

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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Rio2 advancing Fenix gold mine

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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BHP, Rio Tinto and BlueScope to develop ESF pilot plant

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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Boliden purchases Lundin mines in Europe

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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Barrick may halt Mali ops over shipment blocks

Barrick Gold has confirmed it is considering suspending its operations in Mali after ongoing failed talks with the country’s authorities that have left its gold shipments blocked. The miner said it had previously agreed on a framework to achieve a global resolution of the disputes with the Government of Mali over the Loulo-Gounkoto complex, its Mali property, but to date…

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