Lycopodium has been awarded a $68.5 million EPC processing plant contract from Toro Gold.
The contract sees Lycopodium provide EPC services for a processing plant and other facilities at Toro’s Mako gold project in Senegal.
The win is a continuation of the company’s work with Toro, following the completion of its work on the pre-feasibility and definitive feasibility studies for the project.
TEREX has made second quarter revenue of US$109.6 million ($145.44 million), reflecting what company CEO John Garrison is calling “a company in transition”.
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Overall, Terex’s net sales for the quarter ending 30 June was US$1.298 billion ($1.720 billion), down about 10% from the same time last year. Garrison said Terex “continued to face challenging markets in the second quarter”.
“The North American market for many of our AWP andCranes products was lower than last year, as expected, which was reflected in both our sales and orders in the quarter,” he explained. “We grew AWP sales in Europe and parts of Asia, but not enough to offset the softness in North America. Our Materials Processing segment executed well and improved upon last year’s performance.”He said Terex will “remain focused on what we can control”.“The steps we took earlier in the year to reduce [selling, general, and administrative expenses] helped offset some of the impact of soft markets and competitive pricing, but more is needed,” he outlined. “In the second quarter, we took additional steps to simplify our manufacturing footprint and lower our cost base. After the sale of MHPS, Terex will be a smaller company. We are committed to reducing our cost structure accordingly.”
A new mining code has been launched by the World Initiative of Mining Lawyers (WIOML) to aid countries in both attracting investment and securing benefits for their own economies.
“The code provides a good starting point for countries without a code in place yet,” Andrew van Zyl, a partner and principal consultant at consulting engineers and scientists, SRK Consulting said,according to IM Mining.
“It also provides a useful benchmark against which a country could compare its existing code.”
Aspects of the code include licence allocation, work-it-or-lose-it, the right to mine, and social licences.
“Clearly, the transparent awarding of exploration licences is a key starting point for any national effort to promote mineral development,” van Zyl said.
He went on to say under the code miners should be given longer lead times for exploration, raising the potential of making economically viable discoveries – given that the average period for economic discovery is around eight years – followed by right to mine permissions, based on objective criteria free of discretion.
“So this should be done on an objective basis with free and open access – although there may be circumstances under which tendering could be considered.”
Van Zyl added that in the current investment strained market, clearer and more reasonable codes will aid in attracting investors, and should be used to build a constructive collaboration with mining stakeholders.
“There is little appetite or ability right now to raise the billions of dollars needed to develop large mining projects,” he said.
“But there is the time to invest much smaller amounts in the vital but neglected process of forging agreement and trust between miners, governments, communities, NGOs and other interested parties.”
“When it comes to stakeholder engagement, miners have traditionally found themselves between the proverbial rock and hard place,” Deloitte explained.
“Reconciling the often competing needs of government, local communities, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), employees, and regulators – whilst still delivering return on shareholder investment – has become a balancing act of huge proportions.”
Researchers found that mining projects with expenditures of between US$3 billion to US$5 billion can incur weekly losses of roughly US$20 million due to delayed production caused by community opposition, according to Rachel Davis and Daniel Franks’ Harvard Kennedy School report, Costs of Company-Community Conflict in the Extractive Sector.
“Too many projects are rushed into construction when commodity prices are buoyant, and are consequently hampered by a lack of local buy-in and insufficient clarity about each player’s respective roles, responsibilities and benefits,” van Zyl said.
“In many cases, the process becomes fraught with mistrust and brinkmanship, which delays or even threatens the project altogether.”
He went on to state: “It is vital for mining companies to take the initiative in setting up these meaningful discussions, rather than waiting for governments to impose solutions that may not be as effective,” he said.
“There is a danger that the industry is perceived as often being on the back foot and reacting defensively to the demands of other parties; goal-driven communication between these groups will help ease that perception.”
The code was launched at the recent WIOML conference.
China aims to increase its robots from 36 per 10,000 workers to 150 per 10,000 workers by 2020, to become one of the top countries in terms of workforce automation.
Currently, China is ranked just 28th globally in terms of workforce automation, despite having the world’s largest manufacturing sector, employing around 100 million people. The Chinese government seeks to “modernise” the industry.
A statement by China’s National Development and Reform Commission cited the ageing population and rising labour costs as the two main reasons the government is encouraging the development of the robotic industry and modernisation of the manufacturing sector. According to the 2016Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index, the nation’s labour force costs in 2015 were five times that of 2005.
According to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), China aims to increase sales of domestically produced industrial robots to 100,000 per year and boost the share of the domestic market held by Chinese robotic manufacturers. The IFR predicts that by 2020, China will have more robots per person than any other country.
Cost cutting and incremental improvements aren’t enough to lift mining, and the industry must embrace innovation or else, a Deloitte report says.
In its recent Innovation in Mining report, Deloitte explained that the industry understood the innovation concept but it is failing to implement it effectively, and the current focus on driving down capex and opex through cost cutting measures, as well as chasing incremental efficiencies to lift productivity, are no longer enough.
“Innovation is not only key to protect the future of the mining sector,” Deloitte said, “but that of the entire mining system, from the country in which the resources are harnessed to the people in its workforce, government, and the broader mining community.”
Nicki Ivory, Deloitte’s Australian national mining leader, explained that the industry has endured a difficult market marked by commodity price volatility, diminished Chinese demand tied to a slowdown in the country’s economic growth, capital and investment access issues, and ongoing environmental issues, according to The Australian.
“However to remain globally competitive, Australian miners must decide if they are willing to go beyond the basics and incorporate a structured approach to innovation,’’ Ivory said.
This research echoes statements made by METS sector lobby group Austmine.
“Most in the sector are agreed that for Australia to remain competitive in the years to come, the way we do things needs to change – dramatically,” Austmine CEO Christine Gibbs Stewart said.
“This is where innovation comes in. When we refer to innovation, we’re not simply referring to the next big invention, we are also encompassing incremental innovation, or a re-thinking of how we use equipment, technology or processes that we already have in place.
“This concept of re-thinking is key for innovation to succeed in the mining and METS sector. We must change how we think about innovation, about how we partner to achieve innovation and what innovation looks like.”
The Australian report added that while innovation is viewed overwhelmingly positively, most miners prefer to chase operational excellence and continuous improvement programs rather than make a huge leap technologically – as well as in mindset – and invest in transformative innovation.
“The tide for taking innovation seriously as a business imperative has come in,” Deloitte’s Africa Energy & Resources leader said in the African division of the report.
“While talk of this had drummed on for years, often constrained to the boardroom, now is when mining houses will succeed or falter based on whether innovation strategy is brought to life and whether it is integrated across departments.
“It is now critical for companies to push beyond what these reports term Core innovation.”
CATERPILLAR has released its second quarter results, showing a drop in both profit and revenue.
Compared to 2015, profit declined to US$10.342 billion ($13.82 billion) from US$12.317 billion while profit per share, excluding restructuring costs, declined from US$1.40 to US$1.09.
However, Caterpillar CEO Doug Oberhelman said he was pleased with his company’s financial performance and focus on its long-term strategy “given the difficult economic and industry environment we’re facing”.“For the quarter, our decremental operating profit pull through was better than our target range. Together with our dealers, we’re having success managing through the downturn in industries like mining and oil and gas, and in sluggish economic conditions in much of the developing world,” he explained. “In what is likely to be our fourth down year for sales and revenues, we’re proud of what we’re accomplishing – our machine market position has increased, including in China, product quality continues to be at high levels, and the safety in our facilities is world class.”However, Oberhelman said the company was cautious entering the second half of 2016. He explained there was no expectation of an upturn in important industries like mining, oil and gas, and rail.“Amidst these very challenging market conditions, our balance sheet remains strong, and our employees are delivering better performance on everything from safety, quality and cost management to machine market position. I’m inspired by our people as they’re the primary reason we’re weathering this downturn as successfully as we are,” he explained.
Outotec has been awarded a contract by Shangdong Province Metallurgical Engineering Co Ltd (SDM) for the delivery of process equipment to the Sangan Iron Concentrate Project in North-Eastern Iran. The Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development & Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) owns the Sangan mines and SDM is their engineering partner. The contract value is approximately €10 million and the order has been booked in Outotec’s 2016 second quarter order intake.
Outotec’s scope of work includes the design and delivery of thickeners and filter presses as well as related installation supervision and commissioning services including spare parts. The new iron processing plant will process annually 5 Mt of ore. The equipment will be delivered mostly during the second quarter of 2017. “We are pleased to have been given the opportunity to deliver the main dewatering process equipment to the second phase of the Sangan Iron project. Our comprehensive portfolio of dewatering equipment enables us to tailor efficient and environmentally sound solutions and services for iron ore processing”, says Kalle Härkki, Head of Outotec’s Minerals Processing business unit.
KONECRANES is introducing a broad range of lifting and materials handling technologies to Australasia, designed specifically for waste to energy (WtE) and biomass applications.
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| Konecranes’ WtE cranes are now available in Australia. |
The technologies include unmanned full automation, remote operation stations, remote monitoring, and maintenance reporting products.
“Our WtE cranes can be equipped with GlobalTechnical Support connection, remote monitoring and a compute interface capable of semi or fully unmanned automation or a remote for manual handling, as well as a range of features and benefits to maximise production and minimise running costs,” Konecranes Australia national industrial equipment manager Peter Monaghan said.Koncranes’ waste handling cranes also come equipped with smart features designed to manage critical crane functions to reduce structural stress, increase efficiency and prolong the machine’s lifespan.For instance, sway control minimises load sway from bridge and trolley motions, reducing collisions between the bucket and pit walls or hopper as well as preventing equipment damage.“Cranes play a crucial role in waste-to-energy as well as other modern incineration plants where tight environmental management guidelines are applied. A continuous material handling system with maximum safety and efficiency and minimum downtime is vital,” Monaghan said.For now, four types cranes are available to the sector – Konecranes’ biomass handling crane, refuse handling crane, refuse plant crane, and ash (or slag) handling crane.Additionally, Konecranes’ main user interface (MUI) is the company’s new standard solution for programming waste to energy automation.The MUI features a computer, which is fully integrated with the crane’s programmable logic controller (PLC) system, while isolated from outside networks. It allows the operator to schedule and program a week-long agenda that includes up to 20 different work routines in full automation, giving plant managers enhanced flexibility to manage pit operations for receiving, mixing and burning waste.
KONECRANES is offering to split off one of its subsidiaries to address concerns from the European Commission (EC) about the supply of hoists within the European Economic Area.
The subsidiary, STAHL CraneSystems, provides hoisting technology and crane components to the global market. As a result of the offer, which will be market tested, the EC has extended its review of the transaction between Konecranes and Terex with an expected decision date of 8 August. Konecranes noted the offer “may be subject to change” prior to the EC’s decision.
Konecranes CEO Panu Routila said the offer was a result of “very constructive dialogue” with the EC and the company believes the offer will “fully resolve” the EC’s concerns.
While that bargaining process continues, Konecranes has also released its interim report for 2016 which covers January through to June. Orders dropped 10.3 percent compared to last year to EUR905.3 million, which Konecranes said was due to lower port cranes orders in the first quarter of 2016. Sales declined by a slight 2.3% to EUR987.4 million compared to last year as well.
Net profit declined from EUR17 million down to EUR10.9 million, but the second quarter results for the second quarter (April to June) were considerably better. They increased 40.6%, from EUR11.4 million to EUR16 million.
Citing the second quarter adjusted operating profit, which had increased by 40.2%, Routila said the rise occurring despite the drop in sales showed Konecranes’ cost savings actions were delivering results.
Ferrobamba has signed a cooperation agreement with Tenova to develop its iron ore mine in the Aymaraes region of Peru. The company has chosen Tenova HYL Micro Module technology in order to oversee the technological design and provide the equipment to develop and build a 500,000 t/y pelletisation plant and a 250,000 t/y DRI high carbon DRI plant. ‘‘The Tenova HYL Micro Module will allow our company to add significant value to our iron ore deposit in Aymaraes, producing high carbon DRI with the proven ZR (zero reformer) technology used since 2010 in the Emirate steel,”stated Alfonso Navarro, CEO of Ferrobamba.
He continues: “Micro Module uses the same ZR technology applied in Nucor’s Louisiana plant, but is one 10th of the size and allows junior mining companies like ours to enter the DRI production market with a limited capital investment” stated Alfonso Navarro, CEO of Ferrobamba. “Our company will be in a position to produce a premium quality DRI that is not currently available in the region”. In fact, Ferrobamba’s Aymares Project is potentially one of the highest quality, lowest cost iron ore projects in the Americas with a significant resource upside potential of 3,400 Mt of iron ore. Iron ores will be first crushed and pelletised and then processed to direct reduction (DR) grade pellets. These pellets are fed into a Tenova HYL ZR Micro Module DRI plant where they are reduced to metallic iron. The DRI produced is the highest quality available with high carbon content (around 4%) and can easily substitute pig iron or high quality scrap for use in the electric steel making operation, to produce high grade steel.
“The Micro Module DR Plant is a proven technology that allow for High Carbon DRI production with a simple and compact design providing several benefits, such as low maintenance costs, minimum manpower requirements, more affordable CAPEX, and low OPEX. Moreover, the Micro Module, as any other ENERGIRON DR Plant, complies with the strictest environmental regulations. It has been permitted twice already in the US, as well in other regions of the world” confirmed Angelo Manenti, VP of North America Business development for Tenova.
