Mid-tier Australian gold producer Regis Resources has released its annual mineral resource and ore reserve update for the 2022 calendar year.
The company said its mineral resources and ore reserves show progress against its long-term strategy, as well as provides a solid platform to launch the next phase of growth.
Highlights from the report include underground reserves outpaced depletion for the second year in a row as new results highlight underground life extensions at the Duketon gold project and the Tropicana joint venture, which Regis Resources chief executive officer Jim Beyer said was pleasing to see.
“We are extremely pleased that our underground mines at both Duketon and Tropicana have outpaced depletion for the second year in a row. We have spent the last two years investing in these mines and it is very satisfying to deliver reserve growth on these investments over this short time horizon,” Beyer said.
“It is still early days in the maturity of these undergrounds and we look forward to the continuing growth potential as we mine deeper. Our long reserve life of eight years and located wholly within Australia provides a strong platform to deliver on our long-term growth objectives and achieve superior returns for our shareholders.”
Other highlights from the report includes group ore reserves of 3.6 million ounces (Moz) and group mineral resources of 7.0Moz, both as of 31 December 2022.
There was an increase in new ore reserves of 210,000 ounces (koz) and an increase in new mineral resources of 400koz, both offset by the 2022 calendar year depletion.
Long term gold price assumptions for the calculation of reserves and resources were updated but remain at moderate levels at a weighted average of $1800 per ounce for reserves and $2430 per ounce for resources.
Additionally, early results from the Garden Well exploration decline at the Duketon project has reinforced the potential for a new production front and growth in ounces per vertical metre. The underground site also established an exploration target.
Coal miner Glencore will sell its CSA copper mine in Cobar, New South Wales, to Metals Acquisition Corp (MAC) for $US1.1 billion ($1.64 billion).
CSA is an established, high-grade producing, long-life underground copper mine with an estimated current mine life of over 15 years, and MAC has identified opportunities to further extend it, subject to exploration success.
The sale is the latest indicator of copper’s growing importance, after Evolution Mining extended its Ernest Henry mine life to 2040 earlier this week.
Similarly, South32 is looking to grow its portfolio, identifying a copper mine that could be an M&A fit. The copper outlook continues to be supported by the rising decarbonisation narrative, with the commodity a highly efficient conduit for renewable energy systems such as solar, wind, hydro and thermal energy.
The Glencore/MAC deal has been on the table for some time now, with the companies entering into an agreement back in March 2022.
“The acquisition of CSA represents a strong strategic fit for MAC. Our management team’s operational expertise, understanding of regional operations and relationships with local stakeholders uniquely position us to identify and realise the full potential value of the asset,” MAC chief executive officer Mick McMullen said at the time.
“We believe that copper has favourable fundamentals that will continue to support an elevated copper price.
“Copper is expected to play a key role in the global energy transition ‘megatrend’, with approximately one million tonnes per annum of new supply required from 2024 onwards in order to meet the surging demand forecast.
“With few new projects globally in the pipeline, increasing permitting issues and jurisdictional risk, and declining copper grades across the industry, we believe that there are significant challenges ahead to close the projected supply deficit.”
MAC will acquire 100 per cent of the issued share capital of Cobar Management from Glencore. Cobar Management owns and operates the mine.
The company has made arrangement for the copper streams with Osisko Gold Royalties in the US.
“CSA is a high-grade, long-life asset, with significant upside that can be unlocked by the MAC management team,” Osisko president and chief executive officer Sandeep Singh said.
“We are pleased to see this important transaction nearing completion, and look forward to having both the silver and copper streams contribute to our near-term cash flows.”
Evolution Mining has doubled the copper and gold reserves and extended the mine life to 2040 since it purchased the Ernest Henry mine outright in January 2022.
The completion of Ernest Henry’s mine-extension pre-feasibility study (PFS) – announced on Monday – has seen the mine’s ore reserve increase 126 per cent from a December 2022 estimate to 77.4 million tonnes, with contained copper increasing 103 per cent to 589,000 tonnes and contained gold jumping 124 per cent to 1.11 million ounces.
The PFS indicates the mine extension could deliver approximately 655,000 ounces of payable gold and 375,000 tonnes of payable copper, delivering an internal rate of return of 28 per cent (based on a base case of $2400 per ounce of gold and $12,000 per tonne of copper). This equates to a net-present value (NPV) of $690 million.
Capital costs would be $450–500 million, with 60 per cent of this supporting development below the 750mRL (metres relative level). Majority of the capital would not be required until the 2026–27 and 2027–28 financial years.
Ever since Evolution acquired 100 per cent of Ernest Henry, the company has been aggressively exploring the project, regularly announcing resource upgrades and increases in the mine’s copper potential.
Evolution has also announced its board has greenlit capital investment for the expansion of its Mungari plant in WA, with a $250 million investment to boost throughput from 2 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) to 4.2Mtpa.
“Mungari has demonstrated its capacity to consistently and reliably deliver approximately 135,000 ounces per annum in recent years,” Evolution managing director and chief executive officer Lawrie Conway said.
“This plant expansion unlocks the very large regional resource base, reduces all-in-sustaining costs (AISC) by 18 per cent to $1750 per ounce, extends the mine life out to 15 years, and grows production to over 200,000 ounces post commissioning.
“The expansion was always envisaged and formed part of our due diligence when we acquired the Kundana and East Kundana properties in 2021. Having successfully integrated the operations, this is now the next logical phase of making Mungari a cornerstone asset of Evolution.”
Evolution has also announced a restructure of its debt profile which it said will unlock an additional $445 million of liquidity over the next three years. The restructure included a $US200 million ($303 million) US private placement (USPP) and the replacement of existing $590 million term loan facilities with a reduced four-year, $300 million loan.
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The Astec GT2612V high-frequency screen has assisted a nickel miner in New Caledonia in re-processing nickel waste.
Astec and mining contractor Salmon NC have developed a bespoke waste retreatment screening solution for a major nickel miner in New Caledonia. And Astec’s screening offerings don’t stop there.
As we near a net-zero reality, there is an increasing need for more materials to develop the necessary green technologies.
Renewable energy sources such as wind and solar require up to five times more copper than comparable non-renewable technologies, while the World Economic Forum believes demand for lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) could surpass three million tonnes by 2030. The world produced 540,000 tonnes of LCE in 2021.
LCE, derived from lithium raw material, spodumene concentrate, is a critical material in renewable batteries used in electric vehicles (EVs).
While primary production will remain key, as mineral demand increases into the future amid growing decarbonisation, mining companies will need to be more creative in how they commercialise their material.
A nickel mine in New Caledonia, some 1200km east of Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, is doing just that.
SLN (Société Le Nickel), which operates a nickel smelter and several mines on the island, has established a unique method for recycling nickel slag – a major by-product of the nickel refining process – with the assistance of mining contractor Salmon NC and leading mining equipment supplier Astec.
The recycled nickel slag is sold into a variety of markets, including the abrasives industry in the US, where it is used as a sandblasting medium.
While heavy equipment hire has always been Salmon NC’s bread and butter, chief executive officer Chris Salmon turned to Astec when it came to finding the specialty equipment needed to re-process nickel slag.
“I’d known Astec from a past life when I was involved in basalt quarrying, and they’ve always come really well referenced,” Salmon told Australian Mining. “I’d reached out to some industry contacts explaining what I was trying to achieve and Astec’s high-frequency screens were mentioned a couple of times by people I trusted.”
Salmon got in touch with Shaun Quinn, Astec’s senior account manager, materials solutions – northern region, and before too long an Astec GT2612V high-frequency screen had made its way to New Caledonia.
“Shaun was very helpful in identifying the type of unit we wanted,” Salmon said. “We were looking at fixed and tracked solutions, but we chose the tracked machine because we needed mobility around how we were building our stockpiles.
“We’ve been impressed by Astec’s after-sales support, too. We need that support given we’re quite isolated in New Caledonia.”
The Astec GT2612V high-frequency screen has 10 vibrators that directly-induce vibration into the bed of material at between 3600–4200 revolutions per minute (RPM), to ensure increased probability of stratification and material separation.
A unique media rotary tensioning system used on the high-frequency screens means operators of the GT2612V can quickly and efficiently change screen media when switching between applications, supporting a more efficient and productive operation.
And while the GT2612V is powerful, it’s also versatile.
“The screen itself is made up of four six-by-six-foot panels, with the first panels on each deck having three independently adjustable vibrators,” Quinn told Australian Mining.
“The screen operates between 28–43° of inclination, with the vibrators running at up to 4200RPM with as much as 2mm of stroke, so you can ensure they are optimised for each application.
“On average, these machines can induce around 10g of force into the material if you’re running them flat out, but you can also de-tune individual sections accordingly to stop ‘pop-corning’, or the bouncing of the raw material, from occurring.”
The GT2612V was delivered and commissioned to New Caledonia in November 2022 and has been processing large volumes of material ever since.
The process involves feeding stockpiled nickel slag through a static grid to remove larger agglomerates before it reaches the high-frequency screen, which then refines the product into a usable material.
“Minus-50mm material is sent to the high-frequency screen, which separates anything bigger than 4mm,” Quinn said. “Anything smaller is finished product in this application.”
The GT2612V’s adjustability came in handy when the Salmon NC team discovered the nickel slag material was more abrasive than anticipated.
“This briefly caused some operational issues for us,” Salmon said.
“But the Astec support team was fantastic. They helped us make tweaks and adjustments to settings and flow rates, and alter the way we were processing the material to best deal with its abrasive nature.
“Now we’re getting the best out of the machine itself, and the best operational efficiency.”
Since the six-foot-wide GT2612V arrived in New Caledonia in November 2022, Astec has developed a larger eight-foot-wide, 18-foot-long high-frequency screen. Quinn said the new model, launched at CONEXPO in Las Vegas in mid-March, enables greater capacity.
But when finding the right screen for a customer and for a particular application, bigger is not necessarily better.
“It comes down to what customers are looking for,” Quinn said. “If they don’t have room to set up a fixed plant, and if they want something that’s mobile and able to be utilised in a tighter, confined space – as with Salmon NC and the nickel slag application – the tracked screen is ideal.
“But if you’ve got a bit more room, and you’re going to go down the path of investing in a fixed plant, Astec’s new eight-foot-wide screen is going to be something to consider.
Astec’s high-frequency screens will be increasingly important as mineral demand increases amid growing decarbonisation.
“The bottom line is the technology works and, with its multiple tuning options, we will ensure screens are optimised to suit any application and material.”
Quinn said that just a few weeks on from CONEXPO, Astec had already sold two of the eight-foot-wide screens into the local market.
Astec can also build a ‘hybrid machine’ for its customers.
“The offshoot of these machines is our multi-frequency screen,” Quinn said.
“These incorporate a conventional screening action throughout the whole screen but also utilise our high-frequency technology on the bottom deck.
“The high-frequency action provides additional vibration directly into the media on the bottom deck which helps with separation in finer material or wetter applications.“
Whether it’s the GT2612V, the new eight-foot-wide screen, the multi-frequency option, or any other bespoke screening solution, Astec has a solution to suit any mineral processing application. Astec’s screens are proven in repurposing mine waste for a major nickel miner in New Caledonia, and many other Australian mining companies and contractors can attest to the supplier’s capability.
BHP is now officially the parent company of OZ Minerals, with OZ set to be removed from the ASX today.
“This acquisition strengthens BHP’s portfolio in copper and nickel and is in line with our strategy to meet increasing demand for the critical minerals needed for electric vehicles, wind turbines and solar panels to support the energy transition,” BHP chief executive officer Mike Henry said.
“Combining our two organisations will provide options for growth, bring new talent and innovation to unlock these resources in a sustainable way, and deliver value to shareholders and communities.”
The takeover will allow BHP to focus on safe and reliable operation of the Olympic Dam, Prominent Hill and Carrapateena assets.
This week OZ shareholders received $28.25 per OZ share, marking the implementation of the scheme of arrangement. This follows approval of the $9.63 billion deal by the Federal Court earlier this month.
The revised offer was an increase on the original $8.4 billion offer made in August 2022.
OZ Minerals has a number of operations in Brazil, including the Santa Lúcia iron oxide copper-gold mineral deposit, the Antas copper-gold mine, and CentroGold, one of the largest undeveloped gold projects in Brazil.
The acquisition gives BHP access to the company’s significant portfolio of future-facing minerals – namely copper and nickel – that are vital to the world’s push for clean energy.
“As this is the final production report from OZ Minerals, the board and management would like to thank all our stakeholders for their contribution to the company’s success,” OZ Minerals chief executive officer Andrew Cole said.
Rio Tinto’s Gudai-Darri mine in Western Australia.
Established in 1873, Rio Tinto has become the world’s second-largest mining company, and chief executive Jakob Stausholm recently took time to reflect on the group’s legacy.
Rio Tinto was founded when a group of investors purchased a mine complex on the Rio Tinto river in south-western Spain. Within 10 years, Rio was the largest copper producer in the world.
“The Rio Tinto copper deposits have been mined on and off for more than 5000 years,” Stausholm said at the company’s annual general meeting (AGM) last week.
“Many civilisations, from the Phoenicians to the Romans, were drawn to Spain by the wealth of those mines. However, by the time the Romans left it was thought that the accessible deposits had been exhausted, and the site was largely abandoned.
“The mines were reopened in the 19th century by a Spanish king who was desperate for cash, but they were badly run and losing money. When the king eventually lost his throne, the new government decided to sell the mine.
“Buying a loss-making mine with a depleted resource in a country recovering from civil war was seen as mad at the time. But a group of investors in London saw an opportunity. And on 29 March 1873, they formed the Rio Tinto company to purchase and develop the mine.”
Stausholm said the investors introduced modern mining techniques, equipment and infrastructure to turn a “run-down operation” into one of Europe’s most profitable mines.
“New technology allowed them (the investors) to extract copper from what others had dismissed as waste,” he said. “And within 10 years, the Rio Tinto company was the largest copper producer in the world.
“This story illustrates the importance of vision, and the potential for innovation to transform entire industries. The ability to recognise potential, use innovation and achieve success has been key to Rio Tinto over 150 years.”
Stausholm said the company’s initial vision is still apparent in the Rio Tinto of today, where there is one overarching purpose: Finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs.
“Our purpose speaks to our drive for innovation, continuous improvement and impeccable ESG (environmental, social and governance) performance, and connects our contribution to everyday life, our customers, the communities where we operate, and society at large,” he said.
Stausholm highlighted Rio Tinto’s Safe Production System (SPS) as a key driver of company innovation and performance. SPS aims to unlock the potential of Rio’s employees, their skills and expertise to create stable, predictable operations.
“I’ve been impressed by our progress in 2022, achieving a number of operational records, including a record second half performance across the Pilbara iron ore mine and rail system,” he said.
“We now have 30 deployments at 16 sites and 86 Kaizens, which are rapid problem-solving activities, completed or in progress.
“Where we have been deploying the SPS, we have sites that are safer, more engaged employees, and assets that are more productive. We will continue to deploy the SPS to more sites in 2023.”
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Terex has rebranded its recently acquired brand of trommels, apron feeders and conveyors – MDS – as it expands the company’s facilities and product range.
MDS was established in 1995 and grew to deliver its first mobile model by 2015.
In July 2021, Terex acquired the company to expand its own range in the crushing, screening and environmental industries with products that complemented its existing portfolio.
The rebrand comes as part of “major positive changes” following the acquisition, which Terex has stated will continue for the foreseeable future.
“We have been making significant investment in our facilities and have added to our team to help us deliver aggressive production growth goals so that we can meet ever growing demand for MDS products,” the company stated.
“Alongside this, we have been expanding our distribution footprint to help position us for long term growth.”
MDS products are distributed across Australia through Tricon Equipment which has eight branches nationally, as well as one in New Zealand and one in Fiji to satisfy the Asia-Pacific region.
The rebranding incorporates elements from the history of both Terex and MDS.
“History, as with all Terex Brands, remains a very important part of MDS,” Terex stated.
“The colours used in the new logo represent Terex and the values represented by that part of MDS, but the logo also showcases the MDS heavy duty drums which is the unique feature of MDS products and what we are synonymous with.”
The company believes this new look will help it to stand out as it continues to expand across Australian quarries.
“This is an exciting time for MDS and this rebranding allows to continue our upward trajectory,” Terex stated.
“We hope this new look will help strengthen our brand awareness and our unique identity as the leading provider of heavy duty rock trommels.”
The Terex equipment was successfully relocated over 150km through Malaysia. Image: Terex MPS.
Terex MPS has managed to relocate a range of crushers in a remote forest reserve in Sabah, Malaysia, highlighting the durability of the machinery.
The equipment was originally installed 150km away from Sabah and hadn’t been used for more than two years over the course of the pandemic. However, a restart was flagged and Terex was called in to relocate the machines.
The plant was a wheeled jaw WJ1175, including a Terex JW42 primary jaw crusher, as well as a Terex wheeled cone model WC1000 containing a Terex TC1000 model cone crusher.
The combined weight of the equipment was more than 70 tonnes.
Terex MPS regional sales manager Benjamin Tong said these specific models were well suited to the customer’s needs.
“The versatility of our wheeled plant was the main reason that the customer chose Terex originally,” Tong said.
“The IV Deck screen also makes it easy for the customer to cope with the market demand for four different aggregate sizes.”
The equipment now sits 2500m above sea level overlooking Mount Trusmadi.
“The service support provided by Terex MPS team was also highly appreciated by the customer, which resulted in a quick turnaround of the plant and in turn production,” Terex stated.
“Now sitting at the top of a new site some 150km from the old site… the Terex MPS systems are working together as one, once again, after years of sitting idly by.
“The one-of-a-kind optimisation of the machines, along with their premium quality components has saved the customer time, labour costs and overall relocation costs during a time when the market is at its most challenging.”
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