Mining News

“Inversión en un proyecto de litio en la Puna salteña” published in Diario El Tribuno (Province of Salta) on 08/02/2010
Mining operator FMC Lithium Corp. announced an investment program of 100 million Argentine pesos to conclude the development of the lithium project in Western area of the Province of Salta. According to spokesmen of the company, such investment will increase the extractive production by 30 percent, with a strong effect on the economy of the Province of Salta.
Nowadays, lithium is considered a strategic element for new digital technologies manufacturing. It is an essential part of rechargeable batteries, which provide energy that does not affect the environment and contribute to prevent a raise in global warming process.
90 percent of the lithium reserves throughout the world are located in salt mines in Bolivia, Chile and Argentina.

“Los presidentes del Mercosur reivindicaron a la minería como factor de desarrollo regional” published in El Inversor Energético & Minero – Newsletter Diario (City of Buenos Aires) on 08/04/2010
The presidents of Mercosur that attended the entity’s meeting held in Argentine Province of San Juan signed a statement in which they confirmed that the mining activity is an economic and social development factor for the region. After two days of work, the presidents of Argentina, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner; Brazil, Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ Da Silva; Chile, Sebastián Piñera; Bolivia, Evo Morales; Uruguay, José Mujica; Paraguay, Fernando Lugo; and the Foreign Secretary of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, signed the 39th Mercosur Meeting Statement, which includes the mining activity as one of its issues. “The Presidents of Mercosur repeated that mining, minerals and metals are important for the economic and social development of their countries, in accordance with the 2002 Sustainable Development World Summit results, and stated their concern about third countries´ measures that may limit full development of the mining sector as regards new investments, development of new projects and generation of new jobs, creating opportunities for social inclusion and economic progress”, highlights the text signed by the presidents. After the agreement, the Secretary of Mining Jorge Mayoral pointed out that the statement “ratifies the importance of productive activities such as mining in our people’s growth and sets the autonomy of the continental bloc to decide on the development processes of its countries”.

 

“Xstrata” published in La Nación (City of Buenos Aires) on 08/04/2010
Xstrata, Anglo Swiss mining company, plans to invest US$ 14 billion in 15 copper, carbon and nickel projects, among others, between 2010 and 2012. The company informed yesterday that its profits for the first semester, of US$ 2,300 million, grew over three times since last year, thanks to a raise in prices and volume of sales of several commodities.

 “La justicia rechazó el amparo de ambientalistas que pretendían frenar las actividades de Agua Rica” published in Diario La Unión (Province of Catamarca) on 08/09/2010
Judge Rodolfo Cecenarro, for the Second District on Criminal Matters in the City of Andalgalá, declared inadmissible the amparo (accelerated proceeding which protects constitutional rights – Argentine Constitution, Section 43) filed by an environmentalist group against Minera Agua Rica, the State Secretary of Mining and the Municipality of Andalgalá.
The amparo was filed with the objective of getting an interim measure to restrict all innovative action and to request the suspension of any work, installation, transportation, construction or preparation destined to the exploitation of Agua Rica. They also petition the definitive end of the project; it is “detrimental to the rights to a healthy environment, health, property and economic activity of all inhabitants of the Aldalgala region and its areas of influence”.
Likewise, and according to the requests of the environmentalists, the Judge understood that the amparo is not the appropriate action and that they have not complied with the regulations which govern the presentation of the amparo. The judge considered the environmentalist group did not provide evidence of the damage they claimed was being produced.
The resolution states clearly that this conclusion is reached after requesting reports (Section 7 Law 4,642) to: the company Agua Rica, the Municipality of the City of Andalgalá, the Ministry of Health, the Secretary of Water Resources and Environment, the Secretary of Mining.
Besides, the instrument states that the alleged contamination (as a consequence of mining activity) was not proved by the group that filed the amparo and the problems that the situation presents may not be discussed through a procedure with limited margin to produce evidence. On the other hand, the Judge considers that the group that filed the amparo has produced a useless jurisdictional drain, as they pretended the judicial system to pronounce on administrative proceedings in course, in charge of the competent authorities, such as the Secretary of Water Resources and Environment and the Secretary of Mining of the Province.
The resolution maintains that the environmentalist group should have pursued the administrative instance and only when it had been exhausted turn to the judicial procedure that was appropriate to determine the alleged damage, which had not yet been proved.
Besides, it is recorded that the environmentalists that filed the amparo have falsified the affidavit, as the Secretary of Mining informed that they had filed an administrative presentation that they had never pursued (for example, they could have filed a pronto despacho request for the administrative authority to provide on the matter and in case there was no response the contentious administrative instance would be released).

“San Juan: Yamana invertirá u$s 85 millones para ampliar la mina Gualcamayo” published in El Inversor Energético & Minero – Newsletter Diario (City of Buenos Aires) on 08/10/2010
Yamana announced its decision to build “QDD Lower West”, an underground deposit in Gualcamayo mine in the Province of San Juan. This operation will complement the company’s current activities on that complex. Yamana´s president of the board of directors and CEO, Peter Marrone, declared that the increase in Gualcamayo´s production will represent a growing stage until 2013 for the mining company. “This decision will give a boost to the company over its initial objective to produce 1.5 million ounces of equivalent gold. And other projects in assessment stage, in addition to the continuation of the success in our investigation works, will lead us further in production”, stated. “QDD Lower West”, Gualcamayo´s section of which Yamana has announced the construction, is an underground mineral body located under the open pit mine where in site operations are focused today. It is one of the different mineralization areas already identified in the deposit. The required capital for the initiative is estimated in approximately 85 million dollars. That amount will be used mainly in the development of the mine, as the mineral will be processed in the existing installations. The extraction will be carried out by the “sublevel stoping” method. Production in “QDD Lower West” is expected to begin in 2013, earlier than the initial provisions that pointed to 2015.

“Cianuro: Quieren ampliar la discusión a toda la industria” published in Diario de Cuyo (Province of San Juan) on 08/10/2010
In view of the initiative to ban metal mining with the use of chemical products across the country, mining provinces are saying that if there is no possibility of using cyanide in mining due to the alleged dangers in handling and transportation, then they want to ban its use in all national industry.
This is the strategy that legislators from provinces with mining activity will bring to the House of Representatives when the project submitted by Solanas is considered. The initiative against mining entered the Congress on the last days of July and is expected to be considered over the next weeks.
The mere possibility of prohibiting the use of cyanide not only in mining but in all industrial activity will threaten industries which use most of the cyanide that is consumed in Argentina.  Mining only uses 13%, according to experts. 83% of the cyanide used in the country is processed in nylon, pharmaceutical, paint, dye, adhesive, cosmetic and salt industries, as well as electronic components for computers and plastic products such as Plexiglas. All of them are located in highly populated areas.
Thus, far from resignation, legislators will face those who proclaim to prohibit gold mining by leaching, with thousands of jobs and economic benefits that depend on the production of a wide range of industrial products in Argentina.
It has not been informed yet which Representatives support this strategy, but “there are many of them, all Representatives from mining provinces and then some others”. They will also raise the issue of the inconsistency of supporting the prohibition when Latin-American presidents have just pronounced in favor of mining at the Mercosur Summit held in the Province of San Juan last week.

“Santa Cruz: la australiana Andean recaudó u$s 235 millones para Cerro Negro” published in El Inversor Energético & Minero – Newsletter Diario (City of Buenos Aires) on 08/12/2010
The Australian mining company Andean Resources concluded a placement of 70 million shares at 3.35 dollars each, and so received almost US$ 235 million to finance Cerro Negro gold project in the Province of Santa Cruz. Recently, the company’s main executives confirmed to the Argentine authorities the investment of US$ 200 million to carry out the undertaking located close to the Perito Moreno locality in the Province of Santa Cruz. The construction will demand a little over a year and a half, and will involve the essential infrastructure to bring it into operation, that is to say, installations, processing plant, campsite and other civil works. According to Panorama Minero, the beginning of the works will mean the generation of more than 1,500 jobs directly and indirectly, as well as a broad development of small and medium sized local companies. AR$ 115 million must be added to the US$ 200 million mentioned before, destined to local infrastructure works –roads and power lines- that will impact on the development of other productive activities in the area. Cerro Negro is a vein-shaped project with high grade gold and silver contents, located in the Macizo del Deseado area. The Province of Santa Cruz has four mines in production and a broad development of projects in different stages.

“El futuro del cobre alienta El Pachón” published in Cuyo Minero (Province of San Juan) on 08/26/2010
Last week copper closed with a slight rise and reached 3.26 dollars per pound in London Metal Exchange. The future also appears to be positive, tied to a growing demand in a progressively recovering economy, according to Chilean Copper Commission (Cochilco, in Spanish) weekly report.
These are encouraging signals for the copper project El Pachon. During last year, Xstrata Copper made a new estimate on the area resources, which showed a 41 percent increase. By the end of this year the feasibility update would be finished, according to the company’s 2009 sustainability report. In this report, General Manager of Xstrata Copper San Juan, Xavier Ochoa, considered that this new estimate “may allow for a mining operation with a lifespan of more than 25 years”.

“Impulsan el financiamiento de productores y proveedores mineros” published in El Inversor Energético & Minero – Newsletter Diario (City of Buenos Aires) on 08/27/2010
Small and medium-sized mining producers and suppliers met yesterday at the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange to analyze financial alternatives to increase current opportunities for production development and services in the sector. The meeting was organized by the National Secretary of Mining, along with the Secretary of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises from the Ministry of Industry and the Stock Exchange. With the support of the Argentine Mining Services Chamber, the event was headed by the Secretary of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Regional Development, Horacio Roura; the National Director of Mining, Miguel Guerrero; the Stock Exchange Manager, Claudio Zucchowichi, and the Chief of Department of the financial entity, Carlos Lerner. Roura explained to the representatives of the entities, producers, suppliers, and professionals of the activity, that the tools of his portfolio optimally adjust to the Small and Medium-Sized Mining Companies, as they are universal programs. Guerrero highlighted the opportunities that the mining activity presents today for the development of new projects and remarked the importance to financially support the national entrepreneurs in order to create new companies and new jobs.