Mining News
"El Salar del Hombre Muerto, en la mira de los inversores. En Antofagasta, la tercera reserva sudamericana de litio", published in "El Ancasti" (Province of Catamarca) on 08/30/2010
The Puna area of the Province of Catamarca has a salt lake that contains one of the most important lithium reserves in South America. After the legendary Uyuni salar in Bolivia and the reserves contained in the Atacama salar in Chile, the Salar del Hombre Muerto, which extends through the north of Antofagasta, represents, regarding its importance, the third reserve of this mineral in South America, which is why there are many investors interested in its production potentiality and investing in the province. FMC corporation, through Minera del Altiplano, exploits lithium contained by this salar since 1998, and this year approved investments for 100 million Argentine pesos (to be implemented between 2010 and 2011) with the objective of expanding the project, which includes a lithium extraction plant, a lithium carbonate production plant and facilities for auxiliary services. The expansion involves the construction of evaporation pits to pre-concentrate the brine and to concentrate sylvite; the expansion of the lithium carbonate plant, and the construction of a flotation plant to produce potassium chloride.
Daniel Chavez Diaz, president of FMC, informed thus, emphasizing as well that such investments will allow the mine to go from 240 to 310 jobs and to create indirectly about 400 new jobs. Depending on the expansion of the project, Minera del Altiplano anticipates producing, in 2012, 16 thousand tones of lithium carbonate (as from the 12 thousand currently being produced), to maintain lithium chloride production in 5,500 tones and to produce 55 thousand tones of potassium chloride.
Troy Resources, the Australian company that manages Casposo project, informed that the production of the mine located in Calingasta, Province of San Juan, will start in September. The company's progress is significant because from the construction to the activation will have only gone by 13 months. Casposo's exploitation regards the processing of 2.369 million tones (Tn) of mineral, with a cut-off grade of 5.4 g/Tn of gold and 201.7 g/Tn of silver. This represents 414,600 ounces (oz) of gold and 15.3 million oz of silver, with an average grade of 7.9 g/t of equivalent gold. In all, the San Juan deposit has reserves of 602,500 ounces of equivalent gold. Besides the USD 45 million that the construction of the gold mine will demand, Troy Resources plans to spend another USD 14.5 million to develop energy infrastructure in the region. It will set a 132 kw power line from the deposit to Calingasta (28 km apart) and two substations that will guarantee electricity supply for 6,900 inhabitants.
"Una operadora local extraerá y procesará sulfato de calcio en La Puna", published in "El Inversor Energético & Minero - Newsletter Diario" (City of Buenos Aires) on 09/02/2010
For several months, announcements of mining investments in the Argentine Puna area have become common currency. From lithium searching to borates and polimetallic deposits exploitations, the region has proved to be one of the most active ones within the national mining map. The imminent installation and start-up of a calcium sulphate extraction and processing project by Comapñía Minera Urkupiña (CMU) must be added to those undertakings. Associated with Canadian Acclaro, the local operator confirmed that it will invest 140 million Argentine pesos (around 35 million dollars) to develop the initiative, located in Palma Sola in the Province of Jujuy, near the border with the Province of Salta. This financial plan will be divided in two stages: the initial stage, which will take place during the last quarter of the year, will require an amount of 20 million Argentine pesos; while the second stage, which regards the opening of the quarry, will demand spending the remaining 120 million.
Canadian Goldcorp group has announced on September 3, 2010 the purchase for 3,400 million dollars of an important deposit in Argentina that belonged to Andean Resources, by means of the acquisition of this company. Andean Resources was the owner of Cerro Negro gold and silver mining project, located in the Province of Santa Cruz, with an extension of 215 km2. According to estimates, 2.54 million ounces of gold and 23.56 million ounces of silver may be extracted from the deposit.
Peruvian mining company IRL announced the discovery of gold and silver in Escondido deposit, in the Province of Santa Cruz. The company detailed that the first drillings show contents of 1.45 grams of gold and 9.62 grams of silver per tone. The mining company said recently that it plans to invest almost 200 million dollars in the setting up of two key projects in Peru and Argentina.
"Avanza la construcción de un proyecto metalífero en Santa Cruz", published in "El Inversor Energético & Minero - Newsletter Diario" (City of Buenos Aires) on 09/22/2010
Extorre Gold Mine Limited submitted the environmental impact report for the exploitation stage of the Cerro Morro project, located 90km south of the City of Puerto Deseado. The submission to the authorities of the Ministry of Production and the Mining Secretariat was made by Eric Roth, president of the mining company, Fernando Chacon, manager, and Gonzalo Damon. Extorre directors filed the environmental impact report, for the exploitation stage of the Cerro Morro project, in which details on diverse aspects of the processing plant installation were given. The installation will take an estimated time of construction of 12 to 18 months. Once it is finished it will have a lifespan of approximately 10 years, with current resources, processing about 750 tones daily. Investments will be around 100 million dollars for the construction stage, making clear that to carry out exploration 20 million dollars have been invested already.
On September 22, 2010, the governor of the Province of Salta signed a decree that declares that the private initiative project for the exploration, exploitation and industrialization of lithium in the Puna area of the Province of Salta is of public interest. The project, submitted by Bolera Minera SA, is for the exploration, exploitation and industrialization of the resources in seven mines in Salar Salinas Grandes, in the Department of La Poma in the Puna area of the Province of Salta. The project aims at the extraction of lithium as a necessary mineral for the construction of storage batteries, essential to modern batteries for the automotive industry. The decree also authorizes "Remsa" (Recursos Energéticos y Mineros Salta SA) to call for bids for the exploration, exploitation and industrialization of this sector.
"Producción argentina de oro subirá 21% en 2010", published in "Portal Minero" (City of Buenos Aires) on 09/27/2010
Gold production will rise to 2.05 million ounces this year from the 1.7 million ounces produced in 2009, stated the National Mining Secretary, Jorge Mayoral, in an interview held at his office in Buenos Aires. He said that exploration and production are growing this year after 2009 world economic slowdown. "There was a recovery in drillings after last year's crisis and there are record exploration levels all over the country", said Mayoral. AngloGold Ashanti Ltd., Barrick Gold Corp. and Xstrata Plc are among the mining companies that produce gold in Argentina. Gold is the metal with best growth perspectives in Argentina in the short term, said Mayoral. Silver production will rise to 70 million ounces in 2017 from the 25 million ounces produced in 2009, if projects that are currently under study are started.
"Cuatro mineras multinacionales buscan uranio en Chubut", published in "El Inversor Energético & Minero - Newsletter Diario" (City of Buenos Aires) on 09/28/2010
At least four mining companies from England, USA and Canada are looking for uranium in the central plateau of the Province of Chubut. The provincial government has granted the permits and approved the environmental impact reports for the prospection works. The place that was chosen is the central plateau of the province, near Paso de Indios and Cerro Solo. UrAmerica, from England; Calypso Uranium, from Canada; and Urex Energy and Mega Uranium, from the USA are, besides the "Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica" (CNEA), National Commission on Atomic Energy, some of the companies looking for uranium in the Province of Chubut. The province has a uranium exploitation background. In 1976 and 1977, extractions from Los Adobes deposit (Gastre area) were performed, and between 1978 and 1979 there were extractions in Cerro Condor deposit, in the Paso de Indios area. The English company UrAmerica is searching over 125,000 hectares in which it estimates the existence of uranium. By the end of last December, the "Subsecretaría de Gestión Ambiental y Desarrollo Sustentable" of the Province of Chubut approved two environmental impact reports submitted by the company for the prospection of nuclear minerals in the Department of Paso de Indios. According to "El Diario de Madryn", the competent authority had done the same regarding the Canadian company Calypso Uranium, through its subsidiary Energía Mineral.
"Con inversiones por U$S 220 millones, comienza la mejor temporada exploratoria en dos años", published in "El Inversor Energético & Minero" (City of Buenos Aires) on Septiembre, 2010
With the end of the winter, junior mining companies, dedicated almost exclusively to searching for minerals (and not to production), are getting ready to begin the exploration season 2010. This will begin in September 2010 and finish in May 2011, when the cold, and the snow, bring high-mountain activities to a stop. Unlike last year, when the throes of the international crisis beat the investment level, this year a good level of activities in the provinces near the Andes is expected. According to numbers provided by GEMERA, which groups junior mining companies in Argentina, this season about 220 million dollars will be invested in exploration works, four times the amount recorded last year (USD 50 million). Most initiatives are focused in two provinces: 10 in San Juan and 8 in Santa Cruz. Further behind fall Salta (6), Catamarca (4), Jujuy (4), Chubut (3) and La Rioja (2), among others. The Province of Santa Cruz will collect this season AR$ 240 million to extend the search for minerals with new exploration permits, while the Province of San Juan will receive over AR$ 200 million. To the north, in the Provinces of Salta and Jujuy, a non traditional mineral is taking off: lithium, of strategic importance for the automotive industry of the future (it is used in electric cars' batteries). And the Province of Chubut plans to promote the study of its metalliferous deposits, not only of precious minerals but uranium as well.
"Los ingresos que trae la minería: Las regalías crecieron casi al cuádruple en un año", published in "Diario de Cuyo" (Province of San Juan) on 09/25/2010
During this year, income due to mining royalty has been strongly increased in the Province of San Juan, being almost four times the sum that came in last year. Between January and August AR$ 97,127,107.54 came in by payments made by Veladero and Gualcamayo mines, compared to the AR$ 25,722,271.54 for the same period in 2009. The 277.59% increase is caused by the rise in the price of the golden metal around the world, by the growth of the number of mines in exploitation and by the increase in the production of the mines already being exploited.
This insight is a brief comment on legal news in Argentina; it does not purport to be an exhaustive analysis or to provide legal advice.