Mining and Exploration

It is fair to say that until recently Kenya was not generally renowned for being a destination for mining investment. However now, with the world’s eyes focused firmly on Africa as an epicentre for mining activities, Kenya is emerging as a location of particular interest in the wake of developments that have proven that the country does indeed hold significant mineral-based potential.

Located at the eastern end of the prolific Iberian Pyrite Belt in the province of Seville, Spain, Cobre Las Cruces (CLC) is a highly innovative open pit mine and the first industrial installation of its kind to operate within Europe.

Providing direct employment to 800 employees, as well as generating approximately 1,500 indirect jobs, CLC represents a major €840 million industrial investment into an area that also spans the Spanish provinces of Badajoz and Huelva, and extends through the south of Portugal.

The purchase of Devex will work to strengthen Hexagon Geosystems’ market position and technology in the mining sector by complementing its established Leica Geosystems Mining business.

The licence has been granted by the Ethiopian Ministry of Mines following a detailed review by it and other government departments of the Project’s Feasibility Study and Environmental, Social and Health Impacts Assessment (ESHIA), which was approved in May 2013 by the Ethiopian Environmental Protection Authority and Ministry of Mines.

Having been founded under the name of New Millennium Capital Corp, it was in June 2011 that the company changed its name to emphasise its transition towards being a producer of iron ore. With that New Millennium Iron Corp. (NML) came into being.

With a head office located in Calgary, Alberta, and corporate offices in Montreal and St. John’s, NML has evolved over the course of the last decade, growing from being a capital pool company into an emerging producer controlling one of the largest iron ore resources in the world.

The Canadian company Goldcorp Inc acquired the Cerro Negro project in late 2010 through the acquisition of Andean Resources. Cerro Negro is a camp-scale compilation with at least 6 veins – Eureka, Mariana Central, Mariana Norte, San Marcos, Bajo Negro and Vein Zone - already identified and located near surface which allow for development of relatively shallow ramps which will reach depths of 300 metres, on average.

The Latin American precious metals business, based in Lima, currently holds a 60 percent interest in the Pallancata mine and the Inmaculada project assets. In order to acquire the remaining percentage of the assets the company has said it will acquire its owner International Minerals.

Hochschild said it planned to raise between $48-$96 million in an equity placing to partially fund the acquisition and noted the company is still on track to produce 20 million attributable silver equivalent ounces in 2013.