Mining and Exploration

Gold Fields Ghana is not only committed to ethical and sustainable mining but is also spearheading a national conservation programme as part of its vision to become a global leader in sustainable gold mining.

Maersk Oil, the petroleum arm of Denmark’s AP Moller-Maersk, is to drill a new exploration well on the Maja licence in the Danish North Sea.

The move comes after the Danish Energy Agency (DEA) granted Maersk a two-year extension to two licences in the region.

The Maja licence is situated near the Maersk Oil-operated Harald gas field and 40 kilometres north of the licences operated by the Danish Underground Consortium. The well will be drilled in water depths of 50 metres and to a total depth of around 5,000 metres.

Mining giant BHP Billiton has approved investment of US$845 million to establish a replacement mining area at its Appin Mine in New South Wales, Australia.

The replacement mining area will sustain operations at Illawarra Coal and will have a production capacity of 3.5 million tonnes per year of metallurgical coal, sustaining production capacity at nine million tonnes per year.

Rio Tinto has announced it is committing US$4.2 billion to developing its tier one iron ore business.

The investment covers $3.7 billion for expansion of the Pilbara iron ore operations in Western Australia; and $501 million for further infrastructure development at the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea.

Liberty Gold Corp. has acquired a 60 percent interest McCord Creek Property gold project in central Alaska's Tolovana Mining District.

Liberty Gold will be the project's operator.

The McCord Creek project comprises 14 State mining claims located 70 miles northwest of Fairbanks in the Tintina Gold Belt, which has produced nearly 30 million ounces of gold to date and has experienced accelerated gold exploration, development, and mining activity over the years.

Romarco Minerals has renegotiated a number of key contracts to re-align equipment deliveries for the development of the Haile Gold Mine in South Carolina.

Last month, Romarco received a schedule from the US Army Corps of Engineers for completing the Environmental Impact Statement for the Federal 404 Wetlands permit. The schedule gives the decision date for the permit as 16 August 2013, somewhat later than Romarco had anticipated.

Despite the contribution mining makes to any economy there are always plenty of hoops to be climbed through as Alan Swaby learns in conversation with one of Canada’s representative bodies.

There is no escaping the fact that extraction of mineral resources from the earth and its oceans is not sustainable in the long-term. However, there are ways in which the industry can work to a more sustainable model.

Anadarko Petroleum has announced the discovery of a “significant” natural gas accumulation at one of its wells offshore Mozambique.

The discovery was made in the Offshore Area 1 of the Rovuma Basin. The Atum discovery well encountered more than 300 net feet (92 metres) of natural gas pay in two high-quality Oligocene fan systems, the company said.

Harry Winston Diamond Corporation announced its first quarter Fiscal 2013 results today for the quarter ending 30 April 2012. 

Consolidated sales increased 34 percent to $192.5 million for the first quarter compared to $143.9 million for the comparable quarter of the prior year. Operating profit was $18.7 million compared to $4.7 million in the comparable quarter of last year.