World Mining Exploration News

General Metals Corporation is pleased to announce drilling in the Hill Zone has encountered additional large high grade results including 175 feet interpreted to be true width, grading 0.034 opt Au Equivalent in hole GM-80. Holes GM-79 and GM-80 are situated on Section 3,600 North in the Hill Zone Target. Hole GM-80 was drilled as a 200 foot down dip step out from mineralization encountered in hole GM-79. Both holes intersected wide zones of mineralization estimated to have a true thickness of roughly 150 feet.

Successful drilling in this previously untested area of the Hill Zone is very important because it demonstrates continuity of mineralization between sections 3400 North and 3800 North near the south end of the Hill Zone. Drilling continues to define and expand surface oxide gold – silver mineralization at the Independence which the Company believes is amenable to open pit mining and heap leaching, with an estimated true width ranging from 45 to more than 200 feet, (more…)

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the “Mining Industry – Global Strategic Business Report” report to their offering.
The global outlook series on the Mining Industry provides a collection of statistical anecdotes, market briefs, and concise summaries of research findings. The report provides a bird’s eye view of the industry, and highlights the implications boded by the consolidation wave, and rising mineral prices. The discussion on the global market is laced with 61 statistically rich, market data tables evaluating demand and consumption patterns by country/region and end-use applications, across market verticals such as, Platinum Group Elements, Bauxite and Alumina, Fluorspar, Feldspar and Nepheline Syenite, Copper, Lead, Manganese, Nickel, Cobalt, Zinc, Tin, Zirconium, Gold, and Iron Ore, among others. The reader also stands to gain an introductory prelude to regional markets such as the US, Canada, Armenia, Russia, Spain, Australia, China, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Africa, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. (more…)

Titan Uranium Inc., a North American generative explorer, is pleased to announce the signing of a letter agreement with Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC). JOGMEC can acquire an undivided 50% working interest in Titan’s Border Block Project by funding Cdn $6 million in uranium exploration programs managed by Titan. This marks the second option agreement signed by Titan and project partner JOGMEC in 2008.

Under the agreement, JOGMEC has committed to funding Cdn $1 million in exploration programs managed by Titan in the first year and may elect to fund a further Cdn $5 million over the subsequent three years of the agreement to acquire an undivided 50% ownership interest in the Border Block Project. Furthermore, JOGMEC has the option to provide an additional Cdn $6 million to obtain the exclusive marketing rights of the mineral products of the joint venture for a 10-year period from first commercial production. (more…)

Uranium rose for a second week after Kazakhstan’s state producer cut its output target for next year and Deutsche Bank AG set up a fund to buy the radioactive metal.

Uranium-oxide concentrate for immediate delivery rose $2, or 4.3 percent, to $48 a pound from a week ago, Denver-based pricing service TradeTech LLC said in a report Nov. 7. Demand outpaced supply for the first time in six weeks, reaching 5 million pounds compared with the 3.4 million pounds offered.

“Spot supply no longer overwhelms demand as concerns over future production and signs of strengthening demand are all creating upward pressure on prices,” TradeTech said. Six deals for about 400,000 pounds of uranium took place last week.
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FORTESCUE Metals Group has been forced to renegotiate iron ore delivery contracts with some struggling Chinese customers, as plunging steel prices push higher-cost mills to crisis point.

FMG has locked in shipping freight contracts for a little over half of its customers and has contracted to pass on those costs to customers in China.

But some mills have been stranded by tumbling shipping freight prices, which have fallen from a peak of $US50 ($A72) to as low as $US9.

China’s steel industry has been savaged by weak demand from residential construction companies and the financial crisis.
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Shares in West Australian iron ore companies have fallen lower in early trade after Mount Gibson Iron admitted some of its customers had asked for its Mid West iron ore shipments to be delayed because of slowing demand amid the global turmoil.

The news from Australia’s fifth-biggest iron ore producer has been interpreted by jittery share market investors as further signs of an economic slowdown in China and a sharp decline in demand for raw materials.

Shares in Mt Gibson fell 14.86 per cent in early trade, down 13 cents to 74.5 cents at 7.43am, while shares in Fortescue Metals Group hit a low of $2.78 after falling 52 cents from yesterday’s close.

The fall represents a drop of $10 per share from its $12.78 closing price of June 24 this year and is the giant’s lowest trading price since its closing price of $2.72 on August 16 last year. (more…)

Cuervo Resources Inc. is pleased to release assay results from the next 8 diamond drill holes on the Huillque zone of mineralization on its wholly owned Cerro Ccopane iron ore project in southern Peru. The Huillque zone is the second of five known target zones to be drilled and is located 2.5 km to the north of the Orcopura zone; the Orcopura zone currently reports a Mineral Resource Estimate of 60.5 million tonnes “inferred”, grading 51.5% Fe. The Company continues to be impressed by the results from Huillque in comparsion to those from Orcopura.

Results from the Huillque zone appear to be very similar to those encountered in the Orcopura zone and include intersections of 49.10% Fe over 41.90 m in HDH – 07 and 53.66% Fe over 50.85 m in HDH – 12. The majority of the current drill holes were executed in a fan shape from a single platform to minimize environmental impact. Significant intersections that were sampled during the recent work program, location maps and further information for all drill holes can be found at (more…)

NovaGold Resources Inc. today announced that it has received regulatory authorizations and has begun production at its Rock Creek gold mine near Nome, Alaska. State regulators have approved the start of production, allowing NovaGold to begin fully processing ore and depositing inert tailings material into the Tailings Storage Facility. As part of the start up process under the regulatory authorization from the State of Alaska, NovaGold must complete a number of environmental and operational tasks over the next 15, 30 and 90 days to ensure compliance with environmental requirements for the mine.

The Nome Operations team has been mining and stockpiling ore as part of the commissioning process, and has close to 450,000 tonnes of ore ready, representing approximately 2 months of full throughput. All components of the processing facility have been individually tested and commissioned. Production has begun on site and NovaGold anticipates ramping up throughput levels during the 4th Quarter of 2008. (more…)