Talga Group secures environmental permit hearing for Vittangi

Talga Group (TLG) has secured an environmental permit hearing date for its Vittangi graphite project in Sweden.

The company has been working to establish a supply of green graphite anode products for lithium-ion batteries and build Europe’s first large-scale anode production facility, fully integrated with its graphite mining operations.

The initial operation, fed from the Nunasvaara South mine, is planned to produce 19,500 tonnes per annum of Talga’s flagship battery anode product, Talnode-C, over 24 years.

Talga’s environmental permit hearing has been scheduled by the Swedish Land and Environment Court to take place in Luleå, commencing in the week of January 30, 2023.

The hearing is then expected to conclude in the week of February 20.

Talga initially submitted the environmental permit and exploitation concession application for a graphite mine and concentrator at the Nunasvaara South deposit of Talga’s Vittangi graphite project in 2020.

After the two-year wait, a decision regarding the environmental permit will soon be made and published after the hearing, along with the exploitation concession decision by the state mining inspectorate.

Talga Group is up 6.12 per cent and trading at $1.30 at 1:11 pm AEDT, Market Herald reports.

NGOs have issued a joint statement on the plan to expand the gold mine in Armenia’s Karaberd

The “Arnika” and “NESEHNUTI” NGOs of the Czech Republic have issued a joint statement Friday on the plan to expand the gold mine in Karaberd town of Armenia. The statement treads as follows:

With this joint statement by the two organizations Arnika and NESEHNUTÍ, we respond to the latest developments in the Karaberd settlement in the Lori region of Armenia, where public hearings on the plan to expand the gold mining operations in Karaberd are being held on 04.11.2022.

In view of the circumstances mentioned below, we hereby express our opposition to the plan to expand the gold deposit in Karaberd settlement. Thus, by making a joint statement, we appeal to the Armenian public, the local authorities of the Pambak community, the regional government of the Lori region to prevent the plan to expand mining and express a negative opinion. We also call on the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Armenia and the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of the Republic of Armenia to conduct a proper inspection of the project in the future.

Arnika and NESEHNUTÍ are Czech NGOs that have long been addressing environmental and social issues in the Czech Republic and abroad. NESEHNUTÍ and Arnika’s goal is to protect nature and a healthy environment for future generations at home and around the world. Arnika has long advocated for less waste and hazardous substances, living rivers and diverse nature, and the right of citizens to make decisions about the environment. For a quarter of a century, NESEHNUTÍ has been promoting participation of locals in decision-making and civic campaigns not only in the Czech Republic, but also in the South Caucasus and Southern Ukraine.

In 2018, Daniel Vondrouš, the then director of the Green Circle network of environmental organizations, attended a CivicBarcamp organized by NESEHNUTÍ in nearby Vanadzor, where he highlighted the impacts of gold mining and shared his experiences with the introduction of a ban on the use of cyanide in gold leaching in the Czech Republic. Now he is working as an advisor of the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech republic.

Gold mining can never be environmentally friendly and we therefore want to draw attention and appeal to local residents to be wary of the promises and decide together on the future of their community.

Mineral extraction has widespread adverse impacts on the environment and the health of mine and ore processing company employees, as well as residents who live near these operations. Neglect of the necessary technological procedures, breach of waste management regulations and inadequate technical security can reduce the quality of life of residents and damage the surrounding countryside in the long term and irreversibly.

The risks of mining include dust emissions, noise, potential accidents and chemical spills into local streams and soil or lowering of groundwater levels. Spills of chemicals used in mining and ore processing and metals in the ore itself [1] adversely affect human health. Data collected through pollution monitoring of mining communities in the Tumanyan and Stepanavan regions of Lori province, conducted between 2018 and 2021, confirmed these concerns. The results of Arnika’s study highlight the presence of pollutants in the environment and the higher health burden on the population of communities in the region affected by mining compared to the population not exposed to these impacts.

NESEHNUTI’s work has reaffirmed the interest of Armenian communities in transitioning to sustainable development and greater participation in environmental decision-making.

The above arguments highlight the risks faced by local communities and nature, which is why we call for the prevention of the expansion of the Karaberd gold mine, AM News writes.

The Kutyn heap leach facility is expected have an annual ore processing capacity of 1.3Mtpa.

Gold and silver mining company Polymetal has announced the production of first gold at its Kutyn mine in Khabarovsk, Russia.

Located in Tugur-Chumikan, Khabarovsk, and 114km north-west of the Polymetal-operated Albazino mine and 10km from the sea of Okhotsk, the mine was purchased by the Russian firm in 2011.

Ore from the mine is planned to be processed through a heap leach facility, followed by the Merrill-Crowe process.

Polymetal said it poured first gold at the Kutyn heap leach facility, following the successful completion of construction and commissioning activities.

Subsequently, the facility produced 6Koz of gold. The facility is expected to produce 40,000oz of gold this year and reach the full heap leach processing capacity of 1.3 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of ore in 2023.

Polymetal group CEO Vitaly Nesis said: “Remote location, severe climate, and unprecedented supply chain disruptions presented major challenges at Kutyn.

“The project team successfully overcame all difficulties to deliver first production six months ahead of the original schedule. This achievement underscores Polymetal’s outstanding track record in project execution.”

Polymetal plans to start processing the refractory ore at the Albazino concentrator in 2025.

The company estimates that between 2023 and 2030, the average annual output of gold will be around 100Koz.

Polymetal said the capital expenditure of the project stood at $110m, marking a 38% icnrease from the original estimate.

The increase in capital expenditure was mainly attributed to higher fuel prices and the impact of Covid-19 on labour and logistics costs.

According to the company’s estimates, the Kutyn mine has JORC-compliant ore reserves of 12Mt of open-pit oxide and refractory ore with 1.1Moz of gold equivalent at a grade of 2.9g/t, Mining Technology writes.

The Grängesberg iron ore project in Dalarna County, Sweden, aims to restart operations

The Grängesberg mine in Dalarna County, Sweden, was closed in December 1989 due to prevailing market conditions after producing more than 150Mt of iron ore. The mineral deposit at Grängesberg is one of northern Europe’s largest homogenous iron ore bodies.

Anglesey Mining, a UK-based mining company, entered an agreement to acquire a controlling interest in the project in May 2014, including a direct 6% interest in Grängesberg Iron AB (GIAB), a Swedish mining company and the owner of the mine. Anglesey plans to restart mining operations at the project.

The company made a small investment in late 2019 and other investments over the years, enabling it to acquire a direct interest of 20% and management rights to the project with a right of first refusal to increase its interest to 70.2%.

A pre-feasibility study (PFS) on the Grängesberg mine was completed in April 2012. A 25-year mining concession was awarded for the project by the Swedish Mining Inspectorate in May 2013.

An updated PFS was announced in July 2022, which proposed a life of mine (LOM) of 16 years and an estimated investment of $559.6m.

Project location of the Grängesberg mine

The project is located within the Bergslagen mining district, 10km to the southwest of Ludvika in Dalarna County, central Sweden. The site is situated approximately 200km north-west from the capital city of Stockholm.

Mineralisation and reserves of the underground iron ore mine

The mineralisation at Grängesberg occurs in apatite-iron oxide ore containing magnetite (Fe₃O₄) ore with approximately 20% haematite (Fe₂O₃) ore and apatite (Ca₅(PO₄)₃(F,Cl,OH)) ore.

The northern end of the deposit hosts richer haematite mineralisation related to the oxidisation of barren pegmatite sills and dykes. The haematite content decreases with depth, transitioning to pure magnetite.

The probable mineral reserves at the Grängesberg iron ore project are estimated at 82.4Mt grading 37.2% iron (Fe) containing total iron content of 30.7Mt as of July 2022.

Mining methods

The continuation of historic sublevel caving was assumed for the 2012 PFS while the 2022 updated PFS recommended sublevel open stoping with backfilling of mined stopes for future designs.

The run of mine (ROM) ore will be transported to the underground crusher station consisting of an 80m³ feed hopper with a bypass channel, a grizzly feeder to separate oversize material at 900mm and a single toggle jaw crusher. A vibrating feeder will transfer the crushed ore to a conveyor connected to the skip hoist, for further transfer to surface stockpiles.

Processing of the Grängesberg mine

The project will include a concentrator with a processing capacity of 5.3Mtpa of ore at a nominal processing rate of 666tph and 333 days (91%) availability per year. The concentrator building is 150m-long and 40m-wide. It contains various units for grinding, separation, flotation and filtration, in addition to a plant control room, utilities, reagent makeup, and electrical switchgear.

The processing units will comprise a primary crusher, primary autogenous grinding (AG), classification and secondary semi-autogenous grinding (SAG). The crushed ore will undergo magnetic separation, froth flotation and solid/liquid separation. The unthickened tailings will be directly stored in the tailings management facility.

Vibrating feeders will discharge the stockpiled ore to a conveyor belt, which will feed the AG primary grinding mill. A trommel screen will capture pebbles from the AG mill for use as grinding media in the secondary SAG mill. The screen oversize will be recycled back to the AG mill while the undersize will be transferred to the primary wet low-intensity magnetic separators (LIMS).

The primary LIMS stage will upgrade the magnetite iron ore prior to secondary grinding. The non-magnetic slurry containing haematite will be thickened and dewatered. The thickener underflow will be transferred to a primary high-gradient magnetic separation comprising SLon Vertical ring and Pulsating High-Gradient Magnetic Separators (SLon VPHGMS) to upgrade the haematite.

The secondary SAG mill operating in a closed circuit with a hydrocyclone cluster will provide fine magnetite and haematite with a p80 size of 40µm. The hydrocyclone overflow will undergo a second stage of LIMS separators and the non-magnetic slurry containing haematite will be thickened and dewatered. The thickener underflow will be processed in a secondary high-gradient magnetic separation utilising SLon VPHGMS.

Sulphur and phosphate content from the magnetic separation concentrates will be lowered in a reverse flotation circuit. The flotation tailings containing iron ore concentrate will be thickened and dewatered. The thickened underflow will be dewatered in pressure filters to produce filter cake, which will be sent for further processing to a pellet plant to produce iron ore pellets.

Infrastructure at Grängesberg iron ore project

The existing surface infrastructure at the project site includes roads, administrative buildings, workshops, and processing buildings.

Regional power lines and switchgear are located near the Grängesberg mine site and the project envisages to utilise municipal power supply sourced from wind power. Water supply is proposed to be sourced predominantly from recycled mine water through the dewatering process.

The site also includes a main line railway that provides direct access to the Oxelösund port located 250km to the south of the mine.

Contractors involved

Mining consultant Micon International was engaged to prepare the 2022 PFS for the project.

The PFS completed in April 2012 was undertaken by the independent global engineering firm URS Corporation.

AECOM, an infrastructure consulting firm, was involved in preparing the 2012 PFS and conducting geotechnical assessment to determine the mine’s stability, profitability, and economic and financial appraisals, Mining Technology writes.

Greenland’s parliament is expected to pass a bill reinstating a ban on uranium mining

Within weeks, Greenland’s parliament, the Inatsisartut, is expected to pass a bill reinstating a ban on uranium mining that was lifted in 2013 following pressure from mining companies.

“The Greenlandic minister with responsibility for minerals has publicly stated that a ban on uranium mining will put an end to all future uranium mining, full stop,” Mariane Paviasen, a Greenland MP and leading activist in the anti-uranium mining movement, Urani? Naamik (Uranium? No), told Green Left.

Paviasen was elected to the Inatsisartut in a snap election in April, as a candidate of the Inuit Ataqatigiit (Community for the People) party (IA). IA explicitly campaigned on a platform opposing a giant open-cut mine proposed for Kvanefjeld (Kuannersuit in Greenlandic) by controversial Australian company Greenland Minerals Ltd (GML).

According to Danish environmentalists, GML was instrumental in overturning Greenland’s uranium mining ban. It promoted the uranium mine as one of the biggest in the world, back in 2007, but now promotes Kvanefjeld as a Rare Earths mine, which will produce uranium as a by-product. It plans to dump uranium-rich mine waste in Lake Taseq, above the small township of Narsaq, where Paviasen lives.

According to NOAH (Danish Friends of the Earth) campaigner Niels Henrik Hooge, this has been GML´s strategy for almost a decade and that of Greenland´s former government.

“It has no credibility with the public, considering that the recent general elections more or less were a referendum on Kvanefjeld and perceived as a ‘uranium election’,” Hooge told GL.

The uranium deposit in Kvanefjeld is considered by GML to be the second largest in the world, surpassed only by Australia’s Olympic Dam uranium mine. While uranium prices have fallen dramatically since the Fukushima reactor disaster, moves to push nuclear energy as a “solution” to global warming may be already pushing the price up.

Furthermore, if GML imagines that presenting its Rare Earths mining project somehow makes it more “green”, this is false. According to GML’s own estimates, the mine would raise Greenland’s carbon dioxide emissions by 45%.

Radioactive waste

NOAH and Renewable Energy, another Danish NGO, list many serious environmental costs if the Kvanefjeld mine is allowed to proceed. There are huge risks from air pollution during open-cut mining, and even greater risks associated with dumping radioactive waste in Lake Taseq.

In addition to uranium, the radioactive waste would include thorium. Thorium tailings are 3‒10 times more radiaoctive than uranium, the two NGOs pointed out in their September 12 submission, responding to the mine’s latest Environmental Impact Statement.

The tailings will cause health problems, even if the built-in dams behave as planned. The risk increases over time, primarily after the mine has been shut down and when monitoring and maintenance have been completed.

In addition to the planned discharges, there will be unintentional spills via leaks and accidents. In the long run, large areas around the mine will be contaminated with radioactive elements and non-radioactive substances, many of which are highly toxic.

“The people living in the polluted areas will be permanently exposed to radioactive and other toxic substances via drinking water, food and air. Seafood is also becoming polluted due to the massive discharges of waste, including wastewater, along the coast. Bioaccumulation of radionuclides and non-radioactive chemicals can become a serious problem.

“All this means that uranium mining in Kuannersuit in addition to significant chemical pollution will leave millions of tons of tailings containing some of the most toxic known radioactive substances, such as radium, thorium, radon and polonium, and this waste remains radioactive at a dangerous level for hundreds of thousands of years.

“In addition, the Arctic environment is particularly vulnerable to pollution because it is rebuilding very slowly, and the long-term consequences of uranium mining could be extensive radioactive pollution, which, due to the health hazard, may make it necessary to ban agriculture, fishing, trapping and livestock farming.”

Company tactics

GML argued vigorously for the uranium mine in the lead up to the April elections. The company ran daily advertisements claiming that the mine would generate US$245 million in taxes and royalties for the country’s economy each year and create 330 local jobs.

After the election, GML chairperson Anthony Ho suggested to shareholders at the company’s May 26 Annual General Meeting in Perth that the company would be able to weaken the opposition to the Kvanefjeld mine among the new generation of MPs who were elected:

“Now that they are in power they now have to deal with governing a country rather than rah, rah, rah campaigning — ‘Vote for me, I’m going to make you all millionaires and you’re all going to have beautiful sunshine and fresh air’,” Ho said, according to a transcript published by environmental NGOs.

Ho said GML could “help them to evolve their policies”.

“How are we going to assist them to achieve their aspirations of no uranium mining in Greenland without damaging [our] shareholders’ interests and shareholders’ value in the company and our project?”

The answer, Ho suggested, was to treat the Kvanefjeld mine as an exception, even if the uranium ban passed.

“If you look at the situation in Australia, when Bob Hawke was elected Prime Minister, he said no uranium mining. But then the mines department said to him, ‘You can’t stop Jabiluka because it is already going on’. So ‘alright’, he said, ‘Yep, no uranium mining from now on, and Jabiluka can carry on’. So there’s a lot of things that you need to work with government and help them achieve their goals and what they say during the election, without damaging the country or damaging the shareholders interests.”

GML managing director John Mair noted cockily at the AGM that, as the new IA-led government was a coalition, things could “change in a heartbeat”. He also joked about how many Greenlanders welcome global warming and that if the country did not warm enough, then “when the mine does get going and they’re earning good wages, they can pop down to Spain and get thawed out and come back for another fortnight.”

GML shareholders laughed at this.

Questions

The political aggressiveness of GML may have something to do with its roots.

Sydney- based independent journalist, author and filmmaker Antony Loewenstein has been following this case since 2014. At the time, he wrote an article for the Guardian outlining the political record of GML, then called Greenland Minerals and Energy Ltd (GMEL), and its alleged control by a mysterious businessman, Mihran Shemesian, also known as “Mick Many Names”.

“In 2009, Fairfax media claimed that Shemesian controlled more than 20% of GMEL stock. Range Resources, another company tied to Shemesian, had earlier been accused of paying the disputed government of the Puntland State of Somalia, linked to Somali rebels, more than US$6m (A$9.3m) for resource rights to the region,” Loewenstein wrote.

When Loewenstein asked Mair about Shemesian, he was told he isn’t “registered as a shareholder”. However, Mair would not guarantee that Shemesian has no involvement with GMEL.

“Years ago I found troubling transparency questions around the Australian firm GMEL [now GML] and it should be treated with caution,” Loewenstein told GL.

“This issue has received barely any coverage in Australia and it begs the question; what’s a relatively unknown Western Australian company trying to do in Greenland and what are its real motives? Uranium mining in pristine territory should be rejected outright.”

GML should stop pushing a mining project that clearly doesn’t have a social license to operate, he added.

Dr Lian Sinclair, who observed GML’s last AGM on behalf of mining monitoring group, the Minerals Policy Institute, told GL: “GML refused to rule out litigation over any potential ban on uranium and said they are committed to ‘quiet-diplomacy’. It is most concerning … that an Australian company would potentially engage in litigation or back-room deals away from public scrutiny to overturn the democratic mandate of a small country.”

Over-reach?

GML may have seriously politically over-reached this time.

Greg Barnes, a Perth-based geologist who owns another mining company operating near Kvanesfjeld — and who supposedly inspired former United States president Donald Trump’s announcement two year ago that he might “buy Greenland” — interrupted Mair at GML’s AGM:

“Mate, you stink in Greenland. Your advertising campaign in the election probably did more to get IA elected than anybody else.”

He added that the company’s political intervention had “killed the project”.

It seems that Barnes could be right.

Paviasen, who chairs the Inatsisartut’s Committee for Trade, Commerce, Mineral and Oil Resources, was adamant that the IA-led government and the Greenland parliament would hold firm on the uranium mining ban and on the Kvanefjeld mine.

“There will be no exceptions made,” she told GL.

“Currently GML holds an exploration license, but a ban will make it impossible to obtain an exploitation license containing uranium mining, unless the resource is below the threshold of 100 parts per million, which is unlikely.

“Also, keep in mind that GML already has a special term in their exploration license stating that the Greenlandic government can reject an application for uranium mining due to political reasons. This has been in effect since 2011 and stayed on through several coalition governments of different politics.”

Source: greenleft.org.au

Greenland lead and zinc mine approved for operation

Greenland’s Self-Rule Authority has given the go-ahead to begin construction of one of the largest mines in the country to date.

Ironbark, an Australian firm, is expected to begin construction of the Citronen lead and zinc mine in far north-eastern Greenland in 2017 or 2018. Once in operation, it would be the country’s first ‘large-scale’ mining project, a term applied to mines estimated to cost more than 5 billion kroner to establish and requiring more employees than are available locally.

Once operational, the mine is expected to employ 500. During construction, about 60 Greenlandic employees will be hired. According to the agreement signed with Greenlandic officials, Ironbark is required to employ Greenlandic labour to the extent possible, as well as to fund job-training.

With the approval in hand, Ironbark, which holds the rights to two other mining projects in Greenland, will now use the next several months to finalise financing for the project.

Ironbark has not announced how much money it needs to begin construction and operation, but it has previously stated that it will take 2.7 billion kroner to build the mine and 3 billion to operate it over during its estimated 14-year life.

Company officials have previously stated they have tentative agreements with firms that have expressed an interest in purchasing the mine’s ore

During the past eight years, Greenlandic authorities have approved six mining operations. Currently none are operational. That is expected to change next year when at least two mines are expected to come on-line.
source: arcticjournal.com

Turkey delivers key forestry permit for Alamos Gold’s Kirazli project

Shares of Alamos Gold listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange jumped 14%, or $1.43, to $11.57 after the company reported that it had received a key forestry permit for its Kirazli gold project in Turkey.

Turkey’s federal government has already approved the project’s environmental impact study, which leaves the Business Opening and Operations permit. That permit, which is granted by the governor of the local province of Canakkalea, should be relatively easy to get, some mining analysts that cover the company say.

“The governor is appointed by the ruling AK Party, and our understanding is this permit does not involve a major amount of government study,” Kerry Smith of Haywood Securities says of the outstanding GSM. “We would expect this permit in the second half of 2017, and once received, Alamos would be in a position to move ahead with development, subject to the remaining minor bureaucratic permits needed in Turkey.”

source: canadianminingjournal.com

DPM gold output at Chelopech mine in Bulgaria rises in Q4

Canada’s Dundee Precious Metals said it produced 31,600 ounces of gold from its Chelopech mine in Bulgaria in the fourth quarter of 2016, up from the 23,900 ounces produced in the third quarter.
“Chelopech gold production increased in the fourth quarter compared to the third quarter due to better gold grade zones from which higher gold recoveries to copper concentrate were achieved,” DPM said in a statement posted on its website on Wednesday.
The Q4 volume takes the total 2016 gold output to 118,400 ounces, in line with the increased guidance issued on November 8, 2016, DPM said. Initial 2016 guidance ranged between 95,000 and 108,000 ounces.
Copper production in the fourth quarter alone fell to 8.8 million pounds, from 9.4 million pounds in the preceding quarter, taking the yearly total to 38.5 million pounds, in line with the guidance ranging between 35.7 and 39.7 million pounds.
Silver output from the Chelopech mine amounted to 51,000 ounces in the fourth quarter. The total yearly output amounted to 227,700 ounces, well below the 2016 guidance range of 315,000 to 345,000 ounces.
A total of 547,000 tonnes of ore were processed in the fourth quarter, taking the yearly total to 2.21 million tonnes, DPM said.
Last month, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development announced a $32.7 million investment in DPM, that is still subject to regulatory approval, to back up the development of the company’s Krumovgrad gold and silver mining project in south-eastern Bulgaria.
“Initial earthworks and site preparation activities commenced at the project site in the fourth quarter, as planned, consistent with the project schedule to commence operations in late 2018,” DPM said.

source: seenews.com

European Metals, completion of drilling programme at Cinovec Czech Republic

European Metals has announced that it has now completed 17 drill-holes totalling 6081 metres at Cinovec. The programme is “planned to confirm and delineate near surface lithium and tin mineralisation that would provide initial feed to the mill…the conversion of resources from the Inferred to Indicated category, and delivery of material for metallurgical testing”.

The company reports assay results from the latest two holes while results from a further 5 holes are “expected to be delivered by the end of January.”

Hole CIW-23, located in the central part of the Cinovec Main mineralisation intersected 261.1m at an average grade of 0.50% Li2O, described as “the best lithium interval to date”, while hole CIW -10, on the western edge of the mineralisation intersected 223.9m at an average grade of 0.43% Li2O. “Between 116 and 119 the drill intersected a historic backfilled stope after mining high grade tin-tungsten quartz veins in the 1960’s.”

Hole CIW-10 was drilled at an angle of 75⁰ towards the west and intersected the contact between barren porphyry and mineralised granite, containing between 5% to 15% of the lithium mica mineral zinnwaldite, at a depth of 213m.

The company comments that “When all the results are received, we will upgrade the block model and finalise the resource estimate for the Pre-feasibility study. We expect further conversion of inferred to indicated resources to occur as part of this re-modelling.”

European Metals has also announced the appointment of a mining engineer, Mr Richard Pavlik as General Manager of the company’s Czech subsidiary , Geomet s.r.o. Mr Pavlik has “almost 30 years of relevant industry experience in the Czech Republic” including a role as “Chief Project Manager and Advisor to the Chief Executive” of the major Czech coal producer OKD.

Boliden to invest €44m in Ireland Tara Mines after finding new resources

Boliden, the Swedish owner of Tara Mines in Co Meath, is to invest €44 million in the site after identifying new mineral resources and deciding to expand the mine’s tailing dam.
The mine, which is just outside Navan, is Europe’s largest, and the world’s ninth largest zinc mine. It currently employs over 600. Production at Tara Mines began in 1977, and since then more than 80 million tonnes of ore have been mined.
Boliden Mines said a recent exploration has resulted in the discovery of a new mineralisation Tara Deep. An extension of the capacity of the tailings dam, which currently limits Tara’s lifespan, has also been decided.
The new tailings dam will have sufficient capacity for production at current levels until 2026, Boliden said.
The company’s planned investment totals €33 million, and is conditional upon obtaining official permits. The investment is based on mining until at least 2023, although the company said the new mineral resources may lead it to extend the life of the mine further.
New deposit
Boliden said the construction of an exploration drift to the new deposit at a cost of €11 million had also been approved.
“Tara’s exploration work in the last few years has been successful, and the capacity of the tailings dam is now limiting the life of mine to 2020. New exploration successes, increased productivity, and high zinc prices make extending the mine’s lifespan a profitable option, so we have decided to expand the tailings dam with a capacity until 2026,” said Mikael Staffas, president of Boliden.
The new Tara Deep deposit has inferred mineral resources totalling 10 million tonnes with a zinc grade of 8l5 per cent and a lead grade of 1.8 per cent. The mineralisation resembles Tara’s main ore body, but has a more complicated structure and is at a greater depth of between 1,200m and 1,900m, Boliden said.
Recently-filed accounts from Tara Mines Holdings and subsidiaries show turnover declined by 17.3 per cent in 2015 to €155.3 million from €187.8 million a year earlier. The company reported a €65,000 pretax loss, versus a €6.2 million profit a year earlier.
Production at the mine for 2015 was 2.2 million tonnes of ore, down from 2.3 million tonnes a year earlier.

source: irishtimes.com