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Monday, October 26, 2009.

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Shannon de Ryhove.

Making headlines today:

Major Brazilian mining group Vale is to invest 595-million-dollars in its Moatize coal project, in Mozambique, next year. The company is already studying the feasibility of a second phase at Moatize, which has been designated Moatize II.

Subject to the approval of its board, Vale will also invest 50-million-dollars in the Konkola North copper project, in Zambia, which is scheduled to be started next year. Konkola North is part of Vale's 50:50 joint venture with South Africa's African Rainbow Minerals.

Moatize lies in Mozambique's Tete province and will involve a total investment of 1,32-billion-dollars. Start-up is forecast for the first half of 2011, and this first phase of the mine will have a nominal production capacity of 11-million tons a year of coal, divided into 8,5-million tons a year of hard coking coal and 2,5-million tons a year of thermal coal.

Uranium producer Cameco Corporation has resumed dewatering of the flooded Cigar Lake project, in Saskatchewan, but will only provide guidance on when production at the mine can begin once it has seen the conditions underground and adjusted its development plans accordingly.

The company has now sealed the inflow that opened up in August last year, and expects it will need between six and 12 months to fully dewater and secure the mine, depending on what conditions are like in the shaft and underground workings.

The inflow that began last summer on the 420 level has been remediated by remotely placing an inflatable seal between the shaft and the source of the inflow and subsequently backfilling and sealing the entire development behind the seal with concrete and grout.

The 420 level isn't part of future mine plans.

Also making headlines:

Expat mining executives flee Guinea on security concerns.
Australia approves the Chinese takeover of coal-miner Felix Resources.
Mongolia gets 11 bids for a major coal project.
And, Coal of Africa Limited boosts its stake in the Vele coking coal project.

That's a round up of news making headlines today. For more on these and other stories please visit miningweekly.com.