South Africa-focused platinum developer Nkwe Platinum has described mechanisation as a necessity for its platinum and gold mining project at Garatau, which is located on the eastern limb of South Africa’s metals-rich Bushveld Complex. Read on page 19 of this edition of Mining Weekly of a resource of 39.94-million ounces of platinum-group elements and gold having been independently estimated at Garatau to date and of the company’s early works programme being designed to prepare the project for full-scale mine construction. The early works programme is scheduled to start in the first quarter of next year and to be completed by year-end. The ASX-listed Nkwe has struck up a strategic partnership with Chinese gold, copper and nonferrous metals producer and refiner Zijin Mining and completed a $20-million, 202.5-million-share convertible bond transaction with Zijin group subsidiary company Jin Jiang Mining.
ASX-listed Tawana Resources plans to build a pilot plant at its iron-ore Mofe Creek project, in Liberia, next year, which will focus on vocational training, technical data, marketing material and local employment opportunities ahead of expected production at a rate of between 1.2-million and 1.5-million tons a year. The capital required to start the project is estimated at a minimum of $53-million. Read on page 53 of this edition of Mining Weekly of the Mofe Creek project having a bottom-quartile operating cost of $43/t and being located very close to a highway in the West African country that supports its low cost position. The resource’s coarse-grained itabirite is seen as having the potential to deliver a product with a content of between 63% and 68% iron-ore.
Australia’s mining sector is facing an unemployment rate that is double the average national unemployment rate, the Australian Institute for Mining and Metallurgy says. The institute reports sustained high levels of unemployment being felt across all minerals professional disciplines and all Australian states and territories. Read on page 17 of this edition of Mining Weekly of minerals professionals with many years’ experience struggling to find work following broad, deep and sustained minerals-sector cost cutting. Geology professionals are facing the highest level of unemployment at 15.1% and, after one in ten minerals professionals was made redundant in 2013/14, remaining employees are reportedly under strong pressure to work more hours for the same pay, to accept lower pay for the same job or accept reduced working hours. Fewer than half of the industry body’s student members are confident of finding gainful employment in the sector on gradua- tion and more than half of the institute’s members believe that there will be fewer professional job opportunities in the minerals sector in the coming year. With the overall unemployment rate in the mining sector having reached 12.2%, the institute has called on the federal government to enact policy that will encourage investment in mining and highlighted the risk of the Australian economy losing further momentum as the mining sector’s professionalism, adaptability and innovation are put at risk.