Personal copy; not for onward transmission equate to approximately 20% of cur- rent global demand. Apart from Murrin Murrin and Mount Margaret, Anaconda’s other Western Australian lateritic nick- el projects include Preston Resources’ Bulong mine, and Centaur’s Cawse aspirations operation (MJ, June 4, p.423). ■ Australia’s Prime Minister John An intended second-stage develop- Howard attended this Thursday’s offi- ment would boost annual output to Australians cial opening of the A$1.0 billion Murrin 115,000 t and reduce operating costs to Murrin nickel-cobalt project in nearer US$0.25/lb. Infrastructure ten- dig in Western Australia. By far the largest of ders for the expansion are expected to the new generation of Australian lat- be awarded in the next two weeks. Although Australia’s gold-mining eritic nickel projects, Murrin Murrin is Speaking at the opening ceremony, industry has a reputation for resilience a joint venture between Anaconda Anaconda’s managing director, Andrew when times are hard, there is little Nickel Ltd (60%) and Swiss-based Forrest, said that low-cost nickel mines doubt that it is now facing one of its commodities trader, Glencore in Australia were poised to invigorate toughest challenges ever. The price of International AG (40%). the global nickel industry. Earlier, the gold is at a 20-year low and the prospect The full design capacity of 45,000 t/y company revealed that it plans to com- of any significant recovery seems some of nickel and 3,000 t/y of cobalt for mission its Mount Margaret nickel pro- way off, with actual or planned sales by stage one of the project is expected to ject, located 100 km northwest of central banks, and a proposal that the be reached by the end of the first half of Murrin Murrin, by the end of 2001. IMF should dispose of a substantial next year, although teething problems The project is costing an estimated portion of its gold holdings, having had concerning the flash furnace compo- US$861 million and at peak production calamitous consequences for investor nent of the project (this issue, p.82) annual output is expected to reach sentiment towards the precious metal. have thus far restricted operations to 100,000 t of nickel and 5,000 t of cobalt. In Western Australia, the dominant 25% of capacity. To date, there has Taking into account by-product cobalt gold-producing state, at least 17 gold- been a 60 t shipment of Murrin Murrin credits, and based on a cobalt price of processing plants have closed down nickel to Europe and a second shipment US$10/lb, Anaconda is forecasting cash through lack of ore, an estimated 1,800 is scheduled early next month. Average operating costs at Mount Margaret of geologists are out of work and hundreds cash operating costs (including by- US$0.30-0.33/lb. of drill rigs are reportedly standing idle. product cobalt credits) are forecast at The combined nickel production People are abandoning the mining US$0.50/lb. from both projects, if achieved, would towns to seek work in the cities, and in the key mining centre of Kalgoorlie retail sales have slumped by 15% over the past year and the price of residen- tial properties has fallen by 10%. This week, at the start of the annual ‘Diggers and Dealers’ forum in Kalgoorlie, those attending were given little encouragement. David Keogh, CIBC Wood Gundy’s office director in the town, warned: “it’s tough and it’s JOURNAL going to get tougher”, and one senior industry executive predicted that if the London, gold price stays down, Australia’s gold July 30, 1999 production could halve over the next Volume 333 three years. Continued on p.78 No. 8542 A substantial hedge book is helping Sons of Gwalia to maintain strong profits despite the low gold price. (Photograph courtesy of Sons of Gwalia.) Mining Week Industry in Action Technology Today Focus and Mining Finance p.77 Murrin Murrin opened p.81 Billiton explores through p.84 Bigger rebuild range from Comment p.89 Rio Tinto’s first half by PM; Australian gold miners Maya; Rio Tinto pays for junior P&H; Weir supplies laterite p.86 Iberia: the future lies results “held up well”; Past year face gloomy future; South exploration; Venezuelan gold projects; Navoi upgrade goes to deep; Farce and tragedy. good, but future obscure for African mines in dire confirmed; Discovery in Burkina Japanese companies; Caterpillar Peñoles; Rio Algom profits slump circumstances; Tsumeb finds Faso; Anaconda reports on gets mining equipment order; Mineral Markets on low prices; New direction buyer; UK fluorspar producer to Western Australian projects; Mogensen launches sizer; p.88 Sleepy summer begins at costs Fluor dear, sees better close; US mines face millsite Noranda’s Magnola schedule Environmental award for LME; Sumitomo sues Credit future; Cominco loss affects restriction; Small Chinese slips; Assmang progress; consultant; Kosovo destination Lyonnais; Palladium volatility Teck; Bad news continues at tungsten mines targeted; Gosowong start-up; Local support for Ingersoll drills. over?; Swiss admit slip; Goan Inco, Noranda in the black; Metal production’s value falls for Ok Tedi; Ashton finds Mt Weld iron ore industry threatened. Pasminco divests coal assets; in Canada. partner; Delta lowers costs; Euro-Franco merger approved; PacMin improves; Gresik output Aquarius Platinum to go ahead increasing; Oryx solves strike; with London listing. Sipa alters mine plan. Established 1835 ISSN 0026-5225 MINING WEEK 30 was A$330 million and in the preceding Furthermore, the neighbouring countries Australians dig in . 12 months the company produced 450,000 of Lesotho and Mozambique will be affect- oz at a cash cost of around A$370/oz. Cash ed significantly. They contribute about Continued from p. 77 margins are expected to be maintained at 40% of South Africa’s gold-mining work- around A$300/oz. force and receive hundreds of millions of The country has an annual gold produc- Looking ahead, Mr Reed at CIBC sug- rands in annual remittances, with a miner’s tion of some 300 t and is the third largest gested at the Kalgoorlie conference that a salary supporting anything up to ten family producer after South Africa and the US. turnaround in the price of gold will only members. ■ Western Australia alone accounts for occur when hedge funds cover their short approximately 11% of world output. positions. He estimates that these positions David Reed, the chairman of CIBC represent between 5,000 and 6,000 t of gold Tsumeb sale near World Markets Australia Ltd, warned of and contends that short selling by hedge completion the consequences for exploration if the gold funds has put more pressure on the price of price fails to recover significantly. He esti- gold than the potential selling by central An acquisition agreement for the purchase mates that Australian exploration funding banks. Gold has a unique attraction in that, of the liquidated Namibian base and pre- this year looks set to decline by 40-50% under the present circumstances, it is possi- cious metals producer Tsumeb Corp. (TCL) from the A$500 million spent in 1998. ble to borrow gold at an interest rate of only has been finalised by Australia’s Metals & Australia’s Prime Minister, John Howard, 1-2%, sell it and invest in bonds in the US Mining Corp. of Namibia (MMN), one of has agreed to meet a delegation from the to achieve a 4.5-5.0% return. However, as two interested buyers (MJ, February 19, Association of Mining and Exploration Mr Reed pointed out: “You can’t make p.114). Under the agreement, which MMN Companies, who will try and secure tax money out of selling a commodity short for- anticipates will be concluded by the end of breaks or tax incentives along Canadian ever”. September, MMN plans to list on the lines as a means of attracting more invest- The impact of the extensive hedge sales Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX), and will ment dollars. But hopes are not high. conducted by the miners themselves tends also seek a secondary listing on the London Although the low gold price has brought to be overlooked, however. London-based Stock Exchange, managing director Peter Australian casualties and more are likely, Gold Fields Mineral Services calculates Prentice told Mining Journal. Australian gold producers, for the most that the total hedge position of the world’s A prospectus is due to be issued within part, have fared better than their overseas gold producers is around 3,000 t. It has been the coming month and the flotation will be competitors. Many of their operations are built up over a period of 10-15 years and used to raise part of the funding required to low-cost but, more importantly, many have continues to grow. By comparison, the pro- execute the deal. MMN originally offered to hedged forward a substantial proportion of posed IMF gold sale is for a maximum of buy Tsumeb’s assets for N$147 million their output in Australian dollars at an 311 t, the UK plans sales of 415 t over five (US$25 million) under a heads of agreement average price of about A$520/oz. This com- years and Switzerland is considering the negotiated with the provisional liquidators pares with the current spot price for gold in possibility of selling up to 1,300 t of gold of TCL in February. The offer subsequently Australian dollars of around A$395/oz and deemed surplus to its requirements. lapsed as the process of supplying financial the US dollar price of around US$253/oz.