Global Mining Articles Contents
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Global Mining Articles Contents Arise South Crofty ....................................................................................................................................................................... Mining in Southern Africa - Some Comparisons ............................................................................................................... US SEC Adopts Final Rules for Payments by Resource Extraction Issuers .............................................................. EU agreement on regulation against conflict minerals .................................................................................................. Alternative Funding Sources for Mining Projects ............................................................................................................ Challenges to preserving value in a debt restructuring.............................................................................................. What companies need to know in relation to DPAs ..................................................................................................... Why asteroid mining is the future - and a legal minefield .......................................................................................... Time for change in Nigeria..................................................................................................................................................... China’s Current Involvement in Mining in Africa............................................................................................................ Changes to Mining Codes in Africa..................................................................................................................................... Turkey - Mining Sector............................................................................................................................................................ Arbitration in Africa................................................................................................................................................................. The Mining Legal Regime In Mozambique........................................................................................................................ Beneficiation Legislation–does it achieve the desired effect?................................................................................. London: The Principal Global Mining Finance Centre.................................................................................................. The Mining Law Review – United Kingdom...................................................................................................................... African Mining Law Updates................................................................................................................................................. Ethiopia still drawing a crowd............................................................................................................................................... 2015 Burkina Faso Mining Code............................................................................................................................................ The murky business of investigating corruption........................................................................................................... Proposed European law against conflict minerals....................................................................................................... Creating a Business Hub in West Africa............................................................................................................................ Seeking returns in uncharted water................................................................................................................................... China reignites its love affair with Africa.......................................................................................................................... Africa’s role in addressing China’s dominance of rar eearths................................................................................... Project Finance Group Of The Year.................................................................................................................................... EPC Contracts-Controlling cost blow outs on mining developments.................................................................. Main legal issues regarding financing of mining projects in Eritrea......................................................................... Article This article was first published in Mining Journal, 10 September 2016 Arise South Crofty By Tom Eldridge , Partner It would be fanciful to suggest that the Further afield, Sirius Minerals is advancing proposed reopening of the South Crofty tin the development of its vast $2.9bn potash mine in Redruth signals a renaissance in the mine in the North Yorkshire moors. Having UK mining sector. But the proposed concluded key planning and permitting resumption of mining at this world-class stages, Sirius has recently engaged a bank Cornish deposit is more than eye-catching. It group for the project financing of its stage 2 represents a significant development in the capital costs for the mine and associated Tom Eldridge industry. infrastructure. Partner, London E: [email protected] Shut since 1998 having produced an And on a smaller scale, but equally significant, T: +44 20 3130 3020 estimated 400,000 tonnes of tin in its mine Dalradian Resources and Scotgold Resources life, South Crofty is a substantial mine are developing gold mine projects in boasting estimated reserves of 2.5m tonnes Northern Ireland and Scotland respectively. of ore containing 44,000 tonnes of metal. Earlier this year, Dalradian announced Above and beyond the sentimentality held increased grade and reserve figures for its for the Cornish tin industry, now high grade Curraghinalt gold deposit. At the permanently preserved by its Unesco “world same time, Scotgold announced the launch heritage” status, a reopened mine of this of its bulk processing trial and first gold pour magnitude means real job, infrastructure and at its Cononish gold and silver project. investment opportunities for the region. These five UK projects are very different in South Crofty adds to a list of other scale, size, timing, development, markets and impressive UK mining projects currently in mineral production. But, both individually different stages of development and and collectively, they are of great importance operation across the country. when looking at the UK mining sector today. Just down the road from South Crofty on the Based on the most recent British Geological edge of Dartmoor, Wolf Minerals has Survey1 figures, there are over 2,300 active commenced operations at its Drakelands mines and quarries in the UK. A large tungsten and tin mine. One of the largest majority of these current workings, in fact tungsten deposits in the world this is one of more than 75 percent of them, are mining only two mines outside of China with a construction aggregates, industrial minerals production capacity greater than 3,000 and building stone – sand/gravel, limestone, tonnes a year. 1 Directory of Mines and Quarries 2014, British Geological Survey 2014. SOUTH CROFTY VERSUS POLDARK: DOES A CORNISH REVIVAL SIGNAL A UK MINING RENAISSANCE? igneous and metamorphic rock (basalt, operations will also be required to comply gritstone) clay and shale, crushed rock and with all other laws and regulations that apply sand. More than 35 per cent of all current to UK businesses generally, including tax, workings in the UK are sand/gravel and employment/labour, accounting and, where limestone operations alone. Many of these relevant, exports. mines are owned and operated by the In summary, the UK legislative and regulatory commercial end-users of the minerals with framework can be considered as broadly the domestic building and construction supportive of mine development and mining market being the key source of revenue for operations. Labour and infrastructure is these operations. It is not surprising that the available and accessible. Data is relatively latest BGS data records only one mining up-to-date and reliable. Geology is really just operation in the UK for each of tungsten, what it is. There has been recent recognition potash, tin and gold/silver. that the UK contains some important, As new UK mine developments have been strategic minerals that could be monetarised few and far between in the last half century, in the face of changing global consumption the regulatory framework and processes trends for different types of industrial metals. that underpin their development and All this said, South Crofty, and the other operation remain relatively old fashioned, current development projects cannot but not overly restrictive or unduly onerous. realistically be seen as heralding a There is no single legislative regime for renaissance in the industry. However, mining. Precious metals and coal still vest symbolically and practically, they do with the state, with mining requiring Crown represent advancement in the form of new Estate and Coal Authority licences projects. Drakelands is the first new metals respectively. For all other minerals, the mine to come into production in the UK for owner and operator must take title from the more than four decades. Production at actual surface land owners through a lease Cononish would see the first commercial