Drilling work at Dalradian's Curraghinalt property in Northern Ireland. The company announced this week it would be purchased by Orion Mine Finance. Courtesy of Dalradian Resources
Welcome back to your weekly mining news recap. At the end of every week we’ll catch you up on the mining news from CIM Magazine and elsewhere that you might have missed. Among this week’s headlines: South32 makes a bid for Arizona Mining; Doug Ford threatens to upend the Ontario cap-and-trade system and heavy industries are limited in drug testing options as Senate approves pot legalization in Canada.
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British Columbia is changing how major resource projects are assessed. On Monday the provincial government made its discussion paper on the proposed changes to the environmental assessment process available for the public to weigh in, the Toronto Star reported. Critics of the existing system argue it does not consider the cumulative impacts of multiple projects existing in the same region. You can check out the document here, then submit your comments through the government’s public feedback website.
Also on Monday, Australian miner South32 announced it had put in a $1.3-billion bid to purchase Arizona Mining. The $6.20-per-share offer represented a premium of 50 per cent on Arizona’s last close. South32 already had a 17 per cent interest in the company. Arizona is the junior company behind the Hermosa project south of Tucson, Arizona – which, within it, contains the Taylor deposit, one of the largest lead-zinc deposits in the world.
Ontario premier-designate Doug Ford is already making waves in the province’s energy sector. Both Suncor and Enbridge, which have purchased pollution credits under Ontario’s cap-and-trade system, are “seeking answers,” according to Bloomberg, after Ford promised last week to scrap the system. So far the program has issued $2.8 billion worth of credits to dozens of companies.
Northern Ireland-focused Dalradian Resources said yesterday it has agreed to be purchased by Orion Mine Finance, a New York-based private equity group, for $537 million. Dalradian is developing the Curraghinalt gold deposit north of Omagh, which has a Measured Resource of 0.04 million tonnes at 26.04 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, and an Indicated Resource of 6.31 million tonnes at 14.95 g/t gold. (Speaking of Northern Ireland, last year we explained how the history of the Troubles constrains the blasting work of miners like Dalradian and Galantas Gold, if you’re in the mood for a #ThrowbackThursday read.)
Canada is set to legalize cannabis as of October 17, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced after the senate approved the government’s legalization bill on Tuesday. But what this means for those managing workplace safety is still a work in progress. As we reported today, the lack of precise drug-testing methods for cannabis, existing case law and employees’ right to privacy mean that significant overhaul of workplace safety regulations following legalization is unlikely.
A digital replica of a mineral processing plant won’t recover any metals on its own, but it is an essential element to optimizing operations using the latest technologies available. In the latest in the McEwen Mining Innovation Lunch and Learn series, shared with CIM Magazine, Andritz’s Sohail Nazari explains how digital twins, the internet of things and artificial intelligence work together.
Have a wonderful weekend. And for our Quebec readers, bonne fête nationale! The CIM offices will be closed on Monday for St. Jean-Baptiste Day.