Maghreb Minerals Halves Losses

Maghreb Pursuing Fluorspar Opportunities

AIM-listed Maghreb Minerals has announced that it halved its losses during the six-months ended 31 December 2009. Maghreb made a consolidated loss of £366,000 for the period, compared to a £892,000 the previous year. At 31 December 2009, the company had cash at bank of £207,000.

The company and its funding partner Firebird continue to pursue opportunities in the fluorspar sector, while the base-metals assets in Tunisia remain under care and maintenance.

Maghreb said turmoil in the global financial markets during 2009 meant that it did not receive the necessary funding required to further develop its main projects. However, the company, along with its major shareholder Firebird, continues to pursue opportunities in the fluorspar sector while its base-metals assets in Tunisia remain under care and maintenance.

Maghreb’s assets include zinc, lead, barite and fluorspar exploration projects in Tunisia, the principal of which is the the Bou Jabeur – Gite Est deposit, which has an inferred resource of 4.76 Mt (million tonnes) grading at 5.67% combined Pb/Zn with 39.6% barite, 7.69% fluorite and 7.3 g/t silver.

Sallies Reports Half-Year Loss

South African fluorspar miner Sallies incurred a loss of R8.9 million from mining activities in the six months to December 2009. This compares to a profit of R42 million for the same period last year.

Turnover decreased from R149.6 million to R44.6 million for the six months to December 2009.

The company said that demand for acid grade fluorspar collapsed in the early part of last year and despite concerted efforts by management and its marketing agent, future orders have not been secured.

"Consequently, as announced in June 2009, the company decided to mothball its Witkop Fluorspar Mine ("Witkop'). Both of the company's mines are now on care and maintenance, Buffalo Fluorspar Mine ("Buffalo") having been mothballed in October 2008," Sallies said.

Enough fluorspar had been produced at Witkop to honour export sale contracts for the six months ended 31 December 2009 and the final export sale contract was fulfilled last month.

Key staff have been retained at Witkop and the production facilities are being maintained in anticipation of recommissioning, the company added.

Ineos Sells Fluor Arm To Mexichem

Refrigerant producer Ineos Fluor group is to be sold to Mexichem Fluor SA in a deal which will bring together the world's largest fluorspar supplier and HF producer with a worldwide fluorochemicals company.

Ineos Fluor supplies fluorine-based products and services for the refrigeration and air-conditioning sector and employs 350 people in Europe, North America and Asia while Mexichem is a Latin American producer of PVC pipes and resin, chloralkali, hydrofluoric acid and fluorspar.

The deal comprises the international business and assets related to Ineos Fluor operations in North America, Europe, and Asia.

David Price, CEO Ineos Fluor said: "Whilst performing well, the fluorochemicals business no longer fits within the Ineos group portfolio as it focuses its attention on its large-scale petrochemicals businesses.The agreement presents a unique opportunity to bring together the world's largest supplier of fluorspar, with our own world leading fluorochemical production assets, customer base and research capabilities."

Mexichem CEO Ricardo Gutiérrez Muñoz said, “Acquiring Ineos’ Fluorochemicals business reflects our ongoing strategy to add value to our main raw materials through vertical integration in more added value products, expanding our product range and extending the global reach of our fluorine products business.”

The sale is expected to be completed at the end of March subject to necessary regulatory approval and on completion will become a global producer of speciality fluorochemicals with annual sales revenue of over US $500 million.

Kenyan Fluorspar Company Looking To Reopen

Kenya’s Fluorspar Mining Company looks set to re-open in June when the price of fluorspar in the world market is expected to have improved.

Managing director, Mr Nico Spangenberg, said the firm is still monitoring emerging market trends but he expressed optimism that prices for fluorspar will have improved sufficiently for the factory to get back on its feet.

Mr Spangenberg revealed that prices of fluorspar in the world markets had considerably increased from about $170 per tonne to between $230 and 250 dollars per tonne though prices are still low compared to the $450 dollars per tonne during the year before the recession.

Fluorspar prices dropped by 65 per cent between November and December 2008 prompting closure of the factory, as it became no longer profitable to operate.
“The bad business storm started hitting us in November 2008 and eventually ground our operations to a halt. Many people have felt the effect of the company’s closure as circulation of money in the area has been severely affected,” Mr Spangenberg said.
India and Western Europe are the company’s main markets for the commodity although it is looking elsewhere to sell its product.

When the firm wound up operations last March 180 employees and an additional 230 contracted workers were rendered jobless, Mr Spangenberg said, adding that 210 employees were still at the factory and will be pivotal when it finally starts operations.

Lotus Acquires Mongolia Fluorspar Licence

Lotus Resources has completed the acquisition of a further fluorspar mining licence for $70,000.

The licence has been transferred to Lotus Minerals Mongolia LLC, its wholly owned subsidiary company in Mongolia.

The Tsagaan Chuluut mining licence is located in Dornogobi Province, Mongolia and is approximately 400 km south-east of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia's capital and largest city.

The Tsagaan Chuuluut project area is located in a geological province that is known for its fluorspar mineralisation endowment.

The deposit is genetically and morphologically very similar to the country's largest fluorspar mine (Bor-Ondor) which is located about 70km to the west-northwest of Tsagaan Chuulut.

Lotus has also increased its shareholding in the Lotus Bayalag LLC joint venture from 65% to 80%.

Lotus has agreed to acquire the 15% stake for $15,000.

An exploration plan has been prepared for this project which will start later this year.

Source: IB Times

Metorex Recommends Vergenoeg Deal

Shareholders of JSE-listed Metorex would meet on December 21 to vote on the sale of a 55% stake in fluorspar producer Vergenoeg Mining to Spanish company Minerales Y Productos Derivados (Minersa), for $60-million.

The proceeds from the proposed sale would be used to repay debt on its Ruashi copper mine, in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Metorex recommended that its shareholders approve the deal, saying that independent expert Venmyn had considered the terms of the transaction and was of the opinion that the deal was fair to shareholders.

Minersa already owned a 30% stake in the project, while Metorex had sold a 15% interest in Vergenoeg Mining to a consortium of black investors in July this year.

Source: Mining Weekly

Maghreb Minerals Seeking Fluorspar Acquisitions

Maghreb Minerals has warned that it could take some significant time to make further progress on developing its flagship Bou Jabeur - Gite Est project in Tunisia as it continues to look for an industry partner to help it develop the asset.

Reporting on the year to June 2009, Maghreb’s chairman, Richard Linnell, said economic conditions had forced the company to cut back its exploration plans and had made it harder to find partners to join it in Tunisia.

However, he said that a decision to focus more on its fluorspar assets and increase its exposure to the sector had seen active involvement by the company’s shareholders in seeking out producing assets around the world.

Maghreb completed a scoping study at the lead/zinc Bou Jabeur - Gite Est project during the year and did enough work to hang on to its Tunisian licences. It also qualified, and applied, for its right to a 90% cent earn-in on the Fej Lahdoum project, where exploration work is underway.

The company ended the period with approximately £237,000 in cash, down from £1.2 million in 2008, but said it was confident that further investment could be attracted to the company to pursue its expansion into the fluorspar sector internationally. Equally, discussions are in progress to introduce partners into the lead/zinc portfolio.

Source: SmallCapNews

Glebe Given Fluorspar Go-Ahead

A mining company's application to work a Peak District quarry for six years has been given the go-ahead after a court decision looked like throwing the application into doubt.

In January, Peak District National Park Authority granted Glebe Mines permission to extract 660,000 tonnes of fluorspar ore from Tearsall Quarry over six years, on Bonsall Moor.

It followed an offer by Glebe to give up its rights to quarry minerals at another environmentally-sensitive site – Peak Pasture, at Longstone Edge.

But in March, a Court of Appeal decision clarified the legal status of quarries on Longstone Edge, including Peak Pasture.

As a result, authority members have reconsidered whether the benefits gained were still sufficient to warrant allowing the Tearsall application to go ahead.

After a debate, authority members decided that, on balance, the benefits of protecting Peak Pasture meant the application should proceed.

Narendra Bajaria, chair of the Peak District National Park Authority, said: "Even with the new ruling, the 1952 planning permission covering Peak Pasture doesn't require the site to be restored once quarrying has finished."

Source: Bakewell Today

Namibian Flurspar Mine To Close Indefinitely

Nearly 300 workers at the Okorusu Fluorspar Mine, some 48km north of Otjiwarongo in Namibia, face uncertainty after management decided to close down the mine for what seems to be an indefinite period.

Mine workers were notified of the closure only three days before they were told to leave the mine.

The mine management told Namibian Sun that the mine would remain shut until the end of September as it is battling to sell its fluorspar on the international market due to the current economic crunch.

Managing Director of the mine, Mark Dawe, said that demand for fluorspar from the mine has fallen from 120 000 tonnes to only 62 000 tonnes. “We can not work with such little production so we have to temporary close the mine because we are not making profit at the moment,” he said.

Lack of communication between the employees, the mine and Mine Workers Union of Namibia (MUN) has caused uncertainty amongst the miners, who are in the dark about their fate at the mine. A miner who spoke to Namibian Sun said that he does not have much detail on what the union and the mine have decided about their future, prompting him to think that the mine is closing down for good.

According to Joseph Hengari, the General Secretary of MUN, the employees were initially expected to take three weeks’ leave but the mine had allegedly extended the period to one month and three weeks over the weekend.

“It is stated here in the agreement that they sent me, so I don’t know were the new agreement came from,” said Hengari. He went on to say that the mine had expected the employees to take the leave from their annual leave of three weeks, which was an unreasonable move from the mine’s side.

In the new agreement reached by the union and the mine, however, the clause was changed from “personal leave” to “company leave” for all employees. But, John Ekundi who represents the workers at Okorusu Fluorspar Mine still maintains that the workers are expected to take three weeks’ paid leave and in addition to that, another 15 days from their annual leave. He said employees who had already taken some of their personal leave days would just have to sacrifice their benefits as the situation came at a bad time. Ekundi also said that the workers have not been informed of the new agreement but they are looking at ways to inform them through the media.

Dawe has given his reassurance that workers will receive their full salaries and will not lose out on any benefits while on leave. He said all workers will return to the mine after the temporary closure and there is no talk of retrenchment, even though they can’t predict the mine’s future as it all depends on when the global financial crisis comes to an end.

Source: Namibian Sun

Metorex Sells 15 Per Cent Vergenoeg Stake

South Africa's Metorex has sold a 15 percent stake in Vergenoeg Mining to empowerment consortium Medu Capital for almost R109 million, the mining conglomerate announced yesterday.

Metorex chief executive Terence Goodlace said: "This is an important step in the transformation of Metorex and this transaction positions Vergenoeg well for its ongoing fluorspar operations. It also demonstrates our commitment to restructuring the group and enhances our liquidity position."

Source: Business Report

Rare Metals Restriction "Failing To Protect China's Resources"

China's policies restricting exports of certain rare metals fail to protect the country's resources and undermine its validity to tap overseas resources, according to a report on China's mining industry.

The nation should adjust such policies so as to oppose resource protectionism, said the report, which was composed by a research team under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Industrial Economics after research on domestic mines and enterprises of various kinds.

Late last month, the US and the EU filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) against China on raising export taxes and reducing the export quotas on some raw materials, including some rare metals. They argued that the policy is not in line with China's commitment when it joined the WTO in 2001.

Luo Zhongwei, a professor who led the research, said China has rich deposits in rare metals and the government seeks to protect such resources.

"But disordered competition among domestic mining companies, particularly small-scale players, has led to great damage to many rare metal mines. It also causes problems of serious pollution and waste of resources," he said.

Luo said as a major metal consuming country in the world, China is in shortage of 80 percent of its mining resources. Restrictions on exports of certain rare metals also impose barriers for the country to tap overseas resources.

"The government should have a vision of 'global resources' and take advantage of overseas resources as well," the report said.

Instead of imposing restrictions on exports of rare metals, the report suggested the central government to take back the mining rights from local governments for better administration and higher efficiency.

Many mines could be kept unexplored when technologies are not ready, it said.

The Ministry of Commerce has defended China's restrictions on exports of certain raw materials, such as coke, bauxite, fluorspar, magnesium, manganese, silicon carbide, silicon metal, yellow phosphorus and zinc, saying that its policies were in keeping with WTO regulations and meant to protect valuable natural resources.

"The main purpose of certain export measures is to protect the environment and precious resources. These policies are in line with WTO rules," it said.

Meanwhile, the report also suggested China to establish a capital market for the mining industry because modern mining is a capital-intensive sector.

Luo said only listed firms should be allowed to be involved in mining as it helps to keep the mining market transparent and orderly.

Source: China Daily

300 Jobs Threatened At SA Fluorspar Mine

South African trade union Solidarity said on Wednesday that plans by mining firm Sallies to close its Witkop fluorspar mine outside Zeerust in North West could result in the retrenchment of about 300 employees.

It follows a Section 189 notice sent to Solidarity whereby Sallies blamed the indefinite closing of its mine on the current economic conditions, according to the trade union.

"The mine is expected to remain closed until enough orders have been placed to justify the reopening of the mine. The mine produces fluorspar, which is used in the manufacturing of steel, as well as hydrofluoric acid," Solidarity said.
The trade union stressed that the effort to close the mine could have severe consequences for the local community as well as for possible future mining activities at the mine.

"The so-called temporary closure of the mine will also affect future activities because skilled employees will take advantage of other opportunities. This means that if the mine reopens in the future, there will be a shortage of skilled employees to continue the operations," Solidarity spokesperson Jaco Kleynhans said.
Solidarity emphasised that all alternatives to retrenchment must be investigated during the consultations process that has begun between the employer and trade unions.

Source: The Sowetan

Mineral Output Down As Mongolia's Economy Shrinks

Government figures indicate that Mongolia’s industrial output shrank 7.6 percent in the first four months of 2009.

Industrial output during this period was $334 million, a decrease of $27 million over the same period last year.

Government officials attributed the decrease to a $5.7 million or 2.9 per cent reduction in mining and quarrying and $23 million drop in manufacturing.

Decreased mining output was mainly focused in minerals such as crude oil, copper concentrate, gold, fluor spar concentrate, and zincum concentrate.

At the same time, there was a reduction in output in manufactured products such as carpet, wheat flour, beer, wine, soft drinks, cigarettes, railway sleepers, cement, lime, articles of iron concrete and metal beds.

Source: Mongolia-Web

Bid To Reactivate Newfoundland Fluorspar Mine

An undertaking has been registered with the Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Environment and Conservation aimed at reactivating the St. Lawrence Fluorspar Mine.

Minister Charlene Johnson reported on Friday the undertaking had been received from the proponent Burin Minerals Ltd. relative to Part 10 Environmental Assessment of the Environmental Protection Act.

The proposed project includes: underground mine development of the previously mined Tarefare and Blue Beach North veins; upgrades to existing mill; construction of a tailings management facility at Shoal Cove Pond; and, construction of a new marine terminal including a 250 metre long deep water wharf in the Blue Beach area.

The proposed mine concentrate production rates will be 120,000 to 180,000 tons of fluorspar per year. Site preparation and construction is scheduled to begin by the spring of 2010, and full operations by the fall of 2011.

The undertaking was registered Apr. 14; public comments are due May 22 and the Minister’s decision is due by May 29.

Source: Southern Gazette, Newfoundland

Sallies Loses Honeywell Dispute

The International Chamber of Commerce International Court of Arbitration has ruled that fluorspar producer Sallies must pay R11.5m plus interest to US-based Honeywell to resolve their dispute.

The amount originally claimed by Honeywell was R65m plus interest and costs. Sallies filed an alternative claim for R42m plus interest and costs. The case relates to a terminated supply agreement between the two companies.

The ruling was that Sallies pay Honeywell $1.24m plus interest at 5% per annum since January 2006. This works out to an additional $200,000. Each party would pay their own legal costs.

"Management is disappointed the ruling went against them, but it is also quite pleased it wasn't for the full amount," a company spokesperson told Miningmx. He said Sallies will not approach the market to raise funds.

Sallies' shares bounced seven percent to 30 cents each on the JSE now that the uncertainty has been removed.

Sallies has made no provision for the claim in its interim results for the six months to end-December 2008.

"We wouldn't be able to absorb a smack like that," Sallies CEO Tom Dale said during a recent results presentation, referring to the full R65m, which increased to R86m if it had to pay Honeywell's legal fees too.

In March, Sallies has cash of R12m on its books. It has money due to it of R40m and inventories of R43m.

“We are studying the detailed 59-page Award Document and formulating our response," Dale said in a statement.

"The company is exploring various settlement options and remains in a sound liquidity position.”

Source: Mining Mx

Kenya Reforms Mining To Attract New Investment

A new mining law in Kenya is expected to drastically reduce the powers of the commissioner of mines and restrict ministerial authority in granting exclusive mining licences to investors.

The new law could mean more resource benefits for communities living in areas with minerals, fair tax payments to the government and more transparency in granting mining licences.

The Department of Mines and Geology at the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources confirmed to the Business Daily that the new mining law was at an advanced stage and will soon be presented to the Cabinet.

The main law guiding mining activities in Kenya was fist enacted in 1940 by the colonialists and was last reviewed in 1987. It is expected to give security of tenure for mining licences and set up a tribunal for resolving mining disputes.

The proposed Mining Act will also set up a board to oversee its implementation. The implementation of the current Act is overseen by the Commissioner for Mines and Geology.

It means the commissioner will not have exclusive rights to grant mining licences as has been the case.

Under the envisaged mining law, a new mining licensing system is to be introduced to provide for among others, a simplified and harmonised licensing of mining operations and a considerably curtailed discretion on the part of the minister in charge of mining.

The new law also seeks to harmonise mining with the Environment Management and Co-ordination Act of 1999 and requires a restoration and rehabilitation of mined out areas and cushioning of local communities against adverse effects of mining.

The main minerals produced in Kenya are soda ash, fluorspar and salt. The country has gold which is mined by small holder miners and titanium deposits which are not yet to be commercially mined.

The new law comes at a time when non-governmental groups are concerned at lack of transparency in mining industry in Kenya and the rest of Africa.

Source: Business Daily, Nairobi

Maghreb Minerals Seeking Partner For Tunisian Project

Maghreb Minerals PLC has announced that the scoping study on the Bou Jabeur - Gite Est deposit in Tunisia concludes that the project is uneconomic at current lead and zinc prices, but an increase in resources may change that, so it is seeking a partner to progress the project, primarily to fund the additional drilling programme required.

It noted that in the current economic circumstances this process could take some significant time.

In the meantime Maghreb will concentrate on its prospective fluorspar permits and on fluorspar opportunities in general, it said.

The economic appraisal part of the scoping study indicates breakeven for the project with an increase in the current prices of lead and zinc of somewhat less than 20 percent This will also be favourably affected by increasing the resources to allow for a mining rate of greater than 1,500 tonnes per day.

Source: Proactive Investors

Sallies Looks To Return To Profit

Sallies had returned to profit after six years of losses, the mining firm said on Tuesday.

It expected to post headline earnings of R6.5 million for the six months to December 2008, compared with a R25.6 million interim loss in 2007.

The Buffalo fluorspar mine was mothballed in October 2008, for which impairment charges of R74.6 million were booked.

As a result, Sallies said it would post a basic loss of R61.6 million for the period.

Source: Business Report, South Africa

Sallies Claim Resolution Unlikely Before Next Month

The judgment in the claim and counterclaim between South African fluorspar producer Sallies and its former US-based customer, Honeywell, is unlikely to be released to the parties before next month , Sallies CEO Tom Dale said yesterday.

The arbitral tribunal in Zurich completed hearings in December and Sallies originally expected to hear the ruling last month. But Dale said the latest information was that the tribunal would be considering its verdict until the end of this month and would take about 30 days to deliver it to the parties.

Honeywell was Sallies’ largest single customer under a five-year contract negotiated in 2000 at a fixed price, which rapidly proved onerous for Sallies when the rand strengthened and fluorspar prices soared.

Two years ago Sallies cancelled the contract over non-payment and the matter was taken to international arbitration, with the first hearings taking place in September 2007 and the final hearings late last year.

Sallies is claiming $3.8m plus interest and costs while Honeywell is claiming $4.5m from Sallies, plus interest and costs.

Whether the verdict is in favour of Sallies or against it, the outcome will be material.

Sallies made R168m in revenue for the year to June last year and a net loss of R39.2m. Its interim results for the period to December have not yet been published but the price of fluorspar, in line with other industrial minerals, has been hit by the global economic downturn.

Source: Business Day, South Africa

Glebe Wins Fluorspar Mine Permission

UK mining firm Glebe Mines has been granted permission to blast a new 45-metre-deep quarry in a Dales hillside – despite protests from residents, walkers and conservationists. Peak Park council members narrowly backed the bid to extract 660,000 tonnes of fluorspar from Tearsall Quarry near Wensley in Derbyshire after a five-hour meeting at the Bakewell Agricultural Business Centre on Friday.

Glebe will stop mining at Longstone Edge near Calver for four years, in exchange for being allowed to open a new 10.4 hectare open pit near Wensley.

Several villagers, an independent ecologist, Friends of the Peak District, Save Longstone Edge and Save Wensley Hillside pleaded with members to block the unusual deal – which officers and members admitted broke conservation guidelines.

Fears included noise, vibrations, pollution, dust, safety, access issues, impact on livestock, threat to tourism and visual and archaeological harm.

Henry Folkard, from the British Mountaineering Council, said: "The company's economic convenience isn't a valid argument for destroying the national park along the way.

"Mineral operators have to start looking to dig underground and should be encouraged to so as soon as possible."

Peak District National Park Authority chairman Narendra Bajaria objected to the new quarry, which he said threatened the park's position as a "national treasure."

Mr Bajaria said: "We are going to set aside our own well-considered policies. That is the price we are being asked to pay for a four year stay of execution and that's all it would be, let's make no bones about it.

"Are we not paying a high price for what we are getting from it? The community benefit is far less than I would have expected."

But Glebe Mines bosses said the new mine was vital to keeping 1,500 workers – including 67 in the Dales – in their jobs.

And general manager Gary Goodyear said refusal of the plans could have knock-on effects at Longstone Edge.

"I believe we have the right to mine at Peak Pasture (Longstone Edge) right now.

"We're not sure what that would remove and there's been quite a bit of limestone removed to get fluorspar already. But we could move quite quickly if we needed to," Mr Goodyear added.

Members approved officers' recommendation to back the plans, by ten votes to eight.

The Peak District National Park Authority received 435 letters backing Glebe's proposals, and 2,269 against before Friday's meeting.

Source: Matlock Mercury