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NA palladium companies - Building a solid foundation
With the release of Gold Fields Mineral Services (GFMS) annual Platinum and Palladium Survey earlier this month, it's worth taking stock of recent developments in the North American platinum group metals mining and exploration sector.
North American platinum group metals miners, which produce more palladium than platinum, have had a challenging couple of years, of late, though circumstances seem to be improving. Part of the challenge has been the adverse market for palladium, dominated by the dramatic fall in the price of the metal from the dizzy heights of over USD1,000 an ounce four years ago to the current USD200 an ounce. Palladium's sister metal platinum is expected to move into a surplus during 2005 with weakening Chinese demand for platinum jewellery, despite increased use in the autocatalyst and glass industries. Palladium's current surplus is also expected to continue to grow and reflect the tail end of the shift away from palladium in the wake of the price spikes at the start of the decade. Demand however, is expected to increase in response to increased demand from the jewelry sector and as a substitute for platinum.
Stillwater Mining Co, North America's largest miner of platinum and palladium recently posted a fourth-quarter profit, reversing a loss in the year-earlier quarter when results were weighed down by charges. The company, which producers 3.3 ounces of palladium for each ounce of platinum, also reported record annual revenues. Much of Stillwater's cheerful news was however weighed down by the company not anticipating a turn around of palladium prices. North American Palladium, Canada's only primary miner of the precious metal reported lower palladium production for the first quarter, when compared with 2004, as a consequence of low ore grades and issues with mill availability. While 2004 results were poor, largely as a result of a non-cash impairment charge of CAD108 million; the company has established a solid foundation through a difficult transition period. North American Palladium is currently developing an underground operation and expects to approximately 350,000 ounces of palladium per year, from the combined open pit and underground operations.
On the exploration front, two companies aren't letting palladium's short-term market uncertainties phase their development plans. Vancouver-based Pacific North West Capital Corp and joint venture partner Anglo American Platinum Corp are currently preparing budgets for work to be done on their River Valley Property in Ontario (current resources: + 1.2 million Pt+Pd+Au ounces) which is earmarked for more drilling to substantially increase resource ounces. Pacific North West is in the enviable position of having three of its core projects financed to production by two of the world's top three platinum mining companies. Also, Marathon PGM Corp's primary focus is its Marathon PGM-Cu Property, also in Ontario. To date, the project hosts measured and indicated Pt+Pd resources of over 1.3 million ounces, and inferred Pt+Pd resources of over 0.5 million ounces. The company plans to increase the measured, indicated and inferred mineral resources on the project and identifying areas of further exploration potential.
For the latest in palladium news, visit InfoMine's Palladium page.
Boom Time - By Mike Woof - World Mining Equipment
A healthy market means that underground truck and LHD makers are enjoying high order levels, with new models and technology also coming to market. In the LHD sector, several new models are already on the market from firms including EJC, Fermel, Rham Equipment and Schopf (WME Oct. & Nov. 2004), while Atlas Copco intends to launch at least one new design in 2005 - possibly an ST14. More...
The loading of two years of historic Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) documents into InfoMine db is now underway!
InfoMine is pleased to announce that the process of loading two years of historic documents filed by mining companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) into our company and property databases, InfoMine db, has now commenced.
As previously announced InfoMine has entered an agreement with ASX Operations Pty Ltd. for the re-distribution of official documents filed by mining companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). This included the purchase of two years of historic documents filed since February 2003 by mining companies listed on the ASX.
The loading of these documents into our database is now underway and is expected to be completed over the coming weeks. The addition of two years of historic documents from the ASX combined with our advanced PDF Document Search technology provides our users with a valuable research tool for obtaining detailed information on all ASX listed mining companies.
The addition of two years of historic ASX documents into our existing database of over 5 years of digital documents filed to the Canadian and U.S. stock exchanges will result in the world's largest online source of mining company information available on the Internet - demonstrating InfoMine's position as the global leader in providing comprehensive information on mining companies and mineral properties worldwide.
New Course on Process Mineralogy for Coal and Industrial Minerals.
Process Mineralogy 2 for Coal and Industrial Minerals is the second of two courses on process mineralogy by Marcello Veiga. It presents application of the basic tools of investigative and analytical mineralogy with respect to coal and industrial minerals, illustrated by examples.
In addition to coal, the course covers the industrial minerals diatomite, clay, calcium carbonate, glass, cement and advanced ceramics. Together with the companion course, Process Mineralogy 1 for Metals, this course provides an excellent introduction to process mineralogy for all mining disciplines. More...
New Versions of the Mine Safety and Rescue Courses Now Available
The Mine Safety and Rescue courses have been extensively revised and upgraded. There are three courses in the new series, covering "Underground Gas Hazards", "Underground Fire Hazards" and "Terrain, Cold and Other Hazards".
The courses cover safety and rescue procedures to be used in prevention, preparedness and rescue operations for accidents or disasters at surface and underground mining operations. They also serve as a guide to good practice at any time when people are working in physically dangerous mining situations. More...
Little Red Book
A mathematician, a physicist, and an engineer were all given a red rubber ball and told to find the volume.
The mathematician carefully measured the diameter and evaluated a triple integral.
The physicist filled a beaker with water, put the ball in the water, and measured the total displacement.
The engineer looked up the model and serial numbers in his red-rubber-ball table.
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 Considered to be the most celebrated diamond in the Iranian Crown Jewels and one of the oldest known to man, the 186-carat Darya-i-Nur is a crudely fashioned stone measuring 41.40 x 29.50 x 12.15mm. The name means Sea of Light, River of Light, or Ocean of Light.
Both the Darya-i-Nur and the historic Koh-i-Noor are said to have been in the possession of the first Mogul emperor of India, from whom they descended to Mohammed Shah. When Persia's Nadir Shah defeated the latter during the sack of Delhi in 1739, he surrendered all his chief valuables, including the diamonds and the well-known Peacock Throne.
After Nadir's assassination in 1741, the Darya-i-Nur was inherited by his grandson, Shah Rokh. Later, it descended in succession to Mirza-Alam Khan Khozeime and thence to Mohammed Hassan Khan Qajar. Finally, it came into the possession of Lotf-Ali Khan Zand, who was defeated by Aga Mohammed Khan Khan Qajar.
In 1797, Aga Mohammed was succeeded by his grandson, Fath Ali Shah, who was both a collector and connoisseur of gems and whose name is engraved on one side of the great diamond.
In 1827, Sir John Malcolm, a British emissary to the Persian Court and author of Sketches of Persia, described the Darya-i-Nur and the Taj-e-Mah (another famous diamond in the Persian Regalia) as the principal stones in a pair of bracelets valued at one million pounds sterling.
During the reign of the next shah, Nasser-ed-Din (1831-1896), the stone was mounted in an elaborate frame, which is surmounted by the Lion and Sun (the emblem of the Imperial Government of Iran) and set with four hundred fifty-seven diamonds and four rubies. It is still mounted in that same frame today.
Although some researchers contend that the Darya-i-Nur was acquired by the East India Co. and exhibited at London's Crystal Palace Exhibition in 1851, Iranian officials at the Central Bank of Iran in Tehran, where the Crown Jewels are kept, told the Gemological Institute of America in 1964 that it has never left the Treasure Vaults.
In 1906, Mohammed Ali Shah, after being defeated by the Constitutionalists while carrying the diamond and other valuables with him during the Persian Revolution, took refuge in the Russian Legation and claimed that the jewels were his personal property. However, as a result of intense efforts made by the freedom fighters, this priceless token of Nadir's conquests was restored to the country.
Today, the Darya-i-Nur holds a prominent place among the Iranian Crown Jewels. The Iranian Crown Jewels were studied and authenticated in 1966 by Dr. V.B. Meen of the Royal Ontario Museum. It is now believed that the Darya-i-Nur is the major portion of Tavernier's Great Table.
It should be noted that the exact weight of the Darya-i-Nur is not really known. The figure of 186 carats listed here by GIA is an estimate. The stone is estimated to weigh somewhere between 175 and 195 carats, and it is a light pink color. The reason the exact weight is not known is because the stone cannot be removed from its setting without major risk of destroying the setting. It is more than likely that the stone was cut from the Great Table Diamond, and stone that was described by Jean Baptiste Tavernier as being over 400 carats, pink, and very flat.
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