Suppliers News (June 08, 2009)

ABB Lands $28M Order With Terrane

Terrane Metals (TRX-V, TRXOF-O) has contracted Swiss power and automation technology group ABB to provide drives for its Mt. Milligan project in central British Columbia.

The order, worth $28 million,will supply the gold project with energy-efficient gearless mill and dual pinion ball mill drive systems. ABB will deliver the equipment to the project by the end of 2011, with installation and startup of the project slated for 2012.

The 22-megawatt gearless mill drive system will operate a semi-autogenous grinding mill. The two dual pinion mill drive systems will control two 26-ft. ball mills.

Terrane plans to build a 60,000-tonne-per-day, open-pit mine with a flotation facility for copper recovery at Mt. Milligan, located 155 km northwest of Prince George.

The mine is expected to produce 217,000 oz. gold and 88 million lbs. copper annually over a 15-year life.

Wardrop acquires ACI Engineering; gets Avanti contract

Engineering and mine consultant Wardrop, has absorbed Vancouver-based ACI Engineering.

“This acquisition is a win-win situation for both parties” said Malcolm Cameron, president of ACI, in a release. “For Wardrop, it consolidates all engineering disciplines under the same roof in Vancouver, and for ACI, provides access to new clients and opportunities across Canada and abroad, not only in mining, but also in the energy sector.”

The acquisition adds the 14-member team of electrical power system specialists and engineers at ACI to Wardrop’s mining and energy divisions.

The acquisition comes on the heels of Tetra Tech’s (TTEK-Q) acquisition of Wardrop earlier this year. Through the deal, Pasadena, Calif.-based Tetra Tech gained Wardrop’s 13 Canadian offices, as well as offices in the United Kingdom and India.

In other news, Wardrop has been contracted by Avanti Mining (AVT-V, AVNMF-O) to conduct a prefeasibility study for its Kitsault molybdenum mine in British Columbia. The study, expected to take seven months, began in April.

The prefeasibility will look at a variety of production rates and determine production capacity.

WGM signs on for UN Global Compact policy

Mining consultant Watts, Griffis and McOuat has signed on to the United Nations’ Global Compact, an agreement meant to align businesses with 10 universally accepted principles encompassing human rights, environmental concerns, labour practices and anti-corruption.

“WGM is proud to be a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact,” said Joe Hinzer, president of WGM in a release. “By joining the Global Compact, WGM is sending a message to our valued clients that the work our firm does will abide by these globally acceptable business and social principles.”

The Global Compact was established in July 2000 as a voluntary initiative made up of UN agencies, private corporations, non-governmental organizations, and labour and academic institutions.

In addition to promoting a universal set of values, the initiative also acts as a catalyst to help promote other socially and environmentally conscious programs established by the UN, such as the Millennium Development Goals.

WGM is the 60th member of the strategy, which includes miners Barrick Gold (ABX-T, ABX-N), Inmet Mining (IMN-T, IEMMF-o), and Teck (TCK.b-t, TCK-N).

As the commitments are made purely as good-faith agreements, the Global Compact has faced some criticism for acting only as a forum for discussion without the ability to regulate or enforce the established principles.

Founded in 1962, WGM is an independent firm of consulting geologists and engineers active worldwide.

SGS’s Chris Fleming receives MetSoc’s 2009 Airey award

Chris Fleming, a senior metallurgical consultant for laboratory SGS, has been awarded the 2009 Airey award by the Metallurgical Society, a division of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM).

Fleming, who worked for Lakefield Research starting in 1990 until it was acquired by SGS in 2002, has racked up a series of awards form the CIM throughout his career. Those accolades include the Sherritt Hydrometallurgy award in 1997, the CIM Distinguished Lecturer award in 1997/8 and the CIM Fellowship award in 2004.

The Airey award is named after H.T. Airey, who was integral in the creation of the Annual Conference of Metallurgists for the Metallurgical Society of CIM. The award, one of the most prestigious offered by the institute, recognizes career or individual contributions based on 15 years or more of participation.

This encompasses contributions to Canadian metallurgy through research leadership, process development and technological advancement.

In his more than 30 years in the industry, Fleming has authored and co-authored 74 technical publications, has been awarded 14 patents and contributed to many technical books on various aspects relating to metallurgy. He also was a key player in the commercialization of carbon-in-pulp and resin-in-pulp processes for gold extraction and the development of the Augment, Hannah and Platsol processes.

Fleming will be presented the award at the Conference of Metallurgists, on Aug. 25, in Sudbury, Ont.

Baja Mining gets ICA Fluor for Boleo

Vancouver-based Baja Mining (BAJ-T, BAJFF-O) has hired ICA Fluor as the engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) for the first phase of construction at its Boleo copper-cobalt-zinc-manganese project in Mexico.

As part of its contract, ICA will develop an open-book capital cost estimate based on current market conditions, To date, 30% of the engineering at the project has been completed, and will be worked into the estimate, which is expected to be completed by mid-2009, after being reviewed by an independent third party.

In addition to cost estimates, ICA will also develop a schedule for construction at the mine.

Baja’s 70%-owned Boleo project is a joint venture with a Korean syndicate that holds 30%. Baja is the operator of Boleo, which is located near Santa Rosalia, Mexico. ICA Fluor, a joint venture between Fluor Corp. and Empresas ICA, is headquartered in Mexico City.