Suppliers News (January 21, 2008)

ABB gears up Climax

Switzerland-based power and automation technology company ABB will sell two gearless mill drive (GMD) systems to Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (FCX-N) for the reopening of its Climax molybdenum mine.

The drives, with a combined value of US$20 million, will power mills at the mine, located near Leadville, Colo.

Founded in 1918, Climax last operated in 1995. But with a US$500-million restart project, Freeport plans to have the mine operational once again by 2010.

Both GMD systems contain ringmotors, transformers, e-houses, cycloconverters and power factor correction and harmonic filter supply.

Once open-pit mining begins and state-of-the-art milling facilities are complete, Climax could yield 30 million lbs. molybdenum annually.

The mine is located 3,500 metres above sea level.

AECOM acquires Gartner Lee

Environmental science consulting firm Gartner Lee has joined the AECOM Technology (ACM-N) infrastructure.

The combination will help AECOM strengthen its environmental services practices, and adds to AECOM’s growing presence in Canada.

With the merger, the Los Angeles-based company employs more than 1,600 professionals in Canada, including UMA Engineering Ltd. and KMK Consultants Ltd.

Golder Associates to review PMI Gold’s Kubi project

Golder Associates, an engineering and environmental services provider, has been commissioned by PMI Gold Corp. (PMV-V, PMVGF-O) to produce a review of the company’s recently acquired Kubi gold project in Ghana.

Golder will establish a pro- ject management plan and milestones; review environmental and socioeconomic aspects; provide an evaluation of the geological model at Kubi; assess mining and processing options, infrastructure, mine closure and financial sensitivity; and provide a preliminary economic analysis.

Located 46 km southeast of Obotan, Kubi already has a National Instrument 43-101-compliant indicated resource totalling 604,000 oz. gold.

Golder will also prepare a resource estimate for gold mineralization under the Nkran pit at Obotan, and will define the parameters for subsequent prefeasibility and final definitive feasibility studies.

Fimat International upgrades LME membership

Fimat International, a global brokerage organization based in Paris, has upgraded its membership on the London Metal Exchange.

Formerly an associate broker with the LME, Fimat became a ring dealing member — the highest of five categories of LME membership — on Jan. 2. The company merged its brokering activities with Calyon Financial earlier this year through a company called Newedge. Calyon Financial resigned from its ring dealing membership on Jan. 2.

SGS Minerals Services opens lab in Mali

SGS Minerals Services, part of the SGS Group, is opening a new geochemistry facility in Mali’s capital city, Bamako.

The laboratory, a part of SGS’s West African network of six labs in total, will have the necessary equipment to provide sample prepara- tion for 20,000 samples per month.

The Bamako facility will also be able to feed samples to SGS’s full service lab in Tarkwa, Ghana, as necessary.

The SGS lab opening comes at a good time, with Mali’s emergence in the last 10 years as one of the top gold-producing nations in the world.

The geochemical research company has 40 commercial labs around the world.

Hatch to conduct Copper Mountain feasibility

Copper Mountain Mining (CUM-V) has commissioned engineering firm Hatch to conduct a feasibility study at the company’s namesake copper-gold-silver project, near Princeton, B.C.

The company recently issued a prefeasibility report, stating that the mine could produce up to 35,000 tonnes per day of mill feed. The report also predicted that the mine would be capable of producing a copper concentrate containing about 100 million lbs. copper per year, plus gold and silver.

Hatch is aiming to have the study completed in the first half of 2008.

If all goes as planned, Copper Mountain will have the project in full swing by 2010.

Finning to Acquire Collicutt Energy

Caterpillar (CAT-N) equipment dealer Finning International (FTT-T, FINGF-O) has announced plans to acquire Collicutt Energy Services (COH-T, CUTVF-O).

Collicutt is a Canadian oilfield service company that services and builds natural gas compression and electric power generation packaging in Alberta and B.C.

The acquisition, valued at $145 million, is aimed at expanding services in Alberta and British Columbia.

Collicutt shareholders will receive $9.75 per share. The merger will add more than 450 new employees to Finning, as well as 200,000 sq. ft. of modern shop facilities in Deer Deer, Alta.

“This acquisition is an excellent fit for Finning as it offers a significant expansion to our customer service capabilities in Western Canada,” said Doug Whitehead, president and CEO of Finning International.