Mining : Hostage drama for B.C. silver miner in Bolivia
Events took a dramatic turn for a Vancouver silver miner in Bolivia earlier this month as its contract workers were taken hostage by protestors.
South American Silver Corp. (TSX:SAC) has invested $16 million developing the Malku Khota project.
A mine opponent was killed when government forces went in to rescue Bolivian police officers and mine contractors that had been taken hostage by mine opponents. According to Reuters, Bolivian President Evo Morales has since said he is considering nationalizing the property.
Forestry: Tembec to idle Chetwynd pulp mill
Montreal-based Tembec Inc. (TSX:TMB) will shut down its Chetwynd pulp indefinitely as of September 16, the company has announced. “The high-yield pulp market has continued to soften over the past year,” Chris Black, Tembec executive vice-president and president of the Paper and Paper Pulp Group, said in a press release. “At today’s price levels, it is virtually impossible to maintain viable operations given the current cost structure of the Chetwynd mill.”
The Chetwynd mill employs 115 people.
Mining: Gold miners Lupaka, Andean to merge
Vancouver gold miner Lupaka Gold Corp. (TSX:LPK) announced July 5 that it plans to merge with Oakville, Ontario-based Andean American Gold Corp. (TSX-V:AAG) to create a new Peru-focused gold exploration and development company.
Andean shareholders will receive 0.245 shares of Lupaka for each share of Andean American that they own. Andean American would then own 45.27% of Lupaka.
Company boards are touting gains from the deal, including geographic diversification and a cash balance to pursue further acquisitions.
Oil: Enbridge blasted for U.S. oil spill response
A U.S. watchdog has blasted Enbridge Inc. (TSX:ENB) for “pervasive organizational failures” behind a 2010 pipeline rupture and spill in Michigan.
A U.S. National Transportation Safety Board investigation has found that the failure resulted from multiple small corrosion-fatigue cracks that over time grew and linked together, creating a “gaping breach” of more than two metres long.
“This investigation identified a complete breakdown of safety at Enbridge,” said NTSB chairwoman Deborah Hersman.
Mining: Luna sells Cachoeira project in Brazil for $12m
Vancouver-based Luna Gold Corp. (TSX-V:LGC) has announced an agreement to sell its Luna Gold (International) Corp. subsidiary for approximately $12 million in cash and shares to Vancouver- based Brazil Resources Inc. (TSX-V:BRI).
The Luna subsidiary owns 100% of the Cachoeira gold project in Brazil’s Pará state.
In a statement, Brazil Resources chairman Amir Adnani said the acquisition will be the company’s fourth project in the Gurupi gold Belt.
