Column: Electric dreams turn into a nightmare for battery metals
A sector that was once racing to build new supply has been closing mines and deferring projects as low prices bite into the cost curve.
Australia-based gold miner Northern Star Resources has approved a $30 million investment to expand the processing plant capacity at its Pogo underground mine in Alaska from 1.0 million tonnes a year to 1.3 million tonnes.
The decision to increase Pogo’s production reflected the significant confidence that the company had in the asset, says executive chair Bill Beament. Positive outlook for Pogo was also underpinned by strong exploration results from the newly discovered Goodpaster prospect, some 1 km from the existing mining area.
“We have owned Pogo for only a year and our exploration results already provide strong evidence that this is an emerging camp-scale system with huge potential to grow the inventory and mine life beyond the current 10-million-ounce endowment,“ Beament added.
The proposed expansion would start this financial year and be finished by early 2021.
The Alaskan mine, located southeast of Fairbanks city, was acquired by Northern Star last year from Sumitomo for $260 million.
