First large-scale mine a test for Latin America’s copper rookie

After seeing its share price halved in the past year, the Kinross Gold (TSE:K) board decided to remove Tye Burt and promote Paul Rollinson from Executive Vice-President, Corporate Development to CEO.

"Primero achieved its strongest quarter to date. San Dimas delivered record gold and silver production, record profit margins and record operating cash flow for Primero."

Theo Stromer published a pictorial on CNN looking at cooperative mining in Bolivia, as well as the damage caused to the environment and the miners themselves in a region that lacks modern safeguards.

The stock hit a high of $50 in May 2008 and came close again in April 2011, but at $170 billion, the Melbourne-based company is now valued at some $80 billion less that at its peak.

The company is sticking to plans to spend $680 million this year including ramping up production at its Noche Buena mine. The firm has five operating mines and this year forecasts 41 million ounces of silver produced and 460,000 ounces of gold.

Barrick announced last week  a 50-60% cost blow-out for the copper-gold-silver  project straddling the Chile–Argentina border which could end up with a final bill of as much as $8 billion with $3 billion already spent.

World number one iron ore producer Vale over the weekend "played down fears" that the planned $20 billion expansion of its Carajas mine would harm the local Awá people described as "Earth’s most threatened tribe."

"I believe the recovery will happen soon," José Carlos Martins, the Brazilian miner's director of iron ore and strategy, said during a conference call discussing the firm's second quarter results, adding that a modest recovery in China will boost prices.

Baja Mining dropped by almost a third on Friday after announcing class action proceedings seeking $260 million in damages for misrepresenting the true state of affairs at its Boleo project in Mexcio since 2010. It is now worth a paltry $18.7 million on the Toronto big board. During the heady days of 2007 Baja Mining was valued at $836 million.