The ASIA Miner deputy editor John Miller recently took part in a mining tour of Northern Ontario in Canada as a guest of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Trade.

The October-December issue of The ASIA Miner magazine, released today, showcases a two-page sponsored feature on Minco Silver Corporation and its proposed acquisition of Sterling Mining and the company’s operations in China. The magazine had already gone to print by the time The ASIA Miner had received notification that the acquisition would not proceed. The article does offer an excellent overview of the company’s Fuwan silver project development in China. Following is an update on Minco Silver Corporation’s current position.

Saudi Arabia has a wealth of prospects for exploration development and processing of non-oil commodities.

Supported by increasing demand for industrial and precious metals, investment in non-oil commodity extraction in the country has rarely been so attractive.

This makes Mena-Ex 2009, the Saudi Arabian focused strategic forum and international exhibition in Jeddah on January 19 and 20, 2009, an important global event.

New drill hole intersections from Medusa Mining’s Lingig prospect in the Philippines are visually confirming copper mineralization similar to a discovery hole drilled in 1974.

Medusa is exploring, developing and operating gold and copper prospects in the Philippines through its Philippines operating company Philsaga Mining Corporation.

Kentor Gold believes that the wide intersections of copper, gold and magnetite obtained from the central zone of the Khantau project in Kazakhstan are just the start of an extensive and extremely valuable mineral field.

Drilling at the central zone indicates that mineralization is open in both directions along strike and down dip. This mineralization coincides with one of 26 magnetic anomalies identified in the Khantau licence area.

Entrée Gold has discovered a new coal target on the Togoot licence, which forms the western portion of its Lookout Hill gold and copper property in Mongolia.

The company is now evaluating the Nomkhon Bohr coal target while continuing its exploration program on a number of other geological targets on the Toogoot licence.

Nomkhon Bohr is in the northwest corner of the licence area, about 60km northwest of Ivanhoe Mines’ Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold deposits and 70km southeast of the Tavan Tolgoi coal deposit. A haul road used to transport coal from Tavan Tolgoi to China, passes within 5km of Nomkhon Bohr.

Recent drilling at East Asia Minerals’ Bawone prospect on Sangihe Island, Sulawesi, Indonesia, has encountered a thick interval of primary sulphide mineralization, including 103.15 metres of 1.81 grams/tonne gold and 0.20% copper.

Bawone is 1km south of the company’s Binebase prospect with the interval obtained from the northwestern end of the prospect area. The mineralized zone remains open along strike both to the northwest and the southeast.

An updated pre-feasibility study for stage 1 of Intex Resources’ Mindoro Nickel Project in the Philippines has confirmed that the project has robust economics.

Aker Solutions submitted the revised study, which takes into account a different plant site location, the use of cable conveyors for ore transport instead of trucks as well as a more expansive plant layout and a cell-based residue deposition facility.

A takeover offer for Medusa Mining by Hong Kong-based merchant banking and asset management group Crosby Capital has been rejected by the Perth-based company that is focused on exploration and mining in the Philippines.

Crosby has offered to purchase all the ordinary shares of Medusa for Aus$1.15 cash per share, an offer that values the company at about Aus$182 million and which Medusa describes as inadequate and opportunistic.

Among the special events that China International Mining Group (CIMG) is planning during China Mining 2008 in Beijing in November is a ‘Provincial Mining Dialogue’ focusing on mining in provincial China.

The dialogue will be on Monday, November 10, a day before the three-day China Mining congress and exhibition begins. The half-day dialogue will have an intimate feel with speakers from industry, government and academia.

Further drilling at Jupiter Mines’ Central Yilgarn Iron Project in Western Australia has resulted in more high-grade assay results from the Mt Mason prospect and promising initial results from Mt Ida prospect.

Drilling at Mt Mason has been completed with 1629 metres of RC drilling over 20 holes, including re-drills. Best results from assays received to date include 14 metres @ 64.1% iron from shallow depth and 5 metres @ 59.8% iron also from shallow depth.

Reverse circulation (RC) drilling results from Emmerson Resources’ Golden 40 Project area in the Tennant Creek Mineral Field of the Northern Territory indicate the potential for extensions to historic gold workings.

The Golden 40 Mine operated as a high-grade underground mine with a 12 grams/tonne gold head grade between 1969 and 1983.

An aggressive exploration campaign at Integra Mining’s Salt Creek gold deposit in Western Australia continues to further define and extend the existing resource base while also seeking a larger gold system.

Salt Creek is part of the company’s Aldiss-Randalls Gold Project near Kalgoorlie in WA and drilling has returned further high-grade results.

Donaldson, a leading global manufacturer of filtration systems and parts, has launched the Donaldson Rewards Program, a points-and-rewards loyalty program in the Philippines to reward users of its products.

Regular purchasers and resellers of Donaldson engine aftermarket products can register their memberships at http://www.donaldsonrewards.com. To earn points, all they have to do is send in proof of purchase documents, including delivery orders or purchases invoices, and points will be credited into their accounts upon approval.

With astonishing minerals endowment and unrealized potential, Mongolia remains an attractive destination for global seekers of rewards in mineral exploration and development.

The sixth international mining investment forum Discover Mongolia 2008 will be held in Ulaanbaatar from November 6-8, 2008, and aims to showcase the country’s mineral wealth to investors from around the world.

Indonesian coal miner Bayan Resources expects its coal production to increase by 5 million tonnes to 14 million tonnes in 2009.

The company, which has just raised US$529 million from Indonesia’s largest private sector IPO marketed to international investors, is the country’s eighth largest coal producer by output.

Bayan’s president director Eddie Chin says it expects to sell between 1 million and 2 million tonnes more coal than it produces by sourcing from third parties.

He also estimates that the company will book revenue of between US$700 million and US$750 million this year.

Drilling at Mindoro Resources’ Agata North Nickel Laterite Project in the Philippines has resulted in an increase in the average saprolite grade to 1.42% nickel.

Results from a further 35 drill holes in the central area mean the limonite horizon now averages 1.12% nickel, 0.12% cobalt and 47.76% iron over an average thickness of 2.88 metres while the underlying saprolite horizon averages 1.42% nickel over an average thickness of 5.67 metres.

A shortage of coal in India has forced the state-run National Aluminium Co (NALCO) to consider importing coal in order to maintain normal operations.

NALCO’s coal reserves have fallen to critical levels after state-owned Mahanadi Coalfields was forced to cut daily supplies.

With domestic coal supplies not expected to improve until after the monsoon rains end in September, NALCO is considering importing about 130,000 tonnes of coal from other countries including Indonesia and Australia.

OFFICIALS of QGX Limited have recommended acceptance of a takeover bid from Mongolia Holdings Corporation, a subsidiary of Kerry Holdings.

The Canadian-based QGX has been exploring for mineral deposits in Mongolia since 1994 with its two most advanced projects being the Baruun Naran coal project and the Golden Hills copper-gold-silver project.

Ongoing drilling at Kalimantan Gold’s Jelai Gold Project in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, continues to expand mineralization.

More than 4400 metres has been drilled in the past 12 months and latest drilling includes intercepts such as: 15 metres @ 4.9 grams/tonne gold, including 5.4 metres @ 11.74 grams/tonne; 5.2 metres @ 5.6 grams/tonne gold, including 1.2 metres @ 17.33 grams/tonne gold; and 5.95 metres @ 2.15 grams/tonne gold, including 0.65 metres @ 10.30 grams/tonne gold in the Sembawang vein.

EESTECH and China’s Datong Coal Mine Group will undertake a feasibility and project development program using methane and waste coal to supply power for the mining operations.

The program, based on EESTECH’s Hybrid Coalmine Gas Technology (HCGT), uses methane and waste coal to produce clean energy.

The advantage of this process is that it not only uses waste material but methane gas has a global warming potential 21 times more damaging to the atmosphere than carbon dioxide.

The high grade mineral resource at Western Area’s Spotted Quoll Nickel Project in Western Australia has increased by 118%.

The revised mineral resource estimate at Spotted Quoll now comprises 1.045 million tonnes at an average grade of 7.2% nickel for 75,140 tonnes of contained nickel to a depth of only 300 metres. The majority of the resource (88%) is in the high confidence indicated category.

Australian energy supplier TRUenergy has committed Aus$57 million to geothermal energy through a joint venture with Petratherm, a leading developer of geothermal technology in Australia and overseas.

The farm-in arrangement enables TRUenergy to earn up to a 30% stake in Petratherm’s advanced Paralana project in line with the achievement of specific project milestones.

The Paralana project is in the northern Flinders Ranges in South Australia and is currently being developed by Petratherm and its other joint venture partner, Beach Petroleum.

A resource infill drilling program at BC Iron’s Nullagine Iron Ore Project in Western Australia’s Pilbara region has reinforced the quality of the project’s key deposits and added to the company’s confidence in Nullagine as a low-cost high-margin operation.

The reverse circulation (RC) drilling program is nearing completion at the Bonnie Creek Channel Iron Deposit (CID), which includes the Outcamp Well, Coongan Well and Warrigal Well deposits.

ICMM has released a new toolkit, ‘Planning for Integrated Mine Closure’, which provides practical guidance for closing a mine in a sustainable manner.

The new planning toolkit, which is intended for use by both large and small companies, builds on existing ICMM material and incorporates a number of new tools.

Redmile aims to revive mining in Adelaide Geosyncline

Redmile Resources has an attractive portfolio of highly prospective land in the Adelaide Geosyncline in South Australia and is seeking equity or joint venture partners to explore and develop the properties.

It has 14 exploration licences covering 4100sqkm in South Australia ’s central east and the focus in these areas is on the strategic commodities of copper, gold, lead, zinc and uranium.

With mineral resources from ASEAN nations fuelling much of Asia’s growth the eighth Asia Pacific Mining Conference and Exhibition in Manila from October 14-16 will showcase South East Asia’s mining industry.

The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines is hosting the event at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza with the theme being ‘ASEAN Mining – Fuelling Asia’s Growth’.

A magnetic survey has identified 26 magnetic anomalies over a 40km strike length on Kentor Gold’s Khantau iron oxide/copper/gold (IOCG) project in Kazakhstan suggesting significant potential for further mineral discoveries.

Drilling to date has identified continuous mineralization over a 400 metre strike length with mineralization open along strike and down dip.

Ivanhoe Mines’ 79% owned subsidiary SouthGobi Energy Resources has become the newest coal producer in Mongolia with production starting at the Ovoot Tolgoi open pit mine.

Ivanhoe’s executive chairman Robert Friedland says: “SouthGobi has reported impressive, ongoing exploration success, greatly increasing its high quality coal resources as it prepares to make its first export shipments to buyers in China.”

The first two drill holes at the Kamarangan prospect in Medusa Mining’s Tambis project in the Philippines have intersected a potentially large mineralized quartz diorite complex.

The mineralized intrusive complex is interpreted to be up to 2000 metres east-west by more than 800 metres north-south.

A mineral resource estimate at PanAust’s Ban Houayxai gold-silver deposit in Laos shows a total combined measured, indicated and inferred resource of 19 million tonnes at an average grade of 1.7 grams/tonne gold and 10 grams/tonne silver.

The pre-feasibility study estimate was calculated using a cut-off of 0.9 grams/tonne gold and equates to an in situ metal content of about 1.1 million ounces of gold and 6.2 million ounces of silver.

Zijin Mining Group will buy the remaining 40% interest that it does not already own in subsidiary Qinghai West Copper Mining, in a deal worth Aus$155.2 million (864 million yuan).

New Asia Gold Corp is about to begin an infill drilling program aimed at defining additional proven reserves at the East Kalimantan Gold Project in Indonesia.

Previous exploration work consisted of 41 diamond drill holes for 7863 metres and 42 trenches that were excavated around the prospect.

Nimrodel Resources has started diamond drilling at the 3862sqkm Batken Oblast Licences in the Batken region of southwest Kyrgyzstan.

The culmination of progressive and systematic uranium exploration has resulted in the delineation of 15 priority diamond drill targets, for a total of 3315m of drilling.

The drilling contract with Southern Kyrgyz Geological Expedition (SKGE) was signed on July 29 in Bishkek and the campaign is expected to operate until December with initial laboratory results expected later this month.

Ramp ‐ up of the copper ‐ gold process plant at PanAust’s Phu Kham copper-gold operation in Laos is continuing with design monthly throughput of 1 million tonnes of ore achieved in August, several months ahead of schedule.

The company is aiming for throughput of 12 million tonnes per annum at Phu Kham.

Good progress has been made with the mechanical completion tests for the process plant, and sign ‐ off by the independent expert has been received. Financial completion tests will follow and are targeted for conclusion by the end of December.

A pre-feasibility study into Dwyka Resources’ Daguma Coal Project in southern Mindanao, the Philippines, indicates that a competent and robust haulage road from the proposed mine site to the port area can be built with relative ease.

The road will be built to transport coal from Daguma to port facilities during production ramp-up with a conveyor or pipeline system to be built once full production levels are reached.

A pre-feasibility study into the Eagle Downs Coal Project in Queensland has demonstrated the technical and financial potential of both single and multi longwall mining options.

Eagle Downs is owned 50% by Aquila Resources and 50% by Vale Australia, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vale. It is about 25km southeast of the town of Moranbah within the northern part of the Bowen Basin and 7km south of the Isaac Plains Coal Mine and Integrated Isaac Plains South Project, which are also jointly held by Aquila and Vale.

Australian gold production recovered slightly in the June quarter to total 55 tonnes, up almost 2 tonnes or 3% on the March quarter, mining consultants Surbiton Associates say in the latest Australian Gold Quarterly Review.

This follows a sharp drop in gold output of 12% in the March quarter, the lowest quarterly figure for almost two decades.

A new offtake agreement will see Golden West Resources supply Chinese steelmaker Hunan Valin Steel Tube and Wire with up to 4.5 million tonnes of direct shipping ore annually for 15 years from its Wiluna West iron ore project in Western Australia.

Churchill Mining has appointed John L Clayton as technical director, concentrating on the development of the East Kutai Coal Project in Kalimantan, Indonesia.

He will be based in Indonesia and will manage the feasibility study at East Kutai, along with a leading engineering firm.

ICMM's ‘Good Practice Guidance on HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria’ is aimed at managers and health practitioners, and provides practical information for disease management.

The guidance stresses the need for an integrated approach to the three diseases and highlights the new links between them emerging in recent research.

Drilling at PanAust’s Puthep Copper Project in northern Thailand has confirmed the presence of a broad high-grade zone of copper-gold mineralization.

One drill hole intersected 38 metres @ 1.9% copper and 0.5 grams/tonne gold from 26 metres down hole.

This hole was drilled to follow up on mineralization encountered in a previous drill hole, which intersected 90 metres @ 2.6% copper and 1.3 grams/tonne gold from a down-hole depth of 46 metres.

An updated estimate for Mindoro Resources’ Agata North nickel laterite project in the Philippines shows a 36% increase on an estimate obtained earlier this year.

Combined measured and indicated resources are now 4.95 million wet metric tonnes (WMT) grading 1.18% nickel, 0.074% cobalt and 28% iron. The updated NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource estimate was calculated at a cut-off grade of 0.8% nickel. Contained nickel is about 92.4 million pounds.

Drilling has resumed at the Hutabargot Julu prospect of Oropa Limited’s 75%-owned Pungkut gold Project in North Sumatra, Indonesia.

The drilling will test a number of promising new targets generated by a multi-element soil geochemical sampling program carried out at the high-grade Sarahan epithermal vein system.

Drilling of the Blongas II target at Southern Arc Minerals’ Selodong porphyry copper-gold project on Lombok, Indonesia, has confirmed continuity of mineralization.

The latest hole intersected mineralization analogous to that seen previously. It intersected mineralization from the surface comprising 334.35 metres @ 0.17% copper and 0.31 grams/tonne gold, including 104 metres @ 0.23% copper and 0.50 grams/tonne gold from 222.35 metres and 34 metres @ 0.29% copper and 0.86 grams/tonne gold from 278.35 metres.

A 15,000 metre drilling campaign has started at Tianshan Goldfields’ Gold Mountain Project in northwest China targeting the Gold Mountain, Nalensayi and Talede tenements.

Drilling is also under way at the Yelmand deposit targeting resource extensions.

The Gold Mountain Project comprises measured, indicated and inferred resources totalling 94.8 million tonnes at 0.9 grams/tonne gold for 2.64 million contained ounces.

A scoping study for TVI Pacific’s Balabag epithermal gold project in the Philippines concludes that the preparation of a comprehensive exploration and feasibility work program is warranted to further assess resource and reserve models, and to provide additional engineering, environmental, socio-political, and commercial site studies.

TVI Pacific has filed the comprehensive study for the project, which is near the municipalities of Bayog, Zamboanga Del Sur, and Diplahan, Zamboanga Sibugay, in the Philippines.

Rusina Mining and European Nickel have entered into a joint venture to investigate the feasibility of heap leaching of ore from the Acoje nickel laterite project in the Philippines.

Under the agreement European Nickel will spend US$10 million on the feasibility study to earn up to 40% of the Acoje project.

The Acoje pre-feasibility study (PFS) is due for completion in the next two weeks. It is under the direction and supervision of European Nickel, which has established a high calibre project team in the Philippines.

Drilling at AusQuest’s Table Hill manganese project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia indicates mineralization is continuous over 300 metres of strike and is open to the north and south with a potential strike length of up to 2km.

The initial drilling program of 8 holes along two sections has now been completed at the southern end of the MN1 prospect.

Although a scoping study has found that the Maroochydore Copper Project, near Telfer in Western Australia, is unlikely to support a financially viable mining operation in its current form, the joint venture partners will continue to investigate the project.

The project is being explored by Murchison United and Aditya Birla Minerals on a 50/50 basis with Aditya Birla being the operator.

OM Holdings (OMH) has implemented an on-market share buy-back program to enhance its capital management combined with its strong financial position.

The buy-back includes up to 24 million ordinary shares, representing about 5% of the Singapore-headquartered company’s issued capital.

The company’s operations continue to be underpinned by substantial operating cash flows generated by its manganese mining, processing and trading operations in Australia, China and Singapore.

Cattron Group International, a manufacturer of industrial wireless remote control products and aftermarket services, has appointed Martin Chen as marketing and sales manager-China.

Martin Chen is located at the Shanghai, China affiliate office and is responsible for providing leadership and direction for all of Cattron’s marketing and sales operations in China.

Fox Resources has appointed Bruno Seneque as managing director, replacing Don Harper, who has resigned to pursue other opportunities in the resources industry.

Bruno Seneque has worked at Fox since May 2004 and was previously an executive director.

Fox Resources chairman Terry Streeter says in appointing Mr Seneque as managing director, the Board of Fox Resources has given a clear mandate to build shareholder wealth through the accelerated development of the company's assets.