A 15% boost to the grade to one of its uranium deposits should enhance the economics of Berkeley Energia’s Salamanca Project in central-western Spain, the company said.
Salamanca is already slated to be one of the lowest cost producers when it comes into production, and now the results from a new mineral resource estimate for the Retortillo area look to have provided a further boost.
It was big news in the mining sector, which also waw Sula Iron & Gold (LON:SULA) chief executive Nick Warrell excited by new results from the Ferensola gold project, in Northern Sierra Leone, as they have exceeded his “best expectations”.
A second and final batch of assay results from recent drilling, released today, include high grades of up to 12.05 grams per tonne gold from one of the drill holes. Two other holes had up to 5.66 grams per tonne and 1.28 grams per tonne respectively.
It was a good week for African Potash (LON:AFPO) after it sent the first 20,000 tonnes of fertiliser under a landmark trade - its first from the COMESA agreement, which will provide it with US$10.16mln of gross revenue.
In copper news, miner Weatherly International (LON:WTI) has been released from its option to acquire the Tsumeb tailings facility in Namibia.
The vendor of the asset, a firm called Dundee Precious Metals, will receive in return a US$40 a tonne credit on sulphuric acid it sells to the AIM-listed miner.
Elsewhere, copper producer Central Asia Metals (LON:CAML) achieved record copper production last year from its Kounrad copper recovery plant in Kazakhstan.
The firm achieved record production of 12,071 tonnes of copper, slightly ahead of guidance of 12,000 tonnes and some 8.4% up on 2014’s 11,136 tonnes.
To gold, where Patagonia Gold (LON:PGD) expects the earn-in agreement with Trilogy Mining on two plots in Uruguay will be entered into by the end of the month.
Currently Argentina-focused, the firm is looking to acquire 100% stakes in Trilogy's Carreta Quemada and Chamizo gold projects through exploration expenditure of up to US$3.5mln and a put option on the amount of gold discovered.
Meanwhile, Tajikistan-focused China Nonferrous Gold (LON:CNG) said first gold had been produced at the Pakrut project.
The first gold ingots were poured on December 29 last year, the mining firm said on Wednesday.
In other news, Vast Resources (LON:VAST) shares surged over 21% as it unveiled a financing deal with investor Crede to raise up to £5mln to further development in Romania.
The investment is being done in four tranches equal to £1.25mln - the first of which is being issued today, with around 156mln subscription shares issued to Crede at 0.8p each alongside the issue of the same amount of warrants.
Finally, Caledonia Mining (LON:CMCL,TSE:CAL) forecast a sharp rise in annual production next year accompanied by a fall in costs.
It is expecting output from the Blanket mine in Zimbabwe to rise 17% to 50,000 ounces of gold metal as it accesses new ore bodies via its No 6 Winze Project in the middle of 2016.