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Released February 19, 2024 | SUGAR LAND
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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--As global markets shift and supply and demand for metals and minerals change, mines can be idled or shut down, and should markets shift again, they can be restarted when profitable again. Permitting is a major constraint to new mine development, but restarting a formerly operational mine site can cut the time to permit and bring a mine online. Industrial Info is tracking nearly $15 billion of restart projects at U.S. mines. While not all of these restarts will occur as planned, their presence is indicative of the shifting nature of the global metals and minerals market.
Among the top commodities prompting U.S. mine restarts is uranium, thanks to renewed interest in nuclear generation as governments seek to curb their emissions from power generation. In a September 2023 report, the World Nuclear Association (WNA) (London, England) forecast that demand for uranium in nuclear reactors is expected to climb by 28% by 2030 and nearly double by 2040. Demand for uranium for nuclear plants is expected to rise to 83,840 metric tons by 2030 and 130,000 metric tons by 2040, from 65,650 tons in 2023, the WNA reported. In addition to an increase in global nuclear capacity, governments and companies are seeking alternatives to Russia-produced uranium after that county's invasion of Ukraine, prompting a hunt for alternative sources of the metallic element and leading to mine restarts.
Industrial Info is tracking three uranium mine restarts that are presently underway in the U.S., with more planned for the future. Among those currently under construction is Strata Energy Incorporated's (Oshoto, Wyoming) restart of a mine and mill in Oshoto. The project kicked off early last year and entails upgrading and reconfiguring sections of the plant to utilize a low-pH in-situ recovery method. Although the facility is licensed to produce up to 3 million pounds per year of U3O8, it will have an existing capacity of approximately 820,000 pounds per year. The mine and mill were shuttered in 2019. The project is expected to be completed by the end of this year. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) can click here for more details on the project.
Expected to be completed in the coming months is enCore Energy Corporation's (Corpus Christi, Texas) restart of the Alta Mesa uranium mine near Encino, Texas. Upgrades are being performed at the in-situ recovery mine, which has been closed since 2013. The 1.5 million-pound-per-year mine is being restarted to make it commercially viable today with room for expansion and satellite operations in the future as global demand escalates. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project report.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) regularly updates its list of mineral commodities that it finds critical to the U.S. economy and national security. On the agency's most recent version of the list is fluorspar, which is the list's only nonmetallic element and, according to the USGS, is used in the manufacture of aluminum, gasoline, refrigerants, steel and uranium fuel. While one of the largest deposits of fluorspar in North America is being actively mined in Newfoundland, Canada, there is only one permitted U.S. fluorspar mine the U.S., which was closed in 2007 but is in the final stages of a restart.
Ares Strategic Mining Incorporated (Vancouver, British Columbia) acquired the Lost Sheep fluorspar mine near Mona, Utah, in 2020, and began the restart process last summer. When ramped up to full capacity, the 500-ton-per-day, underground longhole mining operation will truck the ore to a processing plant about 50 miles away for the production of nearly 74,000 tons per year of met-spar and acid-spar and 84,000 tons per year of fluorspar lumps over a 10-year mine life. Subscribers can click here to learn more.
A restart near Wardner, Idaho, is targeting another element on the USGS' list--in this case zinc--as well as other commodities. Bunker Hill Mining Corporation (Toronto, Ontario) began the restart process for the underground Bunker Hill lead, zinc and silver mine in 2022. After more than 90 years of production, the mine ceased operations in 1981. A processing mill also is being updated and relocated from 150 miles away to a location nearer the mine. The mine restart is expected to be completed this summer, when it will begin ramping up to 1,800 tons per day. The process plant, expected to be completed a few months later, will be able to produce 54 million pounds per year of zinc, 29 million pounds per year of lead and 765,000 ounces per year of silver over an 11-year mine life. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project reports on the mine restart and mill addition.
Several U.S. mine restarts are planned to begin at a future date. Next year, AngloGold Ashanti Limited (Johannesburg, South Africa) plans to both begin and complete the restart process for the North Bullfrog gold and silver mine near Beatty, Nevada. The mine ceased operations in 1940 and will be reopened as an 84,800-ton-per-day open-pit operation with run-of-mine heap leaching and gravity separation to produce 104,700 ounces of gold per year and more than 228,000 ounces per year of silver from 43,000 tons per day of milled ore feed. The mine is expected to have a 14-year life. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project report.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Metals & Minerals Database can click here to view reports for all of the projects discussed in this article and click here for the related plant profiles.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
Among the top commodities prompting U.S. mine restarts is uranium, thanks to renewed interest in nuclear generation as governments seek to curb their emissions from power generation. In a September 2023 report, the World Nuclear Association (WNA) (London, England) forecast that demand for uranium in nuclear reactors is expected to climb by 28% by 2030 and nearly double by 2040. Demand for uranium for nuclear plants is expected to rise to 83,840 metric tons by 2030 and 130,000 metric tons by 2040, from 65,650 tons in 2023, the WNA reported. In addition to an increase in global nuclear capacity, governments and companies are seeking alternatives to Russia-produced uranium after that county's invasion of Ukraine, prompting a hunt for alternative sources of the metallic element and leading to mine restarts.
Industrial Info is tracking three uranium mine restarts that are presently underway in the U.S., with more planned for the future. Among those currently under construction is Strata Energy Incorporated's (Oshoto, Wyoming) restart of a mine and mill in Oshoto. The project kicked off early last year and entails upgrading and reconfiguring sections of the plant to utilize a low-pH in-situ recovery method. Although the facility is licensed to produce up to 3 million pounds per year of U3O8, it will have an existing capacity of approximately 820,000 pounds per year. The mine and mill were shuttered in 2019. The project is expected to be completed by the end of this year. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) can click here for more details on the project.
Expected to be completed in the coming months is enCore Energy Corporation's (Corpus Christi, Texas) restart of the Alta Mesa uranium mine near Encino, Texas. Upgrades are being performed at the in-situ recovery mine, which has been closed since 2013. The 1.5 million-pound-per-year mine is being restarted to make it commercially viable today with room for expansion and satellite operations in the future as global demand escalates. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project report.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) regularly updates its list of mineral commodities that it finds critical to the U.S. economy and national security. On the agency's most recent version of the list is fluorspar, which is the list's only nonmetallic element and, according to the USGS, is used in the manufacture of aluminum, gasoline, refrigerants, steel and uranium fuel. While one of the largest deposits of fluorspar in North America is being actively mined in Newfoundland, Canada, there is only one permitted U.S. fluorspar mine the U.S., which was closed in 2007 but is in the final stages of a restart.
Ares Strategic Mining Incorporated (Vancouver, British Columbia) acquired the Lost Sheep fluorspar mine near Mona, Utah, in 2020, and began the restart process last summer. When ramped up to full capacity, the 500-ton-per-day, underground longhole mining operation will truck the ore to a processing plant about 50 miles away for the production of nearly 74,000 tons per year of met-spar and acid-spar and 84,000 tons per year of fluorspar lumps over a 10-year mine life. Subscribers can click here to learn more.
A restart near Wardner, Idaho, is targeting another element on the USGS' list--in this case zinc--as well as other commodities. Bunker Hill Mining Corporation (Toronto, Ontario) began the restart process for the underground Bunker Hill lead, zinc and silver mine in 2022. After more than 90 years of production, the mine ceased operations in 1981. A processing mill also is being updated and relocated from 150 miles away to a location nearer the mine. The mine restart is expected to be completed this summer, when it will begin ramping up to 1,800 tons per day. The process plant, expected to be completed a few months later, will be able to produce 54 million pounds per year of zinc, 29 million pounds per year of lead and 765,000 ounces per year of silver over an 11-year mine life. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project reports on the mine restart and mill addition.
Several U.S. mine restarts are planned to begin at a future date. Next year, AngloGold Ashanti Limited (Johannesburg, South Africa) plans to both begin and complete the restart process for the North Bullfrog gold and silver mine near Beatty, Nevada. The mine ceased operations in 1940 and will be reopened as an 84,800-ton-per-day open-pit operation with run-of-mine heap leaching and gravity separation to produce 104,700 ounces of gold per year and more than 228,000 ounces per year of silver from 43,000 tons per day of milled ore feed. The mine is expected to have a 14-year life. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project report.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Metals & Minerals Database can click here to view reports for all of the projects discussed in this article and click here for the related plant profiles.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
