The Boddington Gold Mine (BGM) is about 130km south-east of Perth in Western Australia. The largest undeveloped gold mine in the country, it is poised to become the highest producing mine once production ramps up over the next few years.
The $2.4bn project was initially a three-way joint venture between Newmont Mining, AngloGold Ashanti and Newcrest Mining. In 2006 Newmont bought Newcrest’s 22.22% share, bringing its interest to 66.67% and ending any Australian ownership. AngloGold owns the remaining 33.33%.
The original, mainly oxide open-pit mine was closed at the end of 2001.
Recent exploration has identified an extensive 19.57Moz gold bedrock resource, the basis of the Boddington Gold Mine Expansion Project. Approved in 2006, this will involve mining the hard gold/copper ore that lies beneath depleted oxide pits at Boddington’s original mine site.
The project has an attributable capital budget of between A$0.8bn and A$0.9bn. At year-end, the overall project was approximately 65% complete, with engineering and procurement activities nearing completion. Construction of the treatment plant was approximately 32% complete. At its peak the project is expected to employ some 2,000 workers. Once production begins it is expected that around 650 full-time staff will be required.
Based on the current plan, mine life is estimated to be more than 20 years, with attributable life-of-mine gold production expected to be greater than 5.7Moz.
Newmont and Anglo have focussed their exploration activities on the poorly explored areas of the greenstone belt outside the already identified Boddington Expansion resource. The exploration strategy is to identify the resource potential of the remainder of the greenstone belt, with the emphasis on high-grade lode-type deposits.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Campbell Gold Mine, Ontario, Canada
In continuous operation since 1949, since when it has produced over 11Moz of gold, the Campbell underground gold mine is located at Balmertown, northwestern Ontario. Formerly wholly owned by Placer Dome Inc., the mine is now owned by Goldcorp Inc., following Placer’s take-over by Barrick Gold Corp. in early 2006. Barrick subsequently sold several former Placer properties to Goldcorp, especially where there was the potential for operational synergies between neighbouring mines.
Goldcorp has now merged Campbell with its existing Red Lake mine as one operating unit, with the combined operation expected to have an output of around 1Moz/y of gold by 2008.
GEOLOGY AND RESERVES
Campbell is located in the eastern part of the Red Lake Greenstone Belt, in the Birch Lake/Uchi Lake sub-province of the Canadian Shield. The auriferous zones occur on the eastern border of a major archean tholeiitic volcanic complex. The gold occurs as either free gold or is in sulphide minerals, mainly arsenopyrite, pyrite and pyrrhotite. A minor amount of silver occurs with the gold.
As of December 2005, proven and probable ore reserves stood at 5.5Mt grading 8.2g/t and containing 1.45Moz of gold. Measured and indicated mineralisation contained a further 1.83Moz.
MINE LAYOUT AND DEVELOPMENT
Mine access is through two separate shafts – No.1 shaft is a four-compartment shaft sunk to below 27 level (1316m below surface). The Reid shaft opened up more than 600 vertical metres of new ground below 27 level, and is now the main ore hoisting shaft.
The mine is track-based with full haulage facilities on every level. Electric LHDs and hydraulic longhole drills are used in high-tonnage areas. Mining methods have evolved from shrinkage stoping through cut-and-fill and finally to longhole mining. Longhole mining includes sub-level and crown pillar operations mine-wide and accounts for 75% of production with cut-and-fill producing another 2%. The remaining 23% is from development.
Mechanised cut-and-fill commenced in 2001 and will be preferred over conventional longhole where feasible. Pastefill totally replaced hydraulic fill in the final quarter of 2000 to speed mining.
Goldcorp has now merged Campbell with its existing Red Lake mine as one operating unit, with the combined operation expected to have an output of around 1Moz/y of gold by 2008.
GEOLOGY AND RESERVES
Campbell is located in the eastern part of the Red Lake Greenstone Belt, in the Birch Lake/Uchi Lake sub-province of the Canadian Shield. The auriferous zones occur on the eastern border of a major archean tholeiitic volcanic complex. The gold occurs as either free gold or is in sulphide minerals, mainly arsenopyrite, pyrite and pyrrhotite. A minor amount of silver occurs with the gold.
As of December 2005, proven and probable ore reserves stood at 5.5Mt grading 8.2g/t and containing 1.45Moz of gold. Measured and indicated mineralisation contained a further 1.83Moz.
MINE LAYOUT AND DEVELOPMENT
Mine access is through two separate shafts – No.1 shaft is a four-compartment shaft sunk to below 27 level (1316m below surface). The Reid shaft opened up more than 600 vertical metres of new ground below 27 level, and is now the main ore hoisting shaft.
The mine is track-based with full haulage facilities on every level. Electric LHDs and hydraulic longhole drills are used in high-tonnage areas. Mining methods have evolved from shrinkage stoping through cut-and-fill and finally to longhole mining. Longhole mining includes sub-level and crown pillar operations mine-wide and accounts for 75% of production with cut-and-fill producing another 2%. The remaining 23% is from development.
Mechanised cut-and-fill commenced in 2001 and will be preferred over conventional longhole where feasible. Pastefill totally replaced hydraulic fill in the final quarter of 2000 to speed mining.
Boulby Potash Mine, United Kingdom
In the 1960s, with fertiliser demand growing and the UK reliant on imported potash, ICI decided to develop reserves 40km from its Cleveland facilities in north-east England. The 200ha mine site is at Boulby, half-way between the Tees estuary and the port of Whitby.
The design capacity is now over 1.0Mt/y of potassium chloride (KCl) product, sufficient to maintain a 55% UK market share and substantial export sales. Potash extraction requires the co-production of salt. Construction started in 1969 and the first product was delivered in 1973. To ship the potash, a new ship/road/rail terminal was constructed at Teesdock.
ICI formed Cleveland Potash Ltd (CPL) in joint venture with the Anglo American group but subsequently sold its stake to Anglo American. In 2002 the "non-core" business was sold to ICL Fertilizers, a division of Israel Chemicals Ltd.
CPL, which employs 828 people, is now integrated with Iberpotash in Spain and other regional subsidiaries into ICL Fertilizers Europe, which handles marketing and distribution of the products. Dead Sea Works recovers potash products in Israel.
GEOLOGY AND RESERVES
Boulby potash occurs at depths between 1,200 and 1,500m in a seam ranging from 0–20m but averaging 7m in thickness. Within a permian evaporite sequence, sylvinite ore comprises 35–45% sylvite (potash) and 45–55% halite (salt), plus impurities. The sedimentary strata above the evaporites include the triassic Sherwood sandstone, which contains brine under high pressure.
This situation restricted exploration drilling from surface and, together with the depth involved, prevented underground exploration and trial mining. Consequently, planners were aware of the high stresses to be dealt with but not the full extent of faulting or the presence of pressurised gas in shaly parts of the potash, sufficient to cause blow-outs during extraction. However, the geology provides excellent conditions for the Institute of Underground Sciences to undertake 'dark-matter' experiments.
The design capacity is now over 1.0Mt/y of potassium chloride (KCl) product, sufficient to maintain a 55% UK market share and substantial export sales. Potash extraction requires the co-production of salt. Construction started in 1969 and the first product was delivered in 1973. To ship the potash, a new ship/road/rail terminal was constructed at Teesdock.
ICI formed Cleveland Potash Ltd (CPL) in joint venture with the Anglo American group but subsequently sold its stake to Anglo American. In 2002 the "non-core" business was sold to ICL Fertilizers, a division of Israel Chemicals Ltd.
CPL, which employs 828 people, is now integrated with Iberpotash in Spain and other regional subsidiaries into ICL Fertilizers Europe, which handles marketing and distribution of the products. Dead Sea Works recovers potash products in Israel.
GEOLOGY AND RESERVES
Boulby potash occurs at depths between 1,200 and 1,500m in a seam ranging from 0–20m but averaging 7m in thickness. Within a permian evaporite sequence, sylvinite ore comprises 35–45% sylvite (potash) and 45–55% halite (salt), plus impurities. The sedimentary strata above the evaporites include the triassic Sherwood sandstone, which contains brine under high pressure.
This situation restricted exploration drilling from surface and, together with the depth involved, prevented underground exploration and trial mining. Consequently, planners were aware of the high stresses to be dealt with but not the full extent of faulting or the presence of pressurised gas in shaly parts of the potash, sufficient to cause blow-outs during extraction. However, the geology provides excellent conditions for the Institute of Underground Sciences to undertake 'dark-matter' experiments.
Black Thunder Coal Mine, WY, USA
The Black Thunder thermal coal mine, located in the Southern Powder River Basin of Wyoming, opened in 1977 and for many years was the largest single coal operation in the US. Having been relegated to second-largest, after Peabody's North Antelope-Rochelle operation, also in the Powder River Basin, in 2004 Black Thunder once again became the nation's leading coal-producer following Arch Coal's acquisition of the neighbouring North Rochelle mine from Triton Coal Co. The combined operation is now producing coal at a rate of around 91Mt/y, equivalent to about 10% of total US coal production. In 2004, Black Thunder became the first coal mine in the US to ship a cumulative 1,000Mst (907Mt) over its 27-year life to date.
Construction began at Black Thunder in 1976 with the installation of crushing, conveying, sampling and high-speed train-loading systems. Today, all plant processes are computer controlled, including the precision loadout systems and the hi-tech, near-pit crushing and conveying system installed in 1989.
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Until 1998, Black Thunder was owned and operated by ARCO Coal, part of the Atlantic Richfield group. It is now owned by Arch Coal, the second-largest coal miner in the US, which bought the property following ARCO's withdrawal from the coal market.
GEOLOGY AND RESERVES
Black Thunder works coal reserves in the Wyodak seam. Hosted in the palaeocene Fort Union formation, which covers vast areas of Wyoming, Montana and the Dakotas, the seam at Black Thunder is gently dipping, 22m thick and locally splits into the Anderson and Canyon beds separated by up to 18m of waste. In 2004, Arch successfully bid $611m for the rights to mine the neighbouring Little Thunder reserves, which contain some 650Mt of recoverable coal, increasing the property’s reserves to 1,370Mt-plus.
COAL QUALITY
The mine produces low-sulphur, sub-bituminous coal suitable for power station fuel without any preparation except crushing. Black Thunder coal has a heating value of 20.3MJ/kg, and the ash contents are around 5% while as-received moisture is 25–30%. The moisture content of some Powder River Basin coals increases their reactivity to the extent that spontaneous combustion can be a problem if they are not properly handled.
Construction began at Black Thunder in 1976 with the installation of crushing, conveying, sampling and high-speed train-loading systems. Today, all plant processes are computer controlled, including the precision loadout systems and the hi-tech, near-pit crushing and conveying system installed in 1989.
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Until 1998, Black Thunder was owned and operated by ARCO Coal, part of the Atlantic Richfield group. It is now owned by Arch Coal, the second-largest coal miner in the US, which bought the property following ARCO's withdrawal from the coal market.
GEOLOGY AND RESERVES
Black Thunder works coal reserves in the Wyodak seam. Hosted in the palaeocene Fort Union formation, which covers vast areas of Wyoming, Montana and the Dakotas, the seam at Black Thunder is gently dipping, 22m thick and locally splits into the Anderson and Canyon beds separated by up to 18m of waste. In 2004, Arch successfully bid $611m for the rights to mine the neighbouring Little Thunder reserves, which contain some 650Mt of recoverable coal, increasing the property’s reserves to 1,370Mt-plus.
COAL QUALITY
The mine produces low-sulphur, sub-bituminous coal suitable for power station fuel without any preparation except crushing. Black Thunder coal has a heating value of 20.3MJ/kg, and the ash contents are around 5% while as-received moisture is 25–30%. The moisture content of some Powder River Basin coals increases their reactivity to the extent that spontaneous combustion can be a problem if they are not properly handled.
Bajo de la Alumbrera Copper and Gold Mine, Argentina
The Bajo de la Alumbrera (Alumbrera) copper-gold mine in Argentina, owned and operated by Minera Alumbrera Ltd (MAA), commenced commercial operation in February 1998. The mine is located in Catamarca province, 1,100km north west of Buenos Aires at an altitude of 2,500m.
The Argentine state- and provincially-owned mining company, Yacimientos Mineros de Agua de Dionisio (YMAD), which has the title to the deposit, awarded an international tender for the Alumbrera concession to International Musto Exploration in 1992. Minera Alumbrera was formed in 1994 when MIM Holdings bought a 50% operating interest. During 1995, North Ltd and Rio Algom acquired shares in International Musto and each took a 25% holding in MAA. Pre-production capital expenditure totalled $1.2bn and capital expenditures in the 1998 and 1999 financial years were $198m and $17m respectively. Royalty payments to Catamarca province commenced in 1998. YMAD will start earning 20% of the net proceeds (before tax) once project capital plus interest has been repaid.
In 2003, three years after Rio Tinto acquired North Ltd and Billiton (now BHP Billiton) bought Rio Algom, the two companies sold their holdings to the Canadian company, Wheaton River Minerals, while MIM was acquired by Xstrata. In 2005 Xstrata opened an office in Chile, initially to manage both Alumbrera and the company's Las Bambas copper project in Peru.
GEOLOGY AND RESERVES
The Bajo de la Alumbrera deposit is a classic copper-gold porphyry. Porphyritic dacite intrudes volcanic andesite, chalcopyrite being the main copper mineral. Near-surface weathered material overlies primary sulphide. In 2003 the mine's reserve base totalled 330Mt proven grading 0.51% copper and 0.59g/t gold plus 42Mt probable grading 0.55% copper and 0.64g/t gold.
However, 2004 drilling led MAA to reoptimise the mine plan based on a new geological model and new cost figures, and this increased contained metal reserves by more than 20%, extending the mine's life to 2015. In mid-2005, reserves were reported to be 360Mt, grading 0.46% copper and 0.51g/t gold, while mineral resources stood at 380Mt (0.47% copper and 0.51g/t gold).
The Argentine state- and provincially-owned mining company, Yacimientos Mineros de Agua de Dionisio (YMAD), which has the title to the deposit, awarded an international tender for the Alumbrera concession to International Musto Exploration in 1992. Minera Alumbrera was formed in 1994 when MIM Holdings bought a 50% operating interest. During 1995, North Ltd and Rio Algom acquired shares in International Musto and each took a 25% holding in MAA. Pre-production capital expenditure totalled $1.2bn and capital expenditures in the 1998 and 1999 financial years were $198m and $17m respectively. Royalty payments to Catamarca province commenced in 1998. YMAD will start earning 20% of the net proceeds (before tax) once project capital plus interest has been repaid.
In 2003, three years after Rio Tinto acquired North Ltd and Billiton (now BHP Billiton) bought Rio Algom, the two companies sold their holdings to the Canadian company, Wheaton River Minerals, while MIM was acquired by Xstrata. In 2005 Xstrata opened an office in Chile, initially to manage both Alumbrera and the company's Las Bambas copper project in Peru.
GEOLOGY AND RESERVES
The Bajo de la Alumbrera deposit is a classic copper-gold porphyry. Porphyritic dacite intrudes volcanic andesite, chalcopyrite being the main copper mineral. Near-surface weathered material overlies primary sulphide. In 2003 the mine's reserve base totalled 330Mt proven grading 0.51% copper and 0.59g/t gold plus 42Mt probable grading 0.55% copper and 0.64g/t gold.
However, 2004 drilling led MAA to reoptimise the mine plan based on a new geological model and new cost figures, and this increased contained metal reserves by more than 20%, extending the mine's life to 2015. In mid-2005, reserves were reported to be 360Mt, grading 0.46% copper and 0.51g/t gold, while mineral resources stood at 380Mt (0.47% copper and 0.51g/t gold).
Brazil's Vale Discounts Iron Ore to Sell
Brazil's mining giant Vale said it is selling iron ore at a 20% discount to 2008 benchmark prices, a strategy that analysts say will boost the miner's sales amid weak demand.
Vale, the world's largest iron ore miner, competes directly with Australian rivals BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, which are reported to be selling ore at spot prices rather than holding clients to predetermined benchmark rates.
This may be more attractive to clients in the steel sector, who may be uncertain of the economy's direction in the short term.
Vale insists it does not sell on the spot market. The provisional discount should help it keep market share until new annually revised term contract prices are set with the big steel makers, who have been demanding a 40% cut in prices, or more, from 2008 levels.
"Vale does this as a way to stir up demand, since the fourth quarter sales were very weak," said an analyst at investment bank Banif, who declined to be named. "Vale has been practicing this type of sale in the first quarter."
Vale told reporters in February during a conference call on its fourth-quarter results that it had signed on several new Chinese clients to iron ore supply contracts and was set to ship a record amount of iron ore to Asia in the first quarter.
Vale is scheduled to report its first quarter results on 6 May.
Analysts say the discount is not the end of Vale's commitment to the benchmark system, in which the world's largest iron ore miners and steel makers agree upon a fixed annual price for ore deliveries.
Instead, they say it is a temporary measure to improve sales that were dented by the global financial crisis and falling demand for steel.
Interim measure
New term prices normally take effect from 1 April but price changes are applied retroactively if they have failed to reach a deal by then, as happened this year.
Vale said in a statement to the market on Monday that it is being flexible on ore term prices on a provisional basis, allowing clients to pay 80% of the 2008 benchmark price for shipments and to settle any balance once 2009 prices are set.
Demand for iron ore has weakened since the global economic crisis took hold last September as industries reduce their output and requirements for steel, the main end use for iron ore.
Offering a discount is normal under these conditions, "it's just that the new term price has not yet been set," said Pedro Galdi, an analyst at SLW Corretora, adding Vale was unlikely to start selling on the spot market or abandon the benchmark.
"It will be another unexpected year with the industry granting a discount until the price is set," Galdi said. "The spot price reflects the high and low price, that is, the volatility.
"So, at first the Chinese client may win, but at some point he will shoot himself in the foot because the economy will recover and the spot price will be much higher (than the benchmark)."
Brazilian 2008 contract iron ore prices range from around $76 to $92 per tonne, depending on the mine. Spot iron ore prices soared as high as nearly $200 a tonne in February 2008, then tumbled as low as around $60 a tonne in October as the financial crisis deepened.
Cristiane Viana at Agora brokerage sees Vale's decision to offer a discount as an indication that the iron ore mining industry is moving toward a mixed pricing model that will see more spot sales alongside trade regulated by contract.
"It's gradual. I don't see the change happening in the next two to three years but the companies will gradually have spot and long-term contracts," Viana said.
Vale, the world's largest iron ore miner, competes directly with Australian rivals BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, which are reported to be selling ore at spot prices rather than holding clients to predetermined benchmark rates.
This may be more attractive to clients in the steel sector, who may be uncertain of the economy's direction in the short term.
Vale insists it does not sell on the spot market. The provisional discount should help it keep market share until new annually revised term contract prices are set with the big steel makers, who have been demanding a 40% cut in prices, or more, from 2008 levels.
"Vale does this as a way to stir up demand, since the fourth quarter sales were very weak," said an analyst at investment bank Banif, who declined to be named. "Vale has been practicing this type of sale in the first quarter."
Vale told reporters in February during a conference call on its fourth-quarter results that it had signed on several new Chinese clients to iron ore supply contracts and was set to ship a record amount of iron ore to Asia in the first quarter.
Vale is scheduled to report its first quarter results on 6 May.
Analysts say the discount is not the end of Vale's commitment to the benchmark system, in which the world's largest iron ore miners and steel makers agree upon a fixed annual price for ore deliveries.
Instead, they say it is a temporary measure to improve sales that were dented by the global financial crisis and falling demand for steel.
Interim measure
New term prices normally take effect from 1 April but price changes are applied retroactively if they have failed to reach a deal by then, as happened this year.
Vale said in a statement to the market on Monday that it is being flexible on ore term prices on a provisional basis, allowing clients to pay 80% of the 2008 benchmark price for shipments and to settle any balance once 2009 prices are set.
Demand for iron ore has weakened since the global economic crisis took hold last September as industries reduce their output and requirements for steel, the main end use for iron ore.
Offering a discount is normal under these conditions, "it's just that the new term price has not yet been set," said Pedro Galdi, an analyst at SLW Corretora, adding Vale was unlikely to start selling on the spot market or abandon the benchmark.
"It will be another unexpected year with the industry granting a discount until the price is set," Galdi said. "The spot price reflects the high and low price, that is, the volatility.
"So, at first the Chinese client may win, but at some point he will shoot himself in the foot because the economy will recover and the spot price will be much higher (than the benchmark)."
Brazilian 2008 contract iron ore prices range from around $76 to $92 per tonne, depending on the mine. Spot iron ore prices soared as high as nearly $200 a tonne in February 2008, then tumbled as low as around $60 a tonne in October as the financial crisis deepened.
Cristiane Viana at Agora brokerage sees Vale's decision to offer a discount as an indication that the iron ore mining industry is moving toward a mixed pricing model that will see more spot sales alongside trade regulated by contract.
"It's gradual. I don't see the change happening in the next two to three years but the companies will gradually have spot and long-term contracts," Viana said.
CNMC $800m Myanmar Mine on Track
A Chinese mining giant has said it is committed to an $800m ferro-nickel mine in northern Myanmar, which officials said will eventually lift the impoverished South East Asian nation's GDP by over 2%.
Executives from the China Nonferrous Metal Group (CNMC) told visiting Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein, a general in the ruling junta, they would strive to complete preparations for the big mine at Tagaungtaung in northern Myanmar as early as possible, the China Nonferrous Metal News reported on Tuesday.
The Chinese-language newspaper reached subscribers on Wednesday.
The CNMC underscored the economic importance of the project and the support it had received from Chinese leaders seeking to shore up ties with Myanmar.
"The Tagaungtaung ferro-nickel mine is the biggest cooperative project between China and Myanmar in the mining sector," the group's general manager, Luo Tao, told Thien, who was attending a regional business forum on the southern Chinese island of Hainan, according to the paper.
The global slump and sharp falls in metals prices have forced several companies to abandon or put on hold their plans for new mines.
But China has pressed forward with investments that will give it a more secure hold on resources when growth revives. And it has also kept close to Myanmar's ruling junta even as other Asian nations criticise the generals for their harsh political grip.
Luo said the mine will produce 80,000t of ferro-nickel, an alloy used in stainless steel production, and lift Myanmar's gross domestic production by over 2%. But he did not say when the mine will open.
Earlier reports on the CNMC website said the Tagaungtaung mine would take 30 months to build, meaning operation could start around early 2011, eventually producing about 22,000t of pure nickel content every year.
The latest report did not specify how much of a stake the Myanmar Government has in the mine, an issue that apparently contributed to delays in the project.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has given his "close concern and vigorous support" to the mining deal, which was signed in July 2008, said the paper. And Myanmar Prime Minister Thien said he would solve any problems the project encounters, it also said.
Tagaungtaung, also rendered as Tagaung Taung, is a mineral-rich area about 320km north of Mandalay.
The junta, which has ruled the former Burma since 1962, has refused to recognise a 1990 landslide election victory of the opposition National League for Democracy. Its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been under house arrest for most of the past two decades.
China has kept close ties with the junta, but Beijing has also been frustrated by narcotics flowing from Myanmar into its south-west.
Executives from the China Nonferrous Metal Group (CNMC) told visiting Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein, a general in the ruling junta, they would strive to complete preparations for the big mine at Tagaungtaung in northern Myanmar as early as possible, the China Nonferrous Metal News reported on Tuesday.
The Chinese-language newspaper reached subscribers on Wednesday.
The CNMC underscored the economic importance of the project and the support it had received from Chinese leaders seeking to shore up ties with Myanmar.
"The Tagaungtaung ferro-nickel mine is the biggest cooperative project between China and Myanmar in the mining sector," the group's general manager, Luo Tao, told Thien, who was attending a regional business forum on the southern Chinese island of Hainan, according to the paper.
The global slump and sharp falls in metals prices have forced several companies to abandon or put on hold their plans for new mines.
But China has pressed forward with investments that will give it a more secure hold on resources when growth revives. And it has also kept close to Myanmar's ruling junta even as other Asian nations criticise the generals for their harsh political grip.
Luo said the mine will produce 80,000t of ferro-nickel, an alloy used in stainless steel production, and lift Myanmar's gross domestic production by over 2%. But he did not say when the mine will open.
Earlier reports on the CNMC website said the Tagaungtaung mine would take 30 months to build, meaning operation could start around early 2011, eventually producing about 22,000t of pure nickel content every year.
The latest report did not specify how much of a stake the Myanmar Government has in the mine, an issue that apparently contributed to delays in the project.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has given his "close concern and vigorous support" to the mining deal, which was signed in July 2008, said the paper. And Myanmar Prime Minister Thien said he would solve any problems the project encounters, it also said.
Tagaungtaung, also rendered as Tagaung Taung, is a mineral-rich area about 320km north of Mandalay.
The junta, which has ruled the former Burma since 1962, has refused to recognise a 1990 landslide election victory of the opposition National League for Democracy. Its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been under house arrest for most of the past two decades.
China has kept close ties with the junta, but Beijing has also been frustrated by narcotics flowing from Myanmar into its south-west.
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