Suppliers Roundup (May 16, 2005)

Finning does deals down south

Vancouver-based Finning International (FTT-T), one of the biggest Caterpillar dealers on the planet, says its South American unit has landed two deals worth a total of $125 million.

Finning will sell 15 pieces of Caterpillar equipment to Antofagasta Minerals (ANTO-L) in Chile for $31 million. Included are nine 793C off-highway trucks, three 994D front-end loaders, a 769D WT truck, a D9T bulldozer, and a 16H motor-grader.

Finning will maintain and repair both the new and old equipment at Antofagasta in return for $55 million, to be paid over five years. Antofagasta has used only Caterpillar equipment at the operation since 2000.

In another deal, Finning will ship 19 Caterpillar machines worth $39 million to Washington Group International, the mining contractor for Apex Silver‘s (SIL-X) 450-million-oz. San Cristobal project in Bolivia. The equipment consists of ten 789C off-highway trucks, two dozers, a motor-grader, and two Atlas Copco drills.

The equipment for both operations will begin arriving over the course of this year.

Downer inks deal with Alcan

Australia-based engineering group Downer EDI will help aluminum giant Alcan (AL-T) expand production at its Gove alumina refinery in the Northern Territory. The deal is one of several contracts recently signed by Downer and which are worth a total of A$850 million.

The A$2-billion expansion is expected to boost annual production to 3.8 million tonnes from 2.1 million tonnes. The completion target is late 2006.

Additional engineering will be done by Thiess, Barclay Mowlem and Macmahon Holdings.

Meanwhile, Downer’s mining division, Roche, will build a processing plant for the Foxleigh coal mine in Queensland. Ownership is shared between Roche and QCC Resources.

Roche will also upgrade a plant and build another for the coal mining operations of Xstrata (XTA-L) in New South Wales.

In addition, Downer was awarded contracts to refurbish plants at sand mining operations in Australia, Mozambique and Zambia.

Perth-based Snowden Consulting Group, which Downer acquired in late 2004, has secured contracts with Rio Tinto (RTP-N), for expanding iron ore facilities in Western Australia, and BHP Billiton (BHP-N), for that company’s nickel laterite mine in Colombia.

Hatch to study Montanore

Mines Management (MGN-X) has chosen Vancouver-based Hatch to do the final feasibility study of the Montanore silver-copper project in Montana.

In addition, Hatch will assess material-handling and surface facilities, and design the processing plant in collaboration with McIntosh Engineering.

The feasibility process will overlap with permitting; as a result, construction can begin quickly if approval is granted.

Montanore is estimated to contain 260 million oz. silver and 2 billion lbs. copper, though these figures are not compliant with National Instrument 43-101.

Employee-owned Hatch has 80 offices worldwide and 5,800 employees. Revenue for 2004 is expected to exceed $700 million.

GAF to map Madagascar

Madagascar’s mines ministry has hired the German company GAF to create geological maps of the island-country’s southern regions.

GAF will collaborate with the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources of Germany (BGR) on the project.

The mapping will focus on the Malagasy area, which is known for its diamonds. It will be the first time modern remote sensing and geophysical equipment are used to map Madagascar.

Field surveying in southern areas of the island is being done using a mobile field data processing system designed specifically for the terrain. Work on the project began in February 2005 and is slated for completion in 2008.

GAF is no stranger to Madagascar, where it previously developed a central geological GIS database and launched a national mineral title management system.

Minnovex signs on at Ruby Creek

Adanac Moly (AUA-V) will use a circuit designed by Toronto-based Minnovex Technologies to assess milling and flotation conditions at the Ruby Creek molybdenum project in Atlin, B.C.

The project is expected to use a 20,000-tonne-per-day processing plant to produce high-grade moly concentrates.

Minnovex will analyze core samples from Adanac’s 2004 drilling campaign, with results expected in June.

Similar monitoring by Minnovex enabled Northgate Minerals (NGX-T) to boost throughput at its Kemess copper-gold mine in British Columbia.

Komatsu sells off Dressta

Polish firm HSW-Trading Co. has purchased Komatsu America’s interest in Dressta Co. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Dressta North America.

Dressta manufactures heavy equipment used in mining and construction.

“Dressta will continue to sell our full line of crawler dozers, wheel loaders, and crawler loaders through our current Dressta distribution organization,” says Thomas McGonigle, president of Komatsu’s North American operations.

Dressta North America will add 13 models to its product line. Earlier this year, the company unveiled the TD-40E crawler dozer.

Krzysztof Trofiniak has been appointed chairman and general director of Dressta.

Dressta North America is based in Buffalo Grove, Ill.