Palladium mine expansion announced as spot price passes gold

Toronto-based North American Palladium Ltd. announced Thursday it has signed a contract with Redpath Canada Limited of North Bay, Ontario, Canada, for underground mine development at its Lac des Iles mine. This is part of a major mine expansion that will take the mine from its current rate of just over 6,000 tons per day (tpd) to 12,000 tpd. The Redpath scope of work consists of approximately 6550 meters of lateral development and 560 meters of vertical development to access ore reserves in the upper mine beneath and around the perimeter of the dormant Roby open pit. The contract is expected to be approximately two years in duration.

The Lac des Iles mine development crews will continue with their work to sustain ongoing production, which is expected to rise to over 7,000 tpd by the end of 2019.

North American Palladium is the only pure play palladium producer in the world.

Meanwhile, the palladium spot price closed above gold at $1,243.00 on Thursday. Gold closed at $1,241.70.

240,000 power outages as winter storm hits the Carolinas

Almost 9,000 personnel are responding to Duke Energy power outages due to a winter storm that is rolling through the Carolinas this weekend.

As of noon Sunday, the company reported 240,000 outages – 170,000 in North Carolina and 70,000 in South Carolina. The company has restored power to 80,000 customers since last night and early this morning.

Among the hardest hit counties:

North Carolina:

Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Mecklenburg, Polk, Rutherford, Transylvania and Wake counties.

South Carolina:

Greenville and Spartanburg counties.

A mix of heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain are causing branches to sag and trees to fall, bringing power lines down with them. Also, hazardous road conditions are resulting in vehicle accidents. Cars hitting power poles and other electrical infrastructure further increase the risk of power outages.

The company typically requires 12-24 hours to fully assess damage from a significant weather event, even while simultaneously restoring power. Winter storms can present additional challenges to moving personnel and equipment within hard-hit areas.

Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is one of the largest energy holding companies in the U.S., with approximately 29,000 employees and a generating capacity of 49,500 megawatts.