3 Jan, 2021
China mulls building iron ore mines abroad; CIMIC seals 50% stake sale in Thiess
TOP NEWS IN METALS & MINING
* China plans to establish one or two equity iron ore mines overseas by 2025 in a bid to have more than 20% of its iron ore imports comprising equity output from interests held by Chinese companies, Reuters reported, citing the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
* CIMIC Group Ltd. completed the sale of a 50% stake in Thiess Pty. Ltd., billed as the world's largest mining services provider, to funds advised by Elliott Advisors (UK) Ltd. for about A$2.2 billion.
➤ Tesla indicates scope of lithium demand with latest supply deal, analysts say
The size and scope of the recent deal between U.S.-based Tesla Inc. and China-based Sichuan Yahua Industrial Group Co. Ltd. demonstrates the electric vehicle behemoth has "huge demand" for lithium hydroxide, Daiwa Capital Markets analysts said.
➤ Eyes on Greenland as US backing of zinc-lead project piques investor interest
Companies developing projects in Greenland are closely watching the financing of Ironbark Zinc Ltd.'s Citronen project to see if it provides momentum to open up the island to investment amid geopolitical intrigue involving China, Russia and the U.S.
DIVERSIFIED
* Glencore PLC said that Leonhard Fischer retired from its board as a nonexecutive director and audit committee chair, effective immediately.
* BPM Minerals Ltd. began trading on ASX and raised A$4.5 million from the IPO, proceeds of which will be used for its 7,000-meter drilling program at the Nepean nickel-gold project in Australia.
BASE METALS
* An environmental court in Chile approved Codelco's US$56 million remedy plan for overusing water at its Salvador copper mine, Reuters reported.
PRECIOUS METALS
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* Ghana-based Engineers & Planners Co. Ltd. will no longer proceed with its proposed conditional takeover offer to Cardinal Resources Ltd. of A$1.05 per share following Shandong Gold Mining Co. Ltd.'s acquisition of more than a 61.5% stake in the Australian gold explorer.
* The South Australian government approved Argonaut Resources NL's application under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1988 for a major exploration drilling program around the western shoreline of Lake Torrens and Andamooka Island, targeting iron oxide copper-gold mineralization.
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* Compañía de Minas Buenaventura SAA secured syndicated letters of guarantee amounting up to 2.15 billion soles from a group of financial entities after Peru's Tax Court dismissed the company's appeals against the National Customs and Tax Administration Superintendence.
* Monarch Gold Corp.'s securityholders approved the proposed takeover of all the company's outstanding shares by Yamana Gold Inc. for about C$200 million, or 63 cents per fully diluted share.
* Osisko Development Corp. raised C$40.3 million after closing the bought-deal component of its upsized C$85 million financing and will use proceeds to advance the Cariboo gold project in British Columbia.
* Novo Resources Corp. received final approval from the TSX to graduate from the TSX Venture Exchange, where the last day of trading its securities was Dec. 31, 2020.
BULK COMMODITIES
* China’s most-traded rebar futures price dropped to 4,256 Chinese yuan per tonne on Dec. 30, 2020, down 85 Chinese yuan from Dec. 25, 2020, while rebar output fell by 4.7% year over year to 3.47 million tonnes, Futures Daily reported.
* Seven of China's largest coal miners including China National Coal Group Corp. and Jinneng Group Corporation Ltd. have proposed to stabilize coal prices by implementing long-term supply contracts, wallstreet.cn reported.
* Though iron ore miner Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. entered 2020 with no finished steelmaking assets in its portfolio, it is poised to enter 2021 as the largest flat-rolled steelmaker in North America, following its acquisitions of AK Steel Ltd. and essentially all the operations of ArcelorMittal USA LLC in the last nine months of 2020, according to S&P Global Platts.
* The U.K.'s steel import safeguards system — published Sept. 30, 2020, for use from Jan. 1 — will still be applicable to some trade between the EU and the U.K., and between Turkey and the U.K., following the agreement of new trade accords with these partners in recent days, the U.K. tax department HM Revenue and Customs clarified, according to S&P Global Platts.
* Despite rampant uncertainty in 2020 stemming from the Black Swan effects of the coronavirus pandemic, U.S. ferrous scrap pricing finished the year strong, with market participants finding reason to be optimistic heading into the new year, S&P Global Platts reported.
* The startling increase in steel prices in Brazil and worldwide sheds a yellow light on the local consumer goods sector, which will be forced to review its production cycles, costs and, inevitably, end-user prices for 2021, according to S&P Global Platts.
SPECIALTY
* PJSC Alrosa unit Alrosa Hong Kong Ltd. joined the Shanghai Diamond Exchange to boost the Russian diamond miner's presence in mainland China.
* Lucapa Diamond Co. Ltd. recovered a 113-carat white diamond from its Lulo alluvial mine in Angola. This is the first diamond with over 100 carats recovered from Mining Block 46.
INDUSTRY
* China’s nonferrous metals output is expected to hit a record 61.5 million tonnes in 2020, up 5% from the year before, according to China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, Shanghai Metals Market reported.
MARKETS
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