Glencore urged to separate thermal coal unit; Hochschild to buy Amarillo Gold

TOP NEWS IN METALS & MINING

* Bluebell Capital Partners Ltd. asked Glencore PLC to separate its thermal coal business, which has turned off investors who value sustainability, Bloomberg News reported, citing a letter from the activist hedge fund. However, Glencore is unlikely to heed Bluebell's call as the miner reaps the benefits of its choice to stick with the unpopular commodity, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

* Hochschild Mining PLC agreed to acquire Amarillo Gold Corp., which owns the Posse and Lavras do Sul gold projects in Brazil, for a transaction value of C$164.5 million, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

➤ Big corporations to drive demand for low-carbon technologies like hydrogen

Roughly half the technologies required to achieve net-zero emissions from the world economy by 2050 are not ready for commercial deployment, but a new coalition of major companies could jump-start market demand to get these innovations to market within a decade, according to a senior adviser to U.S. President Joe Biden's top climate envoy.

➤ Long-duration energy storage needs 'kick-start' to fulfill promise – report

Along with amassing US$2.64 billion in investments, mostly during the past three years, long-duration energy storage innovators have announced over 5 GW/65 GWh of planned and operational capacity at projects around the world, according to a recent report highlighting momentum for alternatives to lithium-ion batteries and pumped storage hydropower.

BASE METALS

* First Quantum Minerals Ltd. will partially redeem US$600 million of its outstanding 7.250% senior notes due April 2023.

* Capstone Mining Corp. entered into a definitive agreement to merge with Mantos Copper (Bermuda) Ltd. in an all-share deal, with Mantos to be renamed Capstone Copper Corp. and apply to list its shares on the TSX.

* Aeris Resources Ltd.'s updated mineral resource estimate for the Budgerygar deposit of its Tritton copper project in Australia increased by 15% to 39,000 tonnes of copper within 2.6 million tonnes grading 1.5% copper.

* Cochilco, Chile's state copper commission, increased its full-year 2021 copper price forecast to US$4.23 per pound from US$4.20 per pound, Reuters reported.

PRECIOUS METALS

* Petropavlovsk PLC's major shareholder JSC Uzhuralzoloto Group of Companies issued a claim in the high court of justice against the sale of a 29.9% stake in IRC Ltd. to Stocken Board AG, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

* B2Gold Corp. completed the sale of its 81% stake in the Kiaka gold project and 90% stake in the Toega gold project in Burkina Faso to West African Resources Ltd.

* Osisko Mining Inc. signed an agreement for a C$154 million private placement in a convertible senior unsecured debenture due Dec. 1, 2025, with Northern Star Resources Ltd. Osisko also agreed to negotiate the terms of a potential earn-in and joint venture agreement that would grant Northern Star an option to acquire up to 50% of Osisko's Windfall Lake gold project in Quebec.

* First Majestic Silver Corp. priced a US$200 million offering of 0.375% unsecured convertible senior notes due 2027.

* Millrock Resources Inc.'s partner Felix Gold Ltd., which fully owns rights in the Ester Dome and Treasure Creek properties in Alaska, lodged a prospectus to list its shares on the ASX. If the IPO is successful, Felix Gold will issue Millrock A$2.2 million to A$2.9 million worth of shares.

* Bellevue Gold Ltd. secured a A$200 million project loan facility from Macquarie Bank Ltd., earmarked for the development of the Bellevue gold project in Western Australia, which is now fully funded through to production and cashflow.

* UBS Group AG introduced physical gold trading for its Swiss customers through its mobile banking app, Reuters reported.

BULK COMMODITIES

* China's magnesium sector has started witnessing a surge in domestic demand amid limited stocks as most industry participants cleared their inventories in November and following a state-backed conglomerate's move to secure reserve supplies, industry sources said, S&P Global Platts reported.

* Chinese policymakers and top power utilities have adjusted their stance on coal-fired power generation after the recent energy crisis and called for a more realistic assessment of the energy transition instead of impulsive plant closures that endanger energy security, S&P Global Platts reported.

* Nippon Steel Corp. reiterated its plans to raise the crude steel production capacity of its ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India joint venture as well as to establish an integrated steel mill in Asia as part of its global expansion plans, S&P Global Platts reported.

* Coal piles at U.S. power plants have dwindled to their lowest point since the 1970s, and the race to build up inventories ahead of heating season has sent domestic thermal coal prices to their highest levels in more than a decade, The Wall Street Journal reported.

* Yunnan Yuntianhua Co. Ltd. will invest 7.29 billion Chinese yuan for the construction of an iron phosphate battery project with an annual capacity of 500,000 tonnes in China's Yunnan Province, Shanghai Metals Market reported.

SPECIALTY

* Liontown Resources Ltd. seeks to raise about A$450 million through a fully underwritten institutional placement to fund the development of its Kathleen Valley lithium project in Western Australia. The company will also invite eligible existing shareholders to participate in a nonunderwritten share purchase plan to raise an additional A$40 million.

* LB Group Co. Ltd. subsidiary Henan Baili New Energy Materials Co. Ltd. intends to build a lithium-ion battery anode material project with a production capacity of 200,000 tonnes per year, which will require a total investment of 3.5 billion Chinese yuan, Shanghai Metals Market reported.

* European Lithium Ltd. estimated an 11% increase in the total measured, indicated and inferred resource of its Wolfsberg lithium project in Austria to 12.9 million tonnes at 1.0% lithium oxide.

* Lithium Americas Corp. launched a proposed offering of US$225 million in convertible senior unsecured notes due Jan. 15, 2027.

* Lucapa Diamond Co. Ltd. and its partners fetched A$17.9 million from the tender of four large, top-quality white diamonds and two fancy pink diamonds, all recovered from the Lulo mine in Angola.

INDUSTRY NEWS

* Metal producers will need to double capital expenditure in the coming years to ensure there are enough resources available to meet demand coming from decarbonization and the global aim to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, Bank of America metals strategist Michael Windmer said, S&P Global Platts reported.

S&P Global Market Intelligence and S&P Global Platts are owned by S&P Global Inc.

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