Development of 14 Peruvian mines at risk; Sibanye acquires stake in New Century

TOP NEWS IN METALS & MINING

* Fourteen mining developments in Peru could be at risk of suspension due to social conflicts, according to the country's National Society of Mining, Petroleum and Energy. The 14 projects represent an estimated US$18.29 billion in investments, including four copper developments scheduled for construction and completion between 2022 and 2027: Southern Copper Corp.'s Los Chancas, Teck Resources Ltd.'s Zafranal, Compañía de Minas Buenaventura SAA's Trapiche and MMG Ltd.'s phase-one Chalcobamba deposit, daily Gestión reported.

* Sibanye Stillwater Ltd. acquired a 19.99% stake in New Century Resources Ltd. for A$61 million as part of a A$116.7 million equity raising by the latter.

➤ Decarbonization drive exposes miners to additional modern slavery risks

Miners adopting renewable energy, either by building their own infrastructure or by sourcing it from third parties, have the additional risk of modern slavery in another supply chain to worry about, according to KPMG.

➤ Shimano could face higher costs if US-EU steel rhetoric plays out

The U.S. and the EU have criticized the environmental impact of Chinese steel, potentially setting the stage for future initiatives. Companies that import steel directly from China to the U.S., and therefore could be at risk of a potential climate deal, include Kemeny Overseas Products Corp., China Baowu Steel Group Corp. Ltd. and Shimano Inc.

DIVERSIFIED

* An updated estimate for Xanadu Mines Ltd.'s Kharmagtai copper-gold project in Mongolia outlined resources of 1.1 billion tonnes, containing 3 million tonnes of copper and 8 million ounces of gold. The new estimate increased contained copper by 50% and contained gold by 80%, compared to a previous estimate.

BASE METALS

* Construction on Southern Copper's Tia Maria copper project in Peru is ready to begin, CFO Raul Jacob said Dec. 7 at a mining conference, daily La República reported. However, the central government should reactivate its dialogue with local communities that strongly oppose the project due to concerns over its environmental impact, Jacob said.

* Nickel Mines Ltd. executed a binding definitive agreement with Shanghai Decent Investment (Group) Co. Ltd. to acquire a 70% stake in the Oracle nickel project in Indonesia for US$371 million, together with the obligation to provide US$154 million of construction funding by way of shareholder loans.

* Ironbark Zinc Ltd. secured preliminary approval from U.S. Exim Bank for up to US$657 million in debt funding for the development of its Citronen zinc-lead project in Greenland.

* Centaurus Metals Ltd. is on track to deliver a new mineral resource estimate in December for the Jaguar nickel project in Brazil.

BULK COMMODITIES

* POSCO earnings growth may lose steam in 2022 before picking up again the following year, likely moving in line with Chinese steel prices, Dow Jones Newswires reported, citing Kiwoom Securities. Kiwoom forecast POSCO's EPS will fall 7.1% in 2022 and gain 5.2% in 2023.

* AIA Group Ltd. sold off almost US$10 billion worth of investments in coal mining and coal-fired power businesses, and it will no longer invest in such firms, Bloomberg News reported.

* Castle Harlan Inc. agreed to sell soil stabilization and reinforcement provider Tensar Corp. to Commercial Metals Co. in a transaction valued at US$550 million, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

* A federal appeals court upheld, for the second time, a conviction against former Massey Energy CEO Donald Blankenship on charges of conspiring to violate mine safety laws, Reuters reported.

SPECIALTY

* An updated scoping study for Atlantic Lithium Ltd.'s Ewoyaa lithium project in Ghana estimated a net present value of US$789 million, after taxes and discounted at 8%, with a 194% internal rate of return. The operation is expected to produce 300,000 tonnes of lithium oxide concentrate per year for 11.4 years.

* Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd. agreed to supply automobile manufacturer Volkswagen AG with battery-grade lithium hydroxide. The deal has an initial term of five years, with commercial delivery scheduled to begin in 2026.

INDUSTRY NEWS

* The U.S. Energy Information Administration forecast that coal's share of U.S. power generation will rise from 20% in 2020 to 23% in 2021 before decreasing slightly to 22% in 2022.

* The global refined copper market is expected to be in a significant surplus in 2022, following a small supply deficit in 2021, S&P Global Platts reported, citing International Copper Study Group data.

* Illegal methods employed by mining companies in Mexico with the complicity of past governments are the cause of several socio-environmental conflicts in the country, according to María Luisa Albores, head of Mexican environmental watchdog agency Semarnat. Albores stressed that the government of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has not granted and will not award new permits, news agency Reforma said, as cited by daily Luces del Siglo.

* Chile's copper exports improved by over 35% to US$4.92 billion in November from the previous year, Reuters reported, citing central bank data.

Panjiva is a business line of S&P Global Market Intelligence, a division of S&P Global Inc. S&P Global Platts is owned by S&P Global Inc.

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