TOP NEWS
Vale's Q3'19 iron ore output, sales down YOY
Vale SA's third-quarter iron ore production fell 17.4% year on year to 86.7 million tonnes from a record 104.9 Mt, while pellet production fell 19.8% to 11.1 Mt from a record 13.9 Mt. Iron ore sales fell 11.8% to 74.0 Mt, as pellet sales sunk 22.3% to 11.1 Mt. Despite further slashing its annual pellet production target to 43 Mt, Vale reaffirmed its iron ore and pellet sales guidance of between 307 Mt and 332 Mt, with sales estimated to be around the midpoint.
Newcrest approves first phase of Cadia expansion project
The board of Newcrest Mining Ltd. has approved the execution of the first of two stages of the Cadia expansion project in New South Wales, Australia. A feasibility study outlined an estimated capital of US$685 million for the first stage, which will seek to increase the nameplate capacity of the process plant to 33 million tonnes per annum.
Evolution Mining expects higher annual costs for FY'20
Evolution Mining Ltd. is expecting its annual costs to be higher than the previous forecast partly because of operational problems at the Mount Rawdon gold mine in Queensland, Australia, and changes to royalty and by-product credit expectations, The Australian reported. The company raised its projection for fiscal 2020's all-in sustaining costs by A$50 per troy ounce to between A$940 and A$990 per troy ounce.
BASE METALS
* Trafigura Beheer BV is helping to finance a US$450 million copper and cobalt facility at the Mutoshi mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo, even while Glencore PLC is set to close its Mutanda copper mine in the African country by the end of the year, Financial Times reported, quoting unnamed sources. Trafigura is part of a consortium, which includes the First Bank of Nigeria and Africa Finance Corporation, backing the processing plant. Trafigura is betting that the Mutoshi mine can become a competitive producer just as demand starts to rise.
* Teck Resources Ltd. will suspend operations at its Carmen de Andacollo copper facility in Chile during a strike starting Oct. 14. The Teck Carmen de Andacollo Workers Union, which represents 473 workers at the operation, announced its plans to initiate strike action after it failed to finalize a collective bargaining agreement with the company.
* Mining Industry Indonesia, formerly known as PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (Persero) struck a deal to purchase a 20% interest in nickel miner PT Vale Indonesia Tbk. The company did not disclose the transaction value, though Mining Industry Indonesia spokesperson Rendi Witular said it would be at a fair market value.
* Navarre Minerals Ltd. is undertaking a review of its Stavely Arc mineral properties in Victoria, Australia, looking to restart exploration following a recent outstanding copper-gold discovery by joint venture partner, Stavely Minerals Ltd. on the adjoining Thursdays Gossan prospect, part of the Stavely project.
* Chinese copper imports fell 14.6% year over year to 445,000 tonnes in September, while aluminum exports were down 14.2% over the period to 435,000 tonnes, Reuters reported, citing General Administration of Customs data.
* Independence Group NL agreed to earn a 75% joint venture interest in Apollo Consolidated Ltd. early-stage Louisa nickel project in Western Australia by spending at least A$3.4 million over four years.
* Nyrstar NV's Langlois zinc mine in Quebec, Canada will operate on care and maintenance, with production to cease in December, following an in-depth geological and budget analysis. Nyrstar said the rock conditions have deteriorated to the point where the company considers it uneconomic to continue to mine ore in 2020.
* The European Union imposed tariffs as high as 66.4% on steel products from China as part of a crackdown on alleged dumping by Chinese exporters of steel wheels for vehicles, European Views reported.
* A major nickel exploration campaign will start this month at Hannans Ltd.'s Forrestania nickel project in Western Australia.
PRECIOUS METALS
* Alamos Gold Inc. suspended all construction activities on its Kirazli gold project in Turkey pending the renewal of its mining concessions which expired Oct. 13. The company delayed the start of initial production at the mine beyond the previous guidance of late 2020. The company earlier faced protests at the site over pollution and deforestation allegations.
* Catalyst Metals Ltd. finalized joint ventures with Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd. unit Gold Exploration Victoria Pty Ltd on the Four Eagles gold project in Victoria, Australia, to carry out exploration on the Boort and Macorna exploration licenses.
* GWR Group Ltd. signed a joint venture agreement with Blackham Resources Ltd. to mine at the Wiluna West Gold project in Western Australia. The agreement provides for Blackham and GWR to delineate and mine gold deposits at Wiluna West and for processing to take place at the Matilda operation.
* Amani Gold Ltd. has been made aware that Bon Génie N. Mining (BN Mining) Sarl has commenced proceedings against La Societe Miniere de Kilo-Moto SA, or SOKIMO, for the wrongful termination of the option agreement on the Gada gold project in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
* Saturn Metals Ltd. estimated a higher indicated and inferred mineral resource of 24.5 million tonnes grading 1.0 g/t gold for 781,000 ounces above a cut-off grade of 0.5 g/t gold for its Apollo Hill gold project in Western Australia, adding 96,000 ounces to the resource.
BULK COMMODITIES
* India's National Company Law Appellate Tribunal temporarily blocked JSW Steel Ltd.'s takeover of Bhushan Power and Steel Ltd. amid a fraud probe into the insolvent steelmaker.
* PJSC PhosAgro CEO and President of the Russian Fertilizer Producers Association Andrey Guryev presented an environmental labeling scheme for Russian mineral fertilizers to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Gordeev and Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev. The use of the labels is expected to strengthen the competitive advantages of Russian producers of environmentally friendly phosphates in global markets in the context of the tightening of EU regulations in the near future for fertilizers with high levels of cadmium and other heavy metals.
* PJSC PhosAgro and Ma'aden Phosphate Co. signed a cooperation agreement with the Russian Direct Investment Fund to support global food security through the use of environmentally friendly phosphate-based fertilizers.
* FYI Resources Ltd. is in talks with big companies as it advances its Cadoux mine and Kwinana plant project in Australia, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
* The Western Australian Department of Water and Environmental Regulation has granted Sheffield Resources Ltd. the Stage 1B works approval for the Thunderbird mineral sands project, amending the original authority provided by the Stage 1A Works approval to construct and operate the project, to include an above-ground tailings storage facility for the first three years of production and allow the installation of product load out facilities at the mine site.
* MACA Ltd. was awarded the Bulk Earthworks for Access Roads and Infrastructure contract for the Iron Bridge magnetite project, a joint venture between Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. subsidiary FMG Iron Bridge and Formosa Steel IB Pty. Ltd. The contract is expected to generate A$26 million revenue for MACA and has already commenced.
SPECIALTY
* Bacanora Lithium PLC, which is planning a US$300 million capital raise early next year, said that its deal with China's Ganfeng Lithium Co. Ltd. will put the London-listed company in a better position to raise cash for its Sonora lithium project in Mexico, Reuters reported. Construction at Sonora is slated to begin in the second quarter of 2020 with production in early 2022, six months later than previously expected.
* Latitude Consolidated Ltd. received a notice from the Ministry of Mines & Mining Development in Gwanda, Zimbabwe, that it intends to cancel the certificates of registration issued for claims over the Mbeta lithium project in the region.
* Sagon Resources Ltd. estimated a maiden inferred mineral resource of 13.0 million tonnes grading 1.13% total rare earth oxides, comprising 147.3 million kilograms of TREO for its Cummins Range rare earths project in Western Australia.
* Core Lithium Ltd. agreed with Lithium Plus Pty Ltd. to acquire the rights to apply for an ancillary mineral lease within exploration license EL31133, as part of the Finniss lithium project in the Northern Territory of Australia.
* Talga Resources Ltd. estimated a maiden resource of 4.6 million tonnes at 25.82% graphite, containing 1.2 million tonnes graphite for its Niska deposits, which forms part of the Vittangi graphite project in Sweden.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* Zimbabwe Mines Minister Winston Chitando said that the country is targeting a fourfold increase in revenue from minerals to US$12 billion by 2023, but gave little detail on how this would be achieved, Bloomberg reported. Chitando is also expecting diamond production to increase to 11 million carats by 2023 from 3.2 million carats in 2018, according to Reuters.
* Publicly traded North American metals and mining companies show generally credit-friendly governance characteristics, according to Moody's Investors Service.
* A total of 128 mining fatal accidents in China were recorded this year in China, as of Oct. 12, down 28.1% year on year, Xinhua reported, citing National Coal Mine Safety Administration spokesman Shi Baozhong.
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