trending Market Intelligence /marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/0zyoro24rbdi985x-pjcaw2 content esgSubNav
In This List

South32 will not exit South Africa, COO says

Blog

Insight Weekly: US stock performance; banks' M&A risk; COVID-19 vaccine makers' earnings

Blog

Insight Weekly: LNG exports surge; investors unfazed by inflation; neobanks drive VC funding

Blog

Essential Metals Mining Insights November 2021

Blog

[Infographic]: 2021 World Exploration Trends


South32 will not exit South Africa, COO says

TOP NEWS

South32 will not exit South Africa, COO says

Mike Fraser, COO of South32 Ltd.'s African operations, said the company has no plans to withdraw from the South African market, following speculation that the creation of South Africa Energy Coal as a stand-alone business might be part of an exit strategy. "I can absolutely assure you, this is not the case," Fraser said at the Mining Indaba in Cape Town.

Elliott Management: Simpler BHP structure would boost shareholder value by over US$22B

Activist shareholder Elliott Management once again renewed a push for a simpler structure at BHP Billiton Group after commissioning a study that argues dropping the dual-listing structure could add over US$22 billion in shareholder value, Bloomberg News reported. The report projected a US$14.1 billion jump in the company's market valuation and US$8.7 billion via the release of Australian tax credits through dividends and buybacks.

Anglo American no longer selling assets in South Africa

An executive at Anglo American Plc's South African unit flagged the possibility of asset acquisitions in the country, Bloomberg News reported. "We no longer have any 'for sale' sign," said Norman Mbazima, deputy chairman of the company's South African unit, adding there was a possibility that Anglo American will invest in the country.

DIVERSIFIED

* Exploration financing targeted for Africa accounted for 15.9% of the global amount raised in the September 2017 quarter. The US$1.57 billion raised in the third quarter was 37% more than the US$1.15 billion raised in the year-ago quarter. Gold was the most valuable commodity produced in the African region in 2017, with an estimated US$18.7 billion in sales revenues, calculated using average 2017 commodity prices and aggregated production data by commodity, the Metals and Mining Research team at S&P Global Market Intelligence stated. Copper and iron ore were next, with estimated revenues of US$11 billion and US$6.2 billion, respectively.

* Bold Baatar, Rio Tinto's head of energy and minerals, said the company will compete with companies such as Facebook and Google for workers that will help with its mining automation project, Bloomberg News reported. Baatar said two-thirds of Rio Tinto's engineers are miners, but this number will be halved within a decade.

* The Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility is seeking to gain support from about 100 investors to co-file a resolution at Rio Tinto's upcoming annual general meeting to ask the miner to quit the Minerals Council of Australia, The Guardian reported.

BASE METALS

* The Freeport-McMoRan Inc.-operated Cerro Verde copper mine in Peru posted an 89.4% year-over-year increase in its net profit for the fourth quarter of 2017, coming in at US$217.6 million, as higher copper prices offset a decline in sales volumes, Metal Bulletin reported.

* Jubilee Metals Group PLC intends to exercise its option to acquire a 40% interest in BMR Group Plc's Kabwe zinc-lead project in Zambia, which will conditionally take the company's interest in the project to 57.41% as it holds a 17.41% stake in BMR.

* An initial JORC-compliant resource estimate for Orion Minerals NL's past-producing Prieska zinc-copper property in South Africa pegged indicated and inferred resources totaling 24.2 million tonnes grading 3.47% zinc, 1.23% copper, 0.21 g/t of gold and 9.36 g/t of silver for 873,655 tonnes of zinc, 297,129 tonnes of copper, 163,340 ounces of gold and 7.3 million ounces of silver. The maiden resource far exceeded the company's expectations.

PRECIOUS METALS

* Randgold Resources Ltd. is looking to drop its relationship with Dan Gertler as the U.S. put sanctions on the Israeli billionaire over charges of corruption, Bloomberg News reported. The company was partnering with Gertler's Fleurette Group for joint development of the Moku-Beverendi gold project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. "We've called force majeure and given them notice that in our view they are in default because we cannot continue to operate under these terms," CEO Mark Bristow said.

* The ASX delisted Haoma Mining NL due to the company's noncompliance with listing rules. The company failed to retract its announcements related to the discovery of gold nuggets in Western Australia, which were deemed non-compliant by the ASX.

* The demand for gold was down 7% in 2017 to an eight-year low of 4,071.7 tonnes, Reuters reported, citing the World Gold Council. China bought 953.3 tonnes of gold in 2017, while India purchased 726.9 tonnes. In 2018, demand from China is expected at 900 tonnes to 1,000 tonnes, while Indian demand is expected to be between 700 tonnes and 800 tonnes.

* Highland Gold Mining Ltd.'s definitive feasibility study for the Kekura project in Russia pegged a net present value, discounted at 10%, of US$311 million and a 38% internal rate of return. The project's average annual gold production is estimated at 172,000 ounces for the first eight years and 46,000 ounces for the final eight years.

* Anglo Asian Mining Plc expects to produce between 78,000 and 84,000 gold equivalent ounces in fiscal 2018, a 13% increase over full-year 2017 production of 71,461 gold equivalent ounces.

* A preliminary economic assessment for Cardinal Resources Ltd.'s Namdini gold project in Ghana confirmed the project to be a technically and financially robust low-cost mining opportunity with the potential to generate strong positive cash flows. Depending on the eventual production scenario chosen, average annual production will range from 159,000 to 330,000 ounces, while all-in sustaining costs will be between US$701/oz and US$794/oz.

* Gold Road Resources Ltd. subsidiary Gold Road (South Yamarna) Pty. Ltd. agreed to acquire a 50% stake in the South Yamarna gold project in Western Australia from Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. Ltd.'s Sumitomo Metal Mining Oceania Pty. Ltd. unit for A$7 million in cash.

* Centerra Gold Inc. is partially restarting mill operations at its Mount Milligan copper-gold mine in British Columbia. Mill operations, which were suspended in late December 2017 due to insufficient water resources, are expected to achieve sustainable throughput levels of approximately 30,000 tonnes per day by mid-February.

* A preliminary economic assessment on a two-phase expansion of Maya Gold & Silver Inc.'s 85%-owned Zgounder silver mine in Morocco defined a posttax net present value of US$200.2 million, discounted at 6.5%, with a 118% internal rate of return. The study looks at increasing annual silver production to 1.4 million ounces and subsequently to 4.8 million ounces.

BULK COMMODITIES

* Nutrien Ltd. expects to book EPS of between US$2.10 and US$2.60 for full-year 2018 from continuing operations, excluding incremental depreciation and amortization related to purchase price allocation of between US$150 million and US$300 million. Consolidated EBITDA for the year is expected to reach between US$3.2 billion and US$3.7 billion.

* ThyssenKrupp AG workers voted in favor of a labor deal that will safeguard jobs and plants in the German steelmaker's planned joint venture with Tata Steel Ltd. until 2026, Reuters wrote. According to the report, 71% of the about 20,700 members of the IG Metall union participated in the vote, where more than 92% approved the deal.

* JSW Steel Ltd. and Tata Steel Ltd. have reportedly submitted bids for debt-laden Bhushan Steel Ltd., Reuters reported, citing three people familiar with the process. ArcelorMittal, which was previously reported to be interested in buying Bhushan, opted out of the bidding process.

* Mitsubishi Corp.'s net income for its metals segment in the nine months that ended Dec. 31, 2017, jumped 37% year over year to ¥178.7 billion thanks to higher realized prices and dividend income from Australian coal and other mineral resources. In fiscal 2018, the metals segment expects an attributable profit of ¥240 billion.

* As fertilizer prices continue to recover, PJSC PhosAgro boosted its overall production in the fourth quarter of 2017 by over 13% to 2.3 million tonnes. Nitrogen-based products registered the largest increase in the quarter, of 38% to 561,500 tonnes, while output of phosphate-based fertilizers climbed 7% to 1.7 million tonnes. Production of phosrock and nepheline also showed improvement, growing to 2.6 million tonnes from 2.5 million tonnes a year ago.

SPECIALTY

* Dempsey Minerals Ltd. signed an exclusive option agreement with Australian company Blue Sky Lithium Pty. Ltd. to acquire the latter's interests in mining tenements in the lithium-bearing Hombre Muerto salt flat in Argentina's Catamarca province.

* Senator Minerals Inc. agreed to acquire for 4 million shares Uranium City Resources Inc., which holds the Crackingstone uranium project in Saskatchewan.

* PJSC Alrosa is actively looking to expand its footprint globally, the company's vice president for Africa told S&P Market Intelligence on the sidelines of the Mining Indaba. "We are looking to expand," Vladimir Marchenko said in an interview, noting that even areas such as Latin America were not ruled out. "At the moment, we are mostly focused on Angola [outside of Russia], but the company is actually actively looking for opportunities to expand the business worldwide."

INDUSTRY NEWS

* South African Mining Minister Mosebenzi Zwane, in his opening speech at Mining Indaba, pledged an open-door policy and active engagement with stakeholders to promote growth and investment in the country's mining sector but failed to address the most pressing topic, the controversial reviewed mining charter.

* South Africa and Niger signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in geology and mining, South Africa's Department of Mineral Resources announced on the sidelines of Mining Indaba.

* Democratic Republic of the Congo state-miner Gecamines SA intends to renegotiate contracts with its international partners this year to secure a bigger share of revenues for the country, Reuters reported. Gecamines' partners on mining projects include Glencore Plc, China Molybdenum Co. Ltd. and Ivanhoe Mines Ltd.

The Daily Dose is updated as of 7 a.m. London time, and scans news sources published in Chinese, English, Indonesian, Malay, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai and Ukrainian. Some external links may require a subscription.