TOP NEWS
Simon Thompson to succeed Jan du Plessis as Rio Tinto chairman
Rio Tinto appointed Simon Thompson to be its next chairman, effective March 5, 2018. Thompson, who joined the Rio Tinto board as a nonexecutive director in 2014, succeeds Jan du Plessis, who will step down as chairman after serving almost nine years in the position.
Industrial & Commercial Bank of China does not intend to fund Adani Enterprises Ltd.'s controversial Carmichael coal mine in Queensland, Australia, ABC reported. Earlier, China Construction Bank also rejected financing links with the miner, saying it was not considering involvement with the project.
Mined gold production falls year on year in September quarter
Global gold production was up incrementally in the September quarter to an estimated 24.5 million ounces from the estimated 24.4 million ounces in the June quarter, but 1% less than the year-ago September quarter, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence's Metals and Mining Research. Several factors have been driving production lower in 2017, including China's announcement in February that it planned to close 150 gold mines in an effort to consolidate national production.
BASE METALS
* Codelco Chairman Oscar Landerretche said CEO Nelson Pizarro should be reappointed to the role when his term ends in 2018 to maintain the state-miner's focus on cost-cutting and spending, Bloomberg News reported.
* A civil court in Antofagasta, Chile, dismissed a petition filed by union workers of BHP Billiton Group's Escondida copper mine, who claimed unfair treatment and harassment for participating in protests against the company's decision to lay off 3% of its workforce, La Tercera reported.
* Atalaya Mining plc approved a 15 million-tonne-per-annum expansion plan at the Proyecto de Rio Tinto copper project in southwestern Spain, designed to upgrade processing facilities with the goal of increasing production to up to 55,000 tonnes per year. The company intends to raise up to approximately £39 million in a proposed placement to fund the expansion.
* Red Metal Ltd. executed an option and joint venture agreement with MMG Ltd. subsidiary MMG Exploration Pty Ltd. over Red Metal's Mallapunyah zinc project in Australia's Northern Territory.
* Aura Minerals Inc. agreed to sell Mineração Vale Verde Ltda., which owns the Serrote da Laje copper-gold project in Brazil, for US$40 million.
* AusRoc Metals Ltd. exited external administration, effective immediately, and reconstituted its board of directors.
PRECIOUS METALS
* Alba Mineral Resources Plc acquired a 49% interest in Gold Mines of Wales, which owns the 106.94-square-kilometer Clogau gold project at the Dolgellau gold belt in Wales, for £316,667 in Alba shares.
* An International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes tribunal awarded about US$30.4 million to Bear Creek Mining Corp. over the cancellation of a mining license for the company's Santa Ana silver-lead project in Peru.
* GBM Resources Ltd. will proceed toward a feasibility study for the Mount Coolon gold project in Queensland, Australia, after a scoping study estimated a pre-tax net present value of up to A$45.3 million, discounted at 6%, and an internal rate of return of 48.3%.
* QGold Pty Ltd intends to make an on-market takeover of Strategic Minerals Corp. NL for 40 Australian cents per share. Prior to the offer, the company already owned a roughly 69.15% interest in Strategic Minerals.
* Draig Resources Ltd. secured a 45-day option to acquire the 557-square-kilometer Yandal South gold project in Western Australia, located close to its Bellevue gold project, from Croft Mining Pty Ltd. and Weebo Exploration Pty. Ltd.
* Magellan Gold Corp. completed the acquisition of the San Dieguito de Arriba, or SDA, mill in Mexico from Rose Petroleum Plc for US$1.5 million.
BULK COMMODITIES
* En+ Group plc third-quarter group net profit rose 43.4% year-over-year to US$350 million, from US$244 million in the year-ago quarter, while group revenue increased 17.1% to US$2.88 billion. Meanwhile, the metals segment's third-quarter net profit increased 14.3% to US$312 million, from US$273 million in the same period a year earlier, and revenue improved 19.4% to US$2.46 billion. Aluminum production in the three-month period slightly improved by 1.2% to 931,000 tonnes, with an average realized price of US$2,124 per tonne.
* Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. filed an appeal against a Federal Court decision that awarded the Yindjibarndi people exclusive rights over land in Western Australia's Pilbara region, which includes part of its Solomon Hub iron ore project. The company previously said that the court's decision has no impact on the current and future operations or mining tenure at the Solomon Hub, but Fortescue CEO Nev Power said in a statement that new investments in resources, agriculture and tourism may be affected.
* Separately, Fortescue canceled a 25-year power offtake deal with TransAlta, citing breach of contract, The West Australian reported. In addition, the miner signed a new deal with TransAlta's rival utility company Alinta Energy. The dispute will likely lead to legal proceedings.
* Tata Steel Ltd. will purchase the remaining 74% interest in its joint venture with Bhubaneshwar Power Pvt. Ltd. for 2.55 billion Indian Rupees from JL Power Ventures Pvt., DealstreetAsia reported. Tata and its TS Alloys Ltd. unit hold a 26% stake in Bhubaneshwar Power.
* Metallica Minerals Ltd.'s previously announced sale of its SCONI scandium-cobalt project in Queensland, Australia, to Australian Mines Ltd. is now unconditional. The transaction is expected to be completed Dec. 8.
* The members of United Steelworkers Local 1123 at TimkenSteel Corp.'s Ohio facilities ratified a new four-year contract with the company.
* Bowen Coking Coal Ltd. signed an agreement with Aquila Coal Pty. Ltd. and Eagle Downs Pty. Ltd. to acquire the Isaac River coking coal project in Queensland, Australia for A$200,000 in cash.
* South Africa's National Union of Mineworkers entered a three-year wage deal with Kangra Coal Mine, ending a weeklong strike, Mining Weekly reported.
* Canada's Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of aboriginal groups seeking a say in a Yukon territorial government effort to develop coal and iron deposits in a wilderness region, in breach of a treaty requiring the agreement of local native groups, Reuters reported.
* An environmental tribunal in Chile accepted the appeal claim filed by Minera Andes Iron against a prior decision by Chile's highest administrative authority, the Committee of Ministers, that rejected the Dominga iron ore project, El Mercurio reported.
* China's central Shanxi province introduced new rules curbing water use for steel, cement and aluminum production, Reuters reported, citing state media. The new policy will slap incremental levies to the producers of steel, cement and aluminum if they exceed mandatory water usage standards.
* Australian iron ore mining stocks — including those of Fortescue, Rio Tinto and BHP — rose up to 1.7% as a result of strong commodity price performances in the previous week, the Financial Times reported.
* BC Iron Ltd. will rename as BCI Minerals Ltd., effective Dec. 6. The company will continue to trade under the ticker BCI on the ASX.
SPECIALTY
* PJSC Alrosa failed to sell a 51.4-carat diamond called Dynasty in its recent auction, Bloomberg News reported. The company said it did not receive high enough offers for the gem and plans to hold another auction to sell the stone.
* Syrah Resources Ltd. signed a binding deal to supply 20,000 tonnes of natural graphite from the Balama graphite project in Mozambique to Zhanjiang Juxin New Energy Materials Co. Ltd. in 2018.
* Lithium Power International Ltd. entered a binding deal to sell its Centenario lithium project in Argentina to Albertson Resources Pty Ltd nominee Centenario Lithium Ltd. Centenario Lithium paid A$1 million to the company as initial payment to acquire Lithium Power International Holdings (Argentina) Pty Ltd, which holds the properties.
* The United States Geological Survey and the Geological Mining Service of Argentina revealed that there are 53 lithium exploration projects underway in the South American country, implying US$2 billion in investments, International Mining wrote, citing a report by the Ministry of Mining and Energy of Argentina.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* Chile and Peru have competitive but not extraordinary mining portfolios, but Peru has reform measures to attract foreign investments which Chile does not, the president of Chilean mining association Sonami and former Antofagasta Plc CEO, Diego Hernández, said. However, Chile's attractiveness to foreign investments may improve, provided whoever wins the upcoming presidential elections implements a swift plan to reactivate the sector, daily El Mercurio reported.
* The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it will not act on a proposal that requires miners to show their capability to clean up the land after finishing with the operation of mining facilities, Reuters reported.
S&P Global Market Intelligence is owned by S&P Global Inc.
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.
