TOP NEWS
Northern Star makes takeover play for Echo Resources; FY'19 profit down
Northern Star Resources Ltd. will acquire all shares in Echo Resources Ltd. it does not own for 33 Australian cents per share, representing a A$242.6 million value for the latter. Directors of Echo Resources unanimously recommended that shareholders accept the offer in the absence of a superior proposal. As of June 30, Northern Star held a 21.76% stake in Echo Resources. Meanwhile, Northern Star's fiscal 2019 net profit came in at A$154.7 million, a 20% yearly decline, due to its A$50 million investment in the Pogo gold project in Alaska.
Polymetal H1'19 earnings fall; interim dividend boosted
Polymetal International PLC's first half net earnings shrunk 13% to US$152 million, or 33 U.S. cents per share, due to foreign exchange losses on U.S. dollar-denominated intercompany loans and higher financing costs. Underlying earnings rose 21% to US$188 million on the back of a higher operating profit.
Equipment failure to weigh on output at Teck's Trail zinc refinery
Teck Resources Ltd. will reduce production capacity at its Trail zinc refinery in British Columbia by about 25% after an electrical equipment failure that affected one of the four rectifiers used at the refinery. The curtailment will result in a production loss of between 20,000 and 30,000 tonnes while repairs are ongoing.
BASE METALS
* Sandfire Resources NL's fiscal 2019 net profit slipped to A$106.5 million, or 65.2 Australian cents per share, from A$123.0 million, or 77.9 cents per share, on the back of weaker copper prices. The copper-gold producer declared a final fully franked dividend of 16 cents per share, lower than its year-ago distribution 19 cents per share.
* The Metals and Mining Research team at S&P Global Market Intelligence estimated that global mined nickel production was roughly unchanged year over year at 637,000 tonnes in the June quarter, compared to 635,000 tonnes in the same quarter of 2018. Global mined nickel production for 2019 is forecast to rise by 5.3% year over year to 2.55 million tonnes, down marginally from the previous forecast of 2.63 Mt.
* Nexa Resources SA agreed to acquire the issued share capital of Karmin Exploration Inc. in a US$69.3 million deal. Karmin's board of directors unanimously recommended the transaction.
* Germany's Wieland-Werke AG plans to slash working hours at its plant in Villingen in southern Germany as the slowing global economy has weighed on demand for its copper products, Reuters reported.
* A group of Wanguo International Mining Group Ltd. shareholders terminated a memorandum of understanding and negotiations with potential buyers who had intended to acquire about 40.126% of the company.
* Chile announced US$600 million in additional stimulus to boost its economy, which has suffered from slumping copper prices, Reuters reported.
* First Cobalt Corp. and Glencore AG signed a definitive agreement for the planned restart of the First Cobalt refinery in Ontario.
* Superior Lake Resources Ltd. received nonbinding indicative proposals of between US$50 million and US$70 million to fund the development of its Superior Lake zinc project in Ontario.
* Rio Tinto subsidiary Rio Tinto Exploration Canada Inc. secured an option to acquire the Andalusite Peak copper-gold-silver property in British Columbia that was staked by Triumph Gold Corp. in January 2017.
* Platina Resources Ltd. signed a strategic joint venture agreement with Blue Moon Zinc Corp. to acquire a 70% interest the latter's namesake zinc project in California.
* Balmoral Resources Ltd. expanded its RUM nickel project in Quebec after acquiring three new targets similar to the intrusion hosting the property's Bluenose zone.
* Blackstone Resources AG entered into a strategic alliance for a nickel joint venture in Indonesia. The deal with the unnamed partner will initially involve exporting ore, concentrates and refined products of nickel, copper and other technology metals before progressing to non-ore products later this year.
* Rafaella Resources Ltd. closed its acquisition of the Santa Comba tin-tungsten project in Spain.
* All Northern Cobalt Ltd. nonexecutive directors agreed to reduce their board fees by 50%, in line with current market conditions, as the explorer is reviewing its projects and activities.
PRECIOUS METALS
* Northern Star Managing Director Bill Beament flagged the company's interest in acquiring the Kalgoorlie Super Pit in Western Australia from joint venture partners Barrick Gold Corp. and Newmont Goldcorp Corp. but warned that it must meet its stringent investment criteria, The Australian Financial Review reported.
* Red River Resources Ltd. completed the acquisition of Hillgrove Mines Pty. Ltd., as a result of which it now owns Bracken Resources Pty. Ltd.'s mothballed Hillgrove gold-antimony project in New South Wales, Australia.
* Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan asked the country's environmental authority to study a third-party environmental audit for Lydian International Ltd.'s Amulsar gold project in the country, which may result in a fourth environmental review for the project in less than a year, Mining.com reported.
* Centerra Gold Inc. said the remaining legal proceedings related to the Kumtor gold mine in Kyrgyzstan have been terminated to complete a strategic agreement reached in September 2017.
* Minera Yanacocha SRL does not plan to resume construction at the Conga gold project in Peru's Cajamarca region, which has been suspended since 2011, due to social opposition, La República reported, citing Yanacocha general manager Yuri Sáenz.
* IAMGOLD Corp. resumed partial operations at its Rosebel gold mine in Suriname following a suspension earlier this month due to a clash between police and illegal miners that left one miner dead.
* Australian gold output surged to an all-time record of 321 tonnes, or 10.3 million ounces, in fiscal year 2018-2019, from 317 tonnes in the previous year, Australian Mining wrote.
* K92 Mining Inc. completed its US$12.5 million payment to Barrick Gold Corp., eliminating the contingent payment arrangement under the terms of a June 2014 agreement to fully acquire the latter's Papua New Guinea unit, Barrick (Kainantu) Ltd.
* La Mancha Resources Inc. Chairman Naguib Sawiris plans to invest in gold and copper mining in Egypt after learning the details of the amendments made to his home country's mining law, Reuters reported.
* Nevada Gold Mines LLC, a joint venture between Barrick and Newmont Goldcorp, will provide support for the victims of an accident between a truck hauling ore and a bus carrying the company's employees on State Route 766 that left two dead and several injured, Elko Daily Free Press reported. Meanwhile, U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto met senior leadership of Nevada Gold Mines at the latter's headquarters and discussed the social and economic impact of the consortium's operations.
* China's net gold imports via Hong Kong dropped 42% to 8.09 tonnes in July from 14.04 tonnes in June, Reuters reported, citing data from the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department.
BULK COMMODITIES
* After a rise in Australian and Brazilian shipments as disrupted mines come back on track, the spread between seaborne iron ore coming to China and iron ore at its local ports has increased to the highest in more than two years, Reuters wrote. This indicates that more cargoes are underway and mills are hesitant to make offers given economic uncertainties, according to four sources with knowledge of the market.
* Hbis Co. Ltd.'s net profit attributable to shareholders for the first half dropped 35.9% year over year to 1.17 billion Chinese yuan from 1.82 billion yuan a year earlier.
* Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. CEO Elizabeth Gaines said Fortescue's conversations with iron ore customers had revealed that while there is "no doubt" Asian steel mills are looking at using hydrogen in their processes, it is unlikely to be adopted until at least 2030.
* Mine investor Anglo Pacific plans to spend £100 million to back struggling mining projects, The Telegraph reported, citing CEO Julian Treger.
* The Gomeroi Traditional Custodians are suing Australian Environment Minister Sussan Ley for allegedly favoring the development of China Shenhua Energy Co. Ltd.'s Watermark coal project in New South Wales over the protection of sites the plaintiffs consider sacred, ABC News wrote.
* Bathurst Resources Ltd. declared a maiden dividend of 0.3 Australian cents per share for its fiscal 2019 ended June 30, to be paid out Oct. 23.
* Kalium Lakes Ltd. received a credit-approved offer from Westpac Banking Corp. for a A$15 million working capital facility and a hedging facility for the Beyondie sulfate of potash project in Western Australia. A final investment decision is on target for the current quarter.
SPECIALTY
* JSC National Atomic Co. Kazatomprom reported a 68% year-over-year drop in first half net profit to 104 billion Kazakhstani tenge, with prior-year results including a gain of 313.5 billion tenge on business combinations. Consolidated revenue rose 22% to 176.6 tenge, mainly due to an increase in the average sales price for uranium as well as a weakening of the tenge against the U.S. dollar, partially offset by lower sales volumes.
* Pilbara Minerals Ltd. executed a binding terms sheet with POSCO to build a 40,000-tonne-per-annum lithium hydroxide and carbonate chemical conversion facility in South Korea. Separately, the Australian explorer opted to advance optimized stage-two expansion studies for the Pilgangoora lithium project in Western Australia after closing its partnering process for the operation.
* Argosy Minerals Ltd. exercised its option to acquire the Tonopah lithium project in Nevada.
* Galaxy Resources Ltd. reached an agreement with a consortium of lenders led by funds managed by Tribeca Investment Partners Pty. Ltd. to acquire a senior secured loan facility extended to Alita Resources Ltd. for US$31.1 million.
* The Malian government granted Mali Lithium Ltd. an operating permit for its Goulamina lithium project for a 30-year period, completing the final regulatory hurdle for the project.
* Ceylon Graphite Corp. unit Sarcon Development (Pvt.) Ltd. received a category A industrial mining license for its K1 graphite project in Sri Lanka after recently obtaining an environmental approval.
* Stans Energy Corp. said it is disappointed by the US$24 million arbitration award it received over Kyrgyzstan's seizure of the Kutessay II rare earths mine as it is small compared to the US$219 million claim the company had filed in January 2016. Stans is working with its legal team for its next move.
* Liontown Resources Ltd. will begin a 15,000-meter reverse circulation/diamond core drilling program at the Kathleen Valley lithium project in Western Australia, which aims to expand the resource estimate and define potential underground resources and reserves.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* Chinese lawmakers passed a new law allowing local governments to tax as many as 164 different resources, including minerals, fossil fuels and eventually water, Reuters reported, citing the Chinese finance ministry.
* Leading Argentine presidential candidate Alberto Fernandez met with mining companies, including Glencore PLC, Newmont Goldcorp and POSCO, to discuss his team's plan to create a legal framework that provides certainty for investments in the mining sector, Reuters reported.
* Drilling services provider Boart Longyear Ltd. swung to a first half net profit of A$2 million, from a year-ago loss of A$16 million, its first positive profit in seven years. Revenue grew 4.6% to A$17 million.
* Australia-listed mining services provider Swick Mining Services Ltd. restored its dividend distribution after posting a A$1.0 million profit for its fiscal 2019, reversing course from a A$1.0 million loss a year prior.
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