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Barrick, Newmont's Kalgoorlie Super Pit mulls job cuts following rock falls

TOP NEWS

Barrick, Newmont's Kalgoorlie Super Pit mulls job cuts following rock falls

Barrick Gold Corp.'s and Newmont Mining Corp.'s equally owned joint venture in Western Australia, the Kalgoorlie Super Pit gold mine, is looking at layoffs following two rock falls that suspended operations for the last two weeks, Kalgoorlie Miner reported. The joint venture company, Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines Pty Ltd., has also introduced a hiring freeze due to safety concerns at the northern side of the pit where wall slips occurred on May 14 and May 15. General Manager Cecile Thaxter said the incidents will have an impact on production, with lower mining rates that may lead to a reduction in the workforce.

Indian state moves to permanently close Vedanta's Tuticorin copper smelter

India's Tamil Nadu state ordered the permanent closure of Vedanta Ltd.'s Tuticorin copper smelter following violent protests last week that killed 13 people, Reuters reported. "We have taken a decision to permanently shut down the plant and today issued government orders to do the same," said Edappadi Palaniswami, Tamil Nadu's chief minister. Vedanta called the closure an "unfortunate development" and said it will review the order.

Mineworkers accept Iron Ore Co. of Canada offer, ending 9-week strike

A nine-week-long strike at Iron Ore Co. of Canada Inc.'s IOC mining operations in Labrador is coming to an end as unionized workers voted 79% in favor of a third offer. United Steelworkers representative Euclide Hache, reached by phone, confirmed that USW Local 5795 and Local 6731 voted in favor of the offer. Rio Tinto, which is the majority owner of Iron Ore Co. of Canada, said the deal was "competitive" with better pension and medical benefits and that it would give a boost to local hiring. At the same time, Rio Tinto said there was "flexibility to be a sustainable and competitive business."

DIVERSIFIED

* Avanco Resources Ltd. is suspending plant operations and most mining activities at its Antas copper mine to conserve fuel, in response to the ongoing truck drivers' strike in Brazil. Additionally, the company's drilling program at the Pantera project is also suspended. Gerdau SA also said that its operations in the country were impacted by the strike.

* Chinese state-owned copper and aluminum producers Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Co. Ltd. and Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. were among the companies that traded around 477 million yuan worth of metal on the launch of the Shanghai Futures Exchange's new physical trading platform, Reuters reported.

BASE METALS

* PJSC Norilsk Nickel Co. received support from Russia's Murmansk region for the 25.7 billion Russian ruble upgrade of its Kola MMC nickel operations. The project, which will run from 2018 to 2023, will help nearly double the capacities of Kola MMC, while also securing significant emissions cuts, greater economic efficiencies, and a reduction in metal losses.

* Altus Strategies Plc was granted the zinc-copper-prospective Ammas, Takzim Est and Arfa licenses, covering a total area of 87.55 square kilometers, in Morocco.

* Metalicity Ltd. agreed to sell the Admiral Bay, Napier Range and Emanuel Range zinc projects to TSX Venture Exchange hopeful Kimberley Mining Ltd., for C$32.5 million in cash and shares.

* Bezant Resources PLC received approval from the Philippine government for the renewal of the mineral production sharing agreement for the Mankayan copper project in the country's Benguet province, which is held through associate Crescent Mining and Development Corp.

* Ausmon Resources Ltd. subsidiary New Base Metals Pty Ltd. was granted a third exploration license, EL 8747, valid for a period of 72 months and part of its Broken Hill cobalt-nickel project in New South Wales.

* An employee was killed in a mining-related accident at Vedanta Zinc International Group's Gamsberg zinc mine in South Africa, Mining Weekly wrote. All work at the mine has been suspended amid ongoing investigations.

PRECIOUS METALS

* Global production of gold rose quarter over quarter in the first quarter of 2018. Miners ramped up production 2% compared with the same period last year, supporting the view that global production will rise for a fourth consecutive year in the full year, according to the Metals and Mining Research team at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

* Oleg Deripaska will terminate the agreement of shareholders of United Co. Rusal PLC in the near future, part of the withdrawal of U.S.-imposed sanctions, Vedomosti reported.

* Pan American Silver Corp. said that certain activities at its Dolores silver mine in Mexico will be reduced as a safety measure after recent security incidents along the access roads used to transport personnel and materials to and from the mine. The company noted that the mine site remains secure and that it is working with authorities to provide safe access to the mine.

* Barrick Gold's current priority in Peru is expanding its Lagunas Norte gold mine in two phases, the first known as the Carbonaceous Material Oxides Project, or CMOP, Barrick Peru CEO Manuel Fumagalli told El Comercio. If Barrick's Committee of Investments approves the CMOP at the end of this year, construction will begin in 2019 and production will start between 2020 and 2021. Concurrently, Barrick is carrying out the US$400 million closure of its Pierina gold mine. The first phase is set to end between 2021 and 2022, with the monitoring phase to extend from 2026 onward, Fumagalli said.

* Engineer Gold Mines Ltd. received conditional approval to list on the TSX Venture Exchange, following the approval of the spinout of the Engineer gold mine in British Columbia by Blind Creek Resources Ltd. shareholders and the Supreme Court of British Columbia.

* X-Terra Resources Inc. signed an agreement with Greg Exploration Inc. to acquire a 50% interest in the Storm Lake gold property in Quebec.

* Impact Minerals Ltd. secured an option to acquire 95% of an advanced gold project from Rock Solid Holdings Pty Ltd. and applied for a 91-square-kilometer exploration license, collectively known as the Blackridge gold project. Meanwhile, it reached an agreement to sell its Pilbara gold project to Pacton Gold Inc. for C$350,000 in cash and A$1.7 million in shares.

* Capricorn Metals Ltd.'s Karlawinda gold project marked a 25% increase in ore reserves compared to the August 2017 maiden ore reserve estimate, to 28 million tonnes grading 1.0 g/t for 892,000 ounces of gold.

* Australia's gold output increased to about 74 tonnes in the first quarter from 71 tonnes in the same period of 2017, Mining Weekly wrote, citing data from mining consultant Surbiton Association.

* Reliant Gold Corp. is seeking a change of business from being a junior mineral explorer to an active real property acquisition, management and rental income firm, operating principally in Ontario.

BULK COMMODITIES

* Russian steelmaker PAO Severstal expects to deliver an additional 10% to 15% to its annual EBITDA over the next five years, resulting from operational improvements, customer care initiatives and an innovational transformation of the business.

* ArcelorMittal's ArcelorMittal South Africa Ltd. unit entered into a memorandum of understanding to sell its 50% stake in steel trading and shipping company Macsteel International Holdings BV, to joint venture partner Macsteel Holdings Luxembourg SARL for US$220 million.

* Alcoa Corp. is assessing the impact of a temporary power outage to the timeline and overall process of restarting its Warrick aluminum smelter in Indiana. The power outage led the company to shut down one of the three potlines that are part of the restart process for safety reasons and to protect the assets.

* National Mineral Development Corp. Ltd.'s stand-alone net profit in its fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31 increased 116.0% year over year to 11.06 billion Indian rupees, with total revenue rising 34.8% to 40.53 billion rupees. Iron ore production during the quarter increased 9.3% yearly to 11.3 million tonnes, with total sales up 7.8% to 10.5 million tonnes.

* Cia. Siderúrgica Nacional allowed most of the administrative staff at its steel plant in Volta Redonda to take the day off, but production remains unchanged, Reuters reported, citing sources. The mill has infrastructure integrated with rail transport, but it is experiencing difficulties in delivering finished shipments to customers due to the ongoing truckers' strike in Brazil, one of the sources said.

* Given the international market circumstances and Brazil's susceptibility to external shocks, its economy could undergo more instability, worsened by current political scenarios, said Nexa Resources SA President and CEO Tito Martins. Martins said that the ongoing truckers strike has the potential to stir even the October presidential elections, daily Valor Econômico reported.

* Fortescue Metals Group Ltd., which in 2017 vowed to increase its average iron grade to above 60% on the back of China's growing demand for the high-grade raw material, would start selling its premium product before July 2019, The Australian Financial Review reported, citing CEO Elizabeth Gaines.

* AltaSteel Ltd. and the United Steelworkers Local 5220 reached a tentative agreement, averting a strike that was scheduled to start May 28 at the company's operations in Edmonton, Alberta. The workers have been working without a contract since the previous agreement expired July 31, 2017.

SPECIALTY

* Galaxy Resources Ltd. signed a US$280 million deal to sell a package of tenements on the northern area of the Salar del Hombre Muerto at its Sal de Vida lithium operation in Argentina, to South Korea's POSCO.

* Pilbara Minerals Ltd. posted a 36% increase in the total measured, indicated and inferred resource for its Pilgangoora tantalum-lithium project in Western Australia. The estimate now stands at 213 million tonnes grading 1.32% lithium oxide and 0.69% ferric oxide, containing 2.82 million tonnes of lithium oxide and 54.6 million pounds of tantalum pentoxide.

* American Pacific Borate & Lithium Ltd., through its Fort Cady (California) Corp. subsidiary, signed a non-binding strategic cooperation deal with Sinochem Group unit Sinochem Hebei Corp. to develop the former's product offering for China. There is also the intention for the parties to enter an offtake agreement for up to 40,000 tonnes of boric acid per annum from the Fort Cady borate project in southern California.

* Final bids for Kimberley Diamonds Ltd.'s Lerala diamond mine in Botswana will close May 30, Mining Weekly reported. GoIndustry DoveBid South Africa will be facilitating the sale of the asset via an online auction.

INDUSTRY NEWS

* Macquarie Group is poised to sell its mining services business MST Global to Sydney-based Odyssey Private Equity for about A$100 million, The Australian Financial Review's Street Talk reported.

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