TOP NEWS
Valeto spend US$1.5B to restart Rio Colorado potash project
Brazilian mining major Vale SA is looking to invest US$1.5 billion to restartconstruction at its RioColorado potash project in Argentina's Mendoza province, Reuters reported.The company suspended project development in 2012 after investing US$2.2billion as prices for the crop nutrient weakened and after the former Argentinegovernment refused to provide tax concessions to lower costs.
GoldcorpInc. posted first-quarter net profit of US$80 million, swinging from a year-agonet loss of US$87 million. The company's gold production totaled 783,700ounces, up from 724,800 ounces reported last year, although sales fell to799,400 ounces of gold from 827,500 ounces of gold in 2015.
RioTinto priced its recently launched cash tender offer to buy back US$1.5 billion ofbonds maturing in 2017 and 2018, at US$1,006.91 for the 2% notes due 2017 andat US$1,005.85 for the 1.625% notes due 2017, in each case per US$1,000principal amount of notes.
DIVERSIFIED
* RioTinto priced its recently launched cash tender offer to buy back US$1.5 billion ofbonds maturing in 2017 and 2018, at US$1,006.91 for the 2% notes due 2017 andat US$1,005.85 for the 1.625% notes due 2017, in each case per US$1,000principal amount of notes.
* AntofagastaPlc's copper output for the first quarter year over year to 157,100tonnes, buoyed by the first full quarter of production from and higher output fromAntucoya. Thenumber was offset by lower production at Centinela Cathodes due to declining grades andno contribution from Michilla, which is on care and maintenance. Goldproduction went down 1.2% to 56,700 ounces compared to the correspondingquarter last year due to higher gold recoveries at Centinela. Meanwhile,molybdenum fell 19% to 1,700 tonnes from 2,100 tonnes year on year because oflower grades.
* Moody's upgraded Russian diamond mining company 's corporate familyrating to Ba1 from Ba2 and probability of default rating to Ba1-PD from Ba2-PD.The outlook on these ratings is negative. Moody's also confirmed the Ba2 CFRand Ba2-PD PDR of JSC Holding Co. METALLOINVEST and the Ba3 CFRs and Ba3-PDPDRs of SUEK plc andNord Gold NV. Theoutlook is stable on Metalloinvest's and SUEK's ratings, and positive on NordGold's ratings.
BASE METALS
* LundinMining Corp. swung to a net loss attributable to companyshareholders of US$22.1 million for the quarter ended March 31 from a netprofit of US$71.8 million posted a year ago, attributing it to the lower metalprice environment. Sales for the period, meanwhile, US$369.6 million, down fromUS$531.5 million in the previous year.
* NyrstarNV's first-quarter revenues fell by 18% year on year to €645 million, while EBITDAdropped 46% to €37 million, primarily due to a 19% decrease in average zincprices during the period.
* IndependenceGroup NL divested33.8 million shares, or its 4.8% stake, in Gold Road Resources Ltd. on April 20, just a week beforethe latter announced an institutional placement and entitlement offer to raiseA$74 million, The Australian FinancialReview's Street Talk reported.
PRECIOUS METALS
* Goldcorp Inc.posted first-quarter netprofit of US$80 million, swinging from a year-ago net loss of US$87million. The company's gold production totaled 783,700 ounces, up from 724,800ounces reported last year, although sales fell to 799,400 ounces of gold from827,500 ounces of gold in 2015.
* New GoldInc. swung to a first-quarter net profit of US$26.8 millionfrom a net loss of US$43.8 million reported last year. The company produced90,811 ounces of gold in the first quarter as compared to 94,977 ounces of goldproduced a year ago, as slightly higher production from its , and mines partially offsetplanned lower output from Cerro San Pedro. Copper output increased by 10% yearover year to 25.4 million pounds, while silver production of about 370,300ounces remained consistent with 2015.
* Detour GoldCorp. posted net income of US$26.7 million for the first quarter,swinging from a netloss of US$63.1 million a year ago. The company's metal sales for the periodtotaled US$163.0 million, up from US$127.4 million reported in 2015.
* Meanwhile, Detour Gold repurchased US$75 million of convertible notes for anaggregate purchase price of US$76.9 million, plus accrued and unpaid interestof US$1.7 million to April 27. The notes were repurchased from Paulson &Co. Inc. using existing cash balances.
* Royal GoldInc.'s revenue for the third fiscal quarter year over year to US$93.5million. Despite reporting higher revenue, the company swung to a net lossattributable to stockholders of US$67.7 million from net income of US$25.0million posted in the prior-year quarter.
* Coeur MiningInc. narrowed its first-quarter net loss to US$20.4 million from aloss of US$33.3 million posted a year ago. Revenue, meanwhile, to US$148.4 millionfrom US$153.0 million in 2015.
* Despite improving silver prices, has kicked offthe process of transitioning its El Cubo silver mine in Mexico to care and maintenance,Business News Americas reported.
* OZ MineralsLtd. hedged about 60% of the recoverable gold at itsProminent Hillstockpile in South Australia at an average price of A$1,713 per ounce,amounting to 171,200 ounces that is expected to generate A$293 million ofrevenue from 2018 to 2021.
* WishboneGold Plc is currently in discussions with various parties in theU.K. and the Middle East regarding debtfunding of approximately £2 million for its gold, precious minerals and gemtrading operations.
* AzumahResources Ltd. acquired the high-grade 69,000-ounce Julie West project,which will boost the mining inventory at its Wa gold project in Ghana.
* EvertonResources Inc. acquired 136 gold claims in the James Bay area ofQuebec. The claims were acquired using DIAGNOS' property Computer AidedResource Detection System to target the gold potential in the Detour Lake areaof Quebec.
* DynastyMetals & Mining Inc. entered into a definitive three-yearagreement with GreenOil SA to act as contractor for the development of specific mining concessionswithin the DynastyGoldfield gold project in southern Ecuador.
* EquitasResources Corp. completed its acquisition of Alta Floresta Gold Ltd. Equitas now owns, through AltaFloresta, six gold properties with four production licenses, and over 184,410hectares of land holdings in the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Para.
* Nord Gold formally launched an offer to all of the outstanding commonshares of NorthquestLtd. it does not currently own at a price of 25.3 Canadian cents apiece.
* A maiden mineral resource estimate for the QV1 target onRoxgold Inc.'sYaramoko permitin Burkina Faso determined that the target hosts inferred resources of 563,000 tonnes at 12.14 g/tof gold for 220,000 ounces of gold.
BULK COMMODITIES
* Brazilian mining major Vale SA is looking to invest US$1.5 billion to restartconstruction at its RioColorado potash project in Argentina's Mendoza province, Reuters reported.The company suspended project development in 2012 after investing US$2.2billion as prices for the crop nutrient weakened and after the former Argentinegovernment refused to provide tax concessions to lower costs.
* OutokumpuOyj's first-quarter sales fell to €1.39 billion from €1.77 billion posted inthe same period of 2015, while EBITDA dropped to €46 million from €65 million.The company narrowed its net loss in the quarter to €41 million from €45million a year ago. Stainless steel deliveries also fell year on year to610,000 tonnes from 620,000 tonnes, and Outokumpu expects stainless steelmarket conditions to continue to be challenging in the second quarter amidglobal economic uncertainties and subdued raw material prices.
* The China Iron & Steel Association said the local steelindustry may swingback to profit this year, or narrow losses to about 10 billion Chineseyuan, as lower supply has spurred an increase in both demand and domesticprices, Bloomberg News wrote. Losses in the mills core business last yeartotaled over 100 billion yuan, which the association said was the worst yearever.
* Norsk HydroASA posted net income of 2.38 billion Norwegian kroner for thefirst quarter of 2016, a jump ofmore than 100% from year-ago results.
* SunCokeEnergy Inc. posted a relatively flat attributable net loss in the firstquarter, at US$4.1 million, or 6 cents per share, though its revenue fell toUS$311.1 million from US$324.0 million. The company's US$9.5 million operatingincome during the period was negatively impacted by a US$10.7 million noncashimpairment charge related to its coal mining business. For the full year, thecompany expects its domestic coke production to lie between 4.0 million tonnesand 4.1 million tonnes.
* British Prime Minister David Cameron said his governmentis doing everything it can to secure a bidder for the sale of 's troubled U.K.operations, Reuters wrote.
* Coal IndiaLtd. slashedthe price of high-grade coal by about 40%, starting April on an experimentalbasis, as the company's stockpile reached an estimated 58 million tonnes, Mining Weekly wrote, citing a companyofficial. According to the senior official, the price cut could be continuedthrough the current fiscal year if the lower prices help reduce the company'sexisting coal stockpile and ensure higher off-take.
* Meanwhile, the Indian government launched a nationwideprobe into over-invoicing of coal imports and illegal nonbanking channelfunds transfer, Mining Weeklyreported.
* The commerce ministry of China urged the U.S.International Trade Commission to reject U.S. Steel Corp.'s complaint as there is "nofactual basis" for intellectual property disputes over China's steelproduct exports to the U.S., Reuters reported. Instead, the Chinese ministrysaid the two countries should work together to address the sector'sovercapacity issues.
* OrbiteTechnologies Inc. signed a letter of intent with the Quebec provincialgovernment's Investissement Quebec for a total of C$15 million in financing.Proceeds will allow the company to quicken development work at its alumina refineryin Quebec.
* According to Reuters, conservation group Coast and Countrylaunched a new challenge against Adani Enterprises Ltd.'s Carmichael coal project in Queensland,Australia, asking the state's Supreme Court to review the project'senvironmental approval as the government failed to consider "ecologicallysustainable development" of the project.
* Receivers have been appointed to subsidiaryMongolian Coal Corp.Ltd. after the coking coal producer defaulted on a US$600 million loan. The company receiveda demand from lenders BNP Paribas Singapore and Industrial and Commercial Bankof China Ltd. that it immediately repay US$95.4 million worth of 8.875% seniornotes due 2017 still outstanding.
* BrazIronLtd. entered into a conditional agreement to an 80% interest in privatelyowned Safety Barriers WA Pty. Ltd., a road safety barrier maker in WesternAustralia. The company intends to diversify its operations in response to theglobal downturn in the commodities sector.
* At a shareholder vote, 97.87% of votes cast were in favorof a debt restructure for Atlas Iron Ltd., which will result in the company'slenders securing 70% ownership of the company's shares, The Australian Financial Review reported. In exchange, thecompany's Term Loan B debt would be trimmed down to US$135 million fromUS$259.3 million, the maturity deferred to April 2021 and the interest ratedecreased.
* PremierAfrican Minerals Ltd. will acquire an initial 52% interest in TCT IndustriasFlorestais Ltda., owner of a 27-square-kilometer limestone deposit in theSofala province of Mozambique, for US$2.1 million.
SPECIALTY
* Wealth Minerals Ltd. signed a letter of intent tosecure an optiongiving it the right to acquire 100% in the Puritama 1 to 8 exploration lithiumconcessions in the Salar de Aguas Calientes area of Chile.
* Noram Ventures Inc. completed the of a Clayton Valley lithiumproperty in Nevada.
* KingstonResources Ltd. secured two lithium prospective exploration licenses inWestern Australia's Yilgarn Craton.
* GlobexMining Enterprises Inc. staked 40 claims over a strike length of 10 kilometersin Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources personneldiscovered a beryl-rich pegmatite on the property in 1999, which returnedanomalous amounts of beryllium, caesium, lithium, tantalum and rubidium.
* LithiumAustralia NL will immediately start work on the first of itsexploration licenseapplications in the Greenbushes area of Western Australia, granted by theDepartment of Mines and Petroleum. The work will include low-impactexploration, field mapping and real time lithium assays.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* The Vietnamese government refutedmedia reports that discharge from a newly built steel facility was to blame forthe death of large numbers of fish in farms and coastal waters, Reutersreported. "Thus far, through testing and collecting evidence, there is noproof yet to conclude a link between Formosa and the facility to the mass fishdeaths," said Deputy Environment Minister Vo Tuan Nhan.
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