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Trafigura blamed for Nyrstar's fall; Antofagasta, Barrick avert Zaldivar strike

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Trafigura blamed for Nyrstar's fall; Antofagasta, Barrick avert Zaldivar strike

TOP NEWS

Trafigura sued for allegedly causing Nyrstar's fall

Trafigura Group Pte. Ltd. is accused of using its influence on Nyrstar NV's board to cripple the company and enrich itself through lopsided deals that led to the zinc refiner's collapse, Bloomberg News reported, citing a recent lawsuit filed by several Nyrstar shareholders in Belgium. Nyrstar recently completed a debt restructuring that allowed Trafigura to take over the company.

Antofagasta, Barrick JV averts strike at Zaldivar copper mine in Chile

Compania Minera Zaldivar S.A., a 50/50 joint venture of Antofagasta PLC and Barrick Gold Corp. in Chile, averted a strike at the Zaldivar copper operation after unionized workers approved a new three-year labor deal that offers a 1% salary readjustment plus a bonus of about US$11,943 per employee, Mining.com reported.

Canadian miners wary of expansive new permitting rules

Canada's new environmental permitting process went into effect at the end August but it has yet to attract volunteers as the industry grapples with uncertainty, industry experts and watchdogs say, according to an exclusive S&P Global Market Intelligence report.

DIVERSIFIED

* The Australian government granted major project status to Kalium Lakes Ltd. for its Beyondie sulfate of potash project in Western Australia and to Australian Vanadium Ltd. for its namesake project, also in Western Australia, the companies announced separately. Australian Vanadium also said that testwork confirmed the potential for a significant iron and titanium rich calcine byproduct from its namesake project.

BASE METALS

* Former WMC Resources boss Hugh Morgan claimed that one of his unlisted companies had developed a processing technique allowing 100% recovery of nickel occurring in small balls of nearly pure nickel at its Titan project in Nigeria, The Australian reported. The process, which was not detailed by Morgan, can revolutionize the international mining sector, the report said.

* PJSC Norilsk Nickel Co. signed a cooperation agreement with Russia's Krasnoyarsk region and the country's industry and trade ministry for the company's investment and environmental projects, including a US$2.5 billion project that will reduce sulfur dioxide emissions in the Norilsk industrial area by 75% compared to 2017 levels by 2023.

* Metals X Ltd. said fiscal 2019 tin production at its 50%-owned Renison operation in Tasmania, Australia, increased 5.7%, with a record quarterly production of 2,061 tonnes of tin during the March quarter.

* Some Cobalt 27 Capital Corp. shareholders are against Pala Investments Ltd.'s proposed C$501 million takeover due to various issues such as the size of executive compensation in the deal and the timing of the sale, which came as cobalt prices bottomed out, Financial Post wrote.

* Poseidon Nickel Ltd. intends to restart operations at its Black Swan nickel project in Western Australia following a recent surge in nickel prices.

* THEMAC Resources Group Ltd. said the Bureau of Land Management approved a mine alternative from the final environmental impact statement for its Copper Flat project in New Mexico, while an appeal on the issuance of a groundwater discharge permit for the property was dismissed.

* OZ Minerals Ltd. and Minotaur Exploration Ltd. formalized three joint venture agreements for copper projects in the Cloncurry district of Queensland, Australia.

PRECIOUS METALS

* Gold Fields Ltd. CEO Nick Holland said that successive World Gold Council changes to cost reporting guidelines since 2013 are stoking resource nationalism by making it appear miners are making more money than they are. Addressing the Africa Down Under conference in Perth, Australia, Holland cited 2013 when WGC brought in a new cost reporting standard where any capital expenditure that could materially increase production could be classified as non-sustaining.

* Australia-based Horizon Minerals Ltd., formerly Intermin Resources Ltd., increased the proposed consideration to purchase the Coolgardie gold project in Western Australia from Focus Minerals Ltd. after the latter received a competing offer from a third party. The company will now pay A$55 million in four tranches, comprised of A$43.0 million cash and A$12.0 million in shares, compared to the previous A$40 million purchase price.

* The World Platinum Investment Council expects total platinum demand to increase 9% in 2019 as higher investment demand is expected to more than offset the decline from the automotive and jewelry segments of 4% and 5% respectively. The annual 2019 market balance will narrow to a surplus of 345,000 ounces, from the previously forecast surplus of 375,000 ounces, it said.

* Great Boulder Resources Ltd. signed an agreement with Mithril Resources Ltd. to acquire an up to 80% stake in the Lignum Dam gold-nickel project near its Whiteheads gold project in Western Australia, by spending A$1 million on exploration over four years.

* Argonaut Gold Inc. completed the fourth water well at its San Agustin gold operation in Mexico, which has sufficient water capacity to allow the operation to run at 30,000 tonnes per day of ore.

* Bardoc Gold Ltd. is acquiring the Mayday and North Kanowna Star gold projects located east of its flagship Bardoc gold project in Western Australia for 12 million shares and a production royalty of A$15 per ounce.

* A preliminary economic assessment for Serabi Gold PLC's Coringa gold project in Brazil outlined a posttax net present value, discounted at 10%, of US$30.7 million, an internal rate of return of 31% and 2.25-year payback period, using a base case gold price of US$1,275 per ounce.

* New Carolin Gold Corp. agreed to acquire certain operational equipment the company is using at its Ladner gold project in British Columbia for C$200,000 in cash and shares.

* RTG Mining Inc. agreed to acquire a 90% stake in the Chanach gold-copper project in the Kyrgyz Republic from White Cliff Minerals Ltd.

* Surge Exploration Inc. will acquire a gold-copper mineral claim adjoining its Trapper Lake property in British Columbia's Golden Triangle.

BULK COMMODITIES

* Kentucky coal production and employment have significantly declined in recent years, but political experts in the state said the commodity could still play an important role in determining whether Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is able to keep his seat in 2020, according to an exclusive S&P Global Market Intelligence report.

* Australian Potash Ltd. signed a joint cooperation agreement with the Mid West Ports Authority to discuss the possible use of the Geraldton Port for the company's Lake Wells sulfate of potash project in Western Australia.

* Sasol Ltd. postponed the release of its fiscal 2019 financial results to Sept. 19 from Aug. 19 to allow the completion of an assessment on changes in the cost and schedule of the Lake Charles chemicals project.

* Andromeda Metals Ltd. lodged two exploration license applications for halloysite kaolin prospective areas near its Poochera and Camel Lake projects in South Australia.

SPECIALTY

* The Nuclear Energy Institute urged the Trump administration to revive the domestic uranium industry by authorizing funds through the 1950 Defense Production Act, a Cold War-era rule, to procure domestic fuel for defense purposes and boost federal reserves of uranium for nuclear power utilities, Reuters reported, citing a letter by the group.

* A scoping study for Diatreme Resources Ltd.'s Galalar silica project in Queensland, Australia outlined a pretax nominal net present value of A$231 million, a 150% internal rate of return and an eight-month payback period.

* Lynas Corp. Ltd. signed a memorandum of understanding with the city of Kalgoorlie-Boulder in Australia to conduct a review and due diligence of potential sites, namely Kalgoorlie and Mt Weld, for the company's new cracking and leaching plant in Western Australia.

* Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi told Bloomberg TV at the World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town that the government and Anglo American PLC unit De Beers SA are in "cordial" talks to renew a diamond sales agreement that expires in 2020.

* Rainbow Rare Earths Ltd. looks to increase annual production of rare earth oxides at its Gakara rare earths mine in Burundi to 10,000 tonnes from the current 1,100 tonnes to meet increasing demand, according to CEO George Bennett.

* The unloading of Hudson Resources Inc.'s first shipment of GreenSpar anorthosite from its White Mountain mine in Greenland was terminated due to receiving issues and the impending arrival of Hurricane Dorian.

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