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Sibanye swapping South African tailings assets for 38% stake in DRDGold

TOP NEWS

Sibanye swapping South African tailings assets for 38% stake in DRDGold

Sibanye Gold Ltd., trading as Sibanye-Stillwater, agreed to exchange certain surface gold processing assets and tailings storage facilities for a 38% stake in DRDGold Ltd. DRDGold will issue 265 million shares to Sibanye-Stillwater, valuing the deal at 1.3 billion South African rand. Sibanye-Stillwater also has an option to buy more shares in DRDGold to reach a 50.1% shareholding during the 24 months following completion of the transaction.

Adani's Carmichael coal mine development hinged on Queensland vote

The development of supporting infrastructure for Adani Enterprises Ltd.'s A$16.5 billion Carmichael coal mine in Queensland, Australia, is hinged on the state's elections this weekend, where incumbent State Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is seeking a second term, Bloomberg News reported. Meanwhile, company representative Ron Watson denied that the miner no longer needs the A$900 million loan from the North Australian Infrastructure Facility for its rail link associated with the Carmichael mine, Mining Weekly wrote.

PhosAgro's Q3 profit plummets 46% YOY on strong ruble, weak phosphate prices

Sluggish phosphate prices and a stronger Russian ruble weighed on PJSC PhosAgro's financials in the third quarter, knocking net profit down to 5.77 billion rubles, a 46% drop on the previous year. The company reported that EBITDA plummeted by 22% year over year to 13.62 billion rubles and cash flow from operating activities decreased by 50% to 10.2 billion rubles, related primarily to lower profitability and less favorable changes in working capital.

BASE METALS

* Codelco could see a cash boost regardless of who wins Chile's presidential election in December, with both candidates pledging to scrap a law that mandates the miner to hand over 10% of its export sales to the military, Reuters reported.

* Workers from two unions at Southern Copper Corp.'s Peruvian operations downed tools over profit sharing, Reuters wrote. Workers at Southern Copper's Cuajone and Toquepala mines as well as its Ilo refinery kicked off an indefinite strike, although the company said it had not affected operations.

* There has been a revival in the price of most metals this year — zinc is set to increase by almost 40% in 2017, copper and iron ore by approximately 20% and nickel should end the year up 6%, all on a year-over-year basis. The drivers for this improvement are allied with China's macroeconomic story — robust credit expansion, environmentally minded processing and residential construction.

* PT Antam (Persero) Tbk. CEO Arie Prabowo Ariotedjo told Reuters that the company is aiming for a 162% rise in nickel ore sales volume next year, to 11 million tonnes from an estimated 4.2 million tonnes this year.

* CobalTech Mining Inc. and Cobalt One Ltd.'s respective shareholders approved a three-way merger with First Cobalt Corp. First Cobalt is acquiring CobalTech and Cobalt One in an all-share deal announced earlier this year.

* CuDeco Ltd. paid A$650,000 to settle a case in the Supreme Court of Queensland, Australia, filed by former executive chairman and CEO Wayne McCrae for alleged unpaid termination entitlements.

PRECIOUS METALS

* Research firm BMI said global gold miners will transfer their focus from financial austerity to growth via acquisitions and increased spending, while miners operating in sub-Saharan Africa will face elevated costs owing to regulatory uncertainty, power shortages and labor unrest, Mining Weekly reported.

* Santacruz Silver Mining Ltd. resumed operations at its Veta Grande mill Mexico after receiving approval from Mexican environmental regulatory authorities. Operations were halted Nov. 3 over insufficient atmospheric emission controls at the plant.

* According to revised estimates, gold mining revenues in Mali rose 14% to 280 billion CFA francs in 2016, Reuters reported, citing Mines Minister Tiemoko Sangare. Earnings in 2015 amounted to 245 billion CFA francs.

* Prophecy Development Corp. completed an updated resource estimate for the Pulacayo and Paca silver-lead-zinc deposits within the company's Pulacayo project in Bolivia. The Pulacayo deposit hosts indicated resources of 30.4 million ounces of silver, 100 million pounds of lead and 146.3 million pounds of zinc within 2.1 million tonnes at 455 g/t of silver, 2.18% lead and 3.19% zinc.

* Lawyers representing South African miners who contracted fatal lung diseases such as silicosis and tuberculosis at work said talks over an out-of-court settlement with gold mining companies could result in a deal by December, Reuters wrote.

* London-listed Pan African Resources Plc faced significant shareholder opposition to resolutions for the re-election of Keith Spencer to the company's audit committee, endorsement of the company's remuneration policy, authorization of directors to allot equity securities and disapplication of pre-emption rights during the Nov. 21 annual meeting.

* Orosur Mining Inc. expects the deferral of around 2,000 ounces of gold from its second-quarter production at the San Gregorio mine in Uruguay due to an extended downtime of two long hole drill rigs.

BULK COMMODITIES

* Despite vowing that no public funds would go to the coal project, the Labor government is set to offer infrastructure funding and a royalty exemption for Adani's Carmichael mine that will together cost Queensland taxpayers around A$500 million over the first five years of production, The Australian reported.

* Unionized workers at Alcoa Corp.'s Becancour aluminum smelter in Quebec adopted a strike mandate after rejecting the company's contract offer, Reuters reported, citing the United Steelworkers.

* South African coal miners, including Anglo American Plc and Glencore Plc, and the National Union of Mineworkers are expected to enter a new, three-year wage deal that also allows for centralized bargaining when the sides meet again to discuss wage lifts, Miningmx reported, citing an industry source.

* JFE Holdings Inc. and JSW Steel Ltd. are preparing a joint bid with a private equity firm for the assets of insolvent Bhushan Steel Ltd., Reuters reported, citing industry sources. JFE plans to set up a special purpose vehicle with the two partners to manage the assets.

* Chongqing Iron & Steel Co. Ltd.'s administrator has disposed of smelting assets, equipment and machinery for a total of about 6.9 billion Chinese yuan.

* Usinas Siderúrgicas de Minas Gerais SA will not resume primary activities at its Cubatão works in Brazil's São Paulo state before 2020, Metal Bulletin reported, citing CEO Sergio Leite. "The stoppage was temporary, but [now] will last at least five years," Leite told analysts during a presentation for investors.

* TimkenSteel Corp. and the United Steelworkers Local 1123 reached a third tentative agreement over a four-year contract at the company's facilities in Canton, Ohio. The tentative deal provides increases to permanent base wages every year, a signing bonus if ratified, annual bonus opportunities, high-quality healthcare and retirement benefits for all members.

* Fertoz Ltd. signed an exclusive marketing agreement to sell organic rock phosphate from Mexico-based Krezco Fosfatos SA de CV in the U.S. and Canada.

* S&P Global Ratings affirmed China Hongqiao Group Ltd's B long-term corporate credit rating and its B- long-term issue rating due to favorable aluminum prices and the company's lower capital spending. In addition, the rating agency removed the CreditWatch negative rating, with a stable outlook.

* Mineral Resources Ltd. booked a 41.54% protest vote against its remuneration report as shareholders remain concerned over a 58% salary increase for Managing Director Chris Ellison to A$5.2 million this year and over the calculation of the company's long-term incentives, The West Australian wrote.

SPECIALTY

* A Chilean appellate court rejected another motion for reconsideration filed by Itaú CorpBanca in the ongoing case seeking protection from charges levied by banking regulator SBIF relating to the bank's loan grants to entities related to Chilean mining company Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile SA, according to a Diario Financiero report.

* Scandium International Mining Corp. expects its Nyngan scandium deposit in New South Wales, Australia, to start production in the first half of 2019, The Northern Miner reported.

INDUSTRY NEWS

* The London Metal Exchange started a consultation with users over a range of waivers and discounts for when it starts to charge fees on off-exchange, over-the-counter contracts. According to Reuters, the consultation will run until January next year, with a view to enacting the new charges in April 2018.

* The lower house of Brazil's Congress approved a bill that raises mining royalties on certain commodities such as iron ore and gold, as part of broader sector reforms proposed by President Michel Temer, Reuters reported. The bill will be passed to the Senate and must be fully approved by Nov. 28 or it will expire.

* The Indonesian Energy Ministry is still drafting rules to auction mining concessions, including those previously held by PT Vale Indonesia Tbk. and PT Koba Tin, Kontan reported. The rules may be issued in 2018.

* The Jakarta Globe wrote that the Indonesian government's plan to set up a mining holding company could create a giant with 90 trillion Indonesian rupiah in assets.

S&P Global Ratings and S&P Global Market Intelligence are owned by S&P Global Inc.

The Daily Dose is updated as of 7 a.m. Hong Kong time, and scans news sources published in Chinese, English, Indonesian, Malay, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai and Ukrainian. Some external links may require a subscription.