TOP NEWS
Vedanta lifts mined metal production at Zinc India by 14% in fiscal Q2'18
Vedanta Resources Plc increased mined metal production at its Zinc India operations by 14% for the second quarter of its fiscal 2018. The Indian operations produced 192,000 ounces of refined zinc, 38,000 tonnes of refined lead and 4.5 million ounces of silver in the second quarter, reflecting year-over-year increases of 28%, 24% and 31%, respectively. International zinc production increased 13% from the year-ago period to 42,000 tonnes. The Press Trust of India quoted chairman Anil Agarwal as saying Vedanta Ltd. plans to spend over US$6 billion to double oil and gas output to 4 million barrels per day in three to four years.
Elliott renews push for BHP overhaul ahead of AGM
Activist shareholder Elliott has been holding talks with international shareholders of BHP Billiton Group over the last month as it presses ahead with its campaign for an overhaul at the mining heavyweight, Reuters reported, citing sources. Elliott representatives have met with London-, South Africa- and Australia-based investors, outlining the hedge fund's arguments for a shake-up ahead of the miner's annual general meeting scheduled for Oct. 19 in London and Nov. 16 in Sydney.
Western Australia's Liberal Party votes down proposed gold tax increase
Western Australia's Liberal party unanimously voted against a proposed gold royalty increase from 2.5% to 3.75%, which was part of a bid to cut the state's debt, WA Today reported. "The McGowan government did not seek nor receive a mandate to increase gold royalties at the March election," party leader Mike Nahan said.
DIVERSIFIED
* Rio Tinto shares rose to a 44-month high Oct. 9, but a growing number of short-sellers are convinced the stock is overvalued, The Australian Financial Review reported. In recent days, short positions in the miner have grown to 9%.
BASE METALS
* Shenzhen Zhongjin Lingnan Nonfemet Co. Ltd. suspended production at its Fankou lead-zinc underground mine in China's Guangdong province for two weeks from Oct. 9 as part of an annual maintenance plan.
* Metalicity Ltd. completed the first stage of the pre-feasibility study for its Admiral Bay zinc project in Western Australia, confirming the project's potential to support a long life and low-cost zinc-lead-silver operation.
* Bluejay Mining plc expanded the Disko-Nuussuaq nickel-copper-platinum project in southwest Greenland by more than 200% to 462.3 square kilometers after the country's government granted additional exploration licenses. The licenses are valid for five years until Dec. 31, 2022.
PRECIOUS METALS
* Sibanye Gold Ltd. and the National Union of Mineworkers will enter arbitration proceedings Nov. 2 after wage talks at the company's Kroondal platinum operation in South Africa hit a deadlock in the week of Oct. 2, Miningmx reported. According to the union, the company only offered about a third of the wage hike it wanted for category A employees, and there was also a wide difference between the demand and offer for category B employees.
* Jangada Mines Plc reported a 74% increase in the estimated indicated resources at its Pedra Branca platinum group metals project in Brazil and a 35% rise in the project's measured resources, with 77% of the project's resources converted to the indicated and measured categories. Pedra Branca is now estimated to host a JORC-compliant resource of about 1 million ounces of platinum group metals and gold at 2.46 g/t of palladium equivalent, 109 million pounds of nickel, 23 million pounds of copper, 6.4 million pounds of cobalt and 670,000 tonnes of chromium.
* Mexico's Department of Labor and Social Welfare warned First Majestic Silver Corp. in May of potential safety hazards involving at least 30 internal processes at its La Encantada silver mine, including the lack of emergency fire control equipment, which may have contributed to the Oct. 1 fire that left four workers dead and two injured at the mine, Vanguardia reported.
* Ramelius Resources Ltd. produced 33,150 ounces of gold from its Western Australia operations in the September quarter, exceeding the guidance range of between 28,000 and 32,000 ounces.
* Riversgold Ltd. commenced trading on the ASX after raising about A$6.1 million by issuing 30.6 million shares at 20 Australian cents per share.
* Caledonia Mining Corp. Plc is planning to expand in Zimbabwe, where production at its flagship Blanket gold mine has reached new highs. The country relies on it and other miners to generate currency, Reuters reported.
* Kingsgate Consolidated Ltd. unit Akara Resources PCL may be able to restart mining in Thailand, as the country's Department of Primary Industries and Mines recently informed the company that a government panel approved a gold mining management plan, Thailand's Prachachat Turakij reported.
* Gold Road Resources Ltd. signed agreements with Cygnus Gold Ltd. to earn a 75% interest in both the Wadderin and Lake Grace projects in Western Australia.
* Dalradian Resources Inc. said Orion Mine Finance II LP and Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd. lifted their respective stakes in the company to 9.75% and 9.1%, respectively, after raising C$84.8 million through a combination of a private placement and warrant exercise.
BULK COMMODITIES
* Russian tycoons Mikhail Prokhorov and Viktor Vekselberg are selling a 3% interest in United Co. Rusal Plc, with Prokhorov offering a 0.7% stake in Hong Kong and Vekselberg offering a 2.3% stake, Reuters reported, citing a bookrunner.
* Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry told Kobe Steel Ltd. to look into whether there were any illegal proceedings, after the company announced that a portion of its products had been falsely labeled to meet customer specifications, Reuters reported, citing a ministry official.
* Strategic Minerals Plc posted record quarterly sales of about US$2 million from its iron ore operations in New Mexico during the September quarter, rising more than 300% from a year ago.
* Sherritt International Corp. agreed to pay a C$1 million fine after admitting three instances of violating the Fisheries Act to the Provincial Court of Alberta. According to Mining.com, the violations included spilling potentially harmful wastewater from the Coal Valley mine, which the company owned from 2001 to 2014.
* PAO Severstal's crude steel production in the third quarter increased 4% over the prior quarter to 2.9 million tonnes. Hot metal output in the three months remained relatively stable quarter over quarter, at 2.2 million tonnes.
* Chinese coke producer Henan Jinma hit the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, trading as high as HK$3.34, or an 11.3% premium to its IPO price, in morning trade local time. The company is seeking to expand in downstream energy operations and diversify customer base, according to Chairman Yiu Chiu Fai.
* Indian steel manufacturer Jindal Steel & Power Ltd. sold its two oxygen plants in the Indian states of Chhattisgarh and Odisha to SREI Equipment Finance Ltd. for 11.21 billion Indian rupees.
* Tata Steel Ltd. is expected to make a bid for the debt-ridden Essar Steel Ltd.'s Hazira steel plant in the Indian state of Gujarat, LiveMint reported.
* Unionized workers at Shougang Hierro-Peru SA's iron ore operations started an indefinite strike over wage disagreements, Metal Bulletin reported.
* Edenville Energy Plc signed a five-year agreement with Riftcot Ltd. for the off-take of up to 75% of production from the Rukwa coal mine in Tanzania, commencing this month.
* The government of New South Wales will introduce legislation in parliament to allow the Springvale coal mine to remain open, saying it is vital for employment and provides 15% of the Australian state's energy, ABC reported. The mine was facing a potential closure after the Land and Environment Court ruled that planning authorities applied the wrong test when granting its approval.
SPECIALTY
* Bloomberg News wrote that AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group NV's shares have surged almost 160% this year with a 3% rise last week to €37.57, the company's highest weekly close since 2008.
* BlueRock Diamonds Plc's Kareevlei diamond operations in South Africa broke even in September as production continued to improve, coupled with increased grade and the recent reduction in operating costs.
* Following a similar story of lithium and cobalt, vanadium prices have risen almost fivefold since 2016, to US$11.5/lb on Sept. 28 from only US$2.45/lb at the start of 2016. The M&A activity surrounding vanadium has also shown significant changes over the past two years. So far this year, as of Sept. 28, 11 primary vanadium deals have been announced, which is almost triple the number of deals announced in 2016 and 2015.
* Trans Hex Group Ltd. will lift its interest in West Coast Resources Pty. Ltd. to 67.2% by acquiring another 27.2% stake from investment company RAC for 39.1 million South African rand, Mining Weekly reported.
* Bass Metals Ltd. signed a sales agreement for 50% of its forecast stage-one flake graphite concentrate production of 6,000 tonnes per annum from the Graphmada project in Madagascar.
* Mustang Resources Ltd. increased its ruby inventory to 352,260 carats ahead of its maiden rough ruby tender in Mauritius later in the month. Mustang was also granted mining concession 8921C, the first concession granted to the company at its Montepuez ruby project in Mozambique.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* IG Metall, said to be Germany's largest trade union, is demanding shorter working hours and a 6% wage hike for the 3.9 million workers it represents in the country's metals and electrical sectors, Reuters reported, citing union head Joerg Hofmann.
* Mining companies, including BHP, Southern Peru Copper, Barrick Gold Corp. and Hudbay Minerals Inc., have filed for 117 mining permits in Peru's Moquegua region so far this year, Correo reported. Since 2012, the total number of licenses applications in the region is 346.
* Peru's mining investment rose 3.8% year over year to US$2.83 billion in the first eight months of the year, Andina reported.
* China's expanded resource tax reform resulted in a decrease in taxes of 4.2 billion Chinese yuan by the end of June, China Daily reported.
The Daily Dose is updated as of 7 a.m. ET and scans news sources published in Chinese, English, Indonesian, Malay, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai and Ukrainian. Some external links may require a subscription.