TOP NEWS
Codelco earmarks US$40B until 2026 for smelter upgrades, mine overhauls
Chile's Codelco unveiled a US$40 billion investment program through 2026, which will focus on developing key structural projects and smelter upgrades to meet the country's tougher environmental policies, Metal Bulletin wrote. The company and the Chilean government will finance the investment.
Novolipetsk's steel output, sales improve in Q3
PJSC Novolipetsk Steel's third-quarter steel output increased 8% year over year to 4.4 million tonnes due to a production increase at its Lipetsk operations. The company's sales improved 1% year over year to 4.2 million tonnes on the back of a seasonal increase in demand in the Russian market and improved conditions globally.
Polymetal hits record gold equivalent output in Q3
Polymetal International Plc produced a record 470,000 gold equivalent ounces in the third quarter, jumping 26% year over year on the back of strong contributions from the fully ramped-up Svetloye heap leach operation at the Okhotsk hub and Mayskoye oxide ore processing. Sales in the third quarter increased 17% year over year to US$546 million on higher gold sales and prices.
DIVERSIFIED
* Glencore Plc has a standstill agreement that temporarily prevents it from making a hostile bid for grain trader Bunge Ltd., The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. In May, Bunge rebuffed a takeover approach by Glencore, but this agreement could mean the Swiss trader may renew its efforts to make an acquisition upon its expiration in early 2018. At Bunge's market value, a deal for the company would likely carry a price tag of more than US$10 billion.
* Vale SA's shareholders will vote Oct. 18 to elect independent board members from a list that includes Isabella Saboya, Marcelo Gasparino, Ricardo Reisen and Sandra Guerra, Valor International reported.
* Elliott Advisors is expected to appear at BHP Billiton Group's annual shareholder meeting in London the week of Oct. 16 as it continues to push for strategic change at the miner, Financial Times reported. The activist investor has not put forward any resolutions for the meeting, but it had urged the company to drop its complex corporate structure and spin off its entire oil business.
BASE METALS
* OZ Minerals Ltd. lowered its full-year cost guidance for its Prominent Hill copper-gold open pit in South Australia to between A$7 per tonne and A$7.25 per tonne from between A$7.25 per tonne and A$7.75 per tonne previously. An accelerated mine plan will bring forward the open pit closure to the first quarter of 2018, which will generate cost savings of about A$10 million over the remaining pit life.
* Chile's Codelco unveiled a US$40 billion investment program through to 2026, which will focus on developing key structural projects and smelter upgrades to meet the country's tougher environmental policies, Metal Bulletin reported. The company and the Chilean government will finance the investment.
* Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Co. Ltd. expects net profit in the third quarter to range from 128.7 million Chinese yuan to 173.7 million yuan, compared to 48.9 million yuan a year ago, due to hikes in prices of main products and processing fees of copper foil.
* Yunnan Copper Industry (Group) Co. Ltd. expects net profit to reach between 86 million Chinese yuan and 110 million yuan in the third quarter, up from the 33.8 million yuan recorded a year ago. The company attributed this to strengthened cost controls and price increases in nonferrous metals.
* Nzuri Copper Ltd.'s feasibility study for the stage-one development of its 85%-owned Kalongwe oxide copper-cobalt project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo estimated a posttax net present value, discounted at 10%, of US$82 million, a 55% internal rate of return and a 21-month payback period. The company expects annual average production of 19,360 tonnes of copper and 1,507 tonnes of cobalt during the seven-year mine life.
* Orosur Mining Inc. produced 8,626 ounces of gold in the first quarter of fiscal 2018 at its San Gregorio mine in Uruguay. The company expects 30,000 to 35,000 ounces of gold output in the full year.
* Strategic Minerals Plc entered into a binding term sheet to acquire the Leigh Creek copper mine in South Australia from Resilience Mining Australia Pty. Ltd.
PRECIOUS METALS
* Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte revoked the suspension order for over 24 companies, including gold-copper-silver miner Lepanto Consolidated Mining Co., which were banned from mining on the order of former Environment Secretary Regina Lopez, Reuters reported.
* Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. produced 2 million ounces of silver and 13,412 ounces of gold in the third quarter from its San Jose mine in Mexico and the Caylloma mine in Peru, a 4% and 5% year-over-year decrease, respectively. The company expects to produce 8.1 million ounces of silver and 52,400 ounces of gold in the full year.
* Greatland Gold Plc applied for a new exploration license to expand its landholding at the Ernest Giles gold project in Western Australia to over 2,000 kilometers.
* Pantoro Ltd. agreed to acquire the Grants Creek gold project in Western Australia for A$50,000.
* Melkior Resources Inc. agreed to acquire two claims totaling 14 units in Timmins, Ontario, connecting the Big Marsh and Carscallen gold projects.
* ABM Resources NL signed an agreement with Thunderbird Metals Pty. Ltd. for the latter to earn up to a 70% joint venture interest in the former's North Arunta gold project in Australia's Northern Territory.
* Aphrodite Gold Ltd. will book an impairment of about A$15.2 million on its exploration and evaluation assets in its Dec. 31 financial report.
* Falco Resources Ltd.'s National Instrument 43-101-compliant feasibility study for its Horne 5 gold project in Quebec pegged an after-tax net present value, discounted at 5%, of US$602 million and a 15.3% internal rate of return. The study estimated annual payable gold production of 219,000 ounces for 15 years. Full production from the mine is expected in the first half of 2022.
* Evolution Mining Ltd. produced a record 220,971 ounces of gold in the September quarter at an all-in sustaining cost of A$786 per ounce, compared to output of 218,079 ounces of gold in the previous quarter at A$825 per ounce.
* Bryah Resources Ltd. is set to list on the ASX on Oct. 17 under the ticker BYH after raising A$5 million in an IPO.
* Avesoro Resources Inc. unit Bea Mountain Mining Corp. entered into equipment finance facility agreements with Mapa Insaat ve Ticaret AS to purchase heavy mining equipment for about US$6.1 million.
BULK COMMODITIES
* Russian fertilizer producer PJSC Uralkali evacuated its Solikamsk potash mine in Russia's Perm region after smoke was reported coming from mining equipment, the company said in written comments to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Uralkali said there were no casualties and mining operations continue as normal. An investigation is underway to ascertain the cause of the incident.
* U.S. Steel Corp. is under investigation by law firm Kahn Swick & Foti LLC over whether the officers and directors of the company breached their fiduciary duties to shareholders or otherwise violated state or federal laws, resulting in the US$180 million net loss for the first quarter. The law firm said the company had a "dismal performance" even though the overall steel market improved.
* The World Steel Association forecast the growth in steel demand to slow to a 1.6% year-over-year rise in 2018 due to sluggish growth in China and reach 1.65 billion tonnes in the year, Reuters reported.
* Beijing Shougang Co., Ltd. expects net profit for the third quarter to surge between 567% and 617% from the 120 million Chinese yuan recorded a year ago, on the back of domestic supply-side reform and reduced costs. Net profit is expected at between 800 million yuan and 860 million yuan, or between 15 fen per share and 16 fen per share.
* China's iron ore imports increased to a new record of 102.8 million tonnes in September, up 16.0% from August and 10.6% from a year ago, newswire Wallstreetcn reported, citing data from China Customs. The country imported 27.1 million tonnes of coal, which was a new high in almost three years and represented an increase of 7.2% from August and 10.8% from a year ago.
* S&P Global Ratings assigned a BB- preliminary long-term corporate credit rating to Malaysia-based aluminum extrusion and smelting company Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Berhad, with a positive outlook. S&P expects that the company will use the proceeds from its proposed US$400 million notes to refinance outstanding debt.
* China Coal Energy Co. Ltd. produced 58.0 million tonnes of coal in the first nine months of the year, down 3.5% on a yearly basis. Coal sales fell 4.5% year over year to 95.9 million tonnes.
* The government of China's Binzhou city, home to aluminum major China Hongqiao Group Ltd., ordered the closure of 2.57 million tonnes of annual smelting capacity this winter, Reuters reported, citing a government document.
* North China's Shanxi province plans to shut down another nine coal mines involving a total capacity of 5.3 million tonnes within the year, on top of the original goal of phasing out 18 mines with a combined capacity of 17.4 million tonnes, Xinhua News Agency reported, citing a circular issued by the provincial government.
* Brazilian steelmaker Gerdau SA is increasing its recently reported cash tender offer to US$640 million, from US$500 million, to buy back its 2021, 2020 and 2024 bonds.
SPECIALTY
* Lithium Australia NL increased its stake in the Electra lithium joint venture in Sonora, Mexico, to 54% following the completion of a 16-hole, 1,762-meter reverse circulation drilling program at the West Flank target.
* Tibet Mineral Development Co. Ltd. flagged an expected year-over-year surge of between 1,430.04% and 1,494.49% in net profit for the third quarter on higher sales volume of lithium products to between 35.6 million Chinese yuan and 37.1 million yuan, or between 6.84 fen per share and 7.12 fen per share. The company attributed the improved profitability to higher sales volume of lithium products as it resumed transportation and production at its Zhabuye lithium project in Tibet, China, in June.
* Australian graphite hopeful Triton Minerals Ltd. locked in another conditional agreement to supply a further 25% of production from its flagship Ancuabe graphite project in Mozambique to China.
* POZ Minerals Ltd. was granted the mining leases over its Blina diamond project in Western Australia after signing a mining agreement with the Bunuba Dawangarri Aboriginal Corp. The company plans to start diamond bulk sampling and trial mining operations at Blina in 2018.
* Stellar Diamonds Plc signed conditional share purchase agreements to sell its assets in the Republic of Guinea to Gold Knight Ltd. for US$1.3 million.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* South African state-owned freight and logistics company Transnet is making efforts to revive its terminal facilities at the Richards Bay port, which is used to ship manganese and chrome to Asia and Europe, Metal Bulletin reported. The KwaZulu-Natal province, where the port is located, was recently hit by severe storms.
* Li Jinming, the former chairman of Chinese state-owned enterprise Guangdong Rising Assets Management, has been turned over to prosecutors for investigation after the company's investments in several Australian mining ventures lost more than A$1 billion, The Australian reported.
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. ET and scans news sources published in Chinese, English, Indonesian, Malay, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai and Ukrainian. Some external links may require a subscription.