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Noble Group reaches US$3.45B restructuring deal with creditors

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Noble Group reaches US$3.45B restructuring deal with creditors

TOP NEWS

Noble Group signs US$3.45B restructuring deal with creditors

Noble Group Ltd. reached a binding restructuring agreement with a group of creditors holding about 46% of its existing senior claims. All of the existing senior claims, totaling about US$3.45 billion, will be exchanged for a combination of new debt and equity in the company. In order to secure approval for the proposed restructuring, the troubled commodities trader revised terms for existing shareholders that may have derailed the process by offering a 15% equity stake in the company, up from 10% proposed in January, while management's share will now fall to 15% from 20% previously. Meanwhile, the perpetual bondholders will receive up to US$25 million of new bonds, compared to the US$15 million in cash offered in the January in-principal agreement.

Volkswagen secures €20B of battery supplies in electric vehicle push

German carmaker Volkswagen AG secured €20 billion of battery supplies to support its aggressive plans to equip 16 factories to produce as many as 3 million electric vehicles by 2025. All in all, Volkswagen plans to purchase batteries worth €50 billion, including for the North American market.

Anglo seeks to earn an extra US$9B in sustainability push

Anglo American PLC launched its sustainability strategy outlining targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy efficiency across its operations by 30% by 2030. The mining major will also look to lower freshwater use by half in water-scarce regions. The company plans to spend US$200 million per year on these sustainability goals. CEO Mark Cutifani said the company will earn an additional US$9 billion through 2030 by improving its mines and relations with governments and communities where it operates. "If you don't have good relationships you don't get access to ground; if you don't have access to ground you can't develop a mine," Cutifani was quoted as saying by Bloomberg News.

DIVERSIFIED

* The recent buzz in the commodities sector around lithium-ion batteries centered around minor commodities such as lithium, cobalt, vanadium and graphite. However, there are also implications for major commodities, and it seems likely that nickel will play an important part in this story, according to the Metals & Mining Research Team at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

BASE METALS

* First Cobalt Corp. agreed to acquire US Cobalt Inc. in an all-share deal valuing the explorer at about C$149.9 million. US Cobalt shareholders will own about 37.5% of the combined entity. The deal is expected to close by the end of May.

* Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co. Ltd. said Minera Lumina Copper Chile SA, which operates the Caserones copper mine in Chile, is undertaking an impairment test involving a review of the company's long-term production plan. If recognized, the impairment is expected to impact the company's results for its fiscal year ending March 31.

* The environmental assessment commission of the Atacama region in northern Chile approved the environmental assessment report of Audley Capital Advisors LLP's US$800 million Mantoverde copper project, operated by the Mantos Copper SA joint venture, after a 13-month review period. With the license approved, construction is expected to begin in 2019, daily El Mostrador reported.

* Samsung Group subsidiary Samsung C&T Corp. is looking to secure an up to a two-year deal to purchase cobalt from Somika SPRL sourced from its Kisanfu mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Bloomberg News reported.

* Magmatic Resources Ltd. secured an option to acquire 100% of E38/2961, known as the Mount Venn copper-nickel-cobalt project, in Western Australia from Montezuma Mining Co. Ltd.

* Trevali Mining Corp.'s fourth-quarter 2017 net income rose to US$25.2 million from US$7 million in the same quarter of 2016. The company produced 104.8 million pounds of zinc, 13.5 million pounds of lead and 396,899 ounces of silver.

* Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd.'s 66%-owned Oyu Tolgoi LLC subsidiary received a request from the Mongolian Anti-Corruption Authority to disclose financial information. Oyu Tolgoi operates the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold-silver mine. The investigation is related to a potential abuse of power by officials during the negotiations of a 2009 investment agreement.

* Canyon Copper Corp. completed the sale of its Moonlight copper property in California to Crown Mining Corp.

PRECIOUS METALS

* Lingbao Gold Group Co. Ltd. expects a net profit attributable to shareholders of about 70.0 million Chinese yuan for 2017, swinging from the year-ago net loss of 77.5 million yuan, thanks to efficiency gains and higher copper sales volumes.

* Polymetal International PLC agreed to sell its 50% stake in the Dolinnoye gold property to JSC AK Altynalmas. Dolfinflip Co. Ltd., which owns the other 50% interest, will also sell its stake to Altynalmas. The companies will each receive half of the US$33.5 million sale price.

* Primero Mining Corp. shareholders approved First Majestic Silver Corp.'s proposed all-share acquisition of the company during a special meeting March 13. The deal is valued at US$320 million.

* Duketon Mining Ltd. estimated the maiden JORC 2012-compliant mineral resource for the Lancefield North deposit, part of its Duketon gold project in Western Australia. The deposit hosts 1.9 million tonnes at 1.55 g/t gold for 95,679 contained gold ounces in the inferred category at a 0.5 g/t gold cutoff.

* Ghana's minister of lands and natural resources, John Peter Amewu, will enter into a memorandum of understanding with the protesting workers at Gold Fields Ltd.'s Tarkwa gold project, Mining.com reported. The agreement calls for re-engagement of workers affected by the company's plan to operate the mine via a third-party contractor for its remaining life.

BULK COMMODITIES

* China's Tangshan city is introducing further production cuts beyond the winter heating season, Bloomberg News reported. The National Development and Reform Commission ordered a two-tier system of restrictions in which the steel mills located near the city center will be required to halt 15% of capacity while the rest of the mills will be asked to idle between 10% and 15% capacity. The move is seen impacting 9.9 million tonnes of steel capacity.

* Chinese steel mills produced 5.9% more steel in January and February from a year ago as steelmakers sought to take advantage of rising prices, Reuters reported. Mills in the country produced 136.82 million tonnes of crude steel in the first two months of the year.

* Federal prosecutors in Brazil launched an investigation into an ore pipeline rupture at Anglo American's Minas Rio iron ore mine in the country's Minas Gerais state, Reuters reported. The mining major recently halted operations at the site, as the incident resulted in the leaking of a mixture of iron ore and water to a local watershed.

* Bolivia's Senate approved a US$396 million loan from Export-Import Bank of China to fund the state-owned Mutun steel and iron processing plant in Santa Cruz region. The investment will finance 85% of the project costs, while the remaining 15% will come from state funding. Chinese company Sinosteel Equipment & Engineering Co. Ltd. will be in charge of construction of the plant, which is expected to produce 250,000 annual tonnes of sponge iron, daily La Razón reported.

* Canadian coal company Riversdale Resources Ltd. will seek to raise up to A$132.7 million from its IPO on the ASX, The Australian Financial Review's Street Talk wrote. The transaction would value the company at up to A$532.4 million.

* Four trade unions in India are set to stage a one-day strike April 16 to protest the government's move to open commercial coal mining to the private sector, The Hindu reported. The action will affect the operations of Coal India Ltd. and Singareni Collieries Co. Ltd.

* AK Steel Holding Corp. said members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 1943 voted to ratify a two-year labor agreement at its Middletown, Ohio, integrated steel production facility.

* U.S. Steel Corp. priced its US$650 million aggregate principal amount of 6.250% senior notes due 2026. The proceeds, together with cash on hand, will be used to fund the redemption of its 8.375% senior secured notes due 2021.

* Russian mining major SUEK Ltd. secured a US$1.06 billion pre-export loan facility with a five-year maturity, which will be used for refinancing and general corporate purposes.

* Sean Donnelly, CEO of ArcelorMittal unit ArcelorMittal Dofasco GP, said the company is not requesting the Canadian government's aid as the domestic steel industry faces uncertainty following the announcement of steel tariffs by the U.S. Donnelly added that the government must use resources to ensure that cheap steel is not diverted to Canada.

* Violent protests in Guinea hit the aluminum mining towns of Boke and Kamsar and disrupted bauxite shipments, Reuters reported, citing officials.

SPECIALTY

* Chilean fears over Chinese domination in the lithium sector may hurt the price Nutrien Ltd. gets for its lucrative 32% stake in key lithium producer Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile SA as Chile seeks to block the divestment to any Chinese company, analysts said.

* Kenmare Resources Plc achieved record annual production for ilmenite, rutile and zircon. Total shipments of finished products increased 2% for a record of 1.04 million tonnes. Revenues increased 47% year over year to US$208.3 million.

* Gem Diamonds Ltd. swung to a profit of US$5.5 million in 2017 from a year-ago loss of US$158.8 million. However, the company decided to hold off a dividend for the year. Meanwhile, the company recovered a 169-carat, top white color, type IIa diamond from the Letseng mine in Lesotho, the seventh diamond of over 100 carats recovered this year.

* A majority of Alabama Graphite Corp. shareholders approved selling the company to Westwater Resources Inc.

* Renascor Resources Ltd. is considering either a large-scale or staged development over a 30-year mine life as part of its pre-feasibility study for the Siviour deposit, part of the Arno graphite project in South Australia. Under the immediate large-scale production option, the company estimated a posttax net present value, discounted at 10%, of US$500 million.

* Afarak Group Plc expects mining at its Vlakpoort mine in South Africa to ramp up to a steady state of about 20,000 tonnes in the third quarter after it was granted a new mining right. The mine hosts minimum proven resource of about 6.7 million tonnes of chrome and 330,314 ounces of platinum group metals.

* Lithium concentrate production started at Tawana Resources NL's Bald Hill lithium-tantalum joint venture in Western Australia.

* Almonty Industries Inc. signed a 10-year off-take deal with an existing customer for the tungsten concentrate to be mined and processed at the company's Sangdong mine in South Korea. The company expects to generate at least C$500 million in revenues under the deal.

INDUSTRY NEWS

* U.S. President Donald Trump is considering tariffs of up to US$60 billion on imports from China, focused in the technology and telecommunications sectors, Reuters reported, citing "two people who had discussed the issue with the Trump administration." The administration is also looking into controlling investment from Chinese companies.

* The Minerals Council of Australia released a new energy policy, saying "sustained global action" is needed to cut the effects of human activity on the climate, The Australian reported. BHP Billiton Group had threatened to leave the council if it did not stop promoting cleaner coal-fired power over other energy sources.

* The 25 largest mining companies continue to increase their market capitalization and were worth an aggregate US$819 billion at the end of February. In comparison, the top 25 companies a year ago were worth just below US$645 billion. BHP Billiton continued to lead the pack, though its market value decreased 4.3% to US$119.6 billion.

* The Indonesian Energy Ministry plans to offer 16 mining concessions in Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi in April, Kontan 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.