trending Market Intelligence /marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/abajmviu33polmnpwostwg2 content esgSubNav
In This List

US to impose tariffs on European steel, aluminum imports

Blog

Insight Weekly: US stock performance; banks' M&A risk; COVID-19 vaccine makers' earnings

Blog

Insight Weekly: LNG exports surge; investors unfazed by inflation; neobanks drive VC funding

Blog

Essential Metals Mining Insights November 2021

Blog

[Infographic]: 2021 World Exploration Trends


US to impose tariffs on European steel, aluminum imports

TOP NEWS

Report: US to impose tariffs on European steel, aluminum imports

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration will apply import tariffs on European steel and aluminum after failing to reach an agreement with EU officials that would have avoided the levies, according to The Wall Street Journal, which cited sources familiar with the matter. Washington could make the announcement as early as May 31 and allow the extended temporary tariff exemption granted to the bloc to expire on June 1. The Trump administration's plans could still change if the U.S. and EU strike a last-minute deal, one of the sources added.

BHP-Mitsubishi JV to sell Gregory Crinum coal mine to Sojitz for A$100M

BHP Billiton Group and Mitsubishi Corp.'s joint venture in Australia, the BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance, agreed to sell the Gregory Crinum hard coking coal project in Queensland to Japan's Sojitz Corp. for A$100 million. Sojitz plans to immediately begin activities to restart operations at the mothballed mine once the deal is finalized, The Australian reported, citing Cameron Vorias, the company's coal head. The company is targeting mining 3 million tonnes of coking coal from Gregory Crinum for more than 20 years.

Nemaska completes C$1.1B financing package for Whabouchi development

Nemaska Lithium Inc. completed a C$1.1 billion financing package for the construction and commissioning of its Whabouchi lithium mine in Quebec. Construction at the mine plans to complete within 15 months, with Shawinigan plant construction expected to be completed in about 2 years.

DIVERSIFIED

* BHP will face the Australian Tax Office in federal court May 31, with the ATO claiming the mining giant should pay taxes on the portion of annual profits of its marketing hub in Singapore earned through the sale of Australian coal, The Australian Financial Review wrote.

BASE METALS

* Minsur SA expects to secure between US$800 million and US$900 million in financing from a consortium of lenders in August, enabling the company to begin construction of its US$1.6 billion Marcona copper project in Peru by the end of the year, Reuters reported.

* Should the Ambatovy nickel-cobalt joint venture require more cash than expected with payments on US$1.6 billion in debt starting in 2019, Sherritt International Corp.'s participation is not guaranteed. "If there's a need for cash we'll look at that on its merits," said Andrew Snowden, Sherritt's senior vice-president and CFO. "But we have no appetite to put additional cash into Ambatovy at this point."

* Nyrstar NV refinanced a three-year zinc metal prepay, which was originally inked in December 2015 and had a remaining balance of US$61.7 million, with a new zinc metal prepay for US$125 million. The company will gain a net cash benefit of about US$63 million from the new agreement.

* Power Americas Minerals Corp. agreed to buy the past producing Thomas Edison cobalt mine located within the company's Kittson property in Ontario. The terms were not disclosed, with the deal expected to close in 30 days. Howard Milne, vice president of business development for the company, told S&P Global Market Intelligence that the company paid a "very nominal" amount of cash for the property. He added that Power Americas is in negotiations for additional properties in the area, so disclosing the deal value for the Thomas Edison mine could impact the ongoing negotiations.

PRECIOUS METALS

* PJSC Polyus' first-quarter net profit dipped 51% year over year to US$244 million, partially reflecting the decrease in operating profit and the impact of noncash items, including gain on investments and revaluation of derivative financial instruments and foreign exchange gain.

* Bear Creek Mining Corp. is likely to launch a public offering for its Peruvian unit on the Lima stock exchange to help finance its US$550 million Corani silver project in Peru, Reuters reported, citing CFO Paul Tweddle. The company could also consider stake sale in Corani to help fund the project.

* Gold Fields Ltd. is putting on hold acquisition plans for a year to focus on its existing operations and nearby prospects, Reuters reported, citing CEO Nick Holland. Holland said the company's finances might be "a little bit negative" this year before likely recovering in 2019. "The strategy of the company now is more focused on organic brownfields, near-mine growth, in and around where we are," the executive said during an interview at a symposium in Peru.

* Gold mining majors such as Newmont Mining Corp. Gold Fields and AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. welcomed Ghana's new tests to certify the value of their exports, Reuters reported, citing the Chamber of Mines. The move comes in addition to customs checks and internal company tests in a bid to tighten control of the sector and tax it appropriately.

* Artemis Resources Ltd. completed the sale of 4 million Novo Resources Corp. shares to Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd., priced at C$5 apiece, for a total of C$20 million.

* Trans-Siberian Gold Plc updated the resource estimate for its Asacha project on Russia's Kamchatka peninsula, with measured and indicated resources containing 391,000 ounces of gold and 1.1 million ounces of silver within 611,000 tonnes grading 20 g/t of gold and 56 g/t of silver.

* An updated resource estimate for Argent Minerals Ltd.'s Kempfield project in New South Wales, Australia, nearly doubled the contained silver equivalent as compared to the previous estimate, with 100 million ounces contained within measured, indicated and inferred resources totaling 26 million tonnes grading 120 g/t of silver equivalent.

* Semafo Inc. said a local contractor at its Mana gold mine in Burkina Faso died of injuries sustained in an accident at the mine. The contractor was driving a haul truck and lost control of the vehicle.

* Pershing Gold Corp. said that a feasibility study on the past-producing Relief Canyon gold-silver property in Nevada defined a net present value of US$133 million, using a 5% discount rate, with an 87% internal rate of return and US$176 million in net cash flow, all after taxes.

* A feasibility study for Explaurum Ltd.'s Tampia gold project in Western Australia pegged a pretax net present value, discounted at 8%, of A$125 million, an internal rate of return of 47% and a 1.5-year payback period.

* White Cliff Minerals Ltd. posted a 60% increase in contained gold ounces in the inferred gold resource at the Aucu gold-copper project in Kyrgyzstan to 484,000 ounces of gold in 2.95 million tonnes grading 5.1 g/t of gold.

* A maiden ore reserve at Silver Mines Ltd.'s Bowdens silver deposit in New South Wales, Australia, hosts 29.9 million tonnes at 69.0 g/t of silver, 0.44% zinc and 0.32% lead containing 66.3 million ounces of silver, 130,800 tonnes of zinc and 95,300 tonnes of lead, which supports a 16-year mine life.

BULK COMMODITIES

* Russian fertilizer giant PJSC PhosAgro posted a 44% year over year drop in first-quarter net profit to 6.88 billion Russian rubles amid an appreciation of the ruble against the U.S. dollar and higher costs.

* Metinvest BV's first quarter revenues soared 63% year over year to US$3.02 billion, mainly due to higher selling prices of commodities, while adjusted EBITDA jumped 61% to US$649 million, helped by the metallurgical segment's contribution of US$294 million during the period.

* Russian fertilizer producer PJSC Acron booked a year-over-year increase in net profit to 4.15 billion Russian rubles for the first quarter from 1.57 billion rubles. The company's revenue remained flat year over year at 24.05 billion rubles, while EBITDA climbed 7% to 7.96 billion rubles.

* The U.S. Treasury Department indicated that Oleg Deripaska should reduce his 66% shareholding in En+ Group PLC to 40% to keep his ownership and spare the company from U.S.-imposed sanctions, Bloomberg News reported.

* Oakey Coal Action Alliance Inc. launched an appeal against the Queensland Supreme Court decision that overturned a previous land court ruling recommending scrapping the A$900 million expansion of New Hope Corp. Ltd.'s New Acland coal mine. Meanwhile, Queensland Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch confirmed that New Acland is under investigation amid allegations that it expanded mining operations without seeking prior approval from state regulators, The Australian reported.

* JSW Steel Ltd. and Vedanta Ltd. are vying to acquire the specialty steel business of Kolkata-based Usha Martin, valued between 35 billion and 50 billion Indian rupees, two sources familiar with the matter told The Economic Times of India.

* China Coal Energy Co. Ltd. shut down three coal mines and exited 12.1 million tonnes of coal capacity last year, representing half of the total coal capacity elimination target for central state-owned enterprises, sohu.com reported, citing a senior company official.

* S&P Global Ratings lowered Westmoreland Coal Co.'s credit rating to SD from CCC-, citing the company's US$110 million bridge loan financing that subordinates the first lien lenders' debt to the new loan.

* U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the U.S. and the EU could still talk trade and open markets even if the U.S. government proceeds with imposing import tariffs on EU steel and aluminum, Reuters wrote.

* Egyptian Steel Group kicked off commercial production at its fourth steel plant in Egypt's Al Ain Al Sokhna, Metal Bulletin reported. The plant has the capacity to produce 830,000 tonnes of billet and 530,000 tonnes of rebar per annum.

SPECIALTY

* Kimberley Diamonds Ltd.'s shuttered Lerala diamond mine in Botswana was sold for more than US$8 million in an online auction, Mining Weekly reported, citing auctioneers GoIndustry Dovebid South Africa. The winning bidder will be confirmed later in the week.

* A pre-feasibility study for Mineral Commodities Ltd.'s 51%-owned Tampia graphite project in Western Australia estimated a posttax net present value, discounted at 8%, of A$139 million and an internal rate of return of 48%.

* Walkabout Resources Ltd. acquired the remaining 30% interest in the prospecting license hosting the Lindi Jumbo graphite deposit in Tanzania for US$1 million.

* New Energy Metals Corp. signed an option agreement to purchase the Atacama lithium project from an undisclosed seller.

* American Pacific Borate & Lithium Ltd. entered into another cooperation agreement with a Chinese state-owned company to sell boric acid from its Fort Cady borate project in Southern California.

* A preliminary economic assessment of Prophecy Development Corp.'s Gibellini vanadium project in Nevada defined a posttax net present value of US$338.3 million, using a 7% discount rate, with a 50.8% internal rate of return and a 1.72-year payback period.

* A dynamite explosion at a gypsum mine in Thailand's Surat Thani province killed one person and injured another, Thai Rath reported.

INDUSTRY NEWS

* South African Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe will conclude nationwide consultations on the Mining Charter May 31, Mining Weekly reported. The charter will be finalized by June.

* The Western Australian government injected a further A$5.2 million into its Exploration Incentive Scheme and announced the round 17 winners of government co-funded drill programs, Mining Weekly wrote.

* H&M Metal Warehousing agreed to pay US$100,000 to settle disciplinary proceedings with the London Metal Exchange in connection with alleged breaches of its warehousing policy, Reuters reported. The warehouse operator did not admit any breaches as part of the settlement.

The Daily Dose has an editorial deadline of 7 a.m. Hong Kong time. Some external links may require a subscription. Links are current as of publication time, and we are not responsible if those links are unavailable later.