TOP NEWS
POSCO mulls investing up to 200B won for cleaner steelmaking
POSCO may invest 100 billion to 200 billion South Korean won to make its steelmaking process cleaner in compliance with the country's tighter environmental rules, Reuters reported, citing Ahn Yoon-gih, senior vice president of the company's steel unit. POSCO is also planning to use more steel scrap in its production to decrease its reliance on imported iron ore and prolong the life cycle of steel.
Glencore posts largest copper reserves growth over 10 years
Glencore PLC had the largest reserves growth of all the companies in the copper reserves replacement study by S&P Global Market Intelligence's Metals and Mining Research team, adding 45.2 million tonnes of copper to reserves through a skillful mixture of acquisitions and exploration over the past 10 years. It accomplished this while rising to become the world's second-largest copper producer behind Codelco in 2018.
Barrick Gold's takeover offer undervalues Acacia Mining, analysts say
Analysts told S&P Global Market Intelligence that the offer by Barrick Gold Corp. to buy the remainder of Acacia Mining PLC's shares for US$285 million was not in the best interest of shareholders in the London-listed company and unnecessarily undervalued the shares.
BASE METALS
* Aurubis AG secured a contract for the 10-year supply of copper concentrates from the second phase of Teck Resources Ltd.'s Quebrada Blanca project in Chile.
* Copper Lake Resources Ltd. expanded its landholdings in northwest Ontario by staking the Summit Lake property, located west of its 75%-owned Marshall Lake copper project.
* Aurelia Metals Ltd. decided to pause work for its pre-feasibility study for the Nymagee copper project in New South Wales, Australia, due to the presence of contaminants in ore, particularly talc and pyrrhotite, which resulted in assumed base metal recoveries under a 2017 scoping study being unlikely to be achievable.
* Clean TeQ Holdings Ltd. started a process to divest up to a 50% interest in its Clean TeQ Sunrise nickel-cobalt scandium project in New South Wales, Australia.
* United States Antimony Corp. is expanding its antimony smelter in Coahuila, Mexico, to handle production increases from its Wadley and Sierra Guadalupe mines.
* Capstone Mining Corp. sold its Minto copper mine in Canada's Yukon Territory to Pembridge Resources PLC for US$20 million in staged cash payments.
* Lundin Mining Corp. took a 14.3% stake in PolarX Ltd. through a A$4.3 million investment, with an option to acquire a 51% stake in the Stellar copper-gold project in Alaska.
PRECIOUS METALS
* Barrick Gold President and CEO Mark Bristow and Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd. Senior Vice President George Fang met with new Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape to discuss the proposed 20-year extension of the special mining lease for the Porgera gold mine.
* Nelson Resources Ltd. applied for two more tenements to complete the consolidation of the historic West Australian Woodline gold project formerly explored by Sipa Resources Ltd. and Newmont Goldcorp Corp., in the belief the asset could turn it into the next Independence Group NL, according to an exclusive S&P Global Market Intelligence report.
* Gold-miner Semafo Inc. boosted planned exploration spending on a prospect in Burkina Faso from US$3 million to US$11 million after reporting a gold discovery on its Bantou property, part of the broader Kongolokoro concessions, according to an exclusive S&P Global Market Intelligence report.
* An updated bankable feasibility study for Chaarat Gold Holdings Ltd.'s Tulkubash oxide gold project in Kyrgyzstan outlined an improved posttax net present value, discounted at 5%, of US$70 million and an internal rate of return of 20%.
* The US$2 billion Yanacocha Sulfuros project — part of the Yanacocha gold joint venture between Newmont Goldcorp Corp, Cia. de Minas Buenaventura SAA, and Sumitomo Corp. — has now reached the feasibility stage, with the operation's construction set to begin in 2020, upon securing funding, Gestión reported, citing general manager Isidro Oyola.
* Operations at Gold Fields Ltd.'s South Deep gold mine in South Africa was suspended for a day after a female leader of a trackless crew died. Three other workers sustained minor injuries. The underground corridor where the accident occurred will remain closed pending a safety check.
* NTM Gold Ltd. expanded the Redcliffe gold project in Western Australia to over 300 square kilometers after securing a 116-square-kilometer tenement, dubbed as exploration license E37/1356, which abuts existing tenements to the east.
* Titan Minerals Ltd. received firm commitments to raise A$20 million to fund exploration and development of its Dynasty Goldfield project in Ecuador, including exploration at Copper Duke and Linderos and for general working capital purposes.
BULK COMMODITIES
* Adani Enterprises Ltd.'s proposed Carmichael coal mine in Australia may hire as few as 800 workers once it is operational, raising questions if the environmental cost of its approval is worth the employment benefits, The Australian reported.
* S&P Ratings assigned a BBB- rating to iron ore transshipping terminal Mineral Logistics' proposed US$483 million in senior secured notes, due August 2037, which incorporates a loan provided by Corporacion Navios SA. The rating agency tagged a negative outlook on the notes, reflecting a chance of a downgrade due to a deterioration of key customer Vale International SA's credit quality in the next 24 months, which in turn will depend on the credit quality of parent Vale SA.
* Incitec Pivot Ltd. reached agreements with multiple parties to allow continuation of manufacturing operations at its Gibson Island plant, through to Dec. 31, 2022.
* Cade, Brazil's antitrust regulator, approved Vale's US$550 million acquisition of a 77% interest in Ferrous Resources Ltd. from Icahn Enterprises LP, despite the deal facing antitrust complaints, Valor Economico reported. In a separate report by the daily, the regulator greenlit a proposed joint venture between ArcelorMittal Brasil SA and engineering and construction firm Piacentini.
* Brazil's iron ore export volumes in May dropped 20% year on year to 29.02 million tonnes from 34.62 Mt in the year-ago period as Vale was forced to close some operations this year in the wake of the fatal Feijao dam disaster, Fastmarkets MB reported, citing the country’s economic ministry.
* Ferroglobe PLC reached a definitive agreement with TPG Sixth Street Partners for the €170 million sale of its FerroAtlantica SAU subsidiary, owner of 10 hydroelectric power plants and the Cee-Dumbría ferroalloys plant in Spain.
* A joint venture between Nucor Corp. and Duferco Participations Holding SA plans to build a €150 million steel beam rolling mill in Italy that will have an annual capacity of 1 million tonnes, Fastmarkets MB reported.
* The Federal Court of Australia approved a previously announced acquisition by CD Capital Natural Resources Fund III LP of a 67% stake in Verdant Minerals Ltd. for about A$40.5 million, with the scheme of arrangement now in effect.
* ArcelorMittal South Africa Ltd. may be fined by up to 15 million South African rand over alleged breaches of its emissions license at its Vanderbijlpark steelworks site. The company is facing two charges for conducting unlicensed activities and one charge for exceeding minimum emission standards.
* A proposal for a board spill of Aguia Resources Ltd., which was requested by a group of shareholders representing 5.3% of the explorer, was rejected.
* The U.S. coal sector should remain stable for the next 12 to 18 months, Moody's said.
* ArcelorMittal completed the previously announced sale of its ArcelorMittal TrefilUnion SAS unit, which produces steel wire and ropes in France, to German turnaround investor mutares AG.
* Amid tighter supply, top aluminum producers offered premiums of US$115 to US$120 a tonne for metal shipments in the September quarter, up 10% to 14% from the current quarter, Reuters reported, citing three sources involved in pricing talks.
SPECIALTY
* A scoping study for the Neometals Ltd.'s lithium-ion battery recycling plant in Western Australia outlined a pre-tax net present value, discounted at 12%, of US$220 million over a 10-year plant life. Inital capital expenditure is pegged at US$66 million, with a payback period of less than two years.
* Anson Resources Ltd.'s share price surged 47% after the company announced that it produced about 1 kilogram of battery-quality lithium carbonate from brine sourced from its Paradox project in Utah.
* Kenmare Resources PLC approved the relocation of the wet concentrator plant to the Pilivili ore zone of the Moma titanium mine in Mozambique following a positive definitive feasibility study, which estimated a capital cost of US$106 million.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* Minerals exploration expenditure in Australia for the March quarter increased 13% year on year to A$497.5 million, Mining Weekly reported.
* Lion Selection Group investment manager Hedley Widdup said, at a mining conference in Brisbane's Gold Coast, that an M&A resurgence among majors could lead to growing interest in the industry's juniors, The West Australian reported.
* Zimbabwe's mineral-backed loans may complicate the country's future negotiations with foreign creditors to restructure its US$8.8 billion debt, Reuters reported, citing Gene Leon, International Monetary Fund's mission chief to Zimbabwe.
* U.S. Department of Labor auditors called on Congress to review the Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 to ensure the federal agency that oversees mine safety has clear authority to take actions to protect miners' lives.
* India's Multi Commodity Exchange Clearing Corp. approved C.Steinweg unit Steinweg Sharaf (India) to store and effect delivery of aluminum, copper, zinc and nickel, Reuters reported.
* Zambia started rationing electricity to businesses except for miners, which signed separate agreements with state power utility Zesco, Reuters reported.
* The total value of global announced M&A deals increased sequentially 21.9% in the first quarter to US$859.63 billion, after falling during the two previous quarters, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence's latest "M&A and Equity Offerings Market Report."
This S&P Global Market Intelligence news article may contain information about credit ratings issued by S&P Global Ratings. Descriptions in this news article were not prepared by S&P Global Ratings.
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