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Implats bullish on palladium; U.S. Steel seeks US$200M in fixed cost savings

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Implats bullish on palladium; U.S. Steel seeks US$200M in fixed cost savings

TOP NEWS

Palladium supply crunch girded Implats' C$1.0B bid for Canadian miner

Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. CEO Nicolaas Muller pointed to a bullish medium-term palladium outlook while countering concerns raised on an Oct. 7 conference call that the company could be deal-making at a market top, after its recent C$1.0 billion bid for North American Palladium Ltd. However, It is a bit too soon to sell North American Palladium to Impala Platinum, GMP Securities analyst David Stewart told S&P Global Market Intelligence, noting the former's stock has yet to bake in potential cash and additional resources.

US Steel seeks US$200M in fixed cost savings by 2022

U.S. Steel Corp. will implement an enhanced operating model and organizational structure, effective Jan. 1, 2020, which is expected to save about US$200 million of annual fixed costs by 2022. The initiatives will more closely align the company's corporate structure with its previously announced investments in technology and manufacturing.

Russia's SkyGrad: Finding new frontiers for rare earth underdogs

Colossal mounds of fertilizer byproduct dotting Russia's countryside could hold the key to transforming the country's supply of rare earth metals, according to a co-founder of SkyGrad, a Moscow region-based company specializing in rare earth metals development. Those mounds contain about 300 billion tonnes of phosphogypsum, which is industrial waste particularly rich in the rare earth metals needed for advanced technologies such as those used in electric vehicles, wind turbines and military systems.

DIVERSIFIED

* BHP Group external affairs head Geoff Healy said the company will conduct a monthly polling of community groups located close to its most important mines as part of its reduction of scope 3 emissions, the Australian Financial Review reported.

BASE METALS

* A group of Alaskan organizations opposed to Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd.'s Pebble copper-gold project near Bristol Bay are suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over its recent move to withdraw proposed rules it has imposed on the would-be mine ahead of federal permitting.

* Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd. will increase its shareholding in Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. to 13.88% from 9.8% in a private share purchase and sale transaction with CITIC Metal Africa and Robert Friedland.

* Chile's Codelco offered a portion of its expected 2020 copper production, ranging from 48,000 tonnes to 60,000 tonnes valued at up to US$348 million, to traders in an unexpected tender, Fastmarkets MB reported. Meanwhile, the miner agreed with some Chinese customers to maintain physical copper premium for 2020 at US$88 per tonne, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

* Britain-based Earth-i, which specializes in geospatial data, aims to sell its SAVANT satellite service to the finance sector for surveillance on copper smelters to know immediately when they shut down and ramp up, Reuters reported. Smelters going offline or restarting can jolt the copper price.

* Heron Resources Ltd. agreed to divest an 80% stake in two project areas covered by three tenements, part of its Woodlawn zinc-copper project in New South Wales, Australia, to Sky Metals Ltd.

* Havilah Resources Ltd. signed an agreement with Consolidated Mining and Civil Pty Ltd.'s subsidiary Benagerie Gold & Copper Pty Ltd. to explore the Bassanio iron oxide-copper-gold target in South Australia.

PRECIOUS METALS

* Production at Dacian Gold Ltd.'s Mt Morgans gold operation in Western Australia in the first quarter of its fiscal 2020 totaled 42,000 ounces of gold, in line to meet its first-half guidance of between 67,000 ounces to 77,000 ounces of gold.

* Tharisa PLC's platinum group metals production for its fiscal fourth quarter totaled 38,000 ounces, up from 35,700 ounces in the year-ago quarter. Output for the year ended Sept. 30, however, slipped to 139,700 ounces from 152,200 ounces.

* Echo Resources Ltd.'s independent directors accepted Northern Star Resources Ltd.'s unconditional offer to acquire the remaining shares of the company at 33 Australian cents apiece, recommending that other shareholders also accept the bid.

* Goldcliff Resource Corp. is selling its lease on the Wilson patented claims within the Pine Grove gold project in Nevada to Lincoln Gold Mining Inc. for a total of US$200,000 in cash payments and 2,750,000 in common shares.

* Clean Commodities Corp.'s board of directors approved a proposed rebranding to Dixie Gold Inc.

* Eloro Resources Ltd. was granted an option to acquire up to 100% interest in the Iska Iska polymetallic property in the polymetallic district in the Potosi department in the southern half of the Bolivian tin belt, which hosts the world's largest silver deposit.

* The administrators for Ark Mines Ltd. have started a sale process for the company's assets, as well as its ASX listing.

* QuestCap Inc. has acquired a 1.0% net smelter return royalty in respect to minerals removed from the property covered by 81 mineral claims and surveyed mining lease known as the Troilus gold mine, owned by Troilus Gold Corp.

* Allied Gold Corp awarded an initial five-year mining services contract for its Bonikro gold mine in Côte d'Ivoire to Capital Drilling Ltd. In addition, Capital Drilling agreed to invest US$3 million in Allied Gold.

* Citing delays in obtaining regulatory approvals, Gold Mountain Ltd. terminated a proposed share placement that would have raised A$10 million.

* Operations at Troy Resources Ltd.'s Karouni gold mine in Guyana were temporarily suspended after an employee died at the site.

BULK COMMODITIES

* Investors are unlikely to react positively to the bid of Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. to develop blocks 1 and 2 of the Simandou iron ore deposit in Guinea, The Australian reported, quoting JPMorgan analyst Lyndon Fagan and Morgan Stanley analyst Rahul Anand. According to Fagan, the market is unlikely to see the bid as a positive step unless Fortescue finds a way around the Guinean government's demands that Simandou will be developed through a 650-kilometer in-country rail line and a new port, rather than a quicker trip to market through Liberia. Meanwhile, Anand said Fortescue's bid was likely for long-term positioning.

* Thyssenkrupp AG is planning to give potential bidders access to the data room of its elevator division in the coming days as it auctions off the business unit, Reuters reported, citing unnamed sources.

* Sierra Leone canceled the mining license of Gerald Group unit SL Mining, Reuters reported citing Mines Minister Foday Rado Yokie. This comes shortly after the company halted operations at its Marampa iron ore project, and filed for arbitration in an international court, amid a dispute with the government over royalty payments.

* India is poised to become a net iron ore importer in the next financial year as the domestic market shifts from surplus to deficit, Mining Weekly reported, quoting Federation of Indian Mineral Industries secretary general R.K. Sharma.

* Samarco Mineração SA may receive a definitive license to resume iron ore shipping operations in the port of Ubu by Oct. 25, part of the measures towards a gradual restart of operations in 2020 for the BHP and Vale SA joint venture that has been suspended since the tailings dam collapse at the Samarco mine in 2015, Notícias de Mineraçao reported, citing Espírito Santo state governor Renato Casagrande.

* Vale has paid 860 million Brazilian reais in emergency damages related to the January dam failure at its Feijao iron ore mine, Reuters reported.

* Vale projects Chinese demand for iron ore pellets and pellet feed to grow by 50 million tonnes per year, as mills in the country grow its usage of the products in their blast furnaces, Fastmarkets MB reported.

* FMC Corp. set out new sustainability goals for 2025 and 2030, which includes dedicating 100% of research and development expenses to developing more sustainable products.

* Pacific Iron Ore Corp. said the delisting of its common shares from the TSX Venture Exchange will take effect at the close of business on Oct. 15, amending the previous announcement that it will occur on Oct. 14.

* Production at Kalium Lakes Ltd.'s Beyondie sulfate of potash project is on schedule to begin in 2020, after receiving the necessary secondary approvals that enabled the start of full construction work.

* Russia abandoned the idea of opening scrap exports through exchange trading from Jan. 1, 2020, and extended the transition period until April 1, Kommersant reported.

SPECIALTY

* Alexey Burkser, the former head of PJSC Alrosa's Mir diamond mine in Russia which flooded in August 2017 killing eight miners, was found dead in a pre-trial detention center, a day after being arrested on suspicion of violating safety rules, Reuters reported, citing Russian investigating authorities.

* NioCorp Developments Ltd. signed contracts with the State of Nebraska to reduce the company’s state and local tax liability by as much as US$200 million over 10 years, conditional upon meeting the Nebraska Advantage program's job creation and investment requirements at its Elk Creek critical minerals project.

* Alita Resources Ltd.'s administrators kicked off a formal recapitalization process and are urgently seeking proposals from interested parties for a potential sale of the company.

* Lynas Corp. Ltd. CEO Amanda Lacaze, in a speech at the Critical Materials conference in Perth, Australia, slammed manufacturers for supporting a distorted market, which resulted in China's dominant position in the market for the commodity, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

* Piedmont Lithium Ltd. is fast-tracking the development of its namesake lithium chemical plant in North Carolina by compressing its project timeline into a single stage, targeting production in late 2022.

* Lucapa Diamond Co. Ltd. recovered a combined total of 14,610 carats of diamond from its Lulo and Mothae mines in the third quarter.

INDUSTRY NEWS

* Malaysia's government is inviting foreign investors to help the country boost its rare earths exploration, mining and processing capacity amid a broader push to boost mining's contribution to national GDP, but it will not sacrifice the environment just for economic benefit, the country's Minister of Water, Land and Natural Resources Xavier Jayakumar Arulanandam said at the Critical Materials conference in Perth, Australia.

* The Minerals Council of Australia called on the Australian parliament to ratify Australia’s free trade agreements with Indonesia and Hong Kong, which was recommended by the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties. CEO Tania Constable said the ratification of both free trade deals will boost the country's economy and create new jobs.

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