TOP NEWS
Newmont completes sale of 50% stake in Kalgoorlie Super Pit to Northern Star
Newmont Goldcorp Corp. completed the sale of all its 50% stake in Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines Pty Ltd. and the Kalgoorlie Super Pit gold mine to Northern Star Resources Ltd. for US$800 million. Following the divestiture, Newmont lowered its attributable gold production guidance to 6.4 million ounces for 2020 and between 6.2 million ounces and 6.7 million ounces longer-term through 2024, while attributable sustaining capital guidance was also lowered to US$950 million for 2020 and between US$900 million and US$1.1 billion longer-term through 2024. The company's guidance for costs applicable to sales, all-in sustaining costs, and general and administrative costs remain unchanged.
Glencore spending millions in search for new water source for CSA mine
Swiss mining and commodities giant Glencore PLC has invested in a multimillion-dollar project to secure a new water source for its CSA copper-silver mine in New South Wales, Australia, The Australian Financial Review reported. This month, the company will start extracting groundwater from eight new bores as it aims to look for an alternative water source amid a drought that also hit other miners in the region.
Alcoa to sell waste treatment facility in Arkansas to Veolia for US$250M
Alcoa Corp. agreed to sell its waste treatment facility in Gum Springs, Ark., to Veolia ES Technical Solutions LLC for US$250 million. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of the year. In October 2019, Alcoa said that it intends to divest US$500 million to US$1 billion in noncore assets over the next 12 to 18 months.
BASE METALS
* Independence Group NL decided to grant all Panoramic Resources Ltd. shareholders who accepted its takeover offer a right to withdraw their acceptance. The withdrawal will allow Panoramic shareholders to freely deal with their shares before the offer lapses Jan. 17.
* Copper-gold producer Titan Minerals Ltd. said that it entered into an unsecured debt facility of US$10 million with RM Hunter Fund Pty. Ltd.
* Excelsior Mining Corp. confirmed that it has started operations at the Gunnison copper project in Arizona. The first copper cathode sales from the project are expected within the first quarter.
* Lisbon Valley Mining Co. LLC is seeking permits for an experimental method of extraction at its Lisbon Valley copper mine in Utah. The method involves pumping diluted sulfuric acid underground that may potentially extend the mine's life for another 26 years, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.
* New Era Minerals Inc.'s shareholders Guang Ju Lin and Wei Lin entered into binding agreements with a certain Hang Peng for the sale of 58,840,932 common shares in the company, representing about 55.03% of the outstanding shares of New Era.
PRECIOUS METALS
* Sonoro Metals Corp. sold a 1% net smelter royalty on the Chipriona gold property in Mexico to Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. for C$875,000.
* ZCCM Investments Holdings PLC approved a proposal to enter into a joint venture to develop a gold processing and trading operation in Zambia with local gold processor Karma Mining Services and Rural Development Co.
* Minera IRL Ltd. said that it signed a memorandum of understanding with Corporación Financiera de Desarrollo SA, with the objective of reaching an agreement in settlement of the obligations imposed by the arbitration award in September 2019 and related matters including the bridge loan.
* Doré Copper Mining Corp. entered into an option agreement with Ressources Jessie Inc. and Legault Metals Inc. to acquire the Joe Mann gold mine in Quebec.
BULK COMMODITIES
* A new U.S. high-vol A coking coal mine project in West Virginia, close to Arch Coal Inc.'s flagship Leer mine, has found backing from Japan's Itochu Corp., as the trader joins AMCI and South Korean steelmaker Posco with plans to support coal demand in Asia, S&P Global Platts reported.
* India's coal ministry may allow companies from all sectors to bid for coal and lignite mining licenses, with a first tranche of commercial mining auctions expected to start in the current fiscal year, The Economic Times of India reported, citing a senior government official.
* Los Angeles-based Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. closed its purchase of general line and long bar distributor Fry Steel Co. Inc. The deal terms were not disclosed.
* Whitehaven Coal Ltd. completed the acquisition of EDF Trading Australia Pty. Ltd., which owns a 7.5% interest in the Narrabri underground coal mine in New South Wales, Australia, increasing its stake in the mine to 77.5%.
* Egypt-based Ezz Steel Co. reported a net loss of 3.59 billion Egyptian pounds for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2019, widening from the net loss of 1.01 billion pounds in the same period of the previous year. Low steel prices, high costs and the impact of safeguard measures on steel weighed on the results.
* Demand for low-grade coal with lower combustion efficiency is increasing on the back of economic growth in Vietnam and other emerging countries in Asia, adding another obstacle to the global movement of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the Nikkei Asian Review reported.
* Turkey increased the import duty for steel rebar and removed the duty reductions allowed on cold-rolled coil imports by coated coal producers, Fastmarkets MB reported, citing the Turkish Official Gazette. The country also removed the duty on pig iron imports.
* Argentina's crude steel production plunged 21.6% year over year in November 2019 to 357,500 tonnes from 456,000 tonnes, Fastmarkets MB reported, citing data from the country's steel association Acero Argentino.
SPECIALTY
* Chinese lithium company YOUNGY Co.Ltd. signed a framework agreement to build a lithium ore processing plant in Sichuan province, Reuters reported. The project will be part of the company's investment in an industrial zone in the province worth 1.4 billion Chinese yuan, the report said. No timeline was given for the start of construction.
* The city of Ganzhou in China's Jiangxi province launched the country's second rare earths exchange, Reuters reported, citing a Jiangxi Daily report posted by the Association of China Rare Earth Industry.
* American Battery Metals Corp. contracted project management, engineering, and construction firm VCM Group Pty. Ltd. for its scalable battery recycling facility, which is planned to launch in mid-2020.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* Chile's economic activity fell 3.3% in November, led by a slump in the mining sector as the country reels from anti-government unrest, Reuters reported, citing data from the country's central bank.
* Company CEOs and other top business executives around the world are still primarily concerned about the risk of a recession and trade war uncertainties in 2020, a report published by the Conference Board showed.
S&P Global Platts and S&P Global Market Intelligence are owned by S&P Global Inc.
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