TOP NEWS

Newmont completes Super Pit stake sale to Northern Star, updates FY'20 guidance

Newmont Goldcorp Corp. completed the sale of its 50% interest in Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines Pty Ltd., which owns the Kalgoorlie Super Pit gold mine in Western Australia, to Northern Star Resources Ltd. in a transaction valued at 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.

Alcoa to sell waste treatment facility in Arkansas 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, in a transaction that is expected to close in the first quarter. The company will receive US$200 million in cash at closing for the sale of its subsidiary Elementary Environmental Solutions, owner of the 1,300-acre hazardous waste treatment business in Gum Springs, and an additional US$50 million on satisfaction of certain post-closing conditions.

PolarX lines up porphyry majors to replace Lundin on Stellar copper-gold claims

PolarX Ltd. has identified 15 midtier and major operators of large base and precious metals mines to potentially replace Lundin Mining Corp. as its partner for the Stellar copper-gold project in Alaska after the latter decided to forego its right to earn in. PolarX Managing Director Frazer Tabeart believes the enticements for a partner are stronger now than when Lundin first signed on, as the project is more derisked following the six drill holes which Lundin funded.

BASE METALS

* Myanmar Metals Ltd.'s expansion study for its Bawdwin lead-silver-zinc joint venture in Myanmar delineated two further open-pit cutbacks beyond the planned starter pit. According to the study, underground mining at Bawdwin is possible, but two further open pit cutbacks, namely phases two and three, "offer potential for superior outcomes relative to underground mining."

* 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 inked binding agreements with Hang Peng, a resident of Hunan, China, for the sale of an aggregate 58,840,932 non-diluted common shares of New Era, representing about 55.03% of the outstanding shares of the company.

PRECIOUS METALS

* Doré Copper Mining Corp. inked an option agreement with owners Ressources Jessie Inc. and Legault Metals Inc. to acquire the Joe Mann gold mine in Quebec for a total of C$5.3 million in cash and C$4.0 million in shares over three years.

* Trans-Siberian Gold PLC secured low-tariff rates for electrical power in 2020 for its Asacha gold mine in Russia. The company will receive electricity at 4.75 Russian rubles per kWh, slightly higher than the rate of 4.69 rubles per kWh in 2019.

* 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.

* Caledonia Mining Corp. PLC declared a quarterly dividend of 7.5 U.S. cents per share, a 9.1% increase over the previous quarterly dividend. CEO Steve Curtis said in a statement that the company expects to commission the central shaft at the Blanket gold mine in Zimbabwe in the fourth quarter of 2020, and increase production to 80,000 ounces of gold per annum from 2022.

* Violence in Zimbabwe is escalating due to machete-wielding artisanal miners who are looking to gain control of small-scale gold mines in the country, BusinessDay Live reported, citing the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission.

* 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.

BULK COMMODITIES

* Luxembourg-based steel tubes provider Tenaris SA completed the acquisition of IPSCO Tubulars Inc. from PAO TMK for a final cash payment of US$1.1 billion, including about US$220 million in working capital.

* Ferrexpo PLC will pay a special interim dividend of 6.6 U.S. cents, taking total dividends for financial year 2019 to 13.2 U.S. cents, or about US$80 million.

* 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.

* 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.

* 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

* Qasem Soleimani, an Iranian general who headed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' elite Quds Force, was killed in an airstrike at the Baghdad International Airport, media outlets reported, citing Iraqi television. The U.S. Department of Defense confirmed that Washington was responsible for the airstrike, which it said was "aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans."

* 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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