TOP NEWS
Protesters lift blockade at Newmont's Peñasquito mine, putting talks in play
Protesters have suspended a blockade at Newmont Goldcorp Corp.'s Peñasquito gold mine in Zacatecas, Mexico, paving the way for fresh talks between Newmont and protest leaders, Francisco Quiroga, undersecretary of mines with the country's Ministry of Economy, said in an interview with S&P Global Market Intelligence. Newmont also confirmed the blockade, which started Sept. 14, had ended and said the shut down had cut Peñasquito's third-quarter production by about 11,000 gold ounces, 1.7 million silver ounces, 13.7 million pounds of lead and 22.8 million pounds of zinc.
Report: IAMGOLD unable to strike M&A deal with Chinese bidders
IAMGOLD Corp. failed to strike a deal with several Chinese bidders over a potential sale of the company, Bloomberg News reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. In May, the news agency reported IAMGOLD was exploring a full or partial sale of the company, amid a string of consolidations in the gold mining industry.
Polymetal may invest in Russia's largest rare earth project
Russia's Polymetal International PLC will consider investing in Tomtor, the country's largest rare earth project, Reuters reported, quoting the company's CEO Vitaly Nesis. Polymetal said in August it was considering acquiring minority stakes in domestic rare earth mineral projects, tapping into growing demand for commodities used in electric cars production.
DIVERSIFIED
* Aberdeen Standard Investments, one of the biggest shareholders of BHP Group, added to pressure for the miner to cut ties with lobby groups at odds with the company’s pledges on climate leadership, Reuters reported.
BASE METALS
* Chile's Codelco agreed with some Chinese customers to maintain physical copper premium for 2020 at US$88 per tonne, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
* Michael Carl, a senior adviser with M&A specialist Indonesian law firm SSEK, said in an interview on the sidelines of the China Mining Conference and Exhibition in Tianjin he expects more Chinese companies to go the route of Tsingshan Holding Group Co. Ltd. Ltd. and Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co. Ltd. in setting up mines and smelters in Indonesia, the world's largest nickel producer.
PRECIOUS METALS
* Resolute Mining Ltd. suspended the roaster, a key component in its sulfide processing circuit, at its Syama gold mine in Mali due to a crack in its main external shell.
* Endeavour Silver Corp. reported a 34% year-over-year fall in silver production and a 25% dip in gold output for the third quarter to 948,547 ounces and 9,716 ounces, respectively. Silver sales for the quarter slumped 45% year over year to 835,045 ounces, while gold sales decreased 28% to 9,373 ounces.
* GoGold Resources Inc. achieved record production of 580,711 silver equivalent ounces for its fiscal fourth quarter ending Sept. 30, up from 240,939 ounces a year ago.
* Production at Dacian Gold Ltd.'s Mount Morgans gold operation in Western Australia in the first quarter of fiscal 2020 totaled 42,000 ounces of gold, in line with the guidance of 67,000 ounces to 77,000 ounces of gold for the first half.
* 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 slipped to 139,700 ounces from 152,200 ounces.
* Gold Road Resources Ltd. and Gold Fields Ltd.'s equally owned Gruyere gold mine in Western Australia achieved commercial production at the end of September, slightly ahead of guidance.
* Erris Resources PLC was granted four new exploration permits, each covering 10 square kilometers, for the Mauken and Gautelis gold prospects in Northern Norway.
* The administrators of Ark Mines Ltd. have started a sale process for the company's assets, as well as its ASX listing.
* Allied Gold Corp was awarded an initial five-year mining services contract for its Bonikro gold mine in Cote d'Ivoire to Capital Drilling Ltd. In addition, Capital Drilling agreed to invest US$3 million in Allied Gold.
* Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd.'s third quarter production surged 38% year on year to a record 248,000 ounces. Output at its Fosterville mine in Victoria, Australia jumped 75% from a year ago to a record 158,327 ounces, while its Macassa mine's output in Ontario rose 13% to 62,945 ounces.
* Dundee Precious Metals Inc. produced a total of 65,600 ounces of gold in the third quarter from its Chelopech and Ada Tepe gold mines in Bulgaria. The Ada Tepe mine, which achieved commercial production in June, produced 25,300 ounces in the third quarter while Chelopech produced 40,300 ounces.
* Victoria Gold Corp. made its first shipment of doré from the Eagle gold mine in Yukon on Oct. 8, to be delivered to the Royal Canadian mint for refining. The shipment contained 2,450 ounces of doré comprising 83.3% gold and 8.7% silver.
* Gran Colombia Gold Corp. completed its previously announced acquisition of a 19.9% equity investment in Western Atlas Resources Inc. through the first tranche of a nonbrokered private placement.
* Kingsrose Mining Ltd. extended the life of its Talang Santo to July 2020. Gold production from stockpiled ore at the mine will continue until September 2020, while production from this pit is estimated to be 16,400 ounces of gold for this financial year.
BULK COMMODITIES
* China Hanking Holdings Ltd.'s high-purity iron business resumed production after completing technological improvements on schedule. The enhancements led to an increase in annual capacity to 660,000 tonnes from 560,000 tonnes.
* Aspire Mining Ltd. flagged a delay in completing the definitive feasibility study for the Ovoot Coking coal project in Mongolia amid delays in securing key permits. The company does not expect the study to conclude until May 2020.
* Production at Kalium Lakes Ltd.'s Beyondie sulfate of potash project is on schedule to begin in 2020, after the project received the necessary secondary approvals that enabled the start of full construction work.
* Russia abandoned the idea of opening scrap exports through trading from Jan. 1, 2020, and extended the transition period until April 1, Kommersant reported.
* Shanghai Metals Market estimated 83 vessels carrying 13.8 million tonnes of iron ore arrived at major Chinese ports from Sept. 29 to Oct. 5, up by 2.5 million tonnes from the week ending Sept. 21.
SPECIALTY
* U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross met with Australian Resources Minister Matt Canavan to discuss their national strategies on critical minerals and the U.S. helping develop and potentially fund Australian projects to expand rare earths production outside of China amid the ongoing U.S.-China trade war, Australian Financial Review reported.
* 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.
* In response to strong interest from potential customers, Piedmont Lithium Ltd. is fast-tracking the development of its Piedmont lithium chemical plant in North Carolina by compressing its project timeline into a single stage, targeting production in late 2022.
* Great Atlantic Resources Corp. was given the approval for a funding of C$25,000 by the New Brunswick Department of Energy and Resource Development for its 2019 exploration program on the Glenelg Vanadium Property in southwest New Brunswick.
* Razore Rock Resources Inc. signed an option agreement with True North Gems Inc. to earn up to a 70% working interest in the True Blue rare earths project in Yukon Territory in Canada.
* Workers at Fura Gems Inc.'s Coscuez emerald mine in Colombia are toiling in unsafe conditions, the Financial Post reported, quoting the company's former employees saying that the management ignored their repeated requests to provide staff with equipment like masks and safety glasses.
* Stockbroker Shaw and Partners is booking funds to meet Macarthur Minerals Ltd.'s management next week ahead of an initial public offering targeted to raise as much as A$7.5 million, the Australian Financial Review reported.
* Ardiden Ltd. signed a nonbinding memorandum of understanding with Rock Tech Lithium Inc. to work together in developing a project to potentially supply spodumene concentrate at 6% to 7% lithium oxide from a combination of their respective lithium projects, namely Seymour Lake and Georgia Lake.
* Sayona Mining Ltd. assembled a team to support its bidding process for the North American Lithium Inc. operation in Quebec, following the commencement of the formal asset sale process for the lithium mine.
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 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 on Oct. 8.
* Sierra Leone’s abrupt cancellation of an iron ore license this week has raised concerns about a resurgence of resource nationalism across the continent, Financial Times reported, quoting Eric Humphrey-Smith, an analyst at risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft.
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