TOP NEWS
Samarco Mineração targets restart after license review in 2019
BHP Billiton Group and Vale SA joint venture Samarco Mineração SA expects to secure all licenses required to resume operations at the Samarco iron ore mine in Brazil in 2019, Reuters reported, citing a company statement. Mine operations were suspended after a deadly dam collapse in 2015. Meanwhile, the environmental agency for the country's Minas Gerais state said separately that it expects to conclude an analysis of the licenses in the first half of 2019.
US to impose 25% tariff on $16B of Chinese goods on Aug. 23
Despite widespread outcry from American companies who may suffer as a result from more tariff impositions, the Trump administration said it would move forward with imposing 25% tariffs on US$16 billion of Chinese imports, marking the latest development in the ongoing trade war between the two nations.
South Africa's AMCU threatens industrial action over layoffs at Implats
South Africa's Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union, or AMCU, will launch an unspecified industrial action at Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. if talks over the company's plan to slash several thousand jobs fail to stop the layoffs, Reuters reported, citing Joseph Mathunjwa, the union's president. The company's board recently approved a strategic turnaround that would see 13,000 jobs axed at its Impala Rustenburg operation in South Africa by 2021.
DIVERSIFIED
* Glencore PLC is expected to report adjusted EBITDA of about US$8.5 billion for the first half, the highest earnings for a six-month period ever recorded by the Swiss commodities giant, Bloomberg News wrote. The rise is expected on the back of strong results from its coal, copper and cobalt segments.
* Bryah Resources Ltd.'s share price surged 25% on Aug. 6 in anticipation of maiden drilling starting Aug. 7 on the Bryah Basin copper-gold tenements in Western Australia, which it listed in October 2017. However, Managing Director Neil Marston said it may be producing manganese, which is highly sought by Asian consumers and traders, before either copper or gold as the company recently received significant interest from manganese buyers.
* Westminster Resources Ltd. inked a letter of intent to acquire an 80% interest in a 10,858-hectare land package in Saskatchewan's La Ronge district. The project package, comprising two contiguous claims, lies within a group of claims historically focused on nickel, platinum group elements, orogenic gold and volcanogenic massive sulfide, or VMS, deposit types.
BASE METALS
* The union at BHP's Escondida copper mine in Chile called on the company to change its negotiating strategy and improve its contract offer during a final phase of talks if it hoped to avoid a strike, Reuters reported. The two sides set the agenda for the last round of talks after BHP requested government-led mediation.
* Yunnan Tin Co. Ltd. will launch a bond offering to raise up to 1.5 billion Chinese yuan to repay bank loans and for general working capital.
* Belgravia Capital International Inc. is seeking to replace the entire board at Tartisan Nickel Corp. at a Sept. 17 shareholder meeting due to the board's "abject failure to create shareholder value."
* Dundas Mining Pty. Ltd., which is eyeing the restart of its Avebury nickel mine in Tasmania by early 2019, secured an off-take agreement, Reuters reported, citing a source. Avebury will produce between 7,000 and 8,000 tonnes of nickel and Swiss trading house Transamine secured the off-take for the full amount.
* Talisman Mining Ltd. signed a conditional agreement with Sandfire Resources NL to sell its 30% interest in the Springfield copper joint venture in Western Australia for A$72.3 million. Sandfire already holds 70% of Springfield.
* Asiamet Resources Ltd. extended mineralization at its Beutong copper-gold project in Indonesia beyond the 2014 resource envelope as part of its ongoing infill and extension drilling program.
* Jinduicheng Molybdenum Co. Ltd.'s net profit attributable to shareholders in the first half rose 869.1% year on year to 148.5 million Chinese yuan due to a rise in molybdenum prices.
* Metals X Ltd. Managing Director Warren Hallam said it must deliver results at its Nifty copper mine in Western Australia in the September quarter as the operation is about six months behind schedule with the planned ramp-up to a targeted production rate of about 40,000 tonnes per year of copper concentrate, The West Australian reported.
* Sipa Resources Ltd. earned an 80% stake in the Great Sandy tenement, part of the larger Paterson North copper-gold project in Western Australia, from Ming Gold Ltd.
PRECIOUS METALS
* Evolution Mining Ltd. Chairman Jake Klein said the company is eyeing expansion into North America to capitalize on the recent relative weakness in the valuation of U.S. and Canadian gold assets, The Australian reported. Klein said the company could handle six to eight assets, indicating the capacity to take on one or two more. "We have no pressing need for more assets but if you can improve the quality of the assets with a deal accretive to our shareholders, we'd be interested," the executive added.
* An ongoing investigation found that thieves used a stolen sewage truck to smash through the gates at Northern Star Resources Ltd.'s Kanowna Belle gold mine in Western Australia's Kalgoorlie region and siphoned gold-filled liquid from a dam at the back of its processing plant, The West Australian reported.
* Sunvest Minerals Corp. entered into a binding memorandum of understanding to acquire privately held 1174679 B.C. Ltd., which owns the Moosehead North gold project, from arm's length vendors. Moosehead North comprises two claim blocks covering around 4,215 hectares and is located near Sokoman Iron Corp.'s Moosehead project in Newfoundland and Labrador. Meanwhile, Tasca Resources Ltd. agreed to buy another property, covering 600 hectares, near the Moosehead project.
* Brixton Metals Corp. will acquire 29,608 hectares of mineral rights within the Atlin gold camp of British Columbia, which includes the purchase of the Spruce and Yellowjacket properties, as well as the McKee and Otter properties.
* The Australian Securities and Investments Commission slapped Gold Mountain Ltd. with a A$33,000 fine by for allegedly failing to comply with its continuous disclosure obligations to the ASX and restricted the company from eligibility to issue a reduced-content prospectus until July 2019, Mining Weekly reported.
* Osisko Mining Inc. raised the possibility it extended a gold discovery with a second deep drillhole at the Windfall Lake property in Quebec. It drilled 3.4 meters grading 22.4 g/t of gold about 1,900 meters below surface in hole OSK-W-18-1616-W1.
* Matador Mining Ltd. outlined a maiden resource estimate for the Cape Ray gold project in Newfoundland of indicated and inferred resources at 13.35 million tonnes grading 1.75 g/t of gold and 6.3 g/t silver, representing 750,161 ounces of gold and 2.7 million ounces of silver.
BULK COMMODITIES
* ArcelorMittal launched cash tender offers to purchase up to US$750 million of notes due 2039 and 2041.
* Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. CEO Elizabeth Gaines maintained the company's stance that China's preference for high-grade iron ore is "cyclical," and said the miner doubling its non-China exports year on year in fiscal 2018 was not a deliberate move to reduce exports to the Asian giant, which remains a "core market."
* Separately, Gaines said Fortescue might take a seat on the board of Atlas Iron Ltd. after it decided to retain an 11.37% stake in the miner, The Australian reported. Gaines said the company will make a decision regarding a board seat after Hancock Prospecting Pty. Ltd.'s takeover offer for Atlas closes, scheduled for Aug. 17.
* Hindalco Industries Ltd. unit Novelis Inc.'s net profit climbed to US$137 million in the first quarter of its fiscal 2019, from US$101 million a year ago. Net sales for the aluminum rolling and recycling company increased 16% over the prior year to US$3.1 billion for the quarter ended June 30, driven by higher aluminum prices, shipments and a favorable product mix, partially offset by lower conversion premiums on some products.
* Labrador Iron Ore Royalty Corp. said that Iron Ore Co. of Canada Inc.'s iron ore concentrate production in the second quarter fell 69% year over year to 1.5 million tonnes, while pellet output plummeted 78% in the period due to a nine-week strike at its IOC mining operations in Labrador.
* Czech miner Euro Manganese Inc. is said to be seeking a dual listing in Australia and Canada by September, valuing the company at A$45 million, The Australian Financial Review's Street Talk wrote. The company owns the Chvaletice manganese project in Prague, and is looking to produce "ultra high-quality and high-purity manganese products," namely batteries, according to an investor presentation.
* Wescoal Holdings Ltd. agreed to sell its Leeuw Braakfontein colliery in South Africa to Sitatunga Resources Pty. Ltd. for 103 million South African rand.
* Atrum Coal Ltd. entered into a revised deal with Japan Oil, Gas & Metals National Corp. for exclusive negotiations up to March 31, 2021, over a possible joint venture exploration of the Panorama South coal project in British Columbia.
* Despite fierce support for coal from the Trump administration, industry representatives indicated at the American Coal Council's Coal Market Strategies conference in New Mexico that they are still seeking strategies to address the challenges facing the sector.
* Four workers were killed and nine are missing after an explosion at a coal mine in China's Guizhou province, Xinhua News reported, citing local authorities.
SPECIALTY
* Albemarle Corp.'s attributable net income surged 197% year over year to US$302.5 million in the second quarter. The improvement was primarily driven by the US$1.60 per diluted share gain on sale of the polyolefin catalysts and components portion of the Performance Catalyst Solutions business, as well as earnings growth in each of its reportable segments.
* Chile's lithium carbonate exports more than doubled to US$85 million in July as compared to the same year-ago period, on the back of higher demand and prices for the key component in electric vehicle batteries, Reuters reported, citing the country's central bank.
* LSC Lithium Corp. contracted GHD Ltd. to conduct a preliminary economic assessment for the Pozuelos-Pastos lithium project in Argentina, scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter.
* Graphite One Resources Inc. kicked off a summer field program at its Graphite Creek deposit in Alaska to support the project's pre-feasibility study. President and CEO Anthony Huston said, "Our [preliminary economic assessment] envisions, based on exploration results to date, a possible 40-year project life for a vertically integrated manufacturer" of spherical graphite.
* MGX Minerals Inc. increased its ownership in engineering partner PurLucid Treatment Solutions to 55% from 46% through a C$2.6 million investment. The site preparation and integration engineering of their first wastewater and lithium extraction system in Alberta is nearing completion, the company said.
* Battery Minerals Ltd. Managing Director David Flanagan said it has seven groups interested in completing the balance of the funding for its US$51.2 million Montepuez graphite project in Mozambique, following the cancellation of a US$30 million debt and equity funding by Resource Capital Funds in June, The West Australian reported.
INDUSTRY NEWS
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