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C$3B lawsuit against Barrick approved; Cobalt 27 shareholders accept Pala offer

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C$3B lawsuit against Barrick approved; Cobalt 27 shareholders accept Pala offer

TOP NEWS

Ontario court approves C$3B lawsuit against Barrick Gold

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice approved a pension fund’s proposed C$3 billion securities class action against Barrick Gold Corp. for alleged misinterpretations of environmental disclosures about the stalled Pascua-Lama gold-copper project, located on the border of Chile and Argentina, Mining.com reported.

Cobalt 27 shareholders accept Pala's amended takeover offer

Cobalt 27 shareholders accepted Pala Investments Ltd.'s offer to acquire all of its issued and outstanding common shares. Under the amended arrangement, each Cobalt 27 shareholder will receive total consideration of C$5.92 per share, comprised of C$4.00 in cash plus 1 share of Nickel 28 Capital Corp. with an implied value of C$1.92 per share.

S&P Global Ratings: European steelmakers face souring business cycle

European steel producers should not expect a quick rebound in prices to rescue profits, according to a recent S&P Global Ratings overview of the sector. After three years of strong performance, Ratings said the business cycle had soured for European steel producers with prices for steel products along with margins and EBITDA retreating to 2016 levels. The rating agency also pointed to deep-seeded issues for European steelmakers.

DIVERSIFIED

* Mark Freeman, the CEO of the Australian Foundation Investment Co., one of Rio Tinto's biggest Australian shareholders, backed the mining company's CEO, Jean-Sebastien Jacques, in finding a way through its troubles in Mongolia, Australian Financial Review reported. Freeman said that "Mongolia was always going to be a tricky place to invest" after Rio Tinto's Oyu Tolgoi copper mine faced management shortcomings and geological problems causing massive cost and schedule brownouts.

BASE METALS

* Environmental remediation expert Alex Mojon claimed finding evidence that Metallurgical Corp. of China Ltd. was not managing waste at the Ramu nickel-cobalt plant in Papua New Guinea, adding that lab results from the recent spill were "alarming" as all samples were found to have toxic levels of heavy metals contamination, Reuters wrote, citing a local media report.

* A showdown between Metals X Ltd. and its biggest shareholder, APAC Resources Ltd., is looming over the future of the Nifty copper mine in Western Australia as possible buyers circle the asset, The Australian reported. The two companies are at odds over the project's performance and APAC's demand that its nominee, Executive Director Brett Smith, be given a seat on the Metals X board.

* Clean TeQ Holdings Ltd. terminated its agreement with Metallurgical Corp. of China to develop the former's Sunrise nickel-cobalt project in New South Wales, Australia due to disagreements on design, procurement, project execution and contracting matters.

* Talisman Mining Ltd. closed the sale of its Sinclair nickel project in Western Australia to Saracen Mineral Holdings Ltd.

* Panoramic Resources Ltd. September quarter nickel production fell 12% quarterly to 1,342 tonnes, while copper production was up 5% to 855 tonnes.

PRECIOUS METALS

* Ongoing civil unrest in Ecuador has started to impact activities on Lundin Gold Inc.'s Fruta del Norte gold project. The company has curtailed some activities in certain areas of the project.

* Argonaut Gold Inc. temporarily suspended operations at its La Colorada gold mine in Mexico after two workers died as a result of a high voltage accident while performing maintenance on a haul truck. Operations have since resumed.

* Petratherm Ltd. was granted a 683-square-kilometer license area, dubbed as the Yuengroon project tenement, in Victoria, Australia. The license area includes the historic northern Wedderburn Goldfield, with recorded production of 140,000 ounces of gold.

* Barrian Mining Corp. staked an additional 40 contiguous claims at its Troy Canyon gold and silver project in Nevada, tripling the size of the project to 59 contiguous claims totaling 493.30 hectares from 19 claims covering 158.56 hectares.

BULK COMMODITIES

* Metro Mining Ltd.'s definitive feasibility study for the stage 2 expansion of the Bauxite Hills project in Queensland, Australia, confirmed the benefits of expanding to an annual rate of 6.0 million wet tonnes. The capital cost is estimated at A$51.4 million, with project payback in less than 18 months.

* PAO Severstal's third-quarter crude steel production inched down 1% from the second quarter to 3.0 million tonnes, mainly reflecting a decline in electric arc furnace steel output following the recent sale of its Balakovo mini-mill in Russia.

* Sirius Minerals PLC entered into an exclusive 10-year supply and distribution agreement with Qatar Chemical and Petrochemical Marketing and Distribution Co. (Muntajat) Q for the sale and distribution of volumes of POLY4, Sirius' flagship fertilizer project, to Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and certain remaining Middle East and Asian territories.

* China Vanadium Titano-Magnetite Mining Co. Ltd. "progressively resumed" operations at the Maoling-Yanglongshan mine in China's Sichuan province after mudslides caused by severe flooding disrupted the operation in August.

* The Indonesian government is considering a proposal by its West Kalimantan provincial government for a change in bauxite royalty rules following a 204% jump in production in the 18 months ended June, Reuters reported, citing a statement issued by the coordinating ministry for maritime affairs. Authorities currently charge miners 3.75% of revenue from bauxite sales.

* Altech Chemicals Ltd. minority-owned Youbisheng Green Paper AG has changed its name to Altech Advanced Materials AG and plans to raise US$100 million to exercise its recently secured right to acquire a 10% to 49% stake in Altech's high purity alumina plant in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

SPECIALTY

* Two federal lawmakers from Arizona disagreed on whether current mining practices on uranium pose a health threat. U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva, the Democratic chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, told S&P Global Market Intelligence that the effects of uranium contamination have a "long shelf life" and that the federal government should be thinking about investing in the people suffering as a result rather than planning the next spot to "sink a new mine." Republican U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus and member of the Natural Resources Committee, said in a statement that today's uranium mining meets new Occupational Safety and Health Administration and mine safety laws and "does not present health risks."

* Paladin Energy Ltd. estimated an initial capital of US$80 million to restart its flagship Langer Heinrich uranium project in Namibia to production levels of about 5.2 million pounds per annum.

* Western Australia amended the royalty arrangement for lithium producers, resulting in 5% feedstock royalty rate for lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate that aims to encourage downstream processing and manufacturing. The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies lauded the move, saying the royalty rate allows the state's miners to compete internationally and secure its place in the global lithium value chain.

* Vast Resources PLC will sign a joint venture agreement with Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Co. for diamond exploration and mining in eastern Zimbabwe, Reuters reported, citing Mines Minister Winston Chitando. This is part of President Emmerson Mnangagwa's initiative to increase the exploitation of the country's mineral resources to improve the economy and boost investment in mining, with a plan of raising the sector's export earnings to US$12 billion by 2023 from $3.2 billion in 2018.

* Ferroglobe PLC closed a new, five-year US$100 million North American asset-based revolving credit facility, which will be used to fund the working capital needs of unit Globe Specialty Metals and its subsidiaries, and for general corporate purposes.

* Australian Vanadium Ltd. is confident that the federal government's recognition of its Gabanintha mine has set up the project for success, The Sydney Morning Herald reported, quoting the company's managing director Vincent Algar. Algar said that the major project status puts the company in a position where it has access to departments and agencies in the Commonwealth system to help approvals and keep the wheels turning.

* Liquid metals like gallium, indium, bismuth and tin in alloys can capture carbon and clean pollutants, which could help solve environmental issues, according to research from the University of New South Wales' School of Engineering, The Times of India reported.

* Sagon Resources Ltd. executed a native title heritage protection and mineral exploration agreement with the Kimberley Land Council over the Jaru Lands in East Kimberley, where the Cummins Range rare earths project is located.

* WestStar Industrial Ltd.'s engineering contractor business SIMPEC was awarded a new contract amounting to about A$5 million for Tianqi Lithium Corp.’s LHPP1 process plant in Kwinana, Western Australia.

INDUSTRY NEWS

* Queensland will employ more mine inspectors and another chief mines inspector, The Sydney Morning Herald reported, citing Mines and Natural Resources minister Anthony Lynham. The statement came as Lynham talked about progress in Queensland's mine safety reset, following six deaths in 12 months at mines and quarries in the state.

* The Philippines' Mines and Geosciences Bureau wants to transform its anti-illegal mining task force into a separate bureau, as the agency bats for more resources, manpower and leverage to fight illegal mining activities, BusinessMirror reported.

* The Indian government plans to discontinue offering mining rights for mineral resources, including coal, to companies for captive use, The Economic Times reported. Instead, a new hybrid mining lease agreement would be framed under which companies would be free to use extracted mineral both for captive use of end use plants and commercial sale in the open market.

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