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Canada to spend C$2.2B to clean up 8 mines; Glencore taps UBS as Cobar adviser

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Canada to spend C$2.2B to clean up 8 mines; Glencore taps UBS as Cobar adviser

TOP NEWS

Canada to invest C$2.2B to clean up 8 mines in Yukon, Northwest Territories

The Canadian government plans to spend C$2.2 billion over 15 years to clean up eight abandoned mining projects in Yukon territory and the Northwest Territories. The active remediation is expected to be complete at seven of the eight mine sites at the end of the program.

Report: Glencore taps UBS as adviser for Cobar copper mine

Glencore PLC tapped investment bank UBS as an adviser for the CSA copper mine in New South Wales, Australia, fueling speculation that the property will be up for sale again after a US$575 million deal with Aeris Resources Ltd. fell through in April, The Australian reported.

Yancoal Australia H1 earnings rise YOY

Yancoal Australia Ltd. reported a rise in net profit for the first half to A$564 million, from A$361 million a year ago, as a one-off tax expense adjustment boosted earnings, while revenue remained constant year over year at A$2.35 billion. Sales volume for the half rose to 16.5 million tonnes of coal, compared to 15.7 Mt in 2018.

BASE METALS

* Kazakhstan's refined copper output rose 13.4% year over year in the first seven months of 2019 to 270,078 tonnes, while refined zinc production climbed 3.3% to 192,258 tonnes and crude steel output dropped 1.2% to about 2.7 million tonnes, Reuters reported, citing Statistics Committee data.

* Polish copper producer KGHM Polska Miedź SA reported a rise in net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent to 969 million zlotys, from 610 million zlotys a year ago, as revenue jumped to 11.23 billion zlotys from 9.42 billion zlotys.

* Botswana's competition authority approved Sandfire Resources NL's proposal to purchase 100% of MOD Resources Ltd. for an implied value of 45 Australian cents per share, valuing the target at A$167 million. MOD shareholders will vote on the proposal in an Oct. 1 meeting.

* Asiamet Resources Ltd. secured a subsidiary of China Nonferrous Metal Mining (Group) Co. Ltd. for engineering, procurement and construction management services for Asiamet's BKM copper project in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia.

* OreCorp Ltd. was granted exploration permit 2259 at the Akjoujt South nickel project in Mauritania.

* PolyMet Mining Corp. said the Minnesota State Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal by environmental groups seeking a supplemental review of Poly Met Mining Inc.'s environmental review for its NorthMet copper project.

* The Zambian government denied that President Edgar Lungu will meet with Vedanta Resources Ltd. in India over the issues surrounding Konkola Copper Mines PLC, Reuters reported.

PRECIOUS METALS

* Matsa Resources Ltd.'s mining study for the proposed stage-two mining operations at its Fortitude gold deposit, part of the Lake Carey project in Western Australia, outlined capital expenditure of A$6.6 million. Total production was estimated at 54,400 ounces of gold at 93% recovery.

* The Earth Resources Department in Victoria, Australia, refused to renew GBM Gold Ltd.'s Bendigo mining licenses, forcing the company to stop work on its gold mining operations. The department was not satisfied that GBM unit Kralcopic Pty. Ltd. would be able to finance the proposed work and rehabilitation requirements.

* Rox Resources Ltd. secured an option to secure a 75% interest in Cullen Resources Ltd.'s Mount Eureka gold project in Western Australia.

* St Barbara Ltd. achieved record gold production of 142,177 ounces at its Simberi mine in Papua New Guinea for fiscal 2019 but reported a fall in net profit for the year to A$144 million from A$227 million a year ago as total gold production fell to 362,346 ounces from 403,089 ounces. The company's ore reserves stand at 5.9 million gold ounces contained in 90.7 million tonnes at 2.0 g/t gold and resources are at 12.0 Moz contained in 183.1 Mt at 2.0 g/t gold following the recently completed acquisition of Atlantic Gold Corp.

* Golden Mile Resources Ltd.entered into a binding agreement to acquire the Yuinmery gold project in Western Australia from Legend Resources Pty. Ltd.

* The Metals and Mining Research team at S&P Global Market Intelligence estimated that six Canadian gold mines and projects could be divested following the mergers of Barrick Gold Corp. and Randgold Resources Ltd., Newmont Goldcorp Corp. and Goldcorp Inc., and Pan American Silver Corp. and Tahoe Resources Inc. Timmins and Red Lake are very likely to be sold, Porcupine and Coffee are likely to be sold, and Eleonore and Hemlo are unlikely to be sold in the short to medium term.

* IAMGOLD Corp. fired 325 contractors from the suspended Rosebel gold mine in Suriname after an illegal miner was killed by police in early August, Reuters reported, citing company spokesperson Indi Gopinathan. The company is working to improve security at the site as it aims to restart the mine, the report said.

* Alliance Resources Ltd. asked shareholders to take no action on Gandel Metals Pty. Ltd.'s takeover offer of 14 Australian cents per share.

* Monarch Gold Corp. closed its acquisition of the Fayolle gold project in Quebec from Typhoon Exploration Inc. and Hecla Mining Co. affiliate Hecla Quebec Inc.

* JPMorgan Chase & Co. precious metals trader Christian Trunz pleaded guilty to spoofing, or placing thousands of fake trade offers for gold, platinum and palladium futures contracts, Reuters reported.

BULK COMMODITIES

* Russian steel producers PAO Severstal and PJSC Novolipetsk Steel plan to start offering online sales of products and services to European and American customers in 2020, Bloomberg reported, citing representatives from the two companies.

* Mineral Resources Ltd. agreed with a subsidiary of Cazaly Resources Ltd. to purchase the latter's Parker Range iron ore project in Western Australia for A$20 million and a royalty of 50 Australian cents for every dry tonne of iron ore extracted from the tenements, payable after the first 10 million dry tonnes.

* A subsidiary of Rhino Energy LLC entered into an agreement with Blackjewel LLC to purchase three underground coal mines in Virginia, according to a filing by Rhino Resource Partners LP.

* BHP Group toppled Rio Tinto as the world's lowest-cost iron ore producer after the former delivered second half costs of US$11.89 per tonne, The Australian wrote. Separately, BHP CEO Andrew Mackenzie declined to confirm if the company is actively running a process to exit thermal coal and said he is "not in a hurry" to off-load the division, The Australian Financial Review reported.

* Assore Ltd. expects attributable earnings for fiscal 2019 to be 11% to 19% higher than the 5.12 billion rand reported in the previous year due to stronger iron ore prices.

* China's Tianjin government, the sole shareholder of bankrupt producer Bohai Steel Group Co. Ltd., is urging the company's creditors to execute a bankruptcy restructuring plan by the end of September, Reuters reported, citing two creditor sources with direct knowledge of the matter. The company collapsed in 2016 with over 200 billion Chinese yuan in unpaid debt. Wrangling between the Tianjin government, creditors and investors has caused delays in implementing the restructuring plan, which was approved by a local court in January.

* Engineering and consultancy firm Aurecon Australasia Pty. Ltd. cut ties with Adani Enterprises Ltd. and its Carmichael coal project in Queensland, Australia, due to pressure from anti-coal activists, The Australian Financial Review reported, shortly after which Resources Minister Matt Canavan accused Aurecon of taking this step not out of environmental concerns but because it did not stand up to "bullies" in the green movement, The Australian wrote.

* Edenville Energy PLC received two recently acquired 30-tonne trucks to use in mining load and haul at its Rukwa coal project in southwest Tanzania. The wash plant is also expected to move to a double-shift basis in the coming weeks to boost productivity.

* The Karnataka government in India canceled the mining lease extension it had granted to National Mineral Development Corp. Ltd. for the Donimalai iron ore mine, Press Trust of India reported.

* The Australian government may cancel Cu-River Mining Australia Pty. Ltd.'s permit to access its Cairn Hill iron ore project in South Australia due to national security concerns as the property is near a top-secret weapons testing site, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

* Hylea Metals Ltd. surrendered tenements E08/2211-I and E47/2417-I, part of its Ashburton iron ore project in Western Australia.

* Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal Pty. Ltd. filed an appeal to a court ruling that declared New Hope Corp. Ltd. did not guarantee the debts of units Northern Energy Corp. Ltd. and Colton Coal Pty. Ltd. over the Colton coal project in Queensland, Australia.

* The U.S. is set to impose duties on subsidized steel rack imports from China after the U.S. International Trade Commission determined that they hurt U.S. industry, Reuters reported.

SPECIALTY

* Noble Group Ltd. expects to focus on developing technology metals, or rare earths, and is seeking further opportunities in the sector after taking up a small stake in Australian rare earths developer Arafura Resources Ltd. earlier this year, Reuters reported, citing sources aware of the matter. The company is repositioning itself as a niche, Asia-focused commodity trader and is planning to rebuild its liquefied natural gas and core energy businesses.

* Technology Metals Australia Ltd.'s definitive feasibility study for its Gabanintha vanadium project in Western Australia outlined a net present value, discounted at 8%, of A$870 million, a 27.3% internal rate of return and a 3.2-year payback period. Total preproduction process plant capital expenditure was estimated at A$454 million. Average vanadium oxide production is expected at 27.9 million pounds per annum, targeted to start in 2022.

* Bolivian state-owned lithium company Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos and Chinese conglomerate Xinjiang TBEA Group Co. Ltd. agreed to create a joint venture to build and operate a US$1 billion plant that will produce lithium carbonate from the Pastos Grandes salt flat, news agency EFE reported.

* Alita Resources Ltd. completed a shipment of about 10,500 dry tonnes of lithium concentrate to Jiangxi Bao Jiang Lithium Industrial Ltd. The company is looking to restructure the off-take agreement as part of its refinancing proposals.

* Iluka Resources Ltd. booked an 8.8% yearly increase in first half profit to A$137.2 million from A$126.1 million due to higher prices and increased royalty revenue from the Area C iron ore operation in Western Australia. Capital expenditure guidance for the full year was reduced to A$260 million from A$330 million mainly due to a delay beyond the current year for early work at Sembehun at the Sierra Rutile project in Sierra Leone.

* An updated preliminary economic assessment on Texas Mineral Resources Corp.'s Round Top rare earths project in Texas outlined a pretax net present value of US$1.56 billion, at a 10% discount rate, with a 70% internal rate of return and a 1.4-year payback period.

* The Botswanan minister of mineral resources, green technology and energy security approved A-Cap Energy Ltd.'s two-year delay in the mining program for its Letlhakane uranium project, now scheduled to start construction at the end of October 2021.

* Largo Resources Ltd. will not renew a 2008 off-take agreement with Glencore International AG on the Maracas Menchen vanadium mine in Brazil. The deal will expire April 30, 2020.

INDUSTRY NEWS

* U.S. mine safety officials are not adequately evaluating whether monetary penalties are effective at reducing fatal or permanent accidents across the nation's mines, according to an audit from the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General.

* Chile will include the costs of fighting climate change in its annual budget starting in 2020, Reuters reported, citing Finance Minister Felipe Larraín.

* Japan approved the sale of advanced technology resources to South Korea, tempering its prior decisions to impose strict export controls ahead of scheduled talks to sooth trade tensions, Reuters reported, citing two sources close to the matter.

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