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Newmont to sell Red Lake gold mine; Honbridge to build US$2.2B iron ore complex

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Newmont to sell Red Lake gold mine; Honbridge to build US$2.2B iron ore complex

TOP NEWS

Newmont Goldcorp starts sale process for Red Lake mine in Canada

Newmont Goldcorp Corp. confirmed that it is selling the Red Lake gold mine in Canada as part of a continuing effort to streamline its portfolio following a merger. The sale process is now underway, with President and incoming CEO Tom Palmer to provide more details in a company presentation on Sept. 17 at the 30th annual Denver Gold Forum. In August, the Metals and Mining Research team at S&P Global Market Intelligence said operating the mine, a noncore asset located in a historical gold camp, remains expensive despite cost-cutting.

Honbridge unit signs deal to build US$2.2B iron ore complex in Brazil

Honbridge Holdings Ltd. unit Sul Americana de Metais S/A signed a protocol of intent with Brazil's Minas Gerais state to build the Block 8 iron ore complex worth 9.1 billion Brazilian reais, or about US$2.2 billion, Reuters reported, citing newspaper O Estado de Sao Paulo. The deal includes an 845-million-square-meter tailings dam, which would be about 70 times larger than the one that burst at Vale SA's Feijao iron ore mine in January, the report said. Block 8 is expected to produce 30 million tons of pellet feed per year, according to Sul Americana's website.

Kinross Gold to proceed with Tasiast mine expansion

Kinross Gold Corp. approved the throughput capacity expansion of its Tasiast gold mine in Mauritania to 24,000 tonnes per day after a feasibility study defined a net present value, at a 5% discount, of US$1.7 billion, a 60% internal rate of return and an initial capex of US$150 million.

BASE METALS

* Philex Mining Corp.'s Silangan copper project in the Philippines' Surigao del Norte province will proceed as planned as the Mines and Geosciences Bureau approved the operation's revised declaration of mining project feasibility, the agency's chief, Wilfredo Moncano, said on the sidelines of the Mining Philippines 2019 conference in Manila. Moncano also said that Indonesia's impending restrictions on nickel ore exports at the end of 2019 are seen as a boon to the Philippines, but he fears that a preference for higher grade ore could dampen the sector's potential.

* Mongolian lawmakers will debate on Sept. 18 the recommendations from an earlier parliamentary committee review of the government's legal agreements with Rio Tinto over the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine, The Australian Financial Review wrote.

* Indonesia's Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry increased Freeport-McMoRan Inc.'s copper concentrate export quota to 700,000 wet tonnes from 198,282 wet tonnes previously, The Jakarta Post reported, citing the ministry's minerals director, Yunus Saefulhak. Saefulhak said this comes as a result of successful optimization programs at the Grasberg copper-gold mine in the country's Papua province.

* Malaysia Smelting Corp. Bhd. CEO Patrick Yong does not expect the company's tin production to slide despite output cuts flagged by rivals Yunnan Tin Co. Ltd. and PT Timah Tbk. due to falling prices, Reuters reported. Malaysia Smelting's ore production will even increase slightly this year thanks to new mines, Yong said.

* Some Havilah Resources Ltd. shareholders linked to co-founder Bob Johnson called for the ouster of Chairman Mark Stewart, who accused Johnson and major shareholder Christopher Giles of trying to assert control over the company after Giles retracted his support for GFG Alliance Ltd.'s planned A$100 million investment into Havilah, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

* As it plans to bring forward a nickel ore export ban, Indonesia is hoping that Chinese firms will ramp up their investment in the Southeast Asian nation and build more smelters and processing plants, Bloomberg News reported, citing Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Indonesia's coordinating minister of maritime affairs.

* Red River Resources Ltd. shares were down nearly 12% by Sept. 13 ASX trading close after flagging about a 30% cut in production for the September quarter compared to the June quarter at its Thalanga base metals operation in Queensland, Australia, due to ongoing repairs at the processing plant.

PRECIOUS METALS

* Newmont Goldcorp temporarily suspended operations at its Penasquito gold mine in Mexico after an illegal blockade resumed following the suspension of government-sponsored talks to resolve issues with a trucking contractor and local villagers. The same protesters blockaded the mine in March but decided to end it in June after the government offered to mediate an agreement.

* The High Court of Justice in England and Wales made an order sanctioning the scheme of arrangement for the consolidation of Barrick Gold Corp.'s interest in Acacia Mining PLC. The companies said the deal is expected to become effective Sept. 17, with Acacia Mining shares to be suspended from the London Stock Exchange.

* Papua New Guinea wants 40% of the gold produced at the proposed Wafi-Golpu project, a 50/50 joint venture between Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd. and Newcrest Mining Ltd., Reuters reported, citing Commerce Minister Wera Mori.

* Jadar Lithium Ltd. agreed to acquire the Yanamina gold project in Peru from Wealth Minerals Ltd. for US$100,000 in cash, a 1.0% net smelter royalty and US$8 million in production-linked milestone payments, as well as additional NSRs of 3.0%.

* Arrow Minerals Ltd. decided not to pursue its planned legal action against Dreadnought Resources Ltd. over the latter's acquisition of the Illaara gold project in Western Australia from Newmont Goldcorp. In August, Arrow Minerals threatened to sue Dreadnought Resources over the alleged misuse of confidential information regarding the Illaara deal.

* Local villagers protested against Polska Grupa Górnicza sp. z o.o. 's Imielin North coal project in Poland after complaining about shaky ground and home damages since the company started mining in the area, Xinhua News Agency reported.

* Chaarat Gold Holdings Ltd. signed a joint venture agreement with Turkish mining and mine construction contractor Ciftay Insaat Taahhut ve Ticaret AS to jointly develop the Tulkubash and Kyzyltash projects in the Kyrgyz Republic. Ciftay will invest up to US$31.5 million to secure a 12.5% equity stake in the two projects.

* OreCorp Ltd.'s OreCorp Tanzania Ltd. unit obtained Tanzanian regulatory approvals to complete its acquisition of the Nyanzaga gold project from Acacia.

* Political unrest in Hong Kong is squeezing the country's gold exports to China, which fell to 8.085 tonnes in July, the lowest level in over eight years, Reuters reported, citing official Hong Kong records.

BULK COMMODITIES

* Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. plans to convert 175 trucks to autonomous technology by mid-2020, compared to 137 autonomous trucks in operation now. The company's fleet of autonomous haul trucks have moved more than one billion tonnes of material and delivered a 30% improvement in productivity, CEO Elizabeth Gaines said.

* Exxaro Resources Ltd., which was expected to start producing coal at its Belfast mine in South Africa in 2020, kicked off production six months ahead of schedule.

* New Zealand-based Bathurst Resources Ltd. may possibly be the only miner that imports coal to Australia, the world's biggest exporter of coking coal, The Australian Financial Review reported. Bathurst is shipping coal to GFG Alliance's Whyalla steelworks in South Australia, which wanted a cheaper way to source raw materials after emerging from administration in 2017, the report said.

* American Pacific Borate & Lithium Ltd. has achieved several milestones at its flagship Fort Cady borate project in California, including the completion of basic engineering and the receipt of all air quality permits. Start of construction is targeted by year-end.

* In mounting potash production cuts, major fertilizer producers may be hoping to support falling spot prices exacerbated by a Chinese import ban as they look to secure the best possible long-term contracts with key buyers in India and China, analysts said in an exclusive S&P Global Market Intelligence report.

* TNG Ltd. said that its binding term sheet with commodities trader Gunvor for an iron oxide off-take is no longer in force. Signed in March 2016, the binding term sheet concerned the off-take of a minimum of 60% of the iron products from the Mount Peake vanadium-titanium-iron project in Australia's Northern Territory.

SPECIALTY

* The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy of South Africa will issue two mining right renewals, to Mineral Commodities Ltd., allowing the company to continue its existing mining operations at Tormin ilmenite project in Western Cape for 10 more years.

* The Minerals Council of Australia called for the lifting of a ban on nuclear power and advocates for the use of small modular reactors, a cheaper and more eco-friendly alternative to coal-fired power stations, The Australian Financial Review and The Sydney Morning Herald wrote, citing a submission by Minerals Council CEO Tania Constable to a federal inquiry.

* Lepidico Ltd. secured patent protection for its L-Max processing technology, a key part of the company's feasibility-stage Phase 1 lithium plant project in Ontario.

INDUSTRY NEWS

* London Stock Exchange Group PLC has issued a stinging rejection of Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd.'s takeover proposal and attacked the group's relationship with the Hong Kong government and its future as a strategic gateway.

* Germany's climate protection package that Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives and their Social Democrat coalition partners plan to reveal next week will cost at least €40 billion until 2023, Reuters reported, citing a person briefed on the talks. The package will include some sort of carbon emissions pricing to fund programs aimed at cutting emissions, the report said.

* South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Bavelile Hlongwa, was killed in a car accident, Reuters reported, citing President Cyril Ramaphosa. Hlongwa was 38.

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