TOP NEWS
English High Court allows Vale to enforce US$2B award against BSG over Simandou
The English High Court allowed Vale SA to enforce a US$2 billion arbitration award it won against BSG Resources Ltd., stemming from fraudulent misrepresentations the latter made in the miner's purchase of a majority stake in the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea. Vale will continue to try to collect the award as it pursues legal action against BSG Resources in New York and England.
Coal India workers launch strike against plan to relax foreign ownership rules
Thousands of Coal India Ltd. workers launched several strikes across the company's operations in protest of the government's plan to allow full foreign ownership in the coal sector, Reuters reported. Five unions declared a one-day strike, while another notified the company of a five-day walkout, the report said. An official of one of the unions claimed that the protests impacted about 85% to 90% of Coal India's daily output.
Australian graphite juniors show united front in wake of Syrah Resources' fall
ASX-listed graphite juniors have shown a united front to placate investors that there is more to their market than the reportedly low commodity prices which Syrah Resources Ltd. partly blamed for its plans to drastically reduce output. Comet Resources Ltd. CEO Philippa Leggat said the key for graphite hopefuls is to understand the market and get the project's metallurgy right so the product meets the specification that customers want to buy before building the plant, "not the other way around."
BASE METALS
* Mining magnate Clive Palmer claimed his Mineralogy Pty Ltd. firm allocated A$400 million to reopen the Townsville nickel refinery in 2020, in the wake of reaching a A$100 million settlement with the liquidators of the collapsed Queensland Nickel Pty Ltd. in August, Australian Mining reported.
* Following a review of its operations, Alexander Mining PLC intends to dispose its mineral processing technology subsidiary MetaLeach Ltd., as it is no longer in shareholders' interests to extend financial support to the unit.
* An updated resource estimate for Europa Metals Ltd.'s Toral zinc-lead-silver project in Spain is due for completion in the fourth quarter, after obtaining the final assays from a recently completed drilling program at the project's high-grade area.
* Silver Spruce Resources Inc. signed a binding letter of intent to acquire the advanced stage Melchett Lake zinc-gold-silver project in Ontario's Thunder Bay mining district.
* Universal Copper Ltd. scrapped its planned acquisition of a portion of the Gachala copper project in Colombia to focus on its Poplar copper property in British Columbia.
* Five private Chinese copper smelters were forced to halt production as processing at market terms became unfeasible amid a mix of weakening demand for end products, tight markets for concentrates, and high costs to meet emission standards, Fastmarkets MB reported.
PRECIOUS METALS
* A definitive feasibility study on Platinum Group Metals Ltd.'s Waterberg platinum group metals project in South Africa defined an after-tax net present value of US$982 million, discounted at 8%, with a 20.7% internal rate of return and an 8.4-year payback period.
* Voluntary administrators were appointed to ASX-listed gold explorer Ark Mines Ltd., with the aim to undertake a restructuring, a recapitalization plan, or the potential sale of its assets.
* Orefinders Resources Inc. said the last two independent directors of Mistango River Resources Inc. have decided to leave the company's board amid Orefinders' call for Mistango to release and enforce the results of a shareholder vote on a board revamp.
* Red Lake Gold Inc. resumed field exploration at its Whirlwind Jack gold project in Ontario after the program was suspended due to bad weather.
* Maximus Resources Ltd. executed the A$5.2 million sale of the Burbanks gold mill in Western Australia to privately owned Mineral Ventures Pty. Ltd.
* Excellon Resources Inc. entered into an agreement with Globex Mining Enterprises Inc. for an option to acquire the Silver City project, also known as the Braunsdorf exploration license, in Germany.
BULK COMMODITIES
* Norsk Hydro ASA President and CEO Hilde Merete Aasheim said the company aims to boost EBIT by 6.4 billion Norwegian kroner over the next five years through improvements and restructuring across its businesses. The company plans to cut costs by reversing the curtailment of its Brazilian assets, simplifying staff functions and revising its operating model to support its profitability and sustainability agenda.
* Vale has a "long way to go" before the Church of England reconsiders reinvesting in the embattled Brazilian miner, Bloomberg News wrote, citing Adam Matthews, director of ethics and engagement at the church's pension board.
* Coronado Global Resources Inc. slashed its full-year 2019 EBITDA guidance to the range of A$687 million to A$737 million, from A$737 million to A$807 million, due to the weak benchmark prices for metallurgical coal. The company expects prices to slump further amid global market uncertainties driven by the U.S.-China trade war.
* Thyssenkrupp AG will resume talks to terminate the contract of outgoing CEO Guido Kerkhoff, Reuters reported. Chairwoman Martina Merz will be named as interim CEO for not more than 12 months. The company did not provide a reason for the decision, the report said.
* Kibo Energy PLC signed a heads of agreement with Shumba Energy Ltd. to reorganize the ownership structure and management of the Mabesekwa coal mine and power project in Botswana.
* Steelmaker Altos Hornos de México SAB de CV is exploring capitalization options, including the possible sale of its ownership stake or forming a partnership with another firm, Fastmarkets MB reported.
* Mount Gibson Iron Ltd. said mining depletion at its Iron Hill deposit and the Extension Hill mine in Western Australia led to a yearly drop in the company's total mineral resources and ore reserves for fiscal 2019. The company estimated total resources of 74.2 million tonnes grading 61.8% iron, and total reserves of 20.3 Mt grading 65.5% iron, as of June 30.
* India was the top destination for U.S. coal among Asian nations in the first half of 2019 as well as one of the top global destinations in recent periods, but analysts said thermal coal producers may struggle to compete in the Asian market in the near future, according to an exclusive S&P Global Market Intelligence report.
* Paringa Resources Ltd. began the sale of coal produced from the Poplar Grove mine in western Kentucky to Indiana-Kentucky Electric Corp.
* Polish mining business PG Silesia is looking to acquire state-run utility TAURON Polska Energia SA's Janina coal mine in southern Poland, Reuters reported, citing a local newspaper quoting unnamed sources.
* American Resources Corp. announced that it was named the primary bidder for some of Cambrian Holding Co. Inc.'s eastern Kentucky assets.
* Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. was rated as a world leader in corporate sustainability in the 2019 edition of the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index.
SPECIALTY
* Tianqi Lithium Corp.'s Australian unit, Tianqi Lithium Kwinana, signed a deal with Swedish battery-maker Northvolt AB to supply lithium hydroxide from 2020 to 2025, Reuters reported, citing a company filing. The material will be supplied to Northvolt's planned lithium-ion battery plant in northern Sweden, which is due to begin production in 2021, according to the report.
* India's V.V. Mineral applied for operating licenses in Kenya and Tanzania after being impacted by a local ban on rare earths mining by private companies, Reuters reported, citing V.V. Mineral Chairman and founder S. Vaikundarajan.
* Savannah Resources PLC outlined a maiden co-product resource estimate for the Grandao deposit, part of the Mina do Barroso lithium project in Portugal, of 14.4 million tonnes containing 4.79 Mt of quartz and 6.11 Mt of feldspar.
* Strandline Resources Ltd. made a significant discovery at its Sakura tenement, part of the Tajiri mineral sands project in Tanzania. The company's maiden auger drilling program identified high grade mineralization from a depth of 6 meters to 7 meters.
* Vanadium Resources Ltd. received the first results from drilling at the SPD vanadium project in South Africa, with the results to be incorporated into a resource estimate upgrade that will be released in the fourth quarter.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* The government of British Columbia is asking for public feedback on its proposed mining law amendments that aim to improve regulation of the sector in the province, the Canadian Mining Journal wrote.
* Mining services provider Fluor Corp. plans to sell its construction equipment rental unit AMECO and its government business, along with some real estate assets, to fetch over US$1 billion in proceeds, Reuters reported.
* Brazil will push for the enactment of a contentious bill that will allow mining activity to be conducted on indigenous lands without allowing local communities to veto such projects,
* The Philippine government prohibited miners from expanding their operations beyond a maximum area base unless they first rehabilitate the sites where they extracted minerals, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported, citing Wilfredo Moncano, director of the country's Mines and Geosciences Bureau. Moncano also said in a separate report that out of the 372 mining contracts granted in the country, only 108 mines are actively operating, as most of the contracts involve exploration-stage projects.
* Carbon capture and storage technology, which is often associated with harnessing fossil fuel-related power plant emissions, has been suggested as key to curbing emissions from the very industrial sectors the world largely will rely on to build a low-carbon infrastructure.
* House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., announced that the U.S. House of Representatives would begin an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump over alleged abuse of power. Trump allegedly repeatedly pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden's son in a July phone call, according to reporting from The Wall Street Journal. Biden is running as a Democrat for president in 2020.
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