TOP NEWS
JFE Holdings, Nippon Steel to spend billions in upgrades to fend off rivals
Japan's JFE Holdings Inc. will spend over US$6 billion and Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. earmarked about ¥1.7 billion for plant upgrades and operational expansions in the next three years to fend off rivals such as ArcelorMittal and POSCO and in preparation for increased demand from energy vehicles and the 2020 Olympics, Bloomberg News reported.
EU official: 'Trilateral steel overcapacity talks' to continue with US, Japan
EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom will meet her U.S. and Japanese counterparts March 10 to continue "trilateral steel overcapacity talks" the officials started in December 2017. According to Reuters, Malmstrom sees this as "the big opportunity" to discuss looming tariffs from the U.S. and to "reiterate what the counter-measures" from the EU would be.
Foreign suppliers to 'feel the pain' if Trump imposes metal tariffs
President Donald Trump's threat to impose expansive tariffs on steel and aluminum is already boosting customer inquiries at U.S. mills, along with U.S. metal prices. However, how much the direct U.S. aluminum and steel sectors may benefit from a tariff remains an open and fraught question, according to metals experts. Doug Hilderhoff, CRU Group's principal analyst on steel, said steel mills will likely help existing customers first, rather than those that rely on imports and suddenly want U.S. supply.
DIVERSIFIED
* Anglo American Plc unit Anglo American Capital plc put up US$1.20 billion to purchase €1.67 billion of outstanding notes.
BASE METALS
* Amur Minerals Corp. awarded JSC Cevi Construzioni the contract for the first component of the access road work that will connect the miner's Kun-Manie nickel-copper sulfide project in Russia to the Ulak rail station area.
* MMG Ltd. swung to a net profit of US$348.4 million in 2017 from a year-ago net loss of US$98.7 million. It attributed the reversal to higher commodity prices, its focus on cash generation and the contribution from its Las Bambas copper mine in Peru. Meanwhile, the base metals miner is aiming to produce between 560,000 and 590,000 tonnes of copper and between 190,000 and 220,000 tonnes of zinc in 2018.
* PT Antam (Persero) Tbk. is aiming to produce and sell 26,000 tonnes of nickel contained in ferronickel in full year 2018, compared to 21,762 tonnes and 21,813 tonnes of nickel contained in ferronickel produced and sold, respectively, in 2017.
* Eurasian Resources Group Sàrl renewed efforts to sell its Frontier copper mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo even as the asset's value has dropped to US$400 million, Reuters reported, citing two banking sources. One of the sources said the Kazakh miner is aiming to exit the DRC within two years.
* Jinchuan Group International Resources Co. Ltd. expects to book a consolidated profit attributable to owners of at least US$30 million for full year 2017, up from about US$8 million in 2016, partly due to higher average cobalt and copper sale prices.
* Cameo Resources Corp. agreed to acquire the 3,759-hectare Gochager Lake nickel-copper-cobalt project in Saskatchewan from U.S. Lithium Corp.
* S&P Global Market Intelligence estimates that in the final quarter of 2017, global production of nickel slipped slightly compared with the previous quarter. The estimate of 553,000 tonnes for the period brings the annual total to almost 2.19 million tonnes, which is fractionally higher than output in 2016. Meanwhile, production of zinc increased to 3.20 million tonnes after the disappointing 3.13 Mt registered in the September 2017 quarter.
* The Indonesian government collected US$756 million in revenue from Freeport-McMoRan Inc. unit PT Freeport Indonesia in 2017, The Jakarta Post reported.
* Clean TeQ Holdings Ltd. will undertake an underwritten A$150 million share placement to fund early works and long-lead items to accelerate development at the Clean TeQ Sunrise nickel project in New South Wales, Australia.
* Bunker Hill Mining Corp. signed an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Justice to allow for its operation of the Bunker Hill zinc-lead-silver mine in Idaho without being liable for the mine's past contamination incidents.
* A preliminary economic assessment on Cardero Resource Corp.'s Zonia copper oxide deposit in Arizona defined a posttax net present value, discounted at 8%, of US$192 million, with a 29% internal rate of return and a 2.89-year payback period.
PRECIOUS METALS
* Victoria Gold Corp. secured a C$505 million funding package that will fully fund developing its Dublin Gulch Eagle gold project in Canada's Yukon Territory through to commercial production.
* Franco-Nevada Corp. swung to a net profit of US$43.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2017 from a year-ago loss of US$4.5 million. Full-year income increased 59% to US$194.7 million and revenue increased 10.6% to US$675.0 million as a result of a record 497,745 gold equivalent ounces sold.
* The price of gold will benefit no matter what Trump decides to do about tariffs on steel and aluminum, Jeffrey Christian, CPM managing partner, said on the sidelines of the Prospectors & Developers Association Conference in Toronto.
* Calidus Resources Ltd. identified over 45 high-priority exploration targets within its Warrawoona gold project in Western Australia, to be drilled and evaluated through a planned 50,000-meter drill program this year.
* Data from the World Platinum Investment Council showed that global platinum demand will slightly increase this year amid recovering jewelry demand in Asian markets and higher demand for industrial applications, Mining Weekly wrote.
* The London Precious Metals Clearing Ltd., a consortium responsible for clearing transactions in London's gold market, is opening up to accepting new member banks, which may help the market become more competitive, The Australian Financial Review reported.
* The United Steelworkers Union Local 5114 rejected a proposal to end the yearlong strike at Hecla Mining Co.'s Lucky Friday silver mine in Idaho.
* Westgold Resources Ltd. agreed to sell its South Kalgoorlie gold operations in Western Australia to Northern Star Resources Ltd. for A$80 million in cash and shares. The deal is in line with Westgold's strategy to focus on its Murchison gold assets.
* Crater Gold Mining Ltd. resumed underground mining operations at the Crater Mountain gold project in Papua New Guinea after receiving approval from the country's Mineral Resources Authority.
BULK COMMODITIES
* Adani Enterprises Ltd. is considering other options to refinance debt for its Adani Abbot Point Terminal Pty. Ltd. unit amid difficulties in attracting lenders due to its controversial Carmichael coal project in Queensland, Australia, Reuters wrote. According to data from Thomson Reuters Loan Pricing Corp., Adani Abbot Point launched a loan of up to A$500 million in August 2017 to partially refinance debt due in October, but sources say the arranger has yet to receive any firm commitments.
* The White House hinted at the possibility that the U.S. could exclude certain countries, in addition to Canada and Mexico, from its planned tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, Reuters reported. Trump is expected to sign a presidential proclamation establishing the tariffs March 8, but the ceremony might be delayed to the next day.
* The Indonesian Trade Ministry plans to impose import duties on steel and aluminum products in response to planned tariffs by the U.S. government, Bisnis Indonesia reported.
* China's Hebei province is aiming to cut iron and steel making capacity by over 10 million tonnes each this year under its three-year plan, which also aims to ban any future increase in the region's steel capacity, Reuters wrote, citing a provincial government official.
* China's Shanxi province also looks to slash 16 million tonnes of backward mining capacity in state-owned coal mines in 2018, Xinhua Net reported.
* Rio Tinto is expecting that its US$2 billion in annual aluminum sales from its Quebec and British Columbia smelters to the United States will be spared from the proposed tariffs, The Australian Financial Review reported.
* Corsa Coal Corp. decided to sell Central Appalachia, its thermal and industrial coal division in Tennessee, to a buyer group led by the division's current management team.
* Exxaro Resources Ltd. booked headline EPS of 502 South African cents for full-year 2017, down 61% from the previous year, and declared a final dividend of 400 cents per share, compared to 410 cents per share in 2016. Exxaro also expressed interest in acquiring the coal assets of Tegeta Resources, owned by the Gupta family, against other bidders, including former CEO Sipho Nkosi, Miningmx reported, citing CEO Mxolisi Ngojo on a conference call for its full-year 2017 results.
* PJSC Novolipetsk Steel's board recommended a dividend of 3.36 Russian rubles per share dividend in the fourth quarter of 2017, lower than its third-quarter dividend of 5.13 rubles per share.
* Coal India Ltd. missed its production target for the 11th straight month, bringing its total from April 2017 through February 2018 to 495.1 million tonnes, 7% below the target set by India's coal ministry, Business Standard reported.
* Jupiter Mines Ltd. is contemplating a A$200 million relisting bid on the ASX, as manganese prices have significantly improved since the company's delisting in 2013, The West Australian reported.
* U.S. Steel Corp. will restart steelmaking facilities and one of two blast furnaces at its Granite City Works property in Illinois ahead of an anticipated surge in local demand following the government's plans to enforce tariffs on steel imports. The company expects to recall about 500 employees starting this month, with the restart expected to take up to four months.
* BSG Resources Ltd. entered into voluntary administration in a bid to guard itself as it faces legal action as part of the bribery probe over the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea, Reuters reported. The billionaire investor Beny Steinmetz-owned company is also suing financier George Soros for damages of US$10 billion over lost contracts.
* Universal Coal Plc agreed to acquire the North Block Complex, an open cast coal operation in South Africa, from Exxaro Resources Ltd. for 170 million South African rand.
* China's National Energy Administration said coal's share in the country's primary energy mix will be slashed to 59% in 2018 and will be further reduced to just half by 2020 amid efforts to transition to cleaner energy sources, Reuters reported. Coal production this year is expected to reach an all-time high of 3.7 billion tonnes, up 7.3% on a yearly basis.
* Tata Steel Ltd. said it was the winning bidder for a controlling stake in insolvent Indian steelmaker Bhushan Steel Ltd., beating rival JSW Steel Ltd. Reuters reported that Bhushan's creditors claimed they were owed 559.89 billion Indian rupees.
SPECIALTY
* Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the country is looking at opportunities in Zimbabwe's diamond sector and the full implementation of a US$3 billion joint platinum project near Zimbabwe's capital, Reuters reported.
* AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group NV booked a US$14.3 million profit in the fourth quarter of 2017, rising from US$10 million a year ago, bolstered by an 18% year-on-year surge in revenue to US$280.7 million. Full-year net income jumped 40% to US$57 million.
* Apollo Minerals Ltd. will acquire Variscan Mines Ltd.'s Variscan Mines SAS unit, which holds the remaining 20% stake in the Couflens tungsten-copper-gold project in southern France.
* Ucore Rare Metals Inc. is forming a joint venture with Kentucky River Properties LLC to process rare earth elements and strategic metals from the Appalachian coal region in the U.S.
* Image Resources NL intends to raise A$50 million by issuing senior secured loan notes to advance the Boonanarring mineral sands project in Western Australia.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* Democratic Republic of the Congo President Joseph Kabila is expected to sign a widely criticized new mining code into law, Reuters reported, citing the government and mining companies. The announcement follows discussions between the mining companies and Kabila, as confirmed by Randgold Resources Ltd., which said discussions with the government over the issues in the current agreement will continue.
The Daily Dose is updated as of 7 a.m. ET and scans news sources published in Chinese, English, Indonesian, Malay, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai and Ukrainian. Some external links may require a subscription.
