TOP NEWS

BHP may take US$1.2B impairment for BHP's Jansen project, says Deutsche Bank

BHP Group may record a US$1.2 billion impairment at its Jansen potash project in Saskatchewan as accounting firm EY starts auditing the mining giant in July, The Australian Financial Review reported, citing Deutsche analyst James Gurry. The analyst said in the report that it was time to review the carrying value of the project, following an admission by CEO Andrew Mackenzie that BHP overinvestmented in the US$5.7 billion project.

Voluntary administrators appointed to Gascoyne Resources

Voluntary administrators were appointed to Gascoyne Resources Ltd. amid an expected cash flow shortfall over the next six months caused by lower-than-expected ore grades at its flagship Dalgaranga gold project in Western Australia.

Vedanta launches international arbitration against Zambia over Konkola seizure

Vedanta Resources Ltd. launched international arbitration against the Zambian government after Konkola Copper Mines PLC was placed into provisional liquidation. The company's executives have not been allowed to visit the operation. Despite the dispute, Konkola customers told Fastmarkets MB that copper deliveries for May arrived on time and shipments for June are expected to continue normally.

BASE METALS

* Codelco partially halted work at its El Teniente copper mine in northern Chile following the death of a worker, who died after getting hit by a rock while working in the Pilar Norte sector of the mine, Reuters reported.

* The construction license of Southern Copper Corp.'s Tia Maria copper mine in Peru's Arequipa region is reportedly ready to be issued at the Ministry of Energy and Mines' General Directorate of Mining, after the company resolved observations made in the licensing process, daily La República wrote. However, the project could be disqualified if the government does not grant the permit before August, when the project's environmental impact study expires.

* URU Metals Ltd. will write down its 50% interest in the Burgersfort nickel assets in South Africa and instead focus on its Zebediela nickel-platinum group metals project.

* Altus Strategies PLC's Ethiopian subsidiary, Altau Resources Ltd., received the 285-square-kilometer Zager exploration license targeting volcanogenic massive sulfide hosted copper-gold deposits in the Tigray National Regional State of northern Ethiopia.

PRECIOUS METALS

* Fidelity International Ltd., a 3.2% shareholder in Acacia Mining PLC, said Barrick Gold Corp.'s takeover bid for the mining company is about 50% too low, Reuters reported.

* Goldplat PLC's shares slid over 10% on May 31 in the London Stock Exchange as it put its Kilimapesa gold operations in Kenya on care and maintenance.

* The controversial arrest of an opponent to the Cochrane Hill gold project in Nova Scotia at an information session last week was a "setback," Atlantic Gold Corp. said, but would not delay development of unpermitted gold projects in its 12-year Moose River Consolidated mine plan or affect a C$722 million takeover by St Barbara Ltd.

* Egan Street Resources Ltd. secured approval for the mining proposal and associated closure plan for its Rothsay gold project in Western Australia. EganStreet said the state's mines department is still assessing the company's clearing permit and license and works approval.

* Nelson Resources Ltd. applied for new tenements E63/1971 and E28/2923 near its Socrates, Grindall and Redmill gold projects in Western Australia, consolidating the historic Woodline project.

* Cia. de Minas Buenaventura SAA dismissed 40 workers at its Orcopampa gold-silver operations in Peru due to lower production, Mining.com reported, citing newspaper La Republica. Local community leaders are planning to retaliate with a strike, the report said.

* Three former directors of failed gold miner Apex Minerals NL are facing a A$74 million lawsuit over an insolvent trading claim, The Australian reported.

* Bravura Consortium plans to spend more than US$50 million to explore for platinum in Zimbabwe, Reuters reported, citing the country's mines minister.

* Metals Exploration PLC's lenders HSBC and BNP Paribas and major shareholders MTL Luxembourg SARL and Runruno Holdings Ltd., which hold the company's mezzanine debt, have renewed a standstill agreement for a further month until June 28.

BULK COMMODITIES

* Mount Gibson Iron Ltd. approved Shougang Concord International Enterprises Co. Ltd. and SCIT Trading Ltd. novating their respective interests as guarantor and buyer under their existing Koolan Island iron ore off-take agreement to Hong Kong-listed Newton Resources Ltd. and its subsidiary Ace Profit Investment Ltd. Shougang Group owns about 27.5% of Newton.

* Following a New York Times report that U.S. President Donald Trump was mulling imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum from Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that Australian exports were compliant with the agreement with the U.S., Reuters reported. "We have an arrangement with the U.S. and we are working within that arrangement," Morrison said. Trump reportedly canceled the tariff plans on fears of alienating a key ally.

* Centrex Metals Ltd. settled the previously announced A$1.4 million sale of its non-core Port Spencer land holding in South Australia for A$1.4 million to FREE Eyre Ltd.

* India included Japan's Nippon Steel Corp. and Mitsubishi Steel Mfg. Co. Ltd. alongside South Korea's POSCO as a possible joint venture partner of state-owned Steel Authority of India Ltd. amid delays in ArcelorMittal's proposed takeover of bankrupt Essar Steel India Ltd., Bloomberg News reported, citing SAIL Chairman Anil Kumar Chaudhary.

* China Baowu Steel Group Corporation Ltd. will acquire a 51% stake in rival Magang (Group) Holding Company Ltd. and a 45.54% interest in Magang unit Maanshan Iron & Steel Co. Ltd. at nil consideration. Baowu and Magang were in preliminary takeover talks in September 2018.

* Fragments at the northern slope of the pit at Vale SA's Gongo Soco iron ore mine in Brazil started to slowly disintegrate, reducing concerns about a sudden landslide that could trigger a dam collapse. The company also dismissed speculations that it would relocate residents near its Feijao and Gongo Soco mines to carry out mining exploration activities.

* Unionized workers at Alcoa Corp.'s Baie Comeau aluminum smelter in Quebec ratified a new six-year labor deal, which includes a 16% salary increase, Montreal Gazette reported. Meanwhile, the United Steelworkers authorized local unions representing more than 1,500 workers to launch a strike at the company's facilities in Warrick, Ind.; Massena, N.Y.; Gum Springs, Ark.; Point Comfort, Texas; and Wenatchee, Wash., after failed negotiations.

* SouthGobi Resources Ltd.'s shares resumed trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange and on the Hong Kong market after the coal miner investigated former senior executives over several fraudulent transactions and took remedial actions.

* IndiOre Ltd. agreed to divest Indian subsidiary NSL India MRI to Benita Industries in exchange for the latter taking over all financial liabilities. Meanwhile, the company signed a binding deal with Gold Valley Iron to purchase the Frances Creek crushing and screening plant for A$2.5 million and to process iron ore on the Ridges iron project in Western Australia.

* PJSC Novolipetsk Steel is biding its time to make "decent" investments in the U.S. in light of 25% tariffs on imports imposed in 2018, according to the Russian steelmaker's controlling shareholder and chairman, Vladimir Lisin, Interfax reported.

* Brazil Minerals Inc. secured rights over a 4,120-acre iron project area in the Quadrilátero Ferrífero in Minas Gerais, Brazil, as iron ore prices continue to climb.

* Gombojav Zandanshatar, chair of the Mongolian Parliament, said upcoming elections and "other factors" could delay the partial listing of state-owned Erdenes-Tavantolgoi JSC, in an interview published by the Nikkei Asian Review.

* Thyssenkrupp AG acquired the elevator business of Nashville Machine Company Inc ahead of a planned IPO of its own elevators unit.

* A miner at Rex Coal Co. Inc's CVB No. 1 mine in Kentucky died from injuries sustained in an accident earlier in the month.

SPECIALTY

* King Island Scheelite Ltd.'s feasibility study for its Dolphin open cut tungsten project in Tasmania, Australia, outlined a pretax net present value, discounted at 8%, of A$146 million, a 47% internal rate of return and a 2.75-year payback period. The feasibility study estimated mining and processing of about 400,000 tonnes per annum of ore for eight years to produce about 3,500 tonnes of tungsten trioxide concentrate per year.

* Nova Minerals Ltd. mandated KPG Capital & Co. to act as adviser for the potential sale or joint venture of its Windy Fork rare earth elements project in Alaska. Meanwhile, Nova expects its unit Snow Lake Resources Ltd. to start trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange in late July or August.

* Lucapa Diamond Co. Ltd. sold run of mine parcels totaling 5,573 carats of diamonds from the Lulo mine in Angola at an average price of US$1,800 per carat, achieving gross revenues of US$10.0 million.

* Tungsten Mining NL secured an initial 20% interest in the Hatches Creek tungsten project in Australia's Northern Territory by reimbursing GWR Group Ltd. for past exploration expenditures totaling A$1.7 million. The company can increase its interest to 51% by spending a further A$3.0 million on exploration, development and mining activities within five years.

* Beowulf Mining PLC's recent drilling at its Aitolampi graphite project in Finland extended the higher-grade Western Zone by an additional 100 meters. The company is reviewing its plans for a scoping study at Aitolampi, postponed in 2018 to allow collection of more baseline environmental data.

* Yellow Cake PLC purchased an additional 1.2 million pounds of uranium from JSC National Atomic Co. Kazatomprom for US$30.4 million. The company now holds about 9.6 million pounds of uranium.

* Local environmentalists in Colorado welcomed a recent federal judge decision to end a seven-year ban on uranium mining in the state's West End area as it would allow authorities to assess the environmental impact of the proposed Piñon Ridge uranium mill, Telluride Daily Planet reported.

INDUSTRY NEWS

* The state of Minas Gerais in Brazil entered a memorandum of understanding with a tech company Inmarsat for the monitoring of all tailings facilities in the area, Mining.com reported. The technology will be able to provide real-time surveillance of tailings dams.

* The U.S. terminated India's designation as a beneficiary developing country effective June 5, canceling the Asian country's preferential access to the U.S. market.

* Zimbabwean Energy Minister Fortune Chasi said mining companies can secure supply of electricity by paying in foreign currency, Reuters reported, as the country's largest hydroelectric plant is expected to halt output in 14 weeks due to falling water levels.

The Daily Dose has an editorial deadline of 7 a.m. London time. Some external links may require a subscription. Links are current as of publication time, and we are not responsible if those links are unavailable later.