TOP NEWS
Bamin plans US$2.6B iron ore project in Brazil
Bahia Mineração SA, or Bamin, is in talks with several potential investors, including a consortium of three Chinese companies, for financing for a US$2.6 billion iron ore project in Brazil's northeastern state of Bahia, Reuters reported, citing Bamin CEO Eduardo Ledsham. Production is expected to start in the first half of 2025, the report said. The Eurasian Resources Group SARL-backed company committed to partially funding a rail line to transport ore and will spend US$1 billion to build a port.
Planned sale of ArcelorMittal's construction unit may fetch up to €800M
ArcelorMittal is preparing an auction of its downstream construction unit, which makes roof paneling and other products, as part of a plan to divest peripheral operations, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The sale may bring in about €700 million to €800 million for the company, according to the sources, and is expected to start in the fourth quarter.
Norsk Hydro restructuring rolled products business, flags up to 735 job cuts
Norsk Hydro ASA flagged the dismissal of up to 735 employees through 2024 as it launched a restructuring of its rolling business, which has been struggling with high costs and strong competition in recent years. Total restructuring costs are pegged at about €160 million, of which €100 million to €120 million will be booked in the third quarter.
BASE METALS
* Ironbark Zinc Ltd. is reviewing the option of reducing the targeted production rate at its Citronen zinc project in Greenland to 1 million tonnes per annum, compared to the originally planned 3.3 mtpa. The smaller initial operation is expected to reduce development costs, the company noted, and a revised study is anticipated in two months.
* The price of tin on the London Metal Exchange climbed to US$17,300 per tonne, from US$15,565 per tonne in August, after tin smelters in China said last week that they are planning to cut 20,000 tonnes of production in 2019 to counter low prices, stopping a five-month decline, Reuters reported.
* Chilean copper production in July grew 0.9% yearly to 486,500 tonnes from 482,000 tonnes in 2018 as higher output at the Esperanza, Collahuasi and Spence mines offset lower output from Codelco, Escondida and Anglo American PLC, Fastmarkets MB wrote, citing the Cochilco copper commission.
* Empire Resources Ltd. exercised its option to acquire a 91.89% stake in the Yuinmery copper tenements in Western Australia from Evolution Mining Ltd. in exchange for a 1.25% net smelter royalty.
* Coro Mining Corp. intends to consolidate its ownership of the Marimaca copper project in Chile by acquiring the remaining 49% stake it does not already own for US$12 million.
PRECIOUS METALS
* In issuing stalled permits to Canadian-listed miner Eldorado Gold Corp., the recently elected Greek government is brandishing business-friendly chops that may help open the door to more foreign investment. "We're seeing a lot of activity in Greece with the new government in terms of supporting foreign direct investment," Eldorado Gold President and CEO George Burns told S&P Global Market Intelligence.
* Golden Minerals Co. terminated an option agreement granting Compañía Minera Autlán SAB de CV the right to acquire the Velardena silver property and other Mexican assets for US$22 million.
* McEwen Mining Inc. slashed its 2019 production guidance for the Black Fox mine in Ontario to between 36,000 and 40,000 ounces of gold and the Gold Bar mine in Nevada to between 30,000 and 33,000 ounces of gold due to production issues at the sites. The company's full-year gold output guidance was lowered to between 131,000 and 138,000 ounces.
* An updated feasibility study on Vista Gold Corp.'s Mount Todd gold project in Australia's Northern Territory outlined a posttax net present value, discounted at 5%, of US$823 million, a 23.4% internal rate of return and a 2.9-year payback period.
* Gold Standard Ventures Corp.'s pre-feasibility study for the South Railroad oxide gold project, part of its Railroad-Pinion property in Nevada, generated a posttax net present value of US$241.5 million and a 27.8% internal rate of return, both at a 5% discount.
* Barrick Gold Corp. divested its entire 10.7% stake in Royal Road Minerals Ltd., a U.K.-based explorer focused on gold properties in Colombia and Nicaragua, for C$4.3 million.
* La Mancha Holding SARL is planning to increase its shareholding in Golden Star Resources Ltd. to 35% by acquiring an additional 5% stake in the company.
* Nova Minerals Ltd. outlined a maiden inferred resource at the Oxide Korbel gold deposit, part of its Estelle project in Alaska, of 181.3 million tonnes at 0.43 g/t gold containing 2.5 million ounces.
* Orca Gold Inc. outlined plans to start discussions with the newly established Sudan government on its majority-owned Block 14 gold development, with its share price increasing 7.4% in midafternoon Toronto trading.
* Discovery Metals Corp. is set to start a 35,000-meter drill campaign at the Cordero silver project in Mexico, which it recently acquired through the takeover of Levon Resources Ltd.
* Altyn PLC's application for a US$17 million loan from Kazakh Bank JSC was approved by the bank's credit committee. The company will use the proceeds to ramp up production at the Sekisovskoye gold project in Kazakhstan and to fund development plans.
* Chaarat Gold Holdings Ltd.'s US$10.0 million loan was increased to US$17.0 million, with maturity extended to March 31, 2020. Meanwhile, the company received a term sheet to provide debt funding, which will fully fund the US$110 million capital required to build the Tulkubash gold project in the Kyrgyz Republic.
BULK COMMODITIES
* U.S. Rep. David McKinley denounced President Donald Trump's belief that his administration has saved the coal industry. McKinley said he wants Energy Secretary Rick Perry to put someone from his department in the White House to focus on fossil fuels, especially on coal.
* Whitehaven Coal Ltd. said in its 2019 sustainability report that it believes that the demand for higher-quality coal among developing economies in the Asian region will continue to grow and that coal is likely to remain the largest source of electricity generation globally up to 2040.
* Highfield Resources Ltd. signed a nonbinding off-take deal with Ameropa AG for the sale of 250,000 tonnes per annum of muriate of potash from the Muga-Vipasca potash project in Spain.
* The U.S. Energy Information Administration trimmed expectations for domestic coal production in 2019 by about 2.0% compared to an outlook released in August.
* WestStar Industrial Ltd. was awarded about a A$5 million contract to build 25-MW diesel power generation facilities at Fortescue Metals Group Ltd.'s Eliwana iron ore mine and rail project in Western Australia.
* A ship owned by environmental group Greenpeace, which was trying to stop delivery of coal from Mozambique to Poland, was boarded by Polish border guards who arrested two of the 22 activists, Reuters reported.
* Kibo Energy PLC's water rights for its Mbeya coal-to-power project in Tanzania were renewed ahead of schedule.
SPECIALTY
* TNG Ltd. decided to target an initial production rate of 2 million tonnes per annum its Mount Peake vanadium-titanium-iron project in Australia's Northern Territory following a review of a revised mining schedule, which will potentially reduce initial capital expenditure by A$29 million, to A$824 million. Previous feasibility studies were conducted at a 3 mtpa run-of-mine initial production capacity. The mine life will be extended to 37 years under the new mining schedule from the previously planned 20 years.
* Mason Graphite Inc. sold its entire 18.3% stake in NanoXplore Inc. for C$28.2 million. It will use the proceeds to build the Lac Gueret graphite project in Quebec, to develop a value-added products project, including materials for lithium-ion batteries, and for working capital.
* Canada Carbon Inc. received 66 letters from landowners near the Miller graphite project in Quebec informing the company that they were refusing access to their lots. The company said it will respect the landowners' rights and try to obtain consent through surface access agreements.
* Lithium Consolidated Ltd. completed the sale of the Tonopah lithium project in Nevada to Argosy Minerals Ltd.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, owner of the London Metal Exchange, made an unsolicited £31.6 billion bid to acquire the London Stock Exchange, which would allow it to better compete with rivals in the U.S., Reuters wrote. The offer is conditional on the LSE dropping its planned acquisition of Refinitiv in a US$27 billion deal, though the LSE warned that it is committed to the Refinitiv deal and is making good progress.
* Blockchain-based digital financing could soon offer mining companies access to new funding by rolling out cryptocurrency tokens backed by a physical asset such as gold or other materials, according to an exclusive S&P Global Market Intelligence report.
* Chamber of Mines Chairman Gerard Brimo lamented the various hurdles posing extended challenges for the Philippines' mining industry, despite enacting measures to meet standards and clean up its image. In his opening remarks at the Mining Philippines 2019 conference in Manila, Brimo, the chairman and CEO of Nickel Asia Corp., said the industry has not progressed since the 2018 conference, and local miners are facing additional hindrances.
* The Zambia Chamber of Mines hopes that the country's 2020 national budget will include provisions that will help its mining sector recover from an expected copper output decline by at least 100,000 tonnes this year, blamed mainly on an unchanged 2019 mining fiscal regime, News Diggers wrote.
* Moody's said demand for battery metals can rise sixfold if electric cars reach 8% of road traffic by the mid-2020s, delivering benefits to producing countries such as Congo, Chile, the Philippines, Peru, Indonesia and Australia, Reuters wrote.
* The National Society of Mining, Petroleum, and Energy in Peru called an indefinite strike by mining unions a failure due to its inability to draw larger numbers of workers and its lack of impact to mines across the country, Reuters reported.
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