TOP NEWS
Ex-Vale CEO under probe for potentially misleading statements after dam breach
Brazilian prosecutors are probing potentially misleading statements made by former Vale SA CEO Fabio Schvartsman as part of a wider investigation into the tailings dam breach at the Feijao iron ore mine, Reuters reported, citing a source close to the investigation. Days after the disaster in late January, Schvartsman claimed the iron ore miner decommissioned nine upstream dams after a similar breach at the Samarco mine in 2015 and planned to decommission 10 dams built in the same method over the next few years. However, Eduardo Leão, a director of the Brazilian mining regulator ANM, and another expert said the dams were smaller structures and not the dangerous upstream type, according to the report.
Newmont Goldcorp CEO rules out fire sale of assets; Red Lake sale carries on
Newmont Goldcorp Corp. incoming CEO Tom Palmer ruled out a fire sale of assets even if the company does not achieve its goal of up to US$1.5 billion in divestments following its merger with Goldcorp Inc., Bloomberg News reported. "We're in no rush to sell anything," Palmer said, adding that the company is not under any pressure to generate cash from asset sales. However, Newmont is still proceeding with its plan to sell the Red Lake gold mine in Ontario, which has drawn interest from about a dozen parties, the report said.
Steel Dynamics flags Q3 earnings drop on weak sheet steel, recycling profits
Steel Dynamics Inc. expects its earnings in the third quarter to range between 66 U.S. cents and 70 cents per diluted share, down from US$1.69 per share in the year-ago quarter and 87 cents per share in the second quarter of 2019. The projected decline versus second quarter results was attributed to lower profitability from the sheet steel operations because of lower shipments and average steel pricing, which more than offset lower scrap costs.
* Nexa Resources SA plans to begin construction of the Pukaqaqa and Magistral copper projects in Peru when the Aripuana zinc project in Brazil is complete, Gestión reported, citing CEO Tito Martins.
* Symbol Mining Ltd., which is under administration, sold its portion of the Imperial zinc joint venture in Nigeria to its largest unsecured creditor, Noble Resources Ltd. The administrators are also seeking parties interested in recapitalizing the Australia-listed junior explorer.
* Metallica Minerals Ltd. unit Nornico Pty. Ltd., which was recently placed into voluntary administration for nonpayment of royalties under a sale agreement for the SCONI scandium-cobalt project to Australian Mines Ltd., is proposing to submit a deed of company arrangement to settle the claims.
PRECIOUS METALS
* A newly discovered gold deposit about a kilometer north of Barrick Gold Corp.'s Fourmile project on the Goldrush property in Nevada is expected to drive resource growth, the major gold miner said in a news release.
* The thorny issue of artisanal mining, a term that refers to a small-scale mining operation but is also frequently a euphemism for unregulated operations that play by a looser set of rules than traditional miners, is not likely to go away soon, Franco-Nevada Corp. independent Chairman Pierre Lassonde said.
* Gold executives gathered at a large industry conference are celebrating a recent rally in prices as the prices on the commodity hold at near-time record highs thanks in part to concerns about world trade and the broader economy, though some expressed concern about investor confidence.
* Royalty company Sandstorm Gold Ltd. President and CEO Nolan Watson told S&P Global Market Intelligence that he sees the potential for gold prices to retreat even as he remains bullish in the longer term.
* Azumah Resources Ltd. joint venture partner Ibaera Capital Fund LP at the Wa gold project in Ghana launched an unsolicited off-market takeover bid for all the shares of the former.
* Anglo Asian Mining PLC's interim first-half gold equivalent production totaled 39,905 ounces, up from 37,349 ounces a year ago, as gold sales totaled 26,588 ounces at an average price of US$1,319 per ounce. Attributable profit grew to US$6.6 million, or 5.8 U.S. cents per share, from US$5.1 million, or 4.5 cents per share.
* Core Gold Inc. advised shareholders not to take any action at this time after Titan Minerals Ltd. expressed its intention to renew a takeover bid.
* Victoria Gold Corp. announced the first gold pour at the Eagle mine in Canada's Yukon territory.
* Pistol Bay Mining Inc. entered into an option agreement with 1544230 Ontario Inc. to acquire a 100% right, title and interest in the latter's 141 mining cells covering 7,130 acres in the Pakwash Lake Area in the Red Lake mining district of Ontario.
* Vizsla Resources Corp. secured an option to acquire the consolidated minerals rights, infrastructure and processing facilities comprising the Panuco-Copala precious metals camp in Sinaloa, Mexico.
* Generic Gold Corp. entered into a definitive agreement with cannabis seeds provider OG DNA Genetics Inc. for a reverse takeover.
* Stroud Resources Ltd. reached a deal to slash its net smelter royalty on its Santo Domingo silver property in Mexico to 0.5% from 1% and reduce the cap to US$1.2 million from US$2.3 million.
* Kingwest Resources Ltd. will conduct an initial 26-hole, 6,500-meter diamond drilling program to test high priority targets at the Menzies gold project in Western Australia after closing its acquisition of the property from Horizon Minerals Ltd.
BULK COMMODITIES
* Sasol Ltd. is planning to start a formal sales process for its South African coal mining business in the coming weeks, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News. With a turnover of 20 billion South African rand in 2018, the mining business produces about 40 million tons of coal per annum and sells almost exclusively to other parts of the Sasol group.
* Shortly after India relaxed foreign direct investment rules on commercial coal mining, it plans to invite bids for coal mining blocks from global companies before the end of 2019, ending Coal India Ltd.'s near-monopoly on the commodity while the country tries to curb imports, Reuters wrote, citing sources familiar with the matter. Sources added that the government plans to allow companies with winning bids to begin developing the coal blocks by early 2020.
* New South Wales' Independent Planning Commission refused to allow development for Korea Electric Power Corp.'s Bylong thermal coal project in the Australian state, citing concerns about long-lasting environmental, agricultural and heritage impacts. The mine had sought permission for a mine to extract 120 million tonnes over a 25-year life.
* PAO Severstal invested about US$6 million in Michigan-based Arcanum Alloys Inc., which develops innovative alloys used in making cars, appliances and construction material.
* An investigation was launched into the circumstances around a Sept. 15 fire that engulfed parts of the Optimum coal mine in Mpumalanga, South Africa, days before bidders make final submissions for the property and other coal assets owned by Tegeta Exploration and Resources Pty Ltd., formerly linked to the Gupta family.
* China Baowu Steel Group Corp. Ltd. plans to build a steel mill in the Chinese province of Hubei for 2.14 billion yuan, state-run China Metallurgical News reported. The 1.5 million-tonne-per-year steel plant is expected to start production in April 2021, the report said.
* Union workers of Shougang Hierro Peru SAA, Peru's lone iron ore producer, will begin an indefinite strike Sept. 18 after failing to reach a collective bargaining agreement for 2019 to 2020.
* Altech Chemicals Ltd. received an invitation from the German state government of Saxony to consider building a second high-purity alumina plant in the state.
* The National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint against Cobalt Coal Ltd. to void certain liens imposed against the company by a former director.
* A coal miner died while working in a West Virginia mine controlled by Blackhawk Mining LLC, according to the West Virginia Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training.
SPECIALTY
* Japan's Toshiba Corp. and Russia's ROSATOM International Network are among companies interested in investing in Chile's battery technology sector, Reuters reported, citing Chilean government officials and documents. The South American country is looking to secure investments in battery technology in exchange for access to its lithium deposits in the Atacama Desert.
* Livent Corp. pledged to contribute up to US$5.5 million and its technical expertise in a tie-up with E3 Metals Corp. to advance the development of the latter's proprietary, direct lithium extraction process focused on its petro-lithium brines in Alberta's Leduc Formation. Livent will have the option to convert its investment into a 19.9% stake in E3 Metals.
* Nemaska Lithium Inc. intends to cancel a senior secured bonds offering of US$350 million due to a delay in completing the Whabouchi lithium project and the Shawinigan electrochemical plant in Quebec.
* PJSC Alrosa's supervisory board will vote Sept. 24 on a proposal to acquire state-owned diamond polisher Smolensk Kristall. Once the deal is approved, a sale and purchase and agreement is expected by the end of this month.
* A resource estimate for a 38-square-kilometer tenure adjacent to Titanium Sands Ltd.'s Mannar Island heavy mineral sands project in Sri Lanka totaled 31.92 million tonnes grading 7.45% total heavy minerals. The estimate is part of the company's due diligence proceedings for the potential acquisition of the property extension.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* The U.S. is lagging in the race to extract and refine lithium, rare earths, cobalt and other strategic minerals used to make electric vehicles, Reuters reported, citing a bipartisan group of senators who made a statement during a committee hearing.
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