TOP NEWS
Indian state revokes land for proposed expansion of Vedanta's Tuticorin copper smelter
State Industries Promotion Corp. of Tamil Nadu Ltd. canceled the land allocated for the proposed expansion of Vedanta Resources PLC's Tuticorin copper smelter in the Indian state. The state government ordered the permanent closure of the Vedanta Ltd.-operated smelter following violent protests last week that killed 13 people, Reuters reported. Bloomberg News wrote that the closure will slash copper output in the country by about half, which may lead to higher imports. The smelter had the capacity to produce 400,000 tonnes per annum.
Barrick, Newmont's Kalgoorlie Super Pit mulls job cuts following rock falls
Barrick Gold Corp.'s and Newmont Mining Corp.'s equally-owned joint venture in Western Australia, the Kalgoorlie Super Pit gold mine, is looking at layoffs following two rock falls that suspended operations for the last two weeks, Kalgoorlie Miner reported. The joint venture company, Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines Pty. Ltd., has also introduced a hiring freeze due to safety concerns at the northern side of the pit where wall slips occurred May 14-15. General Manager Cecile Thaxter said the incidents will have an impact on production, with lower mining rates that may lead to a reduction in the workforce.
Mineworkers accept Iron Ore Co. of Canada's offer, ending 9-week strike
A nine-week strike at Iron Ore Co. of Canada Inc.'s IOC mining operations in Labrador is coming to an end as unionized workers voted 79% in favor of a third offer. United Steelworkers representative Euclide Hache confirmed that USW Local 5795 and Local 6731 voted in favor of the offer. Rio Tinto, which is the majority owner of Iron Ore Co. of Canada, said the deal was "competitive," with better pension and medical benefits, and would boost local hiring. At the same time, Rio Tinto said there was "flexibility to be a sustainable and competitive business."
DIVERSIFIED
* BHP Billiton Group named Laura Tyler as asset president of its Olympic Dam copper-gold-uranium mine in South Australia, succeeding Jacqui McGill, The Australian Financial Review wrote. Tyler has also served as chief of staff to BHP CEO Andrew Mackenzie.
* Indian Trade Minister Suresh Prabhu told Reuters that the country is looking to secure gold and diamond mining rights in Russia's Far East region as it seeks to import gold and diamonds for value addition prior to export.
BASE METALS
* Avanco Resources Ltd. is suspending plant operations and most mining activities at its Antas copper mine to conserve fuel in response to the ongoing truck drivers' strike in Brazil. The company's drilling program at the Pantera project is also suspended. Gerdau SA said its operations in the country were also impacted by the strike. According to Reuters, the Brazilian government offered new fuel subsidies in a bid to end the truckers' strike.
* New Point Exploration Corp. secured an exclusive option to purchase the past-producing Majuba Hill copper project in Nevada for US$4.0 million and a series of minimum payments.
* Altus Strategies PLC was granted the zinc-copper-prospective Ammas, Takzim Est and Arfa licenses, covering a total of 87.55 square kilometers, in Morocco.
* Metalicity Ltd. agreed to sell the Admiral Bay, Napier Range and Emanuel Range zinc projects to TSX Venture Exchange-hopeful Kimberley Mining Ltd. for C$32.5 million in cash and shares.
* Bezant Resources PLC received approval from the Philippine government for the renewal of the mineral production sharing agreement for the Mankayan copper project in the country's Benguet province that is held through associate Crescent Mining and Development Corp.
PRECIOUS METALS
* Petropavlovsk PLC asked regulators to verify the identities of dissident shareholders that are calling for an overhaul of the miner's board and to take appropriate action on the matter, sources close to the company told Reuters.
* Global production of gold rose quarter over quarter in the first quarter. Miners ramped up production 2% compared with the same period in 2017, supporting the view that global production will rise for a fourth consecutive year, according to the Metals and Mining Research team at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
* Oleg Deripaska will terminate the agreement of shareholders of United Co. Rusal PLC in the near future, part of the withdrawal of U.S.-imposed sanctions, Vedomosti reported.
* Pan American Silver Corp. said certain activities at its Dolores silver mine in Mexico will be reduced as a safety measure after recent security incidents along the access roads used to transport personnel and materials to and from the mine. The company said the mine site remains secure, and it is working with authorities to provide safe access to the mine.
* Barrick Gold's current priority in Peru is expanding its Lagunas Norte gold mine in two phases, the first known as the Carbonaceous Material Oxides Project, Barrick's Peru CEO Manuel Fumagalli told El Comercio. If Barrick approves the project investment at the end of this year, construction will begin in 2019 and production will start between 2020 and 2021. Concurrently, Barrick is carrying out the US$400 million closure of its Pierina gold mine. The first phase is set to end between 2021 and 2022, with the monitoring phase to extend from 2026 onward, Fumagalli said.
* Engineer Gold Mines Ltd. received conditional approval to list on the TSX Venture Exchange following the approval of the spinout of the Engineer gold mine in British Columbia by Blind Creek Resources Ltd. shareholders and the Supreme Court of British Columbia.
* X-Terra Resources Inc. signed an agreement with Greg Exploration Inc. to acquire a 50% interest in the Storm Lake gold property in Quebec.
* Impact Minerals Ltd. secured an option to acquire 95% of an advanced gold project from Rock Solid Holdings Pty. Ltd. and applied for a 91-square-kilometer exploration license, collectively known as the Blackridge gold project. Meanwhile, it reached an agreement to sell its Pilbara gold project to Pacton Gold Inc. for C$350,000 in cash and A$1.7 million in shares.
* Capricorn Metals Ltd.'s Karlawinda gold project marked a 25% increase in ore reserves to 28 million tonnes grading 1.0 g/t for 892,000 ounces of gold, compared to the August 2017 maiden ore reserve estimate.
* Reliant Gold Corp. is seeking a change of business from being a junior mineral explorer to an active real property acquisition, management and rental income company operating principally in Ontario.
BULK COMMODITIES
* The Chinese government is considering purchasing more American coal to narrow a US$375 billion trade deficit with the U.S. and ease tensions over a brewing trade war between the nations, Bloomberg News reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
* The Royal Bank of Scotland, as part of its climate-related policies, will stop direct financing to new coal-fired power stations or thermal coal mines and to other high-carbon energy projects and companies that generate over 40% of their revenues from coal, Reuters reported.
* According to Reuters, China's thermal coal prices rose over 4% on May 29 and could rise to its biggest one-day gain amid supply concerns.
* Carwyn Jones, first minister of Wales, claimed the British government failed to commit even "chicken feed" funding to ensure the continuity of Tata Steel Ltd.'s U.K. operations and said "[I]t's hugely important that [the UK government] make a contribution in order to secure steelmaking in Wales," the Financial Times wrote.
* A global aluminum producer raised premiums for metal deliveries to Japan for July to September and will charge US$159/tonne, 23% more than the current premium, Reuters wrote, citing four sources directly involved in pricing talks.
* South32 Ltd. agreed to purchase a 50% interest in, and operate, the Eagle Downs metallurgical coal project in Queensland, Australia's Bowen Basin from a subsidiary of China Baowu Steel Group Corp. Ltd. for up to US$213 million.
* AusQuest Ltd. and South32 Ltd. added a fourth exploration project in Peru to their strategic alliance, the former's Parcoy iron oxide-copper-gold project.
* The Canadian International Trade Tribunal launched a preliminary dumping inquiry into steel imports from China, South Korea and Vietnam to see whether the alleged dumping and subsidizing of certain steel products from the countries have harmed the local sector, Reuters wrote. The results of the probe are due July 24.
* Chinese state-owned copper and aluminum producers Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Co. Ltd. and Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. were among the companies that traded about 477 million yuan worth of metal on the launch of the Shanghai Futures Exchange's new physical trading platform, Reuters reported.
* Prairie Mining Ltd. will appeal the Polish Ministry of Environment's decision to deny an amendment for the 50-year mining concession for the Debiensko coking coal project in the country.
* Russian steelmaker PAO Severstal expects to deliver an additional 10% to 15% to its annual EBITDA over the next five years, resulting from operational improvements, customer care initiatives and an innovational transformation of the business.
* ArcelorMittal's ArcelorMittal South Africa Ltd. unit entered into a memorandum of understanding to sell its 50% stake in steel trading and shipping company Macsteel International Holdings B.V. to joint venture partner Macsteel Holdings Luxembourg SARL for US$220 million.
* Alcoa Corp. is assessing a temporary power outage's impact on the timeline and overall process of restarting its Warrick aluminum smelter in Indiana. The power outage led the company to shut down one of the three potlines that are part of the restart process for safety reasons and to protect the assets.
* Cia. Siderúrgica Nacional allowed most of the administrative staff at its steel plant in Volta Redonda to take the day off, but production remains unchanged, Reuters reported, citing sources. The mill has infrastructure integrated with rail transport but is having trouble delivering finished shipments to customers due to the ongoing truckers' strike in Brazil, one of the sources said.
* Given the international market circumstances and Brazil's susceptibility to external shocks, its economy could undergo more instability, worsened by current political scenarios, Nexa Resources SA President and CEO Tito Martins said, adding that the ongoing truckers strike has the potential to stir even the October presidential elections, daily Valor Econômico reported.
* Fortescue Metals Group Ltd., which in 2017 vowed to increase its average iron grade to above 60% on the back of China's growing demand for the high-grade raw material, would start selling its premium product before July 2019, The Australian Financial Review reported, citing CEO Elizabeth Gaines.
* AltaSteel Ltd. and the United Steelworkers Local 5220 reached a tentative agreement, averting a strike that was scheduled to start May 28 at the company's operations in Edmonton, Alberta. The workers have been working without a contract since the previous agreement expired July 31, 2017.
SPECIALTY
* De Beers SA launched a new company, Lightbox Jewellery, that will market laboratory-grown diamond jewelry designs, Mining Weekly reported.
* Galaxy Resources Ltd. signed a US$280 million deal to sell a package of tenements in the northern area of the Salar del Hombre Muerto at its Sal de Vida lithium operation in Argentina to South Korea's POSCO.
* Pilbara Minerals Ltd. posted a 36% increase in the total measured, indicated and inferred resource for its Pilgangoora tantalum-lithium project in Western Australia. The estimate now stands at 213 million tonnes grading 1.32% lithium oxide and 0.69% ferric oxide containing 2.82 million tonnes of lithium oxide and 54.6 million pounds of tantalum pentoxide.
* American Pacific Borate & Lithium Ltd., through its Fort Cady (California) Corp. subsidiary, signed a nonbinding strategic cooperation deal with Sinochem Group unit Sinochem Hebei Corp. to develop the former's product offering for China. There is also the intention for the parties to enter into an off-take agreement for up to 40,000 tonnes of boric acid per annum from the Fort Cady borate project in southern California.
* Final bids for Kimberley Diamonds Ltd.'s Lerala diamond mine in Botswana will close May 30, Mining Weekly reported. GoIndustry DoveBid South Africa will be facilitating the sale via an online auction.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* Research firm BMI warned that the upcoming conclusion of small-scale mining in Ghana will hamper government efforts to stop illegal mining in the country, Mining Weekly wrote.
* Macquarie Group is poised to sell its mining services business MST Global to Sydney-based Odyssey Private Equity for about A$100 million, The Australian Financial Review's Street Talk reported.
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