TOP NEWS
Amplats to sell Bafokeng Rasimone platinum JV stake to partner for 1.86B rand
Anglo American PLC unit Anglo American Platinum Ltd., or Amplats, is selling its 33% interest in the Bafokeng Rasimone platinum mine joint venture in South Africa to its partner and the project's 67% owner, Royal Bafokeng Platinum Ltd., for a total of 1.86 billion South African rand. Amplats will retain its right to process 50% of the Bafokeng Rasimone concentrate for the life of the mine.
Glencore to buy back up to US$1B in shares
Glencore PLC will begin a share repurchase program of up to US$1 billion. The program, to be implemented in two stages, will be conducted by Citigroup Global Markets Ltd. The first stage, comprised of a maximum aggregate of £350 million, is expected to close on Aug. 7.
Bacanora secures US$150M debt for initial development at Sonora lithium project
Bacanora Lithium PLC secured a US$150 million senior debt facility from RK Mine Finance to develop the first stage of the Sonora lithium project in Mexico. The project will initially run as a 17,500-tonne-per-annum lithium carbonate operation.
DIVERSIFIED
* Nigeria will offer a 12.7 billion-Nigerian-naira mining contract to eight companies in exploration and consultancy, Reuters reported, citing Abubakar Bawa Bwari, the minister of state for solid minerals. The contract covering gold, industrial minerals, earth metals and iron ore will be awarded to both foreign and local firms.
* Greenpower Energy Ltd. signed an option to acquire private company Ion Minerals Pty. Ltd., which has the right to acquire the Lincoln Springs and Ashburton cobalt projects in Queensland and Western Australia, respectively, and an exploration permit application covering the Julia Creek vanadium project in Queensland.
PRECIOUS METALS
* Shares in Metals Exploration PLC were down more than 10% in London midday trade after company reported that the BIOX circuit at its Runruno gold mine in the Philippines is experiencing problems. The circuit's throughput has been significantly reduced due to power shortages and distribution disruptions during the unusually long hot and dry period, the company noted.
* Cradle Arc PLC disposed of its Société Miniére de Kerboulé SARL subsidiary in Burkina Faso, which holds the Arae and Gassel-Manere exploration licenses, together comprising the Kerboule gold project in the country, for US$1. The company decided to offload the project due to the deteriorating security situation in the region.
* Perseus Mining Ltd. achieved record gold production of 83,881 ounces in the June quarter, up 31% quarter-on-quarter. This includes 57,861 ounces of gold produced from the Edikan gold mine in Ghana, which was the second-best output from the mine in over six years.
* Goldcorp Inc. increased its ownership in Gold Standard Ventures Corp. to 12.73%, from 9.86% previously. Goldcorp acquired the additional 7.3 million common shares for investment purposes.
* Medusa Mining Ltd. signed an option to earn up to a 90% interest in Ellenkay Gold Pty. Ltd.'s Hill 212 and Mount Clark West gold projects in Queensland, Australia.
* Real Gold Mining Ltd. is evaluating the merits of exploring for mineable resources in the outer parts of the Shirengou and Nantaizi gold mines in China. Production from both mines has been suspended since 2016.
* Resolute Mining Ltd. claimed it has intersected the highest-grade gold ever at the Syama gold project in Mali, in which a drill hole at the Tabakoroni Main Zone returned an assay of 5 meters grading 493 g/t gold from 167 meters.
* Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund is looking to double its stake in ArcelorMittal's Tubular Products Jubail to 40% with an investment of up to US$300 million, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The plan under consideration includes purchase of new shares and debt-to-equity conversion.
* Rio Tinto is mulling the development of its Western Range iron ore deposit, located near its Paraburdoo operations in Western Australia's Pilbara region, The Australian Financial Review wrote. The company welcomed the general sales tax reformed proposed by the Australian federal government saying it will encourage growth and development in the mining sector.
* India's National Green Tribunal issued notices to the Tamil Nadu state government and the state pollution control board asking responses before July on an appeal by Vedanta Ltd. against the government order to shut down the Tuticorin smelter in the state, India's The Economic Times reported.
* BHP Billiton Group, the world's biggest coking coal exporter, is "cautiously optimistic" that India's renewed efforts to make its rail, port and road infrastructure internationally competitive will bear fruit, which an expert from information provider IHS says is good news for Australia's metallurgical coal which India prefers.
* Legal experts and analysts believe ThyssenKrupp AG and Tata Steel Ltd. might have to off-load some assets to secure the European Commission's approval for their steel joint venture, Reuters reported. Informal discussions with European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager began a few weeks ago and will likely address the issue of sales in some niche areas, including packaging, according to sources.
* EU member countries will discuss and likely vote on measures proposed by the European Commission to limit steel imports into the region, Reuters reported, citing sources.
* S&P Global Ratings said that Tata Steel's deal with ThyssenKrupp to form a joint venture of their European operations is marginally credit positive but will not have any impact on the Indian company's BB- rating and stable outlook.
* ThyssenKrupp CEO Heinrich Hiesinger said the German group's restructuring will continue following the merger of steel assets with Tata Steel's European business, Reuters reported.
* Emirates Global Aluminium inked a deal to supply bauxite from its US$1.4 billion mining operations in Guinea to Vedanta Ltd., Mining Weekly reported. The company's Guinea Alumina Corp. SA unit is building a bauxite mine and associated export facilities in the West African country, which is expected to produce about 12 million tonnes per annum of bauxite following a full ramp up.
* Plant nutrient producer Kropz is seeking a listing on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange, in addition to a listing on London's AIM, where it intends to raise equity capital to fund the completion of its advanced-stage phosphates project in South Africa and slash its debt, Mining Weekly reported.
* Hindalco Industries Ltd. unit Utkal Alumina International Ltd. plans to increase annual output at its Utkal plant by 500,000 tonnes, the Press Trust of India reported. The 30-month expansion is budgeted at 13 billion Indian rupees.
* China's Hebei province plans to slash steel capacity by 50% in some of its major cities in 2020, as well as shutter coal mines, coking plants and cement factories in a bid to upgrade its industrial economy, Reuters reported.
* Malaysia-listed Lion Industries Corp. Berhad's indirect subsidiary, Oriental Shield Sdn Bhd, plans to acquire flat steel producer Megasteel Sdn Bhd for 537.7 million Malaysian ringgit, as part of its expansion into the sector, DealStreetAsia reported.
* Eramet's A$1.75 per share takeover bid for Mineral Deposits Ltd. was declared unconditional, with an aggregate 38.72% in acceptances and existing shareholdings. The offer, which the latter has already asked its shareholders to reject, is the last and final offer and will not be increased if no completing proposal is received.
* Petra Diamonds Ltd. entered a binding heads of agreement to dispose its and its black economic empowerment partners' 75.9% interest in the Kimberley mining joint venture, including the tailings treatment operations, to its partner Ekapa Mining (Pty) Ltd for 300 million South African rand in cash. The company expects to record a noncash impairment charge of US$35 million to US$45 million in its results for the year ended June 30. The sale is expected to close in the quarter ending Sept. 30.
* Australian financiers say banks are steering clear of debt financing graphite hopefuls, as the opaque nature of the commodity's pricing makes them uncertain about returns, but Syrah Resources Ltd. recently starting production could help alleviate those doubts.
* Tronox Ltd. received conditional approval from the European Commission for its proposed acquisition of a titanium dioxide business from Saudi Arabia-based Cristal.
* Chile's Lower House of Congress set up a special commission to investigate a contract involving Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile SA and Chilean development agency Corfo in January, to settle a dispute over royalties concerning the development of lithium deposits in northern Chile, El Mercurio reported. The commission will investigate the adoption and implementation of the agreement, and the role and influence that former SQM Chairman Julio Ponce still has in the company.
* PJSC Alrosa made a total revenue of US$17 million through the sale of 121 gem-quality diamonds, weighing 2,000 carats, at an auction in June.
* Lucapa Diamond Co. Ltd. produced 5,058 carats of diamonds from the Lulo mine in Angola in the second quarter, registering a 20% year-over-year increase.
* Kingston Resources Ltd. agreed to sell its Bynoe and Arunta lithium tenements in Australia's Northern Territory to Lithium Plus Pty. Ltd. for A$1.8 million.
* Australian Vanadium Ltd. released an initial inferred cobalt-nickel-copper resource estimate at the Gabanintha vanadium project in Western Australia of 12.5 million tonnes grading 206 parts per million of cobalt, 659 ppm of nickel and 222 ppm of copper.
* Renascor Resources Ltd. will seek shareholder approval for the issue of shares to complete the acquisition of Ausmin Development Pty. Ltd., which holds the right to the Siviour graphite project in South Australia.
* MCC International Incorporation Ltd., the overseas business platform for Metallurgical Corp. of China Ltd., was appointed to provide the engineering, procurement and construction services for Triton Minerals Ltd.'s flagship Ancuabe graphite project in Mozambique.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* Mining-affected communities in South Africa rejected the current draft of the country's mining charter, which was published by Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe in June, following two days of deliberation, Mining Weekly reported.
This S&P Global Market Intelligence news article may contain information about credit ratings issued by S&P Global Ratings, a separately managed division of S&P Global. Descriptions in this news article were not prepared by S&P Global Ratings.
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