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Tianqi Lithium snapping up most of Nutrien's SQM stake for US$4.07B

TOP NEWS

Tianqi Lithium snapping up most of Nutrien's SQM stake for US$4.07B

Tianqi Lithium Corp. signed an agreement to acquire Nutrien Ltd.'s 62,556,568 A shares in Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile SA, equivalent to a 24% SQM stake, for US$65 apiece in cash, totaling about US$4.07 billion. The transaction, which will leave Nutrien with 20,166,319 B SQM shares, is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter.

Australian union pushing BHP to contract steel work locally for South Flank

The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union called on BHP Billiton Group and Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan to keep the structural steelwork for the company's US$3.6 billion South Flank iron ore project within the state, The West Australian reported. The union is concerned that local fabricators will lose about 24,000 tonnes of work if the mining heavyweight employs offshore manufacturers.

Lundin teamed up with Euro Sun in Nevsun takeover bid to avoid Eritrea

Lundin Mining Corp.'s decision to bring in Euro Sun Mining Inc. as its partner for the proposed acquisition of Nevsun Resources Ltd. was motivated by a refusal from Lundin's board to invest in Eritrea due to the country's weak human rights record, Reuters reported May 18, citing sources familiar with the matter. According to the report, a 2014 lawsuit filed by Eritreans alleged they were forced to work in Nevsun's Bisha zinc mine from 2008 to 2012.

DIVERSIFIED

* Three of the world's largest oil traders, including Glencore PLC, are vying to acquire Petrobras unit Petrobras Oil & Gas BV, or Petrobras Africa, Reuters reported, citing industry and banking sources with knowledge of the matter.

* Canuc Resources Corp. signed a letter of intent to acquire oil company Full Circle Energy Ltd. in an all-scrip deal, where the valuation of the share exchange will be determined by an independent consultant.

BASE METALS

* Anglo American PLC tapped Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to help in the sale of up to a 30% stake in its Quellaveco copper mine in Peru, with a transaction expected to be announced within the next two months, Reuters reported, citing sources. Several Japanese companies, including Mitsubishi Corp., which owns an 18.1% interest in the project, are interested in a minority interest in the asset.

* Independence Group NL lifted its stake in Orion Minerals Ltd. from 4.2% to 11.1% after subscribing to A$5 million of Orion shares at 5 cents each. The proceeds of the placement will be partially used to fast-track developing the Prieska zinc-copper project in South Africa.

* Jinchuan Group International Resources Co. Ltd. CEO Gao Tianpeng said the company will double its African copper and cobalt output capacity over the next two to three years, Reuters reported. Its current annual capacity is at about 50,000 tonnes of copper and 5,000 tonnes of cobalt.

* Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co. Ltd plans to produce over 30,000 tonnes of cobalt metal equivalent this year amid an expansion in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Reuters reported, citing Vice President Frank Chen. The company produced about 20,000 tonnes of cobalt equivalent in 2017.

* KGHM Polska Miedz SA's majority-owned Sierra Gorda copper mine in Chile resumed normal operations following a temporary shutdown. Operations were suspended earlier in the week after a contractor died in an accident during routine maintenance activity.

* Vedanta Resources PLC's Tuticorin copper smelter in India's Tamil Nadu state will remain closed until at least June 6. The state environmental officials adjourned a hearing for the renewal of Vedanta's license to operate the smelter until that date, said V Ramasubbu, a lawyer petitioning against the plant's reopening.

PRECIOUS METALS

* Hong Kong's securities regulator slapped Citigroup's Asian business with a HK$57 million fine for failing to discharge its duties as sponsor of the 2009 IPO of Real Gold Mining Ltd., Reuters reported.

* Centerra Gold Inc. unit AuRico Metals Inc. signed agreements for a silver stream on the Kemess project in British Columbia and to sell its royalty portfolio to Triple Flag Mining Finance Bermuda Ltd. for a total of US$200 million.

* An independent preliminary economic assessment on Marathon Gold Corp.'s Valentine Lake gold property defined an after-tax net present value of US$367 million, using a 5% discount, with a 25% internal rate of return. The proposed open pit operation, located on the island portion of Newfoundland and Labrador, is expected to produce 188,500 ounces of gold per year for the first 10 years of operations. Initial production is targeted for 2022.

* Manas Resources Ltd. entered into a deal to earn up to a 70% interest in Perseus Mining Ltd.'s Mbengué gold project in Cote D'Ivoire.

* GoldStone Resources Ltd. secured the renewal of prospecting licenses PL6/87 and RL6/96, which incorporate its Akrokeri and Homase gold projects, respectively, in Ghana. The licenses are valid to April 2020.

BULK COMMODITIES

* Rio Tinto secured approval from Australia's Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator for its AutoHaul autonomous train operation, which serves its Western Australian iron ore operations. The full implementation of the project is expected by the end of the year.

* Australian coal miner Bounty Mining Ltd. seeks to raise between A$14 million to A$18 million at 35 Australian cents per share in an IPO to list on the ASX, based on its prospectus filed to potential investors. The offering, set to close May 30, will value the company at between A$118.5 million and A$122.5 million. The IPO is offering up to 14.7% of the company's issued equity.

* United Co. Rusal PLC is unable to pay full salary to a number of its workers outside of Russia in the wake of U.S. sanctions on the Russian aluminum producer, Bloomberg News reported.

* Tata Steel Ltd. is looking to secure a loan of 115 billion Indian rupees to help fund its acquisition of a controlling stake in debt-laden Bhushan Steel Ltd., Bloomberg News reported, citing anonymous sources. The group is said to be in talks with banks for a six-month bridge facility, which it aims to refinance with a loan that would mature in about 15 years.

* The Republic of the Congo-based SAPRO SA is negotiating with a consortium of French banks to fund the 450-kilometer railway track that will link its Mayoko iron ore project to a port at Pointe Noire, Bloomberg News reported. The company has invested about US$550 million in Mayoko, where construction is expected to start in 2019 and be completed by 2022.

* An ongoing strike at ArcelorMittal's steel mill at its Kryviy Rih operations in Ukraine could result in a complete stoppage of output, Reuters reported. Steelmaking and rolling operations were halted due to a labor action by the workers of its railway division, with only 14 of 92 locomotives in operation.

* Centrex Metals Ltd. signed a nonbinding memorandum of understanding with Gujarat State Fertilisers & Chemicals Ltd. for the off-take of approximately 300,000 tonnes of phosphate rock from the Ardmore project in Queensland, Australia.

* S&P Global Market Intelligence's Metals and Mining Research expects the global production of iron ore to increase 2.2% year over year in 2018 to almost 2,200 million tonnes. First-quarter results showed the top 20 producers have increased output 1.5% compared with the same quarter in 2017 and produced a collective 329 Mt. We assess that the dominant drivers of this first-quarter increase are robust iron ore prices, some industry projects that continue to ramp up, and environmental conservation in China that continues to incentivize higher-grade products.

* Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. agreed to invest about US$163.8 million in constructing the Boffa bauxite project in Guinea. The total development cost is estimated at about US$706 million.

* India's National Company Law Appellate Tribunal admitted Renaissance Steel India Pvt. Ltd.'s appeal against Vedanta Ltd.'s 53.20 billion Indian rupee resolution plan for Electrosteel Steels Ltd., Mint reported. The tribunal approved Vedanta's acquisition of Electrosteel in April.

* U.S.-listed aluminum products developer Constellium N.V. is expanding its operations in Decin, Czech Republic, to accommodate growing demand from its customers. The project, which is expected to be completed by October 2019, includes constructing a new casthouse and extrusion press and boosting the plant's recycling capacity.

* Jastrzebska Spólka Weglowa SA's attributable net profit fell to 753.9 million Polish zloty in the first quarter, from 864.5 million zloty in the year-ago quarter, Puls Biznesu reported.

SPECIALTY

* PJSC Alrosa may finalize the acquisition of state-owned diamond polisher Kristall Smolensk this year, Reuters reported May 17, citing Russian Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev. The government will make a final decision on the privatization of Kristall after completing a review of its value. Moiseev said the diamond polisher, which was affected by low profit margins, will be sold at market price.

* Lucapa Diamond Co. Ltd. raised US$3 million through the sale of a parcel of 1,632 carats of alluvial diamonds from the Lulo diamond project in Angola, representing an average price of US$1,838 per carat.

* The U.S. government will declare the entire planned product suite of superalloy metals that will be mined and processed at NioCorp Developments Ltd.'s Elk Creek project in Nebraska as critical minerals.

* De Beers SA hiked prices for the third time at its latest invitation-only diamond sale due to record demand, Bloomberg News reported, citing sources. The diamond producer increased prices nearly 1%. While the latest sale is ongoing, total sales are expected to range between US$530 million and US$550 million.

INDUSTRY NEWS

* Environmental groups suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over its 2017 decision to drop rulemaking that would have slapped more financial requirements on U.S. mining operations for cleanups are facing an uphill battle in court in trying to reverse the decision, a legal expert said. "These kinds of lawsuits are difficult for challengers," said Jeffrey Lubbers, a professor in administrative law at the Washington College of Law. "There have been one or two cases where courts have demanded reasons for abandoning a rulemaking that has already occasioned a lot of comments, but those cases are rare."

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