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Analysis suggests Rio Tinto may be better off selling Grasberg interest

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Analysis suggests Rio Tinto may be better off selling Grasberg interest

TOP NEWS

Analysis suggests Rio Tinto may be better off selling Grasberg interest

Rio Tinto may be best served by divesting its interest in the Freeport-McMoRan Inc.-operated Grasberg copper-gold mine in Indonesia amid separatist violence and ongoing disputes with the government, according to a Reuters analysis.

'We are not leaving South Africa,' Sibanye Gold CEO says

Sibanye Gold Ltd.'s recent changes to its South African portfolio were part of a wider strategy to manage and limit political risk within the jurisdiction, the company's CEO Neal Froneman told S&P Global Market Intelligence on the sidelines of the Mines and Money conference in London. However, he said the company will not leave the country.

Gold drives global exploration rebound

Gold exploration led the way in 2017, accounting for 73% of the year-on-year increase in the global exploration budget. Using data compiled as part of the Corporate Exploration Strategies series, S&P Global Market Intelligence's Metals and Mining Research identified 901 companies that have budgeted a total of US$4.05 billion for gold exploration in 2017, up 22% from the US$3.32 billion budgeted by 910 companies in 2016.

BASE METALS

* China's Gansu province ordered to cancel exploration licenses on 15 mines, including 9 copper projects, due to environmental violations, according to Chinese newspaper China Mining News. The local provincial government said that areas covered by the licenses overlapped with the Qilian Mountains national nature reserve and the decision was taken to protect the environment in the reserve area.

* The environmental evaluation authority of the Atacama region in northern Chile approved the environmental impact declaration for Codelco's plan to extend the life of the Salvador copper mine until 2021. The program includes the start of operations at the Rajo Inca project, which would add another 40 years, daily Diario de Atacama reported.

* Meanwhile, Codelco plans to introduce a scheme that will determine copper cathode prices after considering the environmental footprint of production and its impact on a local community, Reuters reported, citing Chairman Oscar Landerretche.

* Global Energy Metals Corp. agreed for Canadian Co27 Pty. Ltd. to acquire up to a 70% joint venture interest in the Werner Lake cobalt project in Ontario, Canada. As a condition to the agreement, Canadian Co27 will be acquired by Force Commodities Ltd. spinoff Marquee Resources Ltd.

* Nickelore Ltd. is looking to exit the mining sector with the pending acquisition of two oil projects in Texas and Oklahoma.

* China's rising copper output and concerns of a slowdown in its real estate market could lead investors to exit bullish bets in the copper market, resulting in a plunge in prices by a double-digit percentage, Reuters reported, citing executives at the Asia Copper conference.

* CuDeco Ltd. temporarily suspended processing plant operations at its Rocklands copper mine in Queensland, Australia, at the order of the Department of Natural Resources & Mines. This follows a recent investigation by the department that identified several issues with the process plant.

PRECIOUS METALS

* Doray Minerals Ltd.'s memorandum of understanding with Westgold Resources Ltd. to assess the potential development of the Gnaweeda gold project in Western Australia expired Nov. 30 without any further agreement.

* Tyranna Resources Ltd. entered a binding agreement to purchase the advanced Eureka gold project in Western Australia from Central Iron Ore Ltd. for a total of A$3.2 million, as the company looks to transition from an explorer to a producer.

* Dacian Gold Ltd. engaged mining contractor Macmahon Contractors Pty. Ltd. to mine the Jupiter open pit at its Mount Morgans gold project in Western Australia.

* Clancy Exploration Ltd. reached an agreement to acquire the Hong Kong gold project in Western Australia's Pilbara region.

* Golden Predator Mining Corp. signed deals with Alexco Exploration Canada Corp. and Newmont Canada Corp. to fully acquire the Sprogge claims in Canada's Yukon Territory, located contiguous with its 3 Aces gold project.

* Platinum Group Metals Ltd. will primarily focus on advancing its large-scale Waterberg project in South Africa in the year ahead, Mining Weekly reported. The miner will also focus on repaying its secured lenders, using the US$74 million proceeds from the sale of its interest in the Maseve mine to Royal Bafokeng Platinum Ltd.

* Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd. resumed processing operations at its Hidden Valley gold-silver mine in Papua New Guinea after completing a planned expansion project two weeks ahead of schedule and on budget.

* Riedel Resources Ltd. advised that LMTD Wits Pty. Ltd. exercised its option to purchase the Charteris Creek gold project in Western Australia for A$500,000 cash.

* POZ Minerals Ltd. said Accelerate Resources Ltd. lodged a prospectus with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission for an IPO to raise up to A$5 million.

* Tharisa Plc is aiming to increase production to 200,000 ounces of platinum group metals and 2 million tonnes of chrome concentrate by 2020, with fiscal 2018 output guidance pegged at 150,000 PGM ounces and 1.4 million tonnes of chrome concentrate.

BULK COMMODITIES

* BHP Billiton Group and Vale SA's iron ore joint venture Samarco Mineração SA aims to extend the life of the Alegria Sul deposit pit for the tailings produced at its Mariana mining complex in Brazil's Minas Gerais state, which would replace the collapsed Fundão dam, if operations at the mine are allowed to resume. The miner proposed the implementation of a filtration system to extract water from the mineral waste mud, leaving only sand in the deposit. The water would be used in mineral extraction, Samarco general manager Alexandre Souto said, daily Valor Econômico reported.

* Norwegian fertilizer producer Yara International ASA issued senior unsecured bonds of 3.25 billion Norwegian kroner and 1.25 billion Swedish kronor. The company intends to use the net proceeds for general corporate purposes.

* The International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce ruled in favor of Celamin Holdings NL over the dispute with its joint venture partner Tunisian Mining Services over control of Chaketma Phosphates SAC Tunisia. Celamin unit Celamin Ltd. was awarded the reversal of a share transfer of its 51% stake.

* Minera Andes Iron filed a complaint to the environmental tribunal in Antofagasta against the decision in August by Chile's highest administrative authority, Committee of Ministers, which prevented the Dominga iron ore project from obtaining an environmental permit, daily Diario Financiero reported.

* Vedomosti reported that United Co. Rusal Plc plans to mine cryptocurrency. The aluminum holding will create a data processing center in the territory of the Nadvoitsky plant in Karelia.

* South Korean shipper Pan Ocean secured a contract worth 1.98 trillion South Korean won from Vale to ship iron ore from Brazil to China from 2020 to 2047, Reuters reported.

* MYTILINEOS Holdings SA will close a US$400 million investment next month for the development of a new alumina plant in Greece, Reuters reported. "We hope to start building the new alumina plant ... with an [annual] capacity of 1 million tonnes in 2018," CEO Evangelos Mytilineos said.

* Michele Emiliano, the governor of the southern Italian region of Puglia, and Rinaldo Melucci, the mayor of Taranto, where Ilva International SpA's largest steel plant is located, lodged appeals against the Italian government's approval of the environmental plan put forward by ArcelorMittal for a proposed takeover of Ilva, Metal Bulletin wrote. Italy Minister of Economic Development Carlo Calenda said Ilva could be closed if a regional court accepts the complaint by two politicians.

SPECIALTY

* Firestone Diamonds Plc formulated a revised nine-year mine plan to better cater for the lower-than-expected diamond sale results to ensure sustainable mining. The company will produce 900,000 carats per annum under the revised plan at lower operating costs of US$13 per tonne treated. Firestone is also looking to raise £18.5 million to fund operations at its Liqhobong diamond mine in Lesotho.

* Magnis Resources Ltd. agreed to supply 25,000 tonnes per annum of flake graphite to World Group division World Plastik ve Petrokimya Sanayi ve Ticaret AS. The deal comprises 15,000 tonnes per annum of the Super Jumbo product and 10,000 tonnes per annum of the Jumbo product.

* Cameo Resources Corp. entered an option with Clean Commodities Corp. to earn an 80% interest in the Dumont and Spodumene Lake lithium projects, collectively called the Whabouchi project in Quebec.

INDUSTRY NEWS

* As the demand for battery metals increases, driven by the growing electric vehicle sector, the mining industry is becoming increasingly concerned about whether it will be able to meet expectations over the coming years. Paul Gait, senior European analyst for metals and mining at Bernstein Research, said at the Mines and Money conference in London that he believes the supply of copper, nickel and cobalt is not at risk of bottlenecking in the near term, but lithium could be under threat.

S&P Global Market Intelligence is owned by S&P Global Inc.

The Daily Dose is updated as of 7 a.m. London time, and scans news sources published in Chinese, English, Indonesian, Malay, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai and Ukrainian. Some external links may require a subscription.