TOP NEWS
Fortescue green-lights US$1.28B Eliwana iron ore project development
Fortescue Metals Group Ltd.'s board gave the go-ahead for the approximately US$1.28 billion development of the Eliwana project, part of the Western Hub iron ore project in Western Australia, which includes the development of a 143-kilometer railway, a new dry ore processing facility and other associated infrastructure. Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan welcomed the final investment decision, saying that the project has the potential to create up to 1,900 construction jobs and provide 500 ongoing jobs once in operation.
BHP, Queensland government in settlement talks over coal royalty payments
BHP Billiton Group entered into settlement talks with the government of Queensland, Australia, over royalty payments of nearly A$300 million from coal exported from the state's Bowen Basin, The Australian Financial Review reported. According to The Sydney Morning Herald, BHP and the Queensland Treasury reached an "agreement-in-principle" over the royalty dispute, with a barrister saying "considerable progress has been made." The trial was adjourned until May 29.
NALCO books record net sales in FY'17-18, net profit at decade-high
India's National Aluminium Co. Ltd. booked its highest net profit in the past 10 years at 13.42 billion Indian rupees for fiscal year 2017-2018, more than doubling from 6.69 billion rupees booked in the preceding fiscal year. Net sales were at a record high of 93.77 billion rupees.
DIVERSIFIED
* Vedanta Resources PLC Chairman Anil Agarwal plans to turn his company into a resources giant through local investments in a bid to limit India's reliance on imports of minerals, Bloomberg News reported. The company plans to invest about US$8 billion in the next 2.5 years to further expand.
BASE METALS
* The state deputy head of Tamil Nadu, India said the government will take all steps necessary to permanently close Vedanta Resources' Tuticorin copper smelter, Reuters wrote. The statement follows news that the company plans to restart the smelter and still intends to move forward with its planned expansion to double the plant's capacity despite protests demanding its closure, Reuters reported. Thirteen people were killed when police opened fire on protesters last week.
* Meanwhile, an employee was killed after a mining-related accident occurred May 25 at Vedanta Zinc International Group's Gamsberg zinc mine in South Africa, Mining Weekly wrote. All work at the mine has been suspended amid ongoing investigations.
* New Century Resources Ltd. awarded a five-year, A$110 million contract to CIMIC Group's Sedgman Pty. Ltd. to operate and maintain its Lawn Hill processing plant, concentrate pipeline and Karumba Port facility, as the company looks to restart its Century mine in Queensland, Australia.
* As part of its any and all US$450 million buyback of its 7.875% senior secured notes due 2022, Lundin Mining Corp. said only US$10.8 million in principal amount of the notes had been validly tendered and accepted for purchase.
* Chile's state-owned copper producer Codelco booked a pre-tax profit of US$537 million in the first quarter, up slightly from a US$534 million profit reported in the year-ago period. The company's copper production from its wholly owned mines increased 7% to 416,000 tonnes. The figure climbs to 446,000 tonnes when production from El Abra and Anglo American Sur S.A. is included.
* Meanwhile, Chilean President Sebastian Pinera named Juan Benavides as Codelco's chairman, replacing outgoing Chairman Oscar Landerretche, Reuters reported. The 60-year old Benavides is serving as chairman at Chilean private pension fund manager AFP Habitat.
* Independence Group NL agreed to sell its Jaguar zinc operation in Western Australia to CopperChem Ltd. for a total of A$73.2 million in cash.
* Superior Resources Ltd. resumed control of the Nicholson zinc project tenements in northwest Queensland, Australia, after Teck Australia Pty. Ltd. withdrew from an earn-in agreement.
* Alphamin Resources Corp. aims to raise C$19.2 million to help fund the development of the Bisie tin project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with the backing of Tremont Master Holdings, a subsidiary of private equity firm Denham Capital, and a controlling shareholder.
* Cruz Cobalt Corp. plans to start operations shortly at its War Eagle and Purcell cobalt prospects in British Columbia.
PRECIOUS METALS
* While not directly targeted by U.S. sanctions, Russia's PJSC Polyus continues to reel from the impact of the moves against the Russian government. Sanctions were imposed on Suleiman Kerimov, whose son is the formal owner of a controlling stake in Polyus. The miner's shares plunged by almost 25% immediately after the sanctions were imposed and are now about 17% lower than their pre-sanctions value. "It had been a good year up until the sanctions and all that hell," CEO Pavel Grachev told the Financial Times.
* Australia's gold output increased to about 74 tonnes in the first quarter from 71 tonnes in the same period of 2017, Mining Weekly wrote, citing data from mining consultant Surbiton Association.
* Orinoco Gold Ltd. has suspended all milling and processing activities in Brazil, where it operates the Cascavel gold mine, in light of a nationwide truck strike in the country, started May 21, which has left the state of Goias, as well as other states, without a supply of diesel oil.
* Resolute Mining Ltd. agreed to subscribe for 32.4 million shares in Orca Gold Inc., representing a 15% interest, in a transaction valued at about A$22.5 million.
* Authorities in Kuantan Singingi regency in Indonesia's Riau province shuttered illegal gold mines following concerns from residents over the environmental damage caused by the operations, The Jakarta Post reported.
* Workers at Pan American Silver Corp.'s Dolores silver-gold mine in Mexico said they were afraid to leave the project encampment due to threats by armed groups, the Associated Press reported. One of the workers told the news agency that members of an organized crime group set up checkpoints at access points to the mine that has about 400 employees inside.
* A new preliminary economic assessment on McEwen Mining Inc.'s proposed Fenix gold-silver development defined an after-tax net present value of US$60 million with a 25% internal rate of return. The study indicates that Fenix could extend the life of its El Gallo Complex in Mexico by 10 years.
* Alio Gold Inc. completed its previously agreed acquisition of Rye Patch Gold Corp. under a deal valued at C$128 million.
* Central Iron Ore Ltd. agreed to sell the South Darlot gold project in Western Australia to Kingwest Resources Ltd., an ASX hopeful, for A$580,000.
BULK COMMODITIES
* China's state planner approved a 7.7 billion Chinese yuan coal mining project in the Shanxi province, Reuters wrote, noting that the mine will have an annual production capacity of 5 million tonnes.
* Russian automaker Avtovaz will continue to purchase aluminum from United Co. Rusal PLC while looking for alternative suppliers of the metal in case it needs to wind down business deals with the sanctions-hit firm, Reuters reported.
* German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said Germany is eager to end the dispute between the U.S. and the European Union over the former's tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, and that he is set to discuss the matter with European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom and U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross at an upcoming meeting of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, Reuters reported.
* Brunei agreed to sell a 37% stake in Jordan Phosphate Mines Co. Plc to Indian fertilizer producers Indian Potash Ltd. and Kisan International Trading FZE, in a deal valued at around US$130 million, Reuters reported. According to an industry source, Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan and Mitsubishi Corp. were also in the running for the stake.
* Russian fertilizer producer PJSC PhosAgro halted product sales and shipments to Ukraine following the country's decision to impose sanctions on company affiliates OJSC Apatit and LLC PhosAgro-Ukraine. PhosAgro CEO Andrey Guryev called the measures discriminatory but noted that these will not have a meaningful negative impact on the company.
* EMR Capital is said to be marketing its hard coking asset West Cumbria Mining Ltd. in the U.K. to prospective investors, The Australian Financial Review's Street Talk wrote. The private equity firm would consider equity and debt funding options to advance the asset into production in the near term. EMR holds a 70% stake in West Cumbria.
* Stanmore Coal Ltd. declared a maiden JORC probable reserve of 12.9 million tonnes at its Isaac Plains underground mine in Queensland, Australia.
* Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. inked a deal to expand its strategic cooperation with China's Yunnan province.
* Aurizon Holdings Ltd. warned customers of more changes to the way it will repair its rail tracks, which could cut system capacity by more than the 20 million tonnes of coal per annum it had initially flagged in relation to a dispute about regulated returns, The Australian Financial Review reported.
* India's JSW Steel Ltd. plans to restart operations at newly acquired steelmaker Acciaierie e Ferriere di Piombino, or Aferpi, in the first half of June, Metal Bulletin reported. The company presented an industrial plan for Aferpi's Piombino site, which includes the restart of the rolling mills for rail, steel bars and wire rod this year.
* North China's Hebei province plans to phase out 17 coal mines with a total capacity of 10.2 million tonnes this year, Heibei Daily reported. The province originally planned to shutter 14 coal mines with the same capacity.
SPECIALTY
* Argosy Minerals Ltd. will incorporate the Salonix, Mina Reina, and Mina Tincal properties, into the larger Rincon project in Argentina held by 77.5%-owned joint venture company Puna Mining S.A., following the outright acquisition of the properties previously secured via option deals for about US$2.6 million.
* Birimian Ltd. reduced C1 costs for the Goulamina lithium project in southern Mali by around 5% to between US$280 per tonne and US$285 per tonne.
* U.K.-based Cadence Minerals Plc forecast lithium demand to reach 800,000 tonnes per year by 2025, however, it added that it is unlikely that there will be enough supply to keep up with demand as lithium producers face financing constraints, Mining Weekly reported.
* Mineral Resources Ltd. estimated the construction for the 2x 28,000 tonnes lithium hydroxide modules at its Wodgina mine will cost approximately US$300 million per module, confirming media reports and subject to a feasibility study.
* Altura Mining Ltd. increased the ore reserve at its namesake lithium project in Western Australia by 20%.
* Lithium Power International Ltd. said Chile's Constitutional Court has referred legal proceedings over the validity of Codelco's overlapping claims held by its Minera Salar Blanco SpA within the Salar de Maricunga area back to an appeals court, after ruling that an article being used by Codelco was not a constitutional matter.
* Singapore-based D1 Mint Ltd., creator of a new diamond-backed crypto coin, inked a deal with diamond cutting and polishing firm KGK Diamonds to start its diamond reserve with 1,500 investment-grade diamonds, to be delivered by Russian firm PJSC Alrosa, valued at nearly US$20 million, Mining Weekly reported.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* South African Mining Minister Gwede Mantashe hinted at the possibility of implementing a "use it or lose it" rule for the country's mining sector, according to Fin24. He noted that a large number of mines under care and maintenance is among the reasons behind the recent reversal of the sector's economic gains.
* The Philippines' Mines and Geosciences Bureau sees a "lackluster" 2018 outlook for the country's minerals industry amid a number of regulatory issues. According to Manila Bulletin, the value of the country's metals output fell for the first time in a year to 22.51 billion Philippine pesos in the first quarter from 23.96 billion pesos in the same period of 2017.
* Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio will push for a review of mining contracts and the country's mining law to ensure the West African nation benefits from its natural resources, Reuters reported, citing Yusuf Keketoma Sandi, the president's press secretary.
The Daily Dose has an editorial deadline of 7 a.m. ET. Some external links may require a subscription. Links are current as of publication time, and we are not responsible if those links are unavailable later.
