TOP NEWS
Report: Corfo seeks to block sale of Nutrien's 32% SQM stake to Chinese firm
Chile's development agency Corfo filed a complaint with antitrust regulator FNE to block the proposed sale of a 32% stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile SA to Tianqi Lithium Industries Inc., Reuters reported. Corfo filed the complaint on the grounds that it may give China an unfavorable advantage in securing resources for the development of electric vehicles and would "gravely distort market competition." The sale of the stake is part of the merger of Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan with Agrium Inc., now held by the merged entity Nutrien Ltd.
Polymetal's FY'17 earnings down 10% YOY
Polymetal International Plc's full-year 2017 net profit slumped 10% to US$354 million, or 82 cents per share, from US$395 million, or 93 cents per share, in 2016. Revenue, however, spiked 15% to US$1.82 billion, from US$1.58 billion. Polymetal's board recommended a final dividend of 30 cents per share for the year ended Dec. 31, 2017, bringing up the total dividend to 44 cents per share.
Citic flags up to US$1B impairment for Sino-Iron project
Citic Ltd. estimates an impairment of between US$800 million to US$1 billion, stemming from losses at the Sino-Iron project. The impairment will be written off in its 2017 accounts.
DIVERSIFIED
* Glencore Plc allegedly paid off a former Petróleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA, trader to gain an upper hand in oil deals in Venezuela, Bloomberg News reported, citing a lawsuit filed by a trust for the Venezuelan petroleum company. According to the report, PDVSA lost about US$5.2 billion in revenue as a result.
BASE METALS
* Unionized workers at Antofagasta Plc's Los Pelambres copper mine in Chile voted in favor of a strike after rejecting the company's latest offer for a collective labor deal, Mining.com reported.
* Botswana's minerals minister, Sadique Kebonang, confirmed the government paid PJSC Norilsk Nickel Co. US$45 million to settle a dispute over a botched asset sale, Reuters reported. State-owned BCL Mine in October 2016 backed out of a deal to acquire Norilsk Nickel's 50% stake in the Nkomati nickel mine in South Africa due to lack of funds.
* Indonesian state miner PT Timah Tbk. aims to increase its CapEx by 240% this year to 2.65 trillion Indonesian rupiah, in order to boost tin production and diversify business, The Jakarta Post reported. The miner is targeting to lift its full year tin ore output by 13.9% year over year to 35,500 tonnes.
* Codelco struck a deal with Ecuador for the joint development of the Llurimagua copper project in the country, Reuters reported. The Chilean copper miner will hold a 49% stake in the joint venture, while Ecuador will hold 51% of the project through Enami EP.
* Cobalt 27 Capital Corp. raised about C$200.1 million to fund the acquisition of cobalt-related streams and royalties, and for general corporate purposes.
* Minera Lumina Copper Chile SA appointed Hugo Herrera Carvajal as the company's CEO and COO, and chairman Takayasu Kashimura as CEO. Both executives replace Maciej Sciazko, who served as CEO and general manager of Caserones since August 2016.
PRECIOUS METALS
* Newcrest Mining Ltd. halted operations at the Cadia gold mine in New South Wales, Australia, due to a discovered breach at the northern tailings dam. According to a same-day report by The Guardian, the event occurred after seismic activity in the area. The company said that it implemented a comprehensive geotechnical monitoring system, securing the area around the dam. The release was contained in the southern tailings dam.
* Production at St Barbara Ltd.'s Simberi gold mine in Papua New Guinea halted March 7 due to a work stoppage initiated by members of the mine's workforce. Despite the standstill, the company retained its full-year production guidance of between 115,000 ounces of gold and 125,000 ounces of gold.
* Geopacific Resources Ltd.'s pre-feasibility study for the Woodlark gold project in Papua New Guinea estimated a posttax net present value, discounted at 8%, of A$178 million, an internal rate of return of 33%, with a 2.2-year payback period.
* Ariana Resources Plc's full-year production guidance at its Kiziltepe gold-silver mine, part of the Red Rabbit joint venture with Proccea Construction Co. is about 20,000 ounces of gold, a 47% increase from its full-year 2017 production of 10,191 ounces of gold.
* PT Antam (Persero) Tbk.'s full-year 2017 net profit more than doubled to 136.50 billion Indonesian rupiah, from 64.81 billion rupiah in 2016.
* Barrick Gold Corp. named legal director Juana Barceló as the new president of its Pueblo Viejo operation in the Dominican Republic, El Día reported. Barceló replaced Méjico Ángeles-Lithgow, who resigned the position in early March.
* South African gold producers will likely reach a settlement with mine workers over the silicosis lawsuit within six weeks, Reuters reported.
BULK COMMODITIES
* Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull confirmed that Australia secured exemption from the recently announced steel and aluminum tariffs by the U.S., ABC reported.
* S&P Global Ratings sees that Japanese steelmakers are likely to maintain generally stable credit quality in the next year or two because of an ongoing recovery in earnings. The tariffs imposed by the U.S. government on steel and aluminum imports will not directly deal a heavy blow to the credit quality of Japan's major steelmakers, which only export negligible steel to the U.S.
* Despite the possibility that recently announced U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum may seriously affect its metallurgical sector, the Russian government has not formally commented on the order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump on March 8, Kommersant reported.
* The European Union and Japan are working to secure an exemption from the Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs, but trade representatives from the U.S., Europe and Japan emerged from meetings in Brussels on March 10 without a deal. Meanwhile, the EU warned that it would approach the World Trade Organization in 90 days "to protect our industry with rebalancing measures, safeguards" if its products are not exempted, EU Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said.
* S&P Global Market Intelligence estimates that in the final quarter of 2017, the global production of iron ore increased 2.3% year over year. The driver of this 13.4 million tonne growth was firmly with the big four producers — Vale SA, Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton Group and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. — which collectively grew production 1.9% year over year in 2017.
* Atlas Iron Ltd. has done a deal to start exporting manganese within a month to further diversify its portfolio to protect against China's demands for higher-grade iron ore. However, hopes remain that the summer could see some relief on that latter front.
* The last two coal mines in Rio Tinto's portfolio are set to draw at least three bids, Reuters reported, citing anonymous sources. Whitehaven Coal Ltd., a tie-up between EMR Capital and PT Adaro Energy Tbk., and a consortium led by Apollo Global Management are said to be vying for Rio Tinto's stakes in the Hail Creek and Kestrel mines, which could fetch up to US$2.5 billion.
* Magnitude 7 Metals LLC plans to resume operations at its shuttered aluminum smelter in southeastern Missouri following the U.S. government's move to slap tariffs on aluminum and steel, Reuters reported. The company is expected to recall about 400 workers, according to state representative Don Rone.
* Norsk Hydro ASA admitted that it released excess rainwater from its Alunorte bauxite facility in Brazil using a canal which was not covered by the company's license in February, but maintained that there were no leaks or overflow at the site.
* ArcelorMittal and Numetal, a Mauritius-based investment vehicle backed by Russia's VTB Group, indicated that they will pursue legal actions if their bids for debt-laden Essar Steel India Ltd. are disqualified, Mint reported. A committee of Essar Steel lenders will decide the eligibility of the offers.
* Teck Resources Ltd. cut its sales guidance on steelmaking coal for the first quarter to approximately 6 million tonnes from the previous range of between 6.3 million and 6.5 million tonnes. The revised guidance stems from issues at its Elkview operations in British Columbia and logistical problems at the Westshore Terminals.
* Adani Enterprises Ltd. will proceed with its Carmichael coal mine in Queensland, vowed Adani Australia CEO Jeyakumar Janakaraj, adding that Australia's investment reputation will be damaged if a new government moves to scrap projects that had already secured state and federal approvals, The Australian Financial Review reported.
* Salt Lake Potash Ltd. signed a memorandum of understanding with Blackham Resources Ltd. to conduct a study on the potential development of a sulfate of potash operation at Lake Way in Western Australia. The development deal includes the construction of an initial demonstration plant of up to 50,000 tonnes per annum.
* The standard operating procedure for bauxite mining activities in Pahang, Malaysia, is expected to be completed by June, as the moratorium on bauxite mining in the area is set to expire June 30, Malay Mail Online reported, citing Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.
SPECIALTY
* U.S. miner Albemarle Corp. secured approval from Chile to increase its production quota to about 145,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent per year, through 2043.
* Chile approved investments of around US$754 million in the lithium industry by Chinese, South Korean and Chilean firms, Reuters reported, citing the country's development agency, Corfo. Chile's Molymet, China's Sichuan Fulin Industrial Group, a joint venture between Samsung SDI Co. Ltd. and POSCO, were selected in a bidding process to develop technology focused on the lithium market, which will see the companies ready to produce about 58,000 tonnes of cathode annually in two years.
* Two industry groups in the U.S. filed petitions in the Supreme Court seeking a reversal of the 20-year ban against new uranium mining claims on more than 1 million acres of public land adjacent to the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, Reuters reported. The ban was instituted by the Obama administration in 2012.
* AVZ Minerals Ltd. entered into a memorandum of understanding with China-based Beijing National Battery Technology Co., Ltd. to explore potential investment and off-take opportunities for the former's Manono lithium project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
* Alabama Graphite Corp. shareholders approved a proposal to merge with a Westwater Resources Inc. unit.
* FMC Corp. named executives that will lead its lithium business spinoff, which is due in the second half. CFO Paul Graves was appointed the new company's CEO, while FMC President, CEO and Chairman Pierre Brondeau will serve as the new company's chairman. Andrew Sandifer, vice president and treasurer, was appointed FMC's new CFO to replace Graves.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* Former Rio Tinto veteran Dean Felton said it was time the industry got serious about automation solutions that address the entire production process rather than tinkering with piecemeal technology pursuits like drones, S&P Global Market Intelligence reported.
* Democratic Republic of the Congo President Joseph Kabila signed the new mining code into law, which will raise mining royalties, Reuters reported, citing a government statement. Mining Executives from Ivanhoe Mines Ltd., Glencore, Randgold Resources Ltd. and China Molybdenum Co. Ltd. in a March 7 meeting failed to convince Kabila to restart negotiations on the new policies. However, the two sides will start talks over measures to implement the code.
S&P Global Ratings and S&P Global Market Intelligence are both 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.
