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K+S flags cut in FY'19 potash output; Codelco issues US$2B in bonds

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K+S flags cut in FY'19 potash output; Codelco issues US$2B in bonds

TOP NEWS

K+S flags cut in FY'19 potash output amid weak market

K+S AG is slashing its full year 2019 potash production by up to 300,000 tonnes later this year due to a weak market driven by Chinese import restrictions on the material. As a result, K+S' full-year EBITDA is expected to be reduced by up to €80 million.

Codelco issues additional US$2B in bonds to fund mine overhaul plans

Codelco issued 10-year and 30-year dollar-denominated bonds, with yields of 3.02% and 3.71%, respectively, totaling US$2 billion to help fund its US$40 billion plan to overhaul mines through 2026, Reuters reported, citing IFR, Refinitiv's capital markets news service. The latest bond issue was contrary to an April statement by Chairman Juan Benavides, in which he said that he does not expect the company to issue any additional bonds within the year.

First Quantum confirms Jiangxi Copper talks over possible Zambia assets stake

First Quantum Minerals Ltd. confirmed it is in talks with Jiangxi Copper Co. Ltd. for the possible sale of a minority stake in its Zambian copper assets, while denying recent media reports about a potential takeover bid. First Quantum shares on the TSX closed nearly 10% down.

BASE METALS

* A battery minerals expert said uncertain supply from Congo has swung sentiment in cobalt producers' favor since Glencore PLC announced in August that it would shut down the Mutanda cobalt mine at the end of 2019.

* A preliminary economic assessment for Highland Copper Co. Inc.'s White Pine North copper project in Michigan defined a net present value, discounted at 8%, of US$416 million, a 16.8% internal rate of return and a 5.2-year payback period.

* Millrock Resources Inc. granted First Quantum an exclusive right to enter an option to acquire up to 80% of the Dragonslayer porphyry copper-gold project in Alaska.

PRECIOUS METALS

* Newmont Goldcorp Corp. inaugurated the Borden gold project in Ontario, extending the operation of its Porcupine mining complex. The provincial and the federal governments each granted C$5 million for the electrification of the mine.

* Royal Nickel Corp. recovered an estimated 1,750 ounces of coarse gold from 274 kilograms of rock at its Beta Hunt mine.

* Australia's Victoria state, which will push through with a planned 2.75% gold royalty from 2020, was slammed by the Minerals Council of Australia as the measure will have an unfair and significant impact on the operating costs of all gold mines in the state.

* Barrick Gold Corp. CEO Mark Bristow said that he has a 10-year vision for the miner, while noting that the company will not expand into Australia and instead focus on Canada, MiningNews reported.

* Syndicated Metals Ltd. executed a farm-in agreement to acquire a 33-square-kilometer land package adjacent to its Newington gold project in Western Australia, securing key strike extensions to the Newfield and Dawsons prospects.

* Barrian Mining Corp. signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Troy Canyon gold-silver project in Nevada from privately owned Brocade Metals Corp.

* Blina Minerals NL is looking to acquire a 50% interest in Colour Minerals Pty. Ltd., which owns the Barkly gold-copper project in Australia's Northern Territory.

* A maiden resource estimate for Yandal Resources Ltd. for the Flushing Meadows gold deposit, part of its Ironstone Well gold project in Western Australia, outlined 4.6 million tonnes at 1.29 g/t gold containing 190,000 ounces at a cut-off of 0.5 g/t of gold. The resource has a higher-grade component of 2.8 million tonnes at 1.63 g/t gold containing 147,000 ounces at a cut-off of 1.0 g/t of gold.

* Bluebird Merchant Ventures Ltd. received formal communication from South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy that the permit to develop the Gubong gold mine will be granted, with the actual permit to be acquired shortly.

* NV Gold Corp. expanded its Root Spring gold-silver project in Nevada by more than 50% after securing nearby claims.

* Hummingbird Resources PLC settled a claim of over US$10 million against Taurus Funds Management Pty. Ltd. for a US$2.5 million payment.

BULK COMMODITIES

* Russian aluminum producer United Co. Rusal PLC plans to enter a five-year, US$750 million sustainability-linked pre-export finance facility to refinance debt. The company said it will be the first sustainability-linked syndicated facility arranged by international commercial banks in Russia.

* Norsk Hydro ASA plans to boost EBIT by 6.4 billion Norwegian crowns over the next five years via cost-cutting efforts across its businesses, shortly after the Federal Court in Belém lifted an embargo at the DRS2 bauxite residue deposit area of its Alunorte alumina refinery in Brazil, Reuters reported citing CEO Hilde Merete Aasheim. The company said it aims to run Alunorte at 75% to 85% capacity for the rest of the year and move toward full capacity in 2021, as Aasheim added that a weaker outlook for the global economy may damage aluminum demand in the short term, the newswire wrote separately.

* Rio Tinto is now offering responsibly produced aluminum from all of its Canadian operations, certified by the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative.

* Russian fertilizer producers PJSC Uralkali and URALCHEM Holding PLC agreed to become majority shareholders of Brazil-based Fertilizantes Heringer SA, which is currently under bankruptcy protection, Reuters reported, citing a securities filing. Uralkali and Uralchem will buy shares in Fertilizantes Heringer for 2 Brazilian reais apiece, resulting in a capital increase of up to US$110 million, the report said.

* Australia's Resources Minister Matt Canavan urged Korea Electric Power Corp. to continue talks with the New South Wales government over the Bylong coal mine, which was recently rejected by the state's planning commission due to environmental concerns, The Australian reported.

* State-owned Polish coal firm Polska Grupa Górnicza sp. z o.o. will spend 44 million Polish zloty, or about US$11 million, on one-off bonuses for miners this year after trade unions demanded more cash ahead of a parliamentary election, Reuters reported, citing CEO Tomasz Rogala.

* ArcelorMittal suspended operations at its mine near Fermont, Quebec, after a flash flood in a tunnel killed one worker and injured another, CBC News reported.

* Stelco Holdings Inc.'s Stelco Inc. withdrew its proposed offering of approximately US$300 million in aggregate principal amount of senior secured notes, due to current bond market conditions.

* Polish mining business PG Silesia is eyeing the acquisition of state-run utility TAURON Polska Energia SA's Janina coal mine, Reuters wrote citing a local newspaper which had quoted unnamed sources, while adding that coal production at the unit is expected to fall by 1.2 million tonnes this year from around 5 million tonnes in 2018.

* En+ Group IPJSC urged the London Metal Exchange to introduce new disclosure rules on emissions that would force aluminum producers to use the exchange to reveal the carbon content of their metal, Financial Times wrote, citing a letter by En+ Chairman Greg Barker that he wrote for the newspaper on the eve of the UN Climate Summit in New York.

* Ferrexpo PLC CEO Kostyantin Zhevago was summoned for questioning as a suspect by Ukraine's state prosecutor office, Reuters reported, citing a statement on the prosecutor website, which did not provide details. In August, Ferrexpo raised the possible misappropriation of its donations to Blooming Land Charitable Foundation following a probe.

* Cambrian Coal Corp. named Pristine Clean Energy LLC as the successful bidder for its Premier Elkhorn coal mining assets and told a bankruptcy court that it was reopening the auction process for its Perry County coal assets in Kentucky.

* Emmerson PLC received approval to consolidate 21 core exploration permits of its Khemisset potash project in Morocco into a single permit.

* The United Auto Workers Local 3462 ratified a new 46-month labor agreement covering about 300 employees at AK Steel Holding Corp.'s Coshocton works in Ohio.

* An optimization study for New Age Exploration Ltd.'s Lochinvar coking coal project in the U.K. identified opportunities to reduce costs, and to produce coal during the construction period.

* Strategic Minerals PLC wholly owned unit Southern Minerals Group LLC filed for arbitration in connection with a contract with its major client at the Cobre iron ore operation in New Mexico after negotiations with the client broke down.

* Perpetual Resources Ltd. expanded its landholding in Western Australia to 128 square kilometers after it secured the 14-square-kilometer exploration license application ELA70/5250, dubbed as the Eneaba North silica sands project.

* The fourth-quarter outlook for the thermal coal market, as well as for the whole of 2020, is expected to be weak amid tepid global energy demand and falling natural gas prices, S&P Global Platts wrote, citing Citi analysts.

SPECIALTY

* Mining executives, including Piedmont Lithium Ltd. CEO Keith Phillips, expressed frustration on the stalling of a bill in the U.S. Congress that aims to streamline the mine permitting process to boost domestic production of lithium and other battery metals, Reuters reported.

* Anfield Energy Inc.'s preliminary economic assessment for the Charlie uranium project in Wyoming outlined a net present value of US$18.9 million, at an 8% discount, with an internal rate of return of 60%.

* Wesfarmers Ltd. implemented its A$776 million acquisition of Kidman Resources Ltd., with the latter to be delisted from the ASX at the close of Sept. 24 trading.

* Arafura Resources Ltd. signed a memorandum of understanding with Baotou Tianhe Magnetics Technology Co. Ltd. for the supply of up to 900 tonnes per annum of neodymium-praseodymium from its Nolans project in Australia's Northern Territory.

* MGX Minerals Inc.'s joint venture with Eureka Resources LLC is working toward commissioning a commercial rapid lithium-recovery system at the latter's Standing Stone advanced wastewater treatment facility in Pennsylvania, which is expected to begin commercial extraction in the fourth quarter.

* Platina Resources Ltd. signed a six-month memorandum of understanding with Traxys Europe SA to advance its namesake scandium project in New South Wales, Australia.

* Petra Diamonds Ltd. recovered a rare 20.08-carat blue diamond from its Cullinan mine in South Africa.

* Deep Yellow Ltd.'s board approved an additional A$1.1 million budget to accelerate work at the Reptile uranium project in Namibia, towards finalizing of a scoping study by the end of 2019. Work towards the completion of a feasibility study is expected to begin in the March quarter of 2020.

* Botswana Diamonds PLC signed an agreement with Eurafrican Diamond Corp. to mine and process the diamond-bearing gravels and residual stockpiles on a portion of the Marsfontein operation in South Africa.

* Broken Hill Prospecting Ltd. obtained the title approvals, covering the over 1,000 hectares comprising the La Paz rare earths project in Arizona, which was staked in August.

* Clean Commodities Corp. plans to spin out its cannabis unit, Western Hemp Corp., to shareholders, with the spinoff company to be listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange.

INDUSTRY NEWS

* Kirill Molodtsov, an assistant to the head of the Russian presidential administration, proposed the creation of a special fund that will preserve and liquidate mining enterprises and underground structures where mining is no longer in progress, at the expense of subsoil users, Kommersant reported.

* Amid dozens of government and private sector announcements on new climate-change-related targets and financing, speakers at the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York City acknowledged far more needs to be done to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Click here to read about today's financial markets, setting out the factors driving stocks, bonds and currencies around the world ahead of the New York open.

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