TOP NEWS
US appeals court revives antitrust lawsuits against Glencore, Goldman, JPMorgan
A U.S. federal appeals court revived lawsuits accusing Glencore PLC, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and other companies of collusion to increase prices of aluminum by cutting supply, Reuters reported. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said a federal judge erred in rejecting antitrust claims by direct purchasers such as Novelis Inc., the report said.
Chalco's H1'19 profit drops YOY; parent Chinalco to form large rare earths firm
Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd., or Chalco, reported an attributable first half net profit of 705.8 million Chinese yuan, or 3.5 fen per share, decreasing from 821.6 million yuan, or 4.6 fen per share, posted a year ago. Chalco's parent company, Chinalco, secured approval to make its China Rare Earth Holdings Ltd. unit as a large-scale rare earth firm that will consolidate mining and smelting rivals, South China Morning Post reported.
Sibanye flags swing to H1'19 loss on South African gold strike
Sibanye Gold Ltd. expects to swing to a first half attributable loss of 265 million South African rand, or a loss of 11 cents per share, from a year-ago profit of 77 million rand, or 3 cents per share, due to the impact of a five-month strike at its South African gold operations. Sibanye also flagged a headline loss per share of 54 cents, from headline earnings per share of 4 cents in the same period of 2018.
BASE METALS
* In the first half of 2019, China Molybdenum Co. Ltd.'s attributable net profit plunged 74.12% year on year to 808.0 million yuan, or 3.7 fen per share, from 3.12 billion yuan, or 14.5 fen per share, driven by lower copper and cobalt prices.
* Teck Resources Ltd. said that an electrical equipment failure at its Trail zinc refinery in British Columbia affected one of four rectifiers, resulting in a 25% reduction in production capacity for an estimated output loss of 20,000 to 30,000 tonnes while repairs are ongoing.
* Sandfire Resources NL's fiscal 2019 net profit slipped to A$106.5 million, or 65.2 Australian cents per share, from A$123.0 million, or 77.9 cents per share, on the back of weaker copper prices. The copper-gold producer declared a final fully franked dividend of 16 cents per share, lower than its year-ago distribution of 19 cents per share.
* A bankable feasibility study on Superior Lake Resources Ltd.'s namesake zinc project in Ontario defined a posttax net present value of US$115 million and a 27% internal rate of return, both at an 8% discount.
* Zambia's High Court suspended hearings on the winding up of Vedanta Resources Ltd.'s Konkola Copper Mines PLC pending an appeal on the lower court's refusal to let the case go to arbitration, Reuters reported.
* Economic fallout fears linked to the U.S.-China trade war continue to drive copper price weakness, commodities experts said, as the market worries about a potential hit to demand for the red metal, which is used in a slew of products from cars to electric cable, according to an exclusive S&P Global Market Intelligence report.
* The Metals and Mining Research team at S&P Global Market Intelligence estimated that global mined nickel production was roughly unchanged year over year at 637,000 tonnes in the June quarter, compared to 635,000 tonnes in the same quarter of 2018. Global mined nickel production for 2019 is forecast to rise by 5.3% year over year to 2.55 million tonnes, down marginally from the previous forecast of 2.63 Mt.
* A group of Wanguo International Mining Group Ltd. shareholders terminated a memorandum of understanding and negotiations with potential buyers who had intended to acquire about 40.126% of the company.
* Puma Exploration Inc. agreed to sell its Nicholas-Denys copper project in New Brunswick to Targets Minerals for 14.2 million shares, C$100,000 cash and a 1% net smelter royalty, which can be halved for C$1 million.
* Platina Resources Ltd. may acquire up to 70% interest in the Blue Moon zinc-gold-copper-silver project in California under an agreement with Blue Moon Zinc Corp., with the joint venture planning to target resource expansion.
* The Federal Court of Mexico favored Consolidated Zinc Ltd.'s Minera Latin American Zinc SAPI de CV unit in a dispute with a local rancher over the Plomosas zinc mine in Mexico.
PRECIOUS METALS
* Gold miner Polymetal International PLC's profit attributable to shareholders in the first half slipped 13% year over year to US$152 million, or 33 U.S. cents per share. Results included foreign exchange losses of US$24 million, compared to year-ago gains of US$2 million, mainly due to U.S. dollar-denominated intercompany loans and the weakness in the Russian ruble. Polymetal is considering a special dividend payout and minor acquisitions in rare earth metal projects in Russia, Reuters reported, citing CFO Maxim Nazimok.
* Northern Star Resources Ltd. will acquire all shares in Echo Resources Ltd. it does not own for 33 Australian cents per share, representing a A$242.6 million value for the latter. Directors of Echo Resources have unanimously recommended that shareholders accept the offer in the absence of a superior proposal. Northern Star's fiscal 2019 net profit was A$154.7 million, a 20% decline from A$194.1 million, due to its A$50 million investment in the Pogo gold project in Alaska.
* Northern Star Executive Chairman Bill Beament said the company will evaluate purchasing the Kalgoorlie Super Pit in Western Australia if it is put on the market by joint venture partners Barrick Gold Corp. and Newmont Goldcorp Corp., The Australian Financial Review reported. "If a potentially suitable asset like KCGM comes up for sale, we'll always have a look. it would be remiss of us not to," Beament said.
* Anglo American Platinum Ltd.'s Rustenburg Platinum Mines Ltd. unit completed its acquisition of the Central Block and Kwanda North prospecting rights in South Africa from Atlatsa Resources Corp. for 300 million South African rand.
* TALCO Gold, a joint venture between China's Tibet Huayu Mining Co. Ltd. and Tajikistan's Tajik aluminum company, will begin commercial production of gold and antimony from the Konchoch deposits in Tajikistan in March 2020, Reuters reported.
* Red River Resources Ltd. completed the acquisition of Hillgrove Mines Pty. Ltd., as a result of which it now owns Bracken Resources Pty. Ltd.'s mothballed Hillgrove gold-antimony project in New South Wales, Australia.
* Lupaka Gold Corp. commenced legal action over PLI Huaura LC and Lonely Mountain Resources SAC's alleged breach of a prepaid forward gold purchase agreement, which PLI intended to terminate early.
* Red Lake Gold Inc. agreed to acquire 430 mining claims to expand its Whirlwind Jack gold project in Ontario to 21,238 hectares from 12,472 hectares.
* Antler Gold Inc. signed a definitive agreement to sell its Cape Ray licenses in Newfoundland, Canada, to Matador Mining Ltd. unit Cape Ray Mining Ltd.
BULK COMMODITIES
* Chinese steelmaker Jiangsu Shagang Group Co. Ltd. became the largest shareholder in U.K.-based data center operator Global Switch Holdings Ltd. with a 49% stake after acquiring an additional 24% interest for £1.8 billion, Reuters reported.
* Hbis Co. Ltd.'s net profit attributable to shareholders for the first half dropped 35.9% year over year to 1.17 billion Chinese yuan from 1.82 billion yuan a year earlier.
* Bathurst Resources Ltd. declared a maiden dividend of 0.3 Australian cents per share for its fiscal 2019 ended June 30, to be paid out Oct. 23 to shareholders of record as of Oct. 1.
* Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board has cleared Nutrien Ltd.'s purchase of Ruralco Holdings Ltd., which offers products and services to the Australian agricultural sector.
* After a rise in Australian and Brazilian shipments as disrupted mines come back on track, the spread between seaborne iron ore coming to China and iron ore at its local ports has increased to the highest in more than two years, Reuters wrote. This indicates that more cargoes are underway and mills are hesitant to make offers given economic uncertainties, according to four sources with knowledge of the market.
* GrowMax Resources Corp. secured shareholder approval for its proposed change of business to an investment company.
* Turkey produced 19.9 million tonnes of crude steel from January to July, a 10.2% decrease from 22.18 Mt in the year-ago period, Fastmarkets MB reported, citing the Turkish Steel Producers Association.
SPECIALTY
* The U.S. Department of Defense is in talks with Australia to host a new rare earths processing plant, part of the United States' plan to reduce reliance on China for the minerals, Reuters reported, citing Ellen Lord, the Pentagon’s under secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment. It was not clear if the Pentagon would partner with Lynas Corp. Ltd., the largest rare earths miner and producer outside of China, or another Australian company, the report said.
* Russian diamond producer PJSC Alrosa's supervisory board recommended a first half dividend of 28.3 billion Russian rubles, or 3.84 rubles per share in absolute terms, representing all of its free cash flow for the period, in line with a new dividend policy.
* Kazakh uranium monopoly JSC National Atomic Co. Kazatomprom's first half net profit fell 68% to 104.0 billion Kazakh tenge as gains from business combinations in 2018 tailed off. One-time gains from business combinations plummeted 83% to 54.6 billion tenge from 313.5 billion tenge a year ago, as the company restructured in the wake of its London listing in 2018.
* Cleanaway Waste Management Ltd. is facing public backlash over its proposal to build a A$5 million lithium tailings facility for Albemarle Corp.'s Kemerton lithium refinery in Western Australia, ABC News reported.
* Galaxy Resources Ltd. acquired Alita Resources Ltd.'s senior secured loan facility worth US$28.8 million that was provided by lenders led by Tribeca Investment Partners Pty Ltd., making Galaxy the largest equity holder of the troubled lithium miner.
* Nevada Sunrise Gold Corp. regained full ownership of the Gemini lithium project in Nevada by taking back the 50% stake it previously optioned to Kore Mining Ltd. predecessor Eureka Resources Inc.
* ASX-listed Mali Lithium Ltd. said the government of Mali granted a 30-year operating permit for the company's Goulamina lithium project, the final regulatory hurdle.
* Plato Gold Corp. fulfilled the option terms for its 100% earn-in on the Good Hope niobium project in Ontario.
* The Thai Ministry of Commerce said China’s possible restrictions on rare earth exports may boost Thailand's own exports of scandium and yttrium to the U.S., Manager Daily reported.
* Noront Resources Ltd. obtained the support of the Marten Falls First Nation for the development of the Ring of Fire chromite project in Ontario.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* Guinea is accused of giving special treatment to Russian companies, including United Co. Rusal PLC, in its mining sector, The Guardian reported, citing charity group Action Mines Executive Director Amadou Bah, who claimed that he knew of a secret agreement between the two countries.
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