The Daily Dose LIVE returns to the City of London on Tuesday, Oct. 1. Join us for a timely panel discussion on the vulnerabilities facing corporate Europe in a period of deep political, policy and economic uncertainty. Register today to secure your place at this popular breakfast event.
TOP NEWS
Nippon Steel seeks to raise ¥200B for overseas acquisitions, plant upgrades
Nippon Steel Corp. aims to raise ¥200 billion by March 2021 to fund overseas acquisitions and upgrade its domestic plants, Reuters reported, citing Executive Vice President Katsuhiro Miyamoto. The Japanese steelmaker intends to raise the funds through divestments, primarily in cross-held shares in fellow Japanese companies. Nippon Steel also intends to hike product prices and increase productivity by streamlining its manufacturing structure to boost earnings.
Pound sinks as queen agrees to government request to suspend Parliament
Queen Elizabeth accepted a request from the U.K. government to suspend Parliament, making it harder for members of Parliament to block a no-deal Brexit. The British pound shed almost 1% against the U.S. dollar earlier in the day following reports of the request.
Russian fertilizer producer PhosAgro's Q2'19 earnings soar 4x on forex gains
In the second quarter, PJSC PhosAgro's attributable net profit quadrupled year on year to 11.78 billion Russian rubles from 2.95 billion rubles thanks to a favorable exchange rate. Revenue grew 3% yearly to 58.15 billion rubles due to a 37% increase in domestic sales that was sparked by the early start of the high season.
BASE METALS
* A record-high revenue of A$792.9 million propelled Independence Group NL's fiscal 2019 profit up 44% to A$76.1 million.
* Chengtun Mining Group Co. Ltd.'s first-half earnings dropped 83.9% year over year to 64 million Chinese yuan, resulting from fluctuations in cobalt prices during the period.
* Horizonte Minerals PLC secured US$25 million from Orion Mine Finance in exchange for a 2.25% royalty on production from the Araguaia nickel project in Brazil.
* Lundin Mining Corp. signed an amended agreement to increase its secured revolving credit facility to US$800 million, with a US$200 million accordion option, as well as reduce the cost of borrowing and extend the term to August 2023 from October 2022.
* Metallurgical Corp. of China Ltd.'s majority-owned Ramu nickel-cobalt plant in Madang, Papua New Guinea, spilled waste into the Basamuk Bay over the weekend, Reuters reported, citing three sources.
* Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. recommended Cobalt 27 Capital Corp. shareholders to vote in favor of Pala Investments Ltd.'s takeover bid.
PRECIOUS METALS
* Scotgold Resources Ltd. postponed the first gold production at its Cononish gold-silver project in Scotland to February 2020 from December due to construction delays at the processing plant.
* Prime Mining Corp., formerly ePower Metals Inc., secured the right to acquire Minera Alamos Inc.'s option on the Los Reyes gold project in Mexico.
* Western Copper & Gold Corp. unit Casino Mining Corp. completed the acquisition of the Canadian Creek gold property in Canada's Yukon Territory from Cariboo Rose Resources Ltd.
BULK COMMODITIES
* Citic Ltd.'s first-half attributable profit grew 9% to HK$33.5 billion, or HK$1.15 per share, partly attributed to its first positive profit at the Sino-Iron project in Western Australia. Meanwhile, the company's board proposed an 18 cents-per-share dividend, up from the dividend of 15 cents per share distributed in the prior year.
* S&P Global Market Intelligence has learned that several entities from Japan, Germany and China have approached Australian Potash Ltd. unsolicited over the company's Lake Wells sulphate of potash project in Western Australia in the past two months, and that the junior is discussing with them not only off-take but options for strategic investment and project development capital.
* Stainless steel producer Tsingshan Holding Group Co. Ltd. signed a deal with chemical firm Huafon Group Co. Ltd. to set up a US$3 billion coking coal joint venture in Indonesia, China Metallurgical News reported.
* PJSC Raspadskaya's first half net profit dropped 6% year on year to US$211 million, or 30.1 cents per share, from US$225 million, or 32.0 cents per share, amid lower prices. Coal output increased 31% yearly to 7.1 million tonnes due to operational successes at the Raspadskaya mine in Russia.
* Rio Tinto awarded NRW Holdings Ltd. a mining pre-strip contract for the Koodaideri iron ore operation in Western Australia.
* The Indian government relaxed foreign direct investment rules on four sectors, including coal mining, in which 100% foreign ownership is now allowed, Reuters reported, noting that the new policy may attract BHP Group, Glencore PLC and Peabody Energy Corp.
* The Mineral Resources and Petroleum Authority of Mongolia terminated three mining licenses for SouthGobi Resources Ltd.'s Soumber coal deposit, effective Aug. 21, due to SouthGobi Sands LLC's violations on its environmental reclamation obligations.
* Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd.'s Atlas Iron Ltd. extended its contract with BGC Contracting Pty Ltd. over the Mount Webber iron ore mine in Western Australia until the end of the site's operations in June 2022.
* Tata Steel Ltd. plans to float a separate company for its planned foray into merchant mining in India, Mining Weekly reported.
* The U.S. Department of the Interior signed a record of decision that allows Crystal Peak Minerals Inc. to start construction of its Sevier Lake sulfate of potash project in Utah.
* Avidian Gold Corp.'s 73%-owned High Tide Resources Corp. agreed to acquire the Goethite Bay iron ore project in Newfoundland, Canada, from Altius Minerals Corp. subsidiary Altius Resources Inc.
* Platte River Equity, also known as PRV Management LP, agreed to sell its PRV Metals LLC unit to Tinicum LP Deal terms were not disclosed.
* Improved aluminum prices have prompted Chinese smelters to restart idled capacity at their operations, Fastmarkets MB wrote, citing unnamed sources.
* The U.S. Department of Commerce extended antidumping duties on imports of lightwalled rectangular pipe and tube from China, Mexico, South Korea and Turkey, Fastmarkets MB wrote.
* Demand for steel building beams is projected to grow to almost 1.5 million tonnes by 2025, more than double against demand in 2018, Vedomosti reported, citing Evraz PLC senior vice president Alexey Ivanov.
SPECIALTY
* Ganfeng Lithium Co. Ltd. posted first half attributable net earnings of 297.2 million Chinese yuan, or 23 fen per share, dropping 59.3% from 730.2 million yuan, or 66 fen per share, a year ago.
* Administrators were appointed to Alita Resources Ltd., in a bid to restructure and subsequently recapitalize the lithium miner, which owns the Bald Hill lithium-tantalum mine in Western Australia.
* W Resources PLC began commissioning the concentrator plant at the La Parrilla tungsten-tin project in Spain, following the completion of the plant's construction.
* The Competition Commission of South Africa approved Bushveld Minerals Ltd.'s acquisition of Vanchem Vanadium Products (Pty) Ltd. without conditions.
* Lynas Corp. Ltd. achieved record fiscal 2019 production of rare earth oxide at 19,737 tonnes and record output of neodymium and praseodymium at 5,898 tonnes. The producer's net earnings increased to A$80 million, from A$53.1 million a year ago.
* Sheffield Resources Ltd. amended an existing 4,000-tonne-per-year zircon supply deal with CFM Minerales SA to add a further 1,000 tonnes per year of premium zircon produced from the Thunderbird mineral sands project in Western Australia.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* Federal mine safety officials are looking for information on economically and technologically feasible means to protect workers from exposure to respirable quartz, a material linked to lung disease among miners.
* The suspension orders on some miners in the Philippines that passed an audit following a 2017 crackdown on the industry have yet to be lifted, BusinessMirror's Businesswise wrote, citing an unnamed representative of one of the firms.
* Brazil national mining agency ANM will begin looking into tax information submitted by miners operating in the country to the Federal Revenue Service Agency, Valor Econômico reported. The review aims to pinpoint discrepancies that may lead to lower royalties collected by the tax agency.
* Mining ministers from Africa will gather in Perth, Western Australia, the week of Sept. 2 for the Africa Down Under conference in an effort to attract more Australian mining investment, Africa News Agency reported.
* The governments of Rwanda and Zimbabwe signed a memorandum of understanding to boost private investments in their respective mining sectors, The New Times reported.
* Ausdrill Ltd., trading as Perenti Global, booked a rise in fiscal 2019 net profit to A$181.3 million from A$59.3 million, while revenue increased to A$1.97 billion from A$1.72 billion.
The Daily Dose has an editorial deadline of 7 a.m. London time. 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.
