TOP NEWS
Sharesin PJSC MMC Norilsk Nickelplunged by nearly 3% March 31, after media reports suggested the Russian base metalsproducer was preparing to ditch its generous dividend policy in favor of a market-linkedapproach that could cut payouts in times of low commodity prices. According to thereport, the company was considering a move to a more "market-based" dividend policy as a reaction to the significantfall in commodity prices since the policy was agreed in 2013.
Fitch downgrades Milpo'sratings
Fitch Ratings downgraded CompañíaMinera Milpo SAA's long-term foreign and local currency issuer defaultratings to BBB- from BBB and its US$350 million senior unsecured notes to BBB- fromBBB. The ratings outlook has been revised to negative from stable.
Metallurgical Corp. of China to quit iron ore business
Metallurgical Corp.of China Ltd. Vice President Xiao Xuewen said the company will restraininvestments in mining operations and plans to retreat from its iron ore business.
DIVERSIFIED
* Despitethe recent rally, several investors are betting that mining stocks will go down,with short positions in RioTinto, , Glencore Plc and during the first quarter surgingto their highest level in several years, TheAustralian Financial Review wrote.
BASE METALS
* Sharesin PJSC MMC Norilsk Nickelplunged by nearly 3% March 31, after media reports suggested the Russian base metalsproducer was preparing to ditch its generous dividend policy in favor of a market-linkedapproach that could cut payouts in times of low commodity prices. According to thereport, the company was considering a move to a more "market-based" dividend policy as a reaction to the significantfall in commodity prices since the policy was agreed in 2013.
* entered into a copperpurchase agreement with Altius MineralsCorp. concerning the Chapadamine in Brazil, pursuant to which Altius will pay Yamana total advanced payments of US$60 million in cashconsideration and 400,000 Altius warrants.
* Chairman Oscar Landerretchesaid the Chilean state-owned copper mining major will have to face opening up partof the company at some point to the stock exchange, not necessarily the local bourse,to finance its internationalization, Business News Americas reported.
* Fitch Ratings downgraded Compañía Minera Milpo SAA's long-term foreign and local currencyissuer default ratings to BBB- from BBB and its US$350 million senior unsecurednotes to BBB- from BBB. The ratings outlook has been revised to negative from stable.
* Anupdated preliminary feasibility study on CanadianZinc Corp.'s PrairieCreek zinc-lead-silver project in Canada's Northwest Territories a posttax net presentvalue, using an 8% discount, of C$302 million, with an internal rate of return of26%, based on base case metal price forecasts of US$1.00 per pound for both zincand lead, and US$19.00 per ounce of silver, for the life-of-mine production.
* ClivePalmer said he does not want a key license required to legally operate his embattlednickel refinery in Queensland, Australia, igniting concerns that the plant willremainshut, The Australian reported.
PRECIOUS METALS
* shareholdersvoted in favor of thecompany's proposed acquisition of all of the outstanding common shares of
* and Crystal CapitalWealth Corp. terminatedthe previously announced indicative letter of intent agreement as it has expired.Under the deal, Giyani Gold planned to acquire the Canadian financial services firmby means of a reverse takeover.
* Followingthe announcement by Kinross Gold Corp.that it is proceeding with the phase one expansion of its Tasiast gold mine in Mauritania, TD Securitiesanalyst Greg Barnes upgradedthe gold major to "buy" from "hold," the Financial Post reported. According to Barnes,the company is managing both project and balance sheet risk via a phased approach,while also optimizing Tasiast.
* GreekEnvironment and Energy Minister Panos Skourletis said Eldorado Gold Corp. needs to reach a "compromise"with local communities and the government to proceed with its contentious gold projectin the country, Reuters reported.
* Dueto strong demand, Silver Wheaton Corp.increased the size of its recently announced underwritten public offering and to raise about US$550 million.
* said its2015 attributable measured and indicated resources are steady at 21.1 million ounces,while inferred resources are marginallyup to 6.7 million ounces. The company's total attributable reserves of 14.6million ounces reflect a 3.5% reduction after mining depletion, with no change inthe grade.
* Separately,Randgold CEO Mark Bristow saidthe company's operations are "strongly placed to generate robust cash flowseven at gold prices below current levels."
* Ina bid to stimulate platinum demand, ImpalaPlatinum Holdings Ltd. developed a hydrogen-powered forklift truck andrefueling station, an important step toward the establishment of a commerciallyviable hydrogen fuel-cell industry, which uses platinum to generate power with onlyheat and water as waste products, Bloomberg News wrote.
* 's Chileansubsidiary Compania Minera Cerro BayoLtd. repurchased the 2% net smelter return royalty on silver and goldproduction from the Cerro Bayomine held by a subsidiary of CoeurMining Inc. As a result of the transaction, the royalty has been .
* struck a dealwith Accelerated Mining Pty. Ltd., givingthe latter the right to explore, mine, process and sell the gold ore from Classic'sWestern Australia-based Dohertyproject.
* signedan option agreement to fully acquirethe Perdito goldproject in California.
BULK COMMODITIES
* Refutingrecent media reports, ValeSA saidits partner Mitsui & Co. Ltd.is not considering revisingterms of a coal joint venture in Mozambique.
* Vice President Xiao Xuewen said the company will restrain investments in miningoperations and plans to retreatfrom its iron ore business.
* Reutersreportedthat British Prime Minister David Cameron is set to lead an emergency meeting todeal with the ongoing crisis in the country's steel industry, which put thousandsof jobs at risk. According to Cameron, there are no guarantees that 's business in Britain wouldbe saved and that he does notsee nationalization as the solution to the crisis. Following the meeting, theprime minister also said the government is "not ruling anything out" andthat they also want to secure a long-term future for Port Talbot and for other steelmakingplants in the U.K.
* A spokesman,James Rickards, said the Yanzhou CoalMining Co. Ltd. unit is trying to keep its options open by applyingto consolidate its proposed South East open cut mine with the existing coal mine in New SouthWales, Australia, ABC reported.
* TheBolivian government has inked a 30-month, US$451 million contract to build the iron and steel projectin the country with Sinosteel Equipment, Business News Americas reported.
* Afterdistributing letters to employees instructing them not to return to work this week,Peabody Energy Corp. confirmedstaff reductions at its NorthAntelope Rochelle coal mine in Wyoming, announcing that approximately235 hourly and salaried employees would be laidoff.
* Separately,Peabody Energy said it extended the closing deadline for its proposed sale of assetsin New Mexico and Colorado to BowieResource Partners LLC to allow moretime to explore alternative payment options.
* Continuinga contraction at the country's largest coal mines, Arch Coal Inc. announced that it is reducing staff at itsBlack Thunder minein Wyoming by about 15%,citing "persistent weakness in the thermal coal" market.
* South Korean steelmaker POSCO is contemplating the Port of Indiana-Jeffersonvillein the U.S. for a new wire rod processing facility, The Associated Press reported.
* Russia'sdomestic steel demand may fall by 10% to 37 million tonnes of rolled steel thisyear, Kommersant reported, citing owner Alexey Mordashov.Meanwhile, United Co. RUSAL PlcPresident Oleg Deripaska said the government will soon be presented with a program to increase the production ofaluminum to 2.1 million tonnes by 2021 and 2.5 million tonnes by 2024.
* HECSecurities Ltd. filed a winding up petition against Up Energy Development Group Ltd. for the outstanding balanceof principal, with accrued interest, of the matured HK$230 million convertible notes.The hearing would take place July 6. Up Energy Development's controlling shareholdersUp Energy Group Ltd. and Up Energy Capital Ltd. were also demandingrepayment of the principal amount of the 2018 convertible notes of HK$2.29 billionand HK$237.5 million.
* Theliquidators of Bandanna Energy Ltd.said creditors have decided to windup the company and several units.
* Russiaimposed duties on Ukrainian rods as OJSCNovolipetsk Steel Chairman Vladimir Lisin was unhappy about competition,Vedomosti reported.The Eurasian Economic Commission decided to impose anti-dumping duties on Ukrainianrods at a rate of 10.11% for five years. The decision will come into force in 45days. For ArcelorMittalunit ArcelorMittal Kryviy Rih, it will be 9.32% only.
* generated A$2.4million after completingthe sale of four land holdings, which were initially purchased to further the developmentof the company's iron ore projects.
SPECIALTY
* set rutile ranging from120,000 tonnes to 135,000 tonnes this year, in line with its 2015 output of 126,021tonnes.
* Thelargest fancy vivid blue diamond ever auctioned will be on sale May 18 in Geneva,amid a sluggish global market for jewelry, Bloomberg News wrote in a news brief.The 14.62-carat stone, called the "Oppenheimer Blue," is named after isprevious owner, Philip Oppenheimer, whose family controlled Anglo American unitDe Beers SA for 80 yearsbefore selling its 40% stake to Anglo American. The stone is expected to fetchbetween US$38 million to US$45 million.
* from the nonbinding memorandum ofunderstanding with European MetalsHoldings Ltd. over the Cinoveclithium-tin project in the Czech Republic.
* Accordingto Mining Weekly, the Indian governmentis looking to revise its rare earth mining policy to allow the auction of at leastone rare earth deposit to boostproduction in the short term. A senior official in the country's mines ministrysaid the government is looking to put one deposit up for auction on an experimentalbasis.
* entered intoan option and purchase agreementto acquire Next Advancements Pty. Ltd., which owns three exploration license applicationsthat are prospective for tantalum-lithium minerals, covering around 220 square kilometersat Morrissey Hill in Western Australia's Gascoyne region.
* applied foran additional exploration license in the Eastern Pilbara region of Western Australia,expanding the size of its exploration license applications to 1,084 square kilometers.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* Anexclusive report by SNL Metals & Mining Research showed that in 2015, only four of the top 10 mining companiesby market capitalization beat their S&P Capital IQ calendar-year earnings estimates.
* Hacking now qualifies as a major risk for international resource companies, Ernst &Young concluded in its report detailing business risks for resource companies in2015-2016.
* Therespective governments of Burkina Faso and Guinea said mining permits in the Africancountries awarded in recent years that are not being used for exploration or productionshould be made available to other companies via re-auctioning, Reuters reported.
* GoaChief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar said the government of the Indian state has decidedto auction mining sites in Goa in the future instead of leasing them out, the PressTrust of India reported.
* Mexico'soverall mining output in January slid 2.4% year over year, with iron pellets sufferingthe biggest fall, declining by 25.5%, Business News Americas reported,citing statistics agency Inegi.
The Daily Dose is updated as of 7 a.m. Hong Kong time, and scans newssources published in Chinese, English, Indonesian, Malay, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish,Thai and Ukrainian. Some external links may require a subscription.