TOP NEWS
Report: Bankers preparing €7B debt for thyssenkrupp's elevator unit sale
Bankers are putting together debt financing of up to €7 billion to support a potential sale of thyssenkrupp AG's elevator business, Reuters reported, citing banking sources. The sale process, which started earlier this month, is expected to progress within the next two weeks following the dismissal of CEO Guido Kerkhoff, who lost the trust of investors after the German conglomerate struggled under his watch, the report said.
Vale further decreases FY'19 iron ore pellet guidance due to market conditions
Vale SA further decreased its full-year production guidance for iron ore pellets to 43 million tonnes from the previously revised 45 Mt, citing temporary market conditions. The mining giant said that the change will not affect its 2019 iron ore and pellet sales target of between 307 Mt and 332 Mt. Meanwhile, the company will launch a new iron ore pellet product in the first quarter of 2020 to meet an expected rise in demand in China, Reuters reported.
Brazil court lifts final embargo on Norsk Hydro's new Alunorte tailings area
The Brazilian federal court lifted the final embargo on Norsk Hydro ASA's DRS2 bauxite residue disposal area at the Alunorte alumina refinery. The ruling will allow the company to resume commissioning activities at DRS2, which is intended to replace the DRS1 tailings area.
DIVERSIFIED
* Friends of the Earth subsidiary Market Forces said Rio Tinto's recent tie-up with China Baowu Steel Group Corporation Ltd. to cut carbon footprint will not prevent the group from filing a shareholder resolution that, if approved, would make the mining giant set targets for reducing customer, or scope 3, emissions, the Australian Financial Review reported.
* Chile's Supreme Court ordered another environmental review of Minera Andes Iron's US$2.5 billion Dominga iron ore-copper project to hear the demands made by activists and claims by the company, Reuters reported.
BASE METALS
* Vedanta Ltd. is seeking approval from India's Tamil Nadu state administration to repair its Tuticorin copper smelter, which has been deteriorating since its closure over a year ago, Bloomberg reported, citing the CEO of the company's Sterlite Copper unit, Pankaj Kumar. The prolonged closure has cut India's copper cathode production by 40% from a year earlier to 457,245 tonnes in the 12 months ended March 31, while its refined copper exports dropped 87% to about 50,000 tonnes, according to data from the nation's trade ministry.
* Saracen Mineral Holdings Ltd. entered a binding agreement to acquire the Sinclair nickel project in Western Australia from Talisman Mining Ltd. for A$10 million and a 2.0% net smelter royalty. Sinclair is located near Saracen's Thunderbox gold project.
* Stavely Minerals Ltd. shares had surged over 250% by Sept. 26 ASX trading close after the company reported a "stunning" copper-gold discovery at the Thursday's Gossan prospect within its namesake project in Victoria, Australia.
* Tintina Mines Ltd. entered a nonbinding letter of intent to acquire the shares of NSR Resources Inc. it does not already own. The proposed deal will allow Tintina to use NSR's financial resources to develop its Red Mountain molybdenum project and the Watson Lake claims, both in Yukon.
PRECIOUS METALS
* Newmont Goldcorp Corp. is ready to resume talks with protesters as soon as they lift their blockade at the Penasquito gold mine in Mexico, Reuters reported.
* Defense Minister Mahamat Sala said a Sept. 24 landslide at an illegal gold mine in northwestern Chad killed about 30 people, and more people might still be buried in the rubble, Reuters reported. Illegal gold mining in the Tibesti region near the Libyan border, where the mine is located, has grown significantly in recent years, often by the influx of refugees from Sudan or rebels fighting the army, according to the newswire.
* Okapi Resources Ltd. executed a binding term sheet for an option to earn an initial 50% stake in the Tendao gold project, comprising five tenements covering over 1,400 square kilometers in Congo, by investing in license holder Wanga Mining Co. SARL.
* China's net gold imports via Hong Kong in August jumped nearly 61% to 12.997 tonnes from an eight-year low of 8.085 tonnes in July, Reuters reported, citing data from the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department.
BULK COMMODITIES
* Vale increased its previously announced debt buyback to about US$1.08 billion from US$1.00 billion.
* Starting in January 2020, the International Maritime Organisation will require ships to use lower-sulfur fuel, a new rule that will add about US$2 per tonne to BHP Group's iron ore shipments from Pilbara, Western Australia, to China, The Australian reported.
* Rio Tinto will start a trial sale of its iron ore products at the Port of Rizhao and the Port of Caofeidian in China, Fastmarkets MB reported, citing Simon Farry, the company's vice president for iron ore sales and marketing.
* Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. refinanced a portion of its US$1.4 billion syndicated term loan facility maturing in 2022 by repaying US$800 million and extending the US$600 million balance to 2025.
* Incoming thyssenkrupp AG interim CEO Martina Merz resigned as chairwoman of auto supplier SAF-Holland SA, Reuters reported.
* For its fiscal second quarter, Jupiter Mines Ltd. produced 890,995 tonnes of manganese from its 49.9%-owned Tshipi Borwa manganese mine in South Africa.
* Due to challenging equity markets, Pure Alumina Ltd. will likely be unable to raise A$30 million to help fund the purchase of Polar Sapphire Ltd. before the acquisition agreement expires Sept. 30. The company will review its future direction should it fail to secure an extension to close the transaction.
* OM Holdings Ltd. is hoping to make a staged restart of in-pit mining operations at its Bootu Creek manganese mine in Australia's Northern Territory by the end of October. Operations remain suspended following the death of a worker.
* Western Resources Corp. unit Western Potash Corp. entered a binding agreement to supply Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. with the full phase one output from the Milestone potash plant in Saskatchewan.
* Pacific American Holdings Ltd. received further five-year approval from the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources in British Columbia to conduct work at the Elko coking coal project through to September 2024.
SPECIALTY
* Rio Tinto reiterated its desire to stay active in the diamond sector despite the impending closure of the Argyle diamond mine in Western Australia in 2020, Reuters reported. "Diamonds is a business we like a lot. It’s a very high-margin business in line with our strategy of value over volume," said Arnaud Soirat, Rio’s chief executive for copper and diamonds.
* AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group NV signed a multiyear contract to supply Glencore PLC's Glencore AG unit with all of its ferrovanadium output from its existing and future facilities in Ohio.
* Five Star Diamonds Ltd. and Spirit Banner II Capital Corp. terminated a deal that granted Spirit Banner an option to acquire Five Star's diamond projects in Brazil. Five Star said it intends to explore opportunities in other commodities due to difficulties in the diamond sector for the past two years.
* Lucara Diamond Corp. recovered a 9.74-carat blue diamond and a 4.13-carat pink diamond from its Karowe diamond mine in Botswana. The gems will be auctioned during the company's fourth-quarter tender in December.
* King Island Scheelite Ltd. said that inferred and indicated resources at its Dolphin tungsten project in Tasmania, Australia, increased 18% after it completed a JORC 2012-compliant resource estimate for the Bold Head scheelite deposit.
* IronRidge Resources Ltd. is targeting a maiden resource estimate for the Cape Coast lithium project in Ghana by the first quarter of 2020, which will incorporate results from an ongoing reverse circulation drilling program at the operation.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* According to Moody's, mining companies are facing challenges in securing water access for their properties due to depleting water resources in many countries that host large mining operations, such as Peru, Chile, Australia, South Africa and Mongolia.
* The Toronto Stock Exchange recognized the 30 top-performing stocks for the past three years based on dividend-adjusted share price appreciation. Among those listed were Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd., Trilogy Metals Inc., Ivanhoe Mines Ltd., Labrador Iron Ore Royalty Corp., Anglo Pacific Group PLC, North American Palladium Ltd., Gran Colombia Gold Corp. and Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd.
* Nine countries joined the U.S. in its initiative to develop strategic minerals used to make electric vehicles, Reuters reported, citing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The countries are Argentina, Australia, Botswana, Brazil, Congo, Namibia, Peru, the Philippines and Zambia.
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