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[Infographic]: 2021 World Exploration Trends


US Commerce Secretary: No countries exempt from steel, aluminum tariffs yet

TOP NEWS

US Commerce Secretary: No countries exempt from steel, aluminum tariffs yet

According to ABC, U.S. President Donald Trump promised to exempt Australian steel and aluminum from tariffs during a meeting with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in July 2017 and this was witnessed by high-ranking officials from both countries including U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. However, Reuters reported that in an interview with ABC News, Ross said Trump told a number of world leaders that he is not considering any tariff exemptions.

Exploration spending forecast to climb 20% in 2018

Building on buoyant year-over-year exploration spending, S&P Global Market Intelligence forecast a 20% increase in 2018 exploration expenditures in its World Exploration Trends report. Estimated exploration budgets picked up in 2017 after four years of declines, with estimates suggesting that budgets for nonferrous metals grew to US$8.4 billion from US$7.3 billion in 2016.

Canada to unveil mining plan, eyeing domination in sustainability

Canada aims to become the "undisputed leader in sustainable mineral resource development" and will outline part of a strategy to do so in a report the government plans to release March 6, Kim Rudd, the parliamentary secretary to the minister of natural resources, said at the opening ceremonies of the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada conference in Toronto. The report is called the Canadian Minerals and Metals Plan.

DIVERSIFIED

* Anglo American Plc CEO Mark Cutifani saw a 70% surge in his 2017 paycheck after being awarded £2.78 million under the company's long-term incentive plan, the Financial Times reported. The bonus pushed the CEO's total pay to £6.7 million in 2017.

BASE METALS

* Unionized workers at Nexa Resources SA's Cajamarquilla zinc smelter in Peru plan to launch an indefinite strike beginning March 5, seeking a larger share of profits and improved working conditions, Metal Bulletin reported.

* Serengeti Resources Inc. signed a binding agreement to acquire Finlay Minerals Ltd.'s Atty and Electrum Resource Corp.'s ATG copper properties in British Columbia.

* Ressources Quebec Inc. unit SOQUEM Inc. updated the resource estimate for the B26 polymetallic deposit in Quebec, saying the deposit now contains indicated resources of 6.97 million tonnes at 1.32% copper, 1.80% zinc, 0.60 g/t gold and 43 g/t silver and inferred resources of 4.41 million tonnes at 2.03% copper, 0.22% zinc, 1.07 g/t gold and 9 g/t silver.

* New Century Resources Ltd. executed an engineering, procurement and construction contract for the refurbishment and commissioning of the Century zinc processing plant and Karumba port facility in Queensland, Australia.

* Red River Resources Ltd. will resume full site operations at the Thalanga zinc project in Queensland on March 6. The project was placed on standby as a result of severe weather conditions.

* BMG Resources Ltd. opted not to proceed with an option to acquire certain polymetallic Bulgarian mineral assets, following the completion of due diligence.

PRECIOUS METALS

* Petropavlovsk Plc's total reserves for underground mining as of Dec. 31, 2017, marked a 16% increase to 430,000 ounces of gold in the proven category, attributed to new resource estimates at the North-East Bakhmut, Andreevskaya and Nikolaevskaya zones of the Pioneer project in Russia. The company also recorded an about 8% increase in reserves to 670,000 ounces of gold and an about 6% increase in resources to 1.17 million ounces of gold across the group's assets.

* Eastern Platinum Ltd., together with its Barplats Mines Pty. Ltd. unit, signed an agreement with Union Goal Offshore Solution Ltd. for the retreatment of the tailings resource of the Barplats Zandfontein UG2 tailings facility, part of the Crocodile River mine in South Africa.

* Polymetal International Plc's ore reserves as of Jan. 1 increased 5% year over year to 20.9 million ounces of gold equivalent on the back of successful exploration at Albazino, Komar and Dukat as well as initial reserve estimates at Kapan and Nezhda.

* Lundin Gold Inc. is eyeing annual output of up to 1.0 million ounces from three or four projects, Reuters reported, citing CEO Ron Hochstein, with future development to focus on the North and Latin American regions after first production is achieved at the Fruta del Norte gold project in Ecuador, expected by the end of 2019.

* Minsur SA's gold production in the fourth quarter of 2017 jumped 26% year over year to 24,583 ounces, driven by higher feed and higher ore treated at its Pucamarca gold mine in Peru. Tin output, meanwhile, fell 6% to 6,331 tonnes during the period.

* Red Eagle Mining Corp. agreed to acquire the Red Eagle Exploration Ltd. shares it did not own already via a three-cornered amalgamation to create an exploration, development and operating company with four gold and silver projects in Colombia.

* Australia's gold production may reach a record this year as new projects come online, Reuters reported, citing mining consultancy Surbiton Associates. In 2017, gold output rose by 3 tons from the previous year to 301 tons, or about 9.7 million ounces, which is the highest since 1999. Another 20 tons of production may be added this year, the report said.

BULK COMMODITIES

* Looming U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports are expected to dominate the latest round of talks for the renewal of the North American Free Trade Agreement, Reuters reported, citing Kevin Brady, the Republican chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee. Brady called for all fairly traded steel and aluminum, especially from Canada and Mexico, to be exempted from the proposed tariffs, in a bid to calm tensions during the NAFTA talks in Mexico.

* Peter Navarro, director of the White House National Trade Council, said no country will be excluded from the tariffs but a process will be set up for businesses to apply for exemptions in "particular cases," Reuters reported.

* British Prime Minister Theresa May told U.S. President Donald Trump she had "deep concern" about the potential U.S. tariffs on aluminum and steel and said multilateral action was the only way to resolve the global overcapacity issue, Reuters reported, citing May's office.

* Meanwhile, the European Union is considering imposing tariffs of 25% on roughly US$3.5 billion of U.S. exports to the 28-member bloc should Trump push forward on his proposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Citing sources, Reuters said the tariffs would be used to rebalance the trade relationship; Trump, however, threatened to do the same for European cars if the EU follows through with a promise of retaliatory tariffs.

* A Chinese government spokesman said the government does not want a trade war with the U.S. but will take measures to protect its interests amid the looming U.S. tariffs on aluminum and steel.

* Japan's aluminum sector called on Trump to rethink the planned tariff on the metal, concerned that Japanese producers "will lose business," Bloomberg News reported, citing Japan Aluminium Association Executive Director Yoshihisa Tabata.

* Despite the uncertainty surrounding NAFTA, ArcelorMittal remains committed to investing US$1 billion in a new production line in Mexico, Reuters reported, citing a company spokesperson. The investment will see the construction of a new hot strip mill, which will produce 2.5 million tonnes of flat-rolled steel per annum. ArcelorMittal has also named CFO and ArcelorMittal Europe unit CEO Aditya Mittal the group's president.

* The U.S. government put a 51% tariff on Perth-based silicon metal exporter Simcoa, The Australian Financial Review reported. Australian Trade Minister Steve Ciobo said the government may take action against the Trump administration's anti-trade measures and said the U.S. findings against Simcoa were "unfair" and "ridiculous" and he will be exploring options with respect to the company's situation.

* Global coal prices are expected to remain robust through 2018 as a result of higher consumption in India and a steady demand in China, despite its measures to curb emissions and dependence on the commodity, The Jakarta Post reported, citing World Coal Association CEO Benjamin Sporton.

* India's Goa state stands to lose 35 billion Indian rupees in annual revenue and about 200,000 jobs after the Supreme Court order to stop renewing iron ore mining leases granted to 88 companies in 2015, The Economic Times of India reported.

* Norsk Hydro ASA's Alunorte alumina refinery in Brazil's Para state declared force majeure after the federal and state governments ordered it to cut output by 50%.

* Whitehaven Coal Ltd. is said to be working with Grant Samuel to secure funding as it eyes Rio Tinto's remaining coal mines in Australia, The Australian reported. Final bids for the Queensland-based assets are due March 12. Apollo Global Management LLC, Whitehaven, EMR Capital partnering with China Investment Corp. and Yancoal Australia Ltd., potentially partnering with Glencore Plc, are expected to compete for the mines.

* Cia. Siderúrgica Nacional's CSN Resources SA unit accepted for purchase US$147.1 million of its 6.50% senior unsecured guaranteed notes due 2020 following the expiration of tender offers.

* China is looking to reduce coal capacity by 150 million tonnes and iron and steel capacity by 30 million tonnes this year, Premier Li Keqiang said at the opening of the National People's Congress on March 5, according to Xinhua News Agency. Beijing will continue to close inefficient capacity and tighten regulations on environment, quality control and safety, Li said.

* Exxaro Resources Ltd. expects to book a 30% to 40% increase in core headline EPS for the year ended Dec. 31, 2017, Mining Weekly reported. The core headline EPS excludes one-off items, including costs relating to implementing its replacement black economic empowerment deal and gains on the partial sale of its stake in Tronox Ltd.

* Fifty-five workers at Mosaic Co.'s K2 potash facility in Saskatchewan who were trapped underground due to a small fire made it safely to surface, Mining.com reported. According to a company spokesperson, damage was minor and the cause of the fire is being probed. Mosaic has restarted operations at the underground mine.

* Stanmore Coal Ltd. was granted the Isaac Plains East coal mining leases and Commonwealth EPBC approvals, extending the mine life of the Isaac Plains Complex in Queensland, Australia, by about seven years. Output from Isaac Plains East is now expected to start by the first quarter of 2019, compared to the previous estimate of 2018's fourth quarter.

SPECIALTY

* A preliminary feasibility study for Frontier Lithium Inc.'s PAK lithium project in Ontario pegged a posttax net present value of C$301 million, discounted at 8%, and a 38.3% internal rate of return. Initial CapEx is estimated at C$147 million, including a 10% contingency, covering the entire two-year preproduction period. Sustaining capital is C$37 million.

* VanadiumCorp Resource Inc. will partner with U.K.-based Ultra Power Systems Ltd. to commercialize and deploy vanadium redox flow batteries for microgrid applications.

* Lucapa Diamond Co. Ltd. fetched US$1.7 million from the second sale this year of alluvial diamonds from the Lulo project in Angola. The company sold 2,072 carats at an average price per carat of US$804.

* Magnis Resources Ltd. will team up with automation company Siemens AG to enhance its lithium-ion manufacturing technology through digitization and automation.

INDUSTRY NEWS

* SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. is expecting higher profits this year, with a boost from its mining and metals business amid a projected rebound in commodities such as copper and fertilizers, Bloomberg News reported.

* The Democratic Republic of the Congo President Joseph Kabila is set to meet with representatives of mining companies in the country March 6 to discuss the DRC's proposed mining code, which has yet to be signed by the president, Mines Minister Martin Kabwelulu told Reuters.

The Daily Dose is updated as of 7 a.m. ET and scans news sources published in Chinese, English, Indonesian, Malay, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai and Ukrainian. Some external links may require a subscription.