TOP NEWS
US squares off with EU, Canada, Mexico over steel, aluminum tariffs
The Trump administration has begun a battle royal with some of its key allies over steel and aluminum tariffs after moving to lift temporary exemptions on tariffs for the European Union, Canada and Mexico, intensifying a trade dispute that could hit a broad swath of industries. The 25% tariff on U.S. steel imports and 10% tariff on aluminum imports will go into effect at midnight for Canada, Mexico and the European Union, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said.
Port Waratah scraps A$5B coal terminal at Newcastle port
Port Waratah Coal Services Ltd. scrapped plans for a A$5 billion coal terminal at the world's biggest coal port in Newcastle, ABC reported. Port Waratah now wants the lease to lapse when it expires in 2019, which will allow it to save about A$100 million in land lease fees. Hennie du Plooy, CEO of Port Waratah, said the company consulted with various industry shareholders and concluded that the existing terminals' capacity, including potential expansion options, is likely to be sufficient to cater for future growth in coal exports.
Report: Adaro says Australian approval in place for US$2.25B coal mine buy
Australian authorities approved PT Adaro Energy Tbk.'s planned US$2.25 billion acquisition of Rio Tinto's 80% stake in the Kestrel coal mine in Queensland, Reuters wrote, citing Adaro's chief legal officer and director, Mohammad Syah Indra Aman. The Indonesian coal miner plans to operate the mine jointly with EMR Capital, its partner in the deal, which is expected to be completed by the end of the third quarter.
DIVERSIFIED
* The Australian Tax Office is arguing in a pretrial hearing that BHP Billiton Group's U.K. and Australian listed entities were associates in an A$82 million tax dispute over the miner's Singapore marketing hub, The Australian Financial Review reported. BHP may have to pay more taxes if the claim is successful.
* A new regulatory framework is due to be in place by 2020 for seabed mining, which Vale SA unit Vale Australia Pty. Ltd.'s former general counsel Robert Milbourne said has the potential to "revolutionize" the sector across various commodities. Barrick Gold Corp. Chief Innovation Officer Michelle Ash said seabed mining presents a number of challenges, but "they can almost certainly be overcome in the next 30 years or so."
* PNX Metals Ltd. signed a binding term sheet to acquire a 90% interest in three exploration licenses that form the polymetallic Kilfoyle project in Australia's Northern Territory.
BASE METALS
* S&P Global Market Intelligence estimates that global mined production of zinc fell in the first quarter of 2018 to 3.05 million tonnes, compared with the 3.20 Mt registered in the final three months of 2017, which brought the annual total to 12.39 Mt. However, the estimated figure for the latest quarter is still just above the year-ago global output of 2.9 Mt.
* The closure of the Tuticorin copper smelter in Tamil Nadu, India, will "not materially affect" Vedanta Resources PLC's cash flows, S&P Global Ratings said, noting that its Indian copper smelting operations only yielded marginal contributions to the group, though it provided cash flow diversity.
* Cia. de Minas Buenaventura SAA CEO Victor Gobitz said Southern Copper Corp. is evaluating the proposal it put forward for the joint development of the latter's US$2 billion Michiquillay copper project in Peru, Reuters reported.
* Independence Group NL completed the recently announced sale of its Jaguar copper-zinc operation in Western Australia to CopperChem Ltd.
* Emmerson Resources Ltd. agreed to sell its mothballed Warrego mill lease in Northern Territory, Australia, to Territory Resources Ltd. in exchange for preference over other third parties when the latter builds a processing facility at the site.
* The Democratic Republic of the Congo's copper production in the first quarter rose 8.2% year over year to 296,717 tonnes, Reuters reported, citing the central bank. Cobalt production rose 34.4% to 23,921 tonnes, while gold output increased 9.7% to 8,549 kilograms in the period.
* A maiden, open pit, proved and probable ore reserve estimate for Cradle Arc PLC's Mowana copper project in Botswana outlined 370,800 tonnes of copper contained in 31.8 million tonnes grading 1.17% copper. The mine's life was extended by three years to 14 years.
* MMG Ltd. reported a fatality at its Sepon operations in Laos. A mine surveyor died after a tree struck the vehicle he was driving. The Sepon operations include a gold mine and a copper mine.
PRECIOUS METALS
* Tharisa PLC is considering an investment in Karo Resources' planned US$4.2 billion platinum project in Zimbabwe, Bloomberg News reported, citing Tharisa CEO Phoevos Pouroulis.
* Great Panther Silver Ltd. said that a preliminary economic assessment on restarting operations at its polymetallic Coricancha property in Peru defined a net present value of US$16.6 million, at a 7.5% discount rate, with an 81% internal rate of return, both after taxes.
* Sibanye Gold Ltd. is exploring options to trim its debt, but ruled out tapping shareholders for funds. The company's options include raising up to US$500 million via a streaming arrangement, or the financing of recycling inventory in process at its U.S. operations. Sibanye released the update to address concerns over recent mine safety incidents, high balance sheet leverage and its planned acquisition of Lonmin PLC, which the miner believes to have caused the recent plunge in its share price and market value.
* PAR Gold Proprietary Ltd reduced its stake in Pan African Resources Plc to 13.7% after selling 130 million Pan African shares, representing a 5.8% stake in the company, at 1.15 South African rand each.
* Empire Resources Ltd.'s board believes that the call by dissident shareholders, representing approximately 5% of the company, to oust its entire board is an "opportunistic" move by Brimstone Resources Ltd. to push its interests. Brimstone, which is Empire's joint venture partner for the Penny's Find gold mine, owes approximately A$1.1 million in unfunded contributions and interest for the mine's development costs.
* Ariana Resources Plc recorded a 270% increase in contained gold at the Kepez prospect, part of its 50%-owned Red Rabbit joint venture in Turkey, to 23,900 ounces of gold and 164,300 ounces of silver contained in 371,000 tonnes grading 2 g/t of gold and 14 g/t of silver in the combined indicated and inferred categories.
* An initial resource estimate for Viscount Mining Corp.'s Silver Cliff property in Colorado outlined an indicated resource of 2.1 million tonnes grading 84 g/t of silver for 5.6 million ounces of silver and an inferred resource of 3.2 million tonnes grading 70 g/t of silver for 7.1 million ounces of silver.
* AuStar Gold Ltd. poured the first gold at the Morning Star gold mine in Victoria, Australia, since 2012.
* The European Union will take the U.S. to the World Trade Organization to settle a row over steel and aluminum tariffs and vowed to retaliate with additional duties on American imports. "We will defend the Union's interests, in full compliance with international trade law," European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker was quoted as saying in a statement announcing that the WTO will launch proceedings against the U.S. on June 1.
* The U.S. plans to impose steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada, Mexico and the European Union. Historically, these countries accounted for between a quarter and a third of seaborne U.S. steel and aluminum imports, according to data from Panjiva Inc., a division of S&P Global Market Intelligence.
* Rio Tinto was caught in the crossfire of the trade war between the U.S. and Canada, as the U.S.-based customers of the miner will now have to pay a 10% tariff on aluminum, The Australian Financial Review reported. Rio Tinto's Quebec and British Columbia smelters ship over US$2 billion per annum of aluminum to manufacturers in the U.S., accounting for more than half of Canadian sales.
* Moody's said that tariffs on the steel and aluminum imports from the EU, Canada and Mexico may boost some domestic metal products, but the move will likely hurt the U.S. economy, Reuters wrote.
* The U.S. Treasury extended the deadline for Oleg Deripaska-linked firms En+ Group PLC, United Co. Rusal PLC and Gaz Group to make arrangements that would allow for the recently announced sanctions to be lifted, the Financial Times reported. The deadline for trading in equity and debt in these businesses was extended to Aug. 5 from June 5. The companies were included on a U.S. sanctions list in April for allegedly profiting from malign activities of the Russian government.
* Shares in Rusal dropped to 27.65 Russian rubles on the Moscow Stock Exchange, from 28.19 rubles at market open, amid reports that dividend payments from PJSC Norilsk Nickel Co. may be disrupted by U.S. sanctions. The slip follows reports from the Financial Times that dividend payments from Russian mining giant Norilsk Nickel may be blocked amid U.S. sanctions on Rusal.
* Australia rejected Phosphate Resources Ltd.'s proposal to expand phosphate mining on Christmas Island amid fears the move will have a "significant and unacceptable" impact on the island's wildlife, including its world-famous red crabs, ABC reported. The company sought approval to clear an additional 6.83 hectares land for exploration drilling. Christmas Island Shire President Gordon Thomson pushed for the approval in 2017, citing the potential for the closure of the Christmas Island rock phosphate mine and the loss of 250 jobs.
* ASX hopeful Trigg Mining Ltd. postponed plans for an IPO after failing to raise a minimum of A$4 million from investors, The West Australian reported. The aspiring potash producer attributed the deferral to "recent weakness in equity markets", adding that it would revisit plans when conditions improve.
* Kobe Steel Ltd.'s offices are expected to be searched by Japanese police and prosecutors this week, Bloomberg News reported, citing Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun. The steel manufacturer's offices in Kobe and Tokyo and its plants will be investigated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police and the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office for allegedly violating the unfair competition prevention law.
* Alumina Ltd. is forecasting a shortage of bauxite in China within three years and is looking to acquire new assets and expand its existing mines to take advantage of the expected supply gap, The Australian Financial Review reported.
* A proposed deal between Potash Ridge Corp. and Canada Coal Inc. for a potential collaboration over the former's Valleyfield Fertilizer Corp. unit has fallen through. The unit holds the Valleyfield potash property in Quebec.
SPECIALTY
* PJSC Alrosa's third auction in Israel received US$14.5 million in revenue from the sale of 112 gem-quality lots of special-size rough diamonds with a total weight of 1,824 carats.
* Bluejay Mining PLC plans to bring into production its Dundas mine in Greenland in 2019, which will be the highest-grade ilmenite project in the world, Mining Weekly reported. The project is said to host a resource of 96 million tonnes at 6.9% ilmenite.
* Largo Resources Ltd.'s Maracás Menchen vanadium mine in Brazil was "minimally impacted" by the national truckers' strike in the country, and production at the mine is expected to resume as early as May 31.
* POZ Minerals Ltd. secured an option to sell its Musgraves vanadium project in Western Australia, in a bid to focus on the Blina diamond project.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* Outside the U.S., reactions to aluminum and steel tariffs against Canada, the European Union and Mexico were blistering as industry called the move counterproductive and governments announced plans to hit back. The Aluminum Association of Canada said that aluminum customers would suffer with higher prices under the tariffs that would knock back the competitiveness of North America's aluminum industry. Jim Beck, a spokesperson for Alcoa Corp., a large aluminum producer with operations in Canada, criticized the tariffs and described their target as misplaced. German Steel Federation President Hans Jürgen Kerkhoff condemned the move, calling on the EU to implement safeguard measures shielding steel firms from a diversion of trade flows that will see an increase of steel exports targeting the European market.
* The Mining Association of Canada said the one-day strike held by Canadian Pacific Railway engineers and conductors is not expected to significantly impact mining operations in the country, Mining Weekly wrote.
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