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BHP rejects anti-coal lobbying proposals; Vale lawyers demand US$500M from BSG

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BHP rejects anti-coal lobbying proposals; Vale lawyers demand US$500M from BSG

TOP NEWS

BHP asks shareholders to reject resolutions against coal lobbying

BHP Group's board recommended shareholders vote against resolutions filed by activist investors seeking to suspend the mining giant's involvement with coal lobby groups such as the Minerals Council of Australia and Coal21 for having policies inconsistent with the Paris Agreement on climate change. BHP said it has been reviewing its industry memberships since 2017, and will publish a report later this year.

Vale lawyers demand BSG to deposit US$500M to continue award appeal

Lawyers acting for Vale SA demanded BSG Resources Ltd. to make a security deposit of US$500 million before continuing its appeal on a US$2 billion arbitration award BSG was ordered to pay Vale for their dispute over the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea, Financial Times reported.

GFG launches US$475M of bonds after steel unit's shelved IPO

Sanjeev Gupta's GFG Alliance Ltd. launched US$475 million of five-year bonds after it shelved the planned A$1 billion IPO of Australian steel unit Infrabuild, Financial Times reported. JPMorgan, which is handling the bond issuance, will provide a A$250 million facility that will rank ahead of the unsecured bonds, the report said.

BASE METALS

* Yunnan Tin Co. Ltd.'s refined tin production for 2019 would likely be 10% below its undisclosed target due to tight supply of raw materials. The Chinese tin major said this is part of a joint action by tin producers in China. A Reuters report cited a company official as saying that Yunnan Tin would reduce about 7,000 tonnes of annual output and a group of domestic smelters would cut 20,200 tonnes in total.

* PT Timah Tbk. will slash about 10,000 tonnes from its earlier annual tin production guidance of 60,000 tonnes to 70,000 tonnes this year, Reuters reported, citing company secretary Abdullah Umar Baswedan.

* Two Dundee Precious Metals Inc. employees were injured after a pressurization incident in the Ausmelt offgas system of its Tsumeb copper smelter in Namibia. The offgas system will be shut down up to 14 days for repairs. Despite this, a planned maintenance shutdown in the fourth quarter will still proceed. As a result of the additional downtime, the company expects the smelter to hit the lower end of its guidance of between 225,000 tonnes and 250,000 tonnes of complex concentrate smelted.

* Vale's board approved the sale of the Jaguar nickel sulfide project in Brazil to Centaurus Metals Ltd.

PRECIOUS METALS

* Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. swung to a fiscal 2019 headline EPS of 4.23 South African rand compared to a headline loss of 1.71 rand per share a year earlier, boosted by higher sales volumes, higher rhodium and palladium prices in terms of rand, and improved performance at its Rustenburg mine, where the company postponed its closure plan.

* Sibanye Gold Ltd. said the Constitutional Court of South Africa dismissed the Greater Lonmin Community's applications that aim to block its acquisition of Lonmin PLC.

* Wanguo International Mining Group Ltd. signed a US$276 million construction and mining contract with China Railway International Group Co. and China Railway No. 10 Engineering Group Co. for the Gold Ridge project in the Solomon Islands.

* Jubilee Metals Group PLC's joint venture platinum group metals recovery plant to recover material from the Windsor PGM project was commissioned and is fully operational. The project produced 1,346 PGM ounces in its first operational month of August. CEO Leon Coetzer said the Windsor project can potentially double the company's PGM production.

* Newmont Goldcorp Corp. priced its offering of US$700 million in 2.800% senior notes due 2029 to help repay outstanding debt. The notes will be guaranteed on an unsecured senior basis by the company's Newmont USA Ltd. unit.

* Canada-based miner Irving Resources Inc. signed a nonbinding letter of intent to engage in business opportunities with Tokyo-based trading conglomerate Sumitomo Corp.

* Tajiri Resources Corp. finalized its US$150,000 option payment to Middle Island Resources Ltd. to secure full ownership of the Reo gold project in Burkina Faso.

* TriMetals Mining Inc.'s South American Silver Ltd. subsidiary received from the Bolivian government the full settlement amount of US$25.8 million related to the 2012 expropriation of the Malku Khota silver-indium-gallium project.

* African Gold Ltd. agreed to acquire Abra Resources Pty Ltd., which owns the Samanafoulou, Sitikili, Yatia, Golokasso gold projects, and secured the option to purchase a 95% stake in the Walia gold project, all located in Mali.

* Americas Silver Corp., rebranded as Americas Gold and Silver Corp., reported a 250% yearly increase in total gold equivalent reserves as of June 30 after its acquisition of the Relief Canyon gold mine in Nevada.

* A worker at Banro Corp.'s Namoya gold mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was freed by kidnappers after 41 days in the forest, Reuters reported, citing the official Twitter account of the province where he was abducted. His three other kidnapped colleagues were released in August, the report said.

BULK COMMODITIES

* Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. completed an offering for US$600 million of senior unsecured notes to repay a portion of its outstanding US$1.4 billion syndicated loan facility maturing in 2022. The company is also in talks with lenders to extend the loan's maturities of US$600 million to 2025, with the balance of US$200 million to be repaid from operating cash.

* Assore Ltd.'s attributable earnings in its fiscal 2019 rose 16% to a record 5.93 billion South African rand, driven by a weak rand, higher iron ore prices and higher manganese ore sales. The company declared a final dividend of 14 rand per share, increasing the full-year dividend to a record 24 rand per share.

* Malaysia will cap monthly bauxite exports at 600,000 tonnes, part of the new operating procedures the government finalized for the sector, Reuters reported.

* Jupiter Mines Ltd. said Tshipi é Ntle Manganese Mining (Pty) Ltd.'s board decided to pay shareholders a further dividend of 600 million South African rand, taking its total first half dividend to 1.75 billion rand. The payout was higher than expected due to additional low-grade product sold in the fiscal second quarter and currency depreciation.

* Peabody Energy Corp. launched a process to refinance its term loan and revolver to accommodate a recently announced joint venture with Arch Coal Inc., increase financial flexibility, extend debt maturities and increase prepayable debt as it warned investors to expect third quarter results materially lower than the second quarter results.

* JSW Steel Ltd. secured approval from India's National Company Law Tribunal to acquire Bhushan Power and Steel Ltd., the second asset JSW purchased under the country's insolvency process, Bloomberg News reported.

* Mosaic Co. resumed full production at its Araxa and Tapira phosphate mines in Brazil after meeting new regulatory requirements on the company's tailings dams.

* KONE Oyj is studying a joint bid with a private equity firm for thyssenkrupp AG's elevator business, which Kone CEO Henrik Ehrnrooth described as a perfect fit for the company, Reuters reported, citing sources and German newspaper Rheinische Post.

* The president of the United Mine Workers of America, Cecil Roberts, called on President Donald Trump to tweet in support of preserving miners' pensions in a speech calling for greater federal assistance for the battered coal sector ahead of the 2020 election.

* Belarus may slash potash production by almost a third within the next three to four months amid weaker global demand, Reuters reported, citing JSC Belaruskali CEO Ivan Golovaty. The company reportedly plans to modernize its facilities and focus on maintenance during the period. JSC Belarusian Potash Co. also plans to start talks on a new supply deal with India this September, the report said, citing Belarusian Potash CEO Elena Kudryavets.

* Bounty Mining Ltd. said that the second recapitalization proposal received from QCoal Bounty Holdings Pty Ltd. is also not superior to the proposal received from Amaroo Blackdown Investments LLC. The directors recommended that shareholders vote in favor of the Amaroo proposal in the Sept. 30 meeting.

* Kibo Energy PLC signed nonbinding term sheets for power purchase and coal supply agreements for its 65%-owned Benga power plant project in Mozambique with Vale SA unit Vale Mozambique SA. The supply agreement covers the total coal requirement for the project over the modeled 25-year life of plant.

* Russia launched the third export line at the Vostochny port, doubling the annual capacity of the coal terminal in the Far East region to between 50 million tonnes and 55 million tonnes, Reuters reported.

SPECIALTY

* Cameco Corp. will not restart mines and is considering cutting output until uranium prices improve, Reuters reported, citing CEO Tim Gitzel.

* Kibaran Resources Ltd. said the Western Australian government vowed to support the company's EcoGraf battery graphite project, with Premier Mark McGowan requesting the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation to provide lead agency support to the company.

* PJSC Alrosa's board is considering ending its participation in the share capital of PJSC ALROSA-Nyurba through the voluntary liquidation of the unit, part of a strategy to improve the group's efficiency and structure.

* Almost 95% of Kidman Resources Ltd.'s shareholders voted in favor of the A$776 million acquisition by Wesfarmers Ltd.

* Marquee Resources Ltd. completed the acquisition of Centenario Lithium Ltd., owner of a 30% interest in Lithium Power International Ltd. unit Lithium Power International Holdings (Argentina) Pty. Ltd.

INDUSTRY NEWS

* Senior Mali government figures say the country's new mining code is tailored around sustainable community development, while promoting both small and large-scale mining as the country looks to diversify from gold. The changes include a reduced period for the 25% income tax rate from 15 years to three years, and the creation of a local development fund into which miners pay 0.25% of their turnover, but tax deductible so it will not be an extra cost on companies. Local small-scale artisanal miners without the resources to develop environmental impact studies will also pay into a rehabilitation fund, Lassana Guindo, a technical adviser to the mines ministry, told S&P Global Market Intelligence.

* Some activists said that a 10-year moratorium on deep sea mining that Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape agreed to support is not enough, as a total ban should be imposed due to environmental, social and economic risks, the Canadian Mining Journal wrote.

* Argentinian mining chamber Caem said miners are considering whether to invest in the country as they are unsure if presidential frontrunner Alberto Fernandez will implement protectionist measures and populist policies of the past, Bloomberg News reported.

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