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Glencore to more than double FY'18 dividend on US$16B EBITDA expectation

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Glencore to more than double FY'18 dividend on US$16B EBITDA expectation

TOP NEWS

Glencore to more than double FY'18 dividend on US$16B EBITDA expectation

Glencore Plc is expected to generate free cash flow of around US$7.4 billion and EBITDA of nearly US$16.2 billion in 2018, CEO Ivan Glasenberg said during a Dec. 12 investor call, citing current spot commodity prices. The miner will more than double dividends on a yearly basis in 2018 to at least US$2 billion considering consensus full year EBITDA of US$14.5 billion and group CapEx guidance of US$4.1 billion.

Widened strike forces ArcelorMittal to cease output at 8 coal mines in Kazakhstan

All of ArcelorMittal's eight coal mines in Kazakhstan have ceased production as the company's workers widened their strike over wage increases, Reuters reported. The company said it was negotiating with the workers. The protest began Dec. 11 when miners refused to leave four of the eight sites.

Gold Fields replacing 1,500 workers with contractors at Tarkwa in Ghana

Gold Fields Ltd.'s Ghanaian subsidiary plans to lay off 1,500 workers who will be replaced by contract workers to operate its Tarkwa gold mine from early 2018, Bloomberg News reported, citing David Johnson, vice president at Gold Fields Ghana. As a result of the move, the company will not need to bring in new mining equipment for the remaining mine life of about five to six years.

DIVERSIFIED

* BHP Billiton Group hired four banks to help it prepare for either a sale or spinoff of its U.S. shale assets, with a decision expected to be made in early 2018, Reuters wrote, citing sources.

* Aura Energy Ltd. started a process to list its Haggan vanadium-cobalt-neodymium-nickel-zinc project in Sweden on multiple international bourses.

BASE METALS

* Glencore restarted operations at its Kamoto copper-cobalt joint venture in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with first copper cathodes produced Dec. 11, Reuters reported, citing CFO Steven Kalmin.

* Separately, the company expects about 2.1 million electrical vehicles to be produced per year by 2020, with demand estimated at 390,000 tonnes of copper, 85,000 tonnes of nickel and 24,000 tonnes of cobalt.

* Prices for copper in 2018 are at risk of rising above the US$7,000 per tonne level as Chilean mines to renegotiate collective contracts with 32 workers' unions that year, Bloomberg News reported, citing commodities market analysts from Bank of America.

* A union at Teck Resources Ltd.'s Quebrada copper mine in Chile is set to strike after it failed to reach a deal with the company over a bonus scheme, Reuters reported. The union comprises only a quarter of the mine's workforce, but the strike action would likely impact output, a union official noted.

* Union workers at Southern Copper Corp.'s mines in Peru's Cuajone, Ilo and Toquepala regions resumed work on Dec. 12 after a 20-day strike, La República reported. The unions reached an agreement with the company concerning sharing mining profits and improvements to social and labor conditions.

* Eastern Field Developments Ltd. extended its A$175 million takeover offer for Finders Resources Ltd. by a month and dropped a condition requiring 50.1% of the company's shareholders to accept its bid, The West Australian reported. Meanwhile, Finders said that a group of shareholders representing 4.39% of the company will not accept the takeover bid, increasing the percentage to 37.58%.

* Empresa Nacional de Minera suspended operations at its Paipote copper smelter in Chile's Atacama region after workers downed tools at the site, Metal Bulletin reported. The strike action, however, has not affected the reception of mining products, the company noted.

* A survey commissioned by Chilean development agency Corfo and mining service Sernageomin confirmed cobalt deposits in Atacama and Coquimbo regions in northern Chile, Diario Financiero reported. Chile is assessing taping into these reserves to supply the growing demand for the mineral in battery manufacturing in the electric car industry.

PRECIOUS METALS

* Lonmin Plc consolidated the ownership of the Pandora platinum project in South Africa after completing the acquisition of Anglo American Platinum Ltd.'s 42.5% interest and Northam Platinum Ltd. unit Mvelaphanda Resources Pty Ltd.'s 7.5% stake.

* Following a strategic review, Newcrest Mining Ltd. agreed to sell its 89.89% interest in the Bonikro gold mine in Ivory Coast to F&M Gold Resources Ltd. and Africa Finance Corp. for a total of A$81 million.

* Highland Gold Mining Ltd. adopted a new dividend policy that will see total dividend payout at around 20% of the net cash flow from operating activities as well as additional cash distributions based on requirements for CapEx or debt repayment.

* Ortac Resources Ltd. increased its stake in Casa Mining Ltd. from approximately 45% to 84.7%, as part of its bid to acquire the remaining issued share capital of the latter.

* Chalice Gold Mines Ltd. signed a binding option and farm-in agreement to acquire up to a 70% stake in Khalkos Exploration Inc.'s Forsan gold project adjacent to its East Cadillac gold project in Quebec.

* Kinross Gold Corp. secured the rights to a 287-hectare parcel of land immediately west of its Fort Knox gold mine in Alaska. As a result, Kinross added 2.1 million gold ounces in estimated measured and indicated resources and 300,000 ounces in estimated inferred resources at Fort Knox.

* Conquest Resources Ltd. closed the acquisition of Northern Nickel Mining Inc. and its Golden Rose project in Ontario for 10 million shares.

* Southern Arc Minerals Inc. said it used cash proceeds from the sale of its Singaporean Indotan Lombok Pte. Ltd. subsidiary to PT Ancora Indonesia Resources Tbk to acquire 100 million PT Ancora shares, representing a 5.66% stake. Indotan Lombok owns 90% of PT Indotan Lombok Barat Bangkit, which in turn holds the exploration permit for the feasibility-stage West Lombok gold property in Indonesia.

* Crusader Resources Ltd. unveiled a short-term strategy comprising a dual listing on the London Stock Exchange's AIM and development plans for its Borborema, Juruena and Novo Astro gold projects in Brazil. For the longer term, Crusader will continue to acquire and develop assets through to production, aiming to become a gold producer with annual output of 150,000 to 200,000 ounces of gold.

* African Gold Group Inc. terminated a binding letter of intent with Hummingbird Resources Plc for a strategic investment and joint development of its Kobada gold project in Mali.

* Central Iron Ore Ltd. said mining operations have started at its Eureka gold project in Western Australia, which it is selling to Tyranna Resources Ltd. for A$3.2 million.

* Newmont Mining Corp. and Cia. de Minas Buenaventura SAA joint venture Minera Yanacocha SRL moved its regional headquarters from Lima, Peru to Miami, following the start of operations in Suriname and its acquisition of Colombian assets, El Comercio reported, citing sources. Meanwhile, Yanacocha is conducting pre-feasibility studies for its Quecher gold project in Peru.

BULK COMMODITIES

* Adani Enterprises Ltd. will seek to "adjust to constraints" around its A$16.5 billion Carmichael coal mine project after Queensland, Australia, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she plans to veto a proposed A$900 million infrastructure loan application immediately after she was sworn in Dec. 12, Reuters reported, citing a company statement.

* Agrium Inc. said its Australian agricultural-retail unit Landmark Operations Ltd. signed a binding purchase agreement to acquire Macrofertil, Louis Dreyfus Co.'s Australian fertilizer distribution business. The company did not disclose the purchase price but noted that Macrofertil has about US$120 million in annual sales.

* U.S. Steel Corp. failed to test a Lake Michigan tributary for traces of highly toxic hexavalent chromium from its Indiana plant after a spill occurred in October, the Chicago Tribune reported, citing documents from Indiana's Department of Environmental Management.

* Pushing back on a bearish reaction to the sale of Contura Energy Inc.'s Powder River Basin assets to a Revelation Energy LLC subsidiary, analysts at B. Riley FBR Inc. said it could be a "positive harbinger" for 2018. On Dec. 11, Contura completed the sale of its Eagle Butte and Belle Ayr mines, along with related reserves, equipment, infrastructure and other properties, to Blackjewel LLC for deferred consideration of up to US$50 million. The sale eliminated about US$200 million in undiscounted reclamation obligations for the company.

* K+S Aktiengesellschaft and the government of Germany's Gerstungen municipality reached an agreement to continue potash production in the Hesse-Thuringia potash district.

* France-based Alliance Miniere Responsable commenced production at its bauxite mine in Guinea, seeking to produce between 6 million and 10 million tonnes per year, Reuters wrote.

* The board of Morien Resources Corp. approved the implementation of a dividend policy and declared an inaugural dividend of 0.5 Canadian cent per share, payable Dec. 27 to shareholders on record as of Dec. 20.

* The government of Mozambique intends to off-load its 10% interest in the Chiuta iron ore project in the country on the Mozambican stock exchange, Macauhub reported.

SPECIALTY

* AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group NV mandated HSBC and Citi to raise US$500 million in new credit facilities, comprising a seven-year US$300 million term loan B and a US$200 million revolving credit facility, after its supervisory board approved the construction of a second lithium concentrate plant at its Mibra mine in Brazil.

* Bacanora Minerals Ltd.'s feasibility study for its Sonora lithium project in Sonora, Mexico, estimated a post-tax net present value of US$802.5 million at an 8% discount rate and an internal rate of return of 21.2%, with average life of mine operating costs of US$3,910 per tonne of lithium carbonate.

* Kodal Minerals Plc secured new mining license applications for the Kolassokoro area, part of the Bougouni lithium project in Mali, which was considered expired by the country's National Directorate of Geology and Mines. Furthermore, it will compensate Triumvirat Mining Co. SARL approximately £53,000 upon award of the licenses for withdrawing applications within the Kolassokoro area.

* A U.S. federal appeals court upheld a lower court decision that maintains a ban on uranium mining around the Grand Canyon, Reuters reported. The court also upheld a ruling allowing a uranium mine nearby to open.

INDUSTRY NEWS

* Russian mining giants PJSC Norilsk Nickel Co., En+ Group plc and SUEK Ltd. have pledged to invest over 580 billion Russian rubles for the sustainable development of the Krasnoyarsk region in Russia, where they all hold significant assets. The miners signed a memorandum with the regional government following a meeting in Moscow on Dec. 12.

* Canada is planning to create an independent body that will oversee the country's mining, oil and gas companies' offshore activities, Reuters reported, citing a government spokesperson.

* A U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on infrastructure permitting showcased lengthy review times for transmission, wind power, mining and hydropower projects as well government efforts to pare those timelines.

* The Peruvian economy will stand to gain economic benefits as a result of the start of medium-sized mining projects in the country 2018, Andina reported, citing BBVA Research.

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