TOP NEWS
Iran eyes US$10B of mineral exports
Iran expects to export US$9 billion to US$10 billion worth of minerals and other mining products by the end of the current Iranian calendar year, which concludes March 19, 2020, Tehran Times reported, citing the Islamic Republic News Agency, which quoted Jafar Sarqini, the country's deputy industry, mining and trade minister. For the first six months of the year, steel ingot was the top export, followed by iron ore and iron ore concentrate, steel products, cathode copper and rolled steel products.
China to spur investment in restoring land damaged by mining
China's Ministry of Natural Resources is looking to promote investment by both public and private organizations into restoration of land damaged by mining activities as part of a five-year plan, Reuters reported. According to the ministry, mining-related activities had damaged over 3.6 million hectares of land in the Asian country as of 2018-end, however, restoration efforts were hindered due to a lack of policies to encourage investment.
Russia to explore using National Wealth Fund for gold investments
Russia may consider using a portion of its National Wealth Fund for investments in gold and precious metals, which are said to be more sustainable in the long term compared with financial assets, Reuters reported, citing Finance Minister Anton Siluanov. The fund, which generates revenues from oil exports and was initially designed to support pensions, was worth US$124 billion as of Dec. 1, the report said. Russian central bank gold reserves totaled 72.7 million troy ounces as of Dec. 1, worth an estimated US$105.9 billion, according to the newswire.
BASE METALS
* Vancouver-based Zincore Metals Inc. agreed to a reserve takeover by Latin America-focused miner Mines & Metals Trading (Peru) PLC, or MMTP. Following the deal, the company will continue the reactivation of its Accha zinc oxide district project, and exploration and development of MMTP's Recuperada zinc-lead-silver project in Peru.
* China's monthly nickel ore imports from Indonesia climbed to a near six-year high of 3.3 million tonnes in November ahead of Indonesia's planned export ban in January 2020, Reuters reported.
PRECIOUS METALS
* Huili Resources (Group) Ltd. unit Hami Jiatai Mineral Resource Exploiture Ltd. agreed to sell its entire stake in Shaanxi Jiahe Mineral Exploitation Ltd., which mines, processes and sells gold products in China. Fugu Fuxinhong Commerce and Trading Ltd. will pay 10.0 million Chinese yuan for the purchase.
* Dundee Corp. sold 500,000 common shares of Dundee Precious Metals Inc. in a private deal for C$2.5 million. The deal saw Dundee Corp. cut its stake in Dundee Precious Metals to approximately 19.99% from 20.27%.
BULK COMMODITIES
* China's Henan Shenhuo Group Co. Ltd. will kick off production at the initial 150,000 tonnes per annum line of its aluminum smelting project in the Wenshan prefecture of Yunnan province on Dec. 31, Reuters reported, citing company officials. The plant is expected to reach the full annual production rate by March 2020, the report said.
* Malaysia imposed antidumping duties on cold rolled iron or non-alloy steel coil imports from China, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam for five years after concluding an antidumping probe on behalf of its local industry, Reuters reported, citing Malaysia's Ministry of International Trade and Industry.
* Russian steel pipe producer PAO TMK aims to close the US$1.2 billion sale of its U.S. subsidiary IPSCO Tubular to Tenaris in January, Reuters reported, citing Interfax.
* India's Coal Mines Provident Fund Organisation will impose a levy of 10 Indian rupees on every tonne of coal produced by its members, including Coal India Ltd. and Singareni Collieries Co (SCCL), to resolve an asset-liability imbalance that is seen to completely exhaust the pension fund by 2028, The Economic Times of India reported. The levy is projected to raise 6.5 billion rupees from Coal India this year if it achieves its annual production guidance, the report said.
* The Indian government is expected to auction off over 200 commercial coal mining blocks to privately owned miners in the next five years ahead of plans to stop thermal coal imports for its power plants by 2024, The Economic Times of India reported.
* Andromeda Metals Ltd.'s JORC 2012-compliant mineral resource estimate for its the Carey's Well kaolin deposit, part of its Poochera halloysite‐kaolin project in South Australia, grew 28% to 26.0 million tonnes.
SPECIALTY
* PJSC Alrosa and state-owned Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Co. finalized agreements to form a joint venture to explore for diamond deposits in Zimbabwe. Alrosa owns 70% of Alrosa (Zimbabwe) Ltd., with the remaining 30% held by Zimbabwe Consolidated.
* China's November exports of rare earth magnets to the U.S. dropped 21.2% to 376 tonnes compared to the previous month amid improving trade relations between the two countries weighed on demand for stockpiling, Reuters reported, citing Chinese customs data.
* ALROSA AK (PAO), a unit of diamond miner PJSC Alrosa, entered a collective agreement with trade union Profalmaz covering 2020 to 2022. The Joint Commission on the Regulation of Social and Labor Relations accepted 65 of the 71 proposals received to adjust the collective agreement.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* Peru could have generated US$29 billion more in mining tax revenues for the past 13 years had the country adopted a better tax model, BNamericas wrote.
* The Philippine government must introduce reforms to help small-scale miners legitimize their operations, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported, citing a study by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies. The think tank noted that the the People’s Small-scale Mining Act of 1991, was a "dismal failure" as it failed to spread employment opportunities and allow an equitable sharing of the country's resources.
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