TOP NEWS
South African government ready to compensate Marikana massacre victims
South African President Jacob Zuma outlined the progress of the implementation of recommendations made in response to the August 2012 incident at Lonmin Plc's Marikana operations, which left 44 people dead. Zuma said the government is ready to pay compensation for the victims of the incident and charged a number police officers for the violent turn of events at the mine.
BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto shares tipped to jump on better than expected cashflow
Analysts at Morgan Stanley increased their price target for BHP Billiton Group by 9% to A$30, and for Rio Tinto by 19% to A$71 per share, The Australian reported. "Better than expected cashflow leading to debt reduction and increased returns should drive momentum," analyst Brendan Fitzpatrick said.
Ivanhoe Mines: PEA for Kakula Phase 1 mine generates NPV of US$3.7B, IRR of 38%
A preliminary economic assessment for the development of the Kakula Phase 1 mine at Ivanhoe Mines Ltd.'s Kamoa-Kakula copper deposit in the Democratic Republic of the Congo generated a posttax net present value of US$3.7 billion using an 8% discount rate and an internal rate of return of 38.0%, with a payback period of 2.3 years. Initial CapEx are estimated at US$1.0 billion.
BASE METALS
* On the back of strengthening copper prices, Capstone Mining Corp. is seeking the Yukon Territory government's approval for an amendment to its mining plan for the Minto copper mine and to start a new open pit on the property, which will allow the company to hire back most of the staff it laid off in October, Yukon News reported.
* The operator of the Mount Lyell mine, Copper Mines of Tasmania Pty. Ltd., was fined A$225,000 by a magistrate court for workplace safety failures associated with a December 2013 platform collapse incident at the site that killed 2 workers, ABC reported.
* Employees at Codelco's Chuquicamata copper mine in Chile will vote this week on a collective contract proposal the company is expected to table by Dec. 14, Reuters reported, citing a union leader.
* Separately, Codelco CEO Nelson Pizarro said he conservatively expects the price of copper to average US$2.40 per pound in 2017, adding that analysts seeing copper averaging US$2.80 per pound next year are "too optimistic," Business News Americas reported.
* KAZ Minerals PLC secured a new US$300 million credit facility with the Development Bank of Kazakhstan JSC, which will fund the completion of the Aktogay copper project. The company also secured an increased commitment for an additional US$50 million from ING Bank NV in a pre-export finance facility.
* Altius Minerals Corp., together with select strategic investors, is participating in the co-founding of a new publicly traded company, Adventus Zinc Corp., which will focus on the acquisition and advancement of zinc exploration and development projects. As part of the initiative, Altius will be providing a portion of Adventus Zinc's pre-IPO seed capital funding.
* Bushveld Minerals Ltd. unit Greenhills Resources Ltd. agreed to terms to acquire a 49% interest in Dawnmin Africa Investments Ltd., which is the 85% owner of the Uis tin project in Namibia.
* Morgan Stanley has chosen base over bulk metals as its preferred pick for next year amid the U.S. president-elect's plan to bolster infrastructure spending, which may support demand from China, Bloomberg News reported.
* Goldman Sachs has revised its previous outlook on copper and now expects to see prices rising to US$6,200 per tonne over the next six months, significantly up from its previous six-month call of US$4,800, The Australian Financial Review reported.
PRECIOUS METALS
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* An independent feasibility study for Dalradian Resources Inc.'s Curraghinalt gold project in Northern Ireland pegged the project with a net present value of US$301 million using a 5% discount rate with a 24.4% internal rate of return after tax at an assumed gold price of US$1,250 per ounce.
* The results of a scoping study on Egan Street Resources Ltd.'s Rothsay gold project in Western Australia indicate that it will be a technically and financially viable operation and is expected to produce 101,000 ounces of gold over an initial 3.75 years for a capital outlay of about A$20.4 million. The board gave its approval to go ahead with a feasibility study, which is due for completion in the second half of 2017.
* Aben Resources Ltd. and Eagle Plains Resources Ltd. executed a formal option agreement pursuant to which Aben has secured the exclusive right to earn an undivided 80% interest in the Chico gold project in Saskatchewan.
* Silver Range Resources Ltd. staked six new precious metals projects including Strongbox, Cold Springs, Big Gossan, Legal Tender, Hunter and Krug in Nevada as part of its target acquisition program.
* Atlatsa Resources Corp. said an employee died in a water-related incident Dec. 9 at the Brakfontein shaft of its Bokoni mine in South Africa.
BULK COMMODITIES
* Germany's ThyssenKrupp AG has resumed production at its Galmed hot dip galvanizing line in Sagunto, Spain, Metal Bulletin reported. The site was shuttered in 2013 due to a low capacity utilization rate as a result of the economic crisis in Southern Europe.
* Billionaire Vladimir Lisin's Fletcher Group Holdings sold 90 million ordinary shares in OJSC Novolipetsk Steel, representing a 1.5% stake in the company, for US$153.1 million, Reuters reported.
* According to market sources, the European Commission's anti-dumping probe into hot dipped galvanized coil imported from China will lead to a shortage in the European market, Metal Bulletin reported.
* The U.K. government said that publicly-funded infrastructure projects will require about 3 million tonnes of steel over the next three years, Metal Bulletin wrote.
* The Australian Supreme Court ordered CITIC Ltd. to pay US$21.4 million to Clive Palmer in their case regarding the royalty payments at the Sino-Iron magnetite project in the Pilbara, The West Australian reported. The court will retain half of the money, while the rest will go to Palmer's privately owned resource company, Mineralogy Pty. Ltd.
* The recent surge in iron ore price has given Andrew Forrest, who owns a third of Fortescue Metals Group Ltd., a A$5.34 billion boost this year, bumping him up as the Australia's third-richest person with total net worth of A$7.34 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News.
* Chinese coal miners ramped up output in November, but production still fell 5.1% year over year to 308.1 million tonnes, while power consumption rose 9% in the same month, its fastest pace since February 2014. According to Reuters, mining executives said increasing coal production capacity or reopening idled mines has been slow, as firms need to rehire workers and refurbish equipment.
* Meanwhile, China's steel output in November increased 5% year over year to 66.29 million tonnes, the fastest since June 2014, Reuters reported, citing data from the country's National Bureau of Statistics.
* Argentina's foreign trade commission initiated an anti-dumping investigation into Chinese imports of welded and seamless pipes, Metal Bulletin reported.
* Rio Tinto awarded a A$40 million contract to NRW Holdings for bulk earthworks and civil works at its Yandicoogina iron ore mine in Western Australia, Mining Weekly wrote.
* Teck Resources Ltd. settled a benchmark price of US$285 per tonne with major customers for the first quarter of 2017 for its highest quality coals. Meanwhile, unionized employees at the company's Fording River and Elkview steelmaking coal mines in British Columbia ratified new five-year collective agreements expiring April 30, 2021, and Oct. 31, 2020, respectively. Teck now expects to incur a one-time, after-tax charge to profit in the fourth quarter of C$35 million.
SPECIALTY
* The value of rough diamond sales for De Beers SA's 10th sales cycle for the year fell to US$418 million from US$476 million in the preceding cycle as a result of the demonetization program in India.
* TNG Ltd. signed a memorandum of understanding with Sumitomo Electric Industries and Carnegie Clean Energy unit Energy Made Clean to collaborate on the promotion, development and growth of Australia's vanadium redox flow battery market.
* Intermin Resources Ltd. entered into a binding heads of agreement with AXF Group unit AXF Resources Pty. Ltd. for a joint venture to advance its Richmond vanadium-molybdenum project in Queensland, Australia, as well as the metal rights on nearby properties.
* Uranium Energy Corp. said the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality issued the final mine area permit for the company's Burke Hollow in-situ recovery project in South Texas.
* Savannah Resources Plc commissioned a scoping study and environmental studies for the Mutamba mineral sands project in Mozambique that is being developed under a consortium arrangement with Rio Tinto.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* President-elect Donald Trump's selection of Exxon Mobil Corp. CEO Rex Tillerson for secretary of state has sparked significant debate on Capitol Hill, where his confirmation is expected to come down to whether his experience running a multinational business outweighs his established ties to Russia.
* Separately, Trump offered the interior secretary position to coal industry proponent U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke of Montana, according to a report from Politico. The Trump transition team did not immediately confirm whether it offered the job to Zinke.
* The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union blasted Zuma for not consulting affected families and Lonmin workers, noting that the government failed to hold Lonmin accountable for the incident and find the real perpetrators of the Marikana killings.
* Analysts believe that the recent rally in commodity prices indicates that major Australian resource companies are well placed to at least double their shareholder payouts, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The Daily Dose is updated as of 7 a.m. Hong Kong time, and scans news sources published in Chinese, English, Indonesian, Malay, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai and Ukrainian. Some external links may require a subscription.