TOP NEWS
Bamin plans US$2.6B iron ore project in Brazil
Bahia Mineração SA, or Bamin, is in talks with several potential investors, including a consortium of three Chinese firms, for the financing of a US$2.6 billion iron ore project in Brazil's northeastern state of Bahia, Reuters reported, citing Bamin CEO Eduardo Ledsham. Production is expected to start in the first half of 2025, the report said. The Eurasian Resources Group SARL-backed company committed to partially fund a rail line to transport ore and will spend US$1 billion to build a port.
Norsk Hydro restructuring rolled products business, flags up to 735 job cuts
Norsk Hydro ASA flagged the dismissal of up to 735 employees through 2024 as it launched a restructuring of its rolling business, which has been struggling with high costs and strong competition in recent years. Total restructuring costs are pegged at about €160 million, of which €100 million to €120 million will be booked in the third quarter.
Eldorado Gold sees more business-friendly Greece in permit approvals
In issuing stalled permits to Canadian-listed miner Eldorado Gold Corp., the recently elected Greek government is brandishing business-friendly chops that may help open the door to more foreign investment. "We're seeing a lot of activity in Greece with the new government in terms of supporting foreign direct investment," said Eldorado Gold President and CEO George Burns in an interview with S&P Global Market Intelligence.
BASE METALS
* Nickel output from the Philippines during the first half increased 3% to 11.31 million dry tonnes, even as operations at 16 of the 31 nickel mines in the country were suspended due to maintenance or because of environmental and other offenses, Reuters reported, citing data from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau.
* Chilean copper production in July grew 0.9% yearly to 486,500 tonnes from 482,000 tonnes last year, as higher output at the Esperanza, Collahuasi and Spence mines offset lower output from Codelco, Escondida and Anglo American PLC, Fastmarkets MB wrote, citing the Cochilco copper commission.
* Empire Resources Ltd. exercised its option to acquire a 91.89% stake in the Yuinmery copper tenements in Western Australia from Evolution Mining Ltd. in exchange for a 1.25% net smelter royalty.
* Coro Mining Corp. intends to consolidate its ownership of the Marimaca copper project in Chile by acquiring the remaining 49% stake it does not already own for US$12 million.
PRECIOUS METALS
* McEwen Mining Inc. slashed its 2019 production guidance for the Black Fox mine in Ontario to between 36,000 ounces and 40,000 ounces of gold, and the Gold Bar mine in Nevada to between 30,000 ounces and 33,000 ounces of gold, due to production issues at the two sites. The company's full-year gold output guidance was lowered to the range of 131,000 ounces to 138,000 ounces of gold.
* Petropavlovsk PLC swung to a profit of US$14 million in the first half from a year-ago loss of US$40 million. Gold revenue climbed 13% to US$305 million as gold sales volumes increased 12% to 225,100 ounces on a yearly basis. The results included a net US$38 million of other finance gains, partially offset by a US$14 million increase in interest expense. The company aims to acquire more gold mines in Russia with high grade deposits of at least 2 million ounces to feed its new processing plant, Financial Times reported, citing CEO Pavel Maslovskiy.
* An updated feasibility study on Vista Gold Corp.'s Mount Todd gold project in Australia's Northern Territory outlined a posttax net present value, discounted at 5%, of US$823 million, a 23.4% internal rate of return and a 2.9-year payback period.
* Gold Standard Ventures Corp.'s prefeasibility study for the South Railroad oxide gold project, part of its Railroad-Pinion property in Nevada, generated a posttax net present value of US$241.5 million and a 27.8% internal rate of return, both at a 5% discount.
* Barrick Gold Corp. divested its entire 10.7% stake in Royal Road Minerals Ltd., a U.K.-based explorer focused on gold properties in Colombia and Nicaragua, for C$4.3 million.
* Star Gold Corp. management determined that moving the location of the leach pad nearer to the main knob mineable pit at its flagship Longstreet property in Nevada can significantly reduce infrastructure and operating costs. The company hired H.E. Hunewill Construction Co. to prepare an updated cost analysis of the project.
* Orca Gold Inc. outlined plans to start discussions with the newly established Sudan government on its majority-owned Block 14 gold development, with its share price increasing 7.4% in mid-afternoon Toronto trading.
* MaxTech Ventures Inc. signed a binding letter of intent to acquire the Panama gold project from Benton Resources Inc.
* Ardiden Ltd. estimated a maiden mineral resource for the Kasagiminnis deposit, part of its Pickle Lake gold project in Ontario, of 790,000 tonnes at 4.3 g/t gold containing 110,000 ounces.
* Discovery Metals Corp. is set to commence a 35,000-meter drill campaign at the Cordero silver project in Mexico, which it recently acquired through its takeover of Levon Resources Ltd.
BULK COMMODITIES
* ArcelorMittal is preparing an auction of its downstream construction unit, which makes roof paneling and other products, as part of a plan to divest peripheral operations, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The construction business may be sold at about €700 million to €800 million, the report said.
* Vale SA's Feijao iron ore tailings dam disaster has prompted miners in southern Africa to reassess indemnity agreements for in-country directors of local subsidiaries, among a raft of measures to better prepare for and mitigate any such incidents on the continent in the future. Global law firm Herbert Smith Freehills' Johannesburg-based environmental director, Matthew Burnell, said in an interview that African miners now have a "heightened awareness" of a greater risk to communities from any potential incident due to their location in proximity to their operations.
* The Queensland Court of Appeal ruled in favor of New Hope Corp. Ltd. related to the third stage of its New Acland coal mine in Queensland, Australia, and against Oakey Coal Action Alliance Inc. The court further ruled in favor of the company's New Acland Coal Pty. Ltd. unit on the matter of groundwater, saying "the original land court recommendation was infected by apprehension of bias."
* Highfield Resources Ltd. signed a nonbinding off-take deal with Ameropa AG for the sale of 250,000 tonnes per annum of muriate of potash from the Muga-Vipasca potash project in Spain.
* The U.S. Energy Information Administration trimmed expectations for domestic coal production in 2019 by about 2.0% compared to an outlook released in August.
* U.S. Rep. David McKinley denounced President Donald Trump's belief that his administration has saved the coal industry. McKinley said that he wants Energy Secretary Rick Perry to put someone from his department in the White House to focus on fossil fuels, especially on coal.
* Davenport Resources Ltd. received a three-year extension to January 2023 for its 457-square-kilometer Küllstedt and Gräfentonna potash exploration licenses in Germany.
SPECIALTY
* Tianqi Lithium Corp. temporarily halted the development work on the second stage of its A$300 million lithium hydroxide plant in Western Australia, which would have doubled the annual production capacity to 48,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide, in line with global demand, The Australian Financial Review reported. The company will focus on commissioning and achieving practical completion of the first stage by October-end.
* ASX-listed Syrah Resources Ltd.'s shares closed at a 33% loss after it announced plans to drastically reduce graphite production in the fourth quarter due to a downturn in natural flake graphite spot prices in China. The company will slash output to about 5,000 tonnes per month and will review more ways to cut costs, including expenses at its Balama graphite operation in Mozambique, alongside a strategic and operational review for 2020.
* PJSC Alrosa sold US$181.8 million worth of rough and polished diamonds in August, decreasing year over year from US$294.9 million due to macroeconomic and industry headwinds affecting the midstream market.
* Israel Chemicals Ltd. plans to increase its production capacity of bromine compounds with an investment of about US$50 million. It will increase the production capacity of TBBA, a bromine compound mainly used in manufacturing circuit boards, by up to 25,000 tonnes per year and of FR1025, a polymeric flame retardant, by 50%.
* Mason Graphite Inc. sold its entire 18.3% stake in NanoXplore Inc. for C$28.2 million. Proceeds will be used for the construction of the Lac Gueret graphite project in Quebec, the development of a value-added products project, including materials for lithium-ion batteries, and for working capital.
* Canada Carbon Inc. received 66 letters from landowners near the Miller graphite project in Quebec informing the company that they were refusing access to their lots. The company assured that it will respect the rights of the landowners and try to obtain consent through surface access agreements.
* Savannah Resources PLC was conditionally given 25-year approvals for two mining concessions at its Mutamba heavy mineral sands project in Mozambique, operated under a joint venture with Rio Tinto.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* Blockchain-based digital financing could soon offer mining companies access to new funding by rolling out cryptocurrency tokens backed by a physical asset such as gold or other materials, according to an exclusive S&P Global Market Intelligence report.
* Chamber of Mines Chairman Gerard Brimo lamented the various hurdles posing extended challenges for the Philippines' mining industry, despite enacting measures to meet standards and clean up its image. In his opening remarks at the Mining Philippines 2019 conference in Manila, Brimo, the chairman and CEO of Nickel Asia Corp., said the industry has not progressed since the 2018 conference, and local miners are facing additional hindrances.
* Some environmental groups in the Philippines are questioning the credibility of government officials responsible for the next round of audit of mining companies to be carried out within the next two months, ABS-CBN News reported.
* The Zambia Chamber of Mines hopes that the country's 2020 national budget will include provisions that will help its mining sector recover from an expected copper output decline by at least 100,000 tonnes this year, blamed mainly on an unchanged 2019 mining fiscal regime, News Diggers wrote.
* Moody's said demand for battery metals can rise sixfold if electric cars reach 8% of road traffic by the mid-2020s, delivering benefits to producing countries like Congo, Chile, Philippines, Peru, Indonesia and Australia, Reuters wrote.
* The National Society of Mining, Petroleum, and Energy in Peru called an indefinite strike by mining unions a failure due to its inability to draw larger numbers of workers and non-impact to mines across the country, Reuters reported.
* A group of Brazilian wildcat miners blockaded a road traversing the Amazon to protest President Jair Bolsonaro's crackdown on illegal mines, The Washington Post reported.
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