TOP NEWS
Rio Tinto working to revive sale of European aluminum assets
Rio Tinto is working to revive the sales process for some of its aluminum assets with the help of French investment bank Natixis, Reuters reported, citing sources. The assets include the miner's Icelandic aluminum plant, Rio Tinto Iceland Ltd., a 53% stake in a Dutch anode facility and a 50% interest in a Swedish aluminum fluoride plant, which have been valued at about US$350 million.
Barrick posts YOY drops in Q3 gold, copper output
Barrick Gold Corp.'s gold output in the third quarter slipped to 1.15 million ounces from 1.24 million ounces last year, according to preliminary production and sales figures. The mining giant also reported a drop in copper production to 106 million pounds from 115 million pounds in 2017.
FMC's Livent prices IPO in New York
FMC Corp.'s Livent Corp. priced its IPO at US$17 per share in New York. The company's shares will start trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Oct. 11, under the symbol LTHM. The offering was priced below the target of between US$18 and US$20 per share, giving the company a market value of around US$2.43 billion, Reuters wrote.
DIVERSIFIED
* Based on a survey by UBS analysts, BHP Billiton Group's institutional shareholders favored a share buyback program to reap the gains from a US$10 billion sale of the mining giant's U.S. shale assets, The Australian Financial Review's Street Talk reported.
* The Australian Financial Review reported that Glencore PLC has demanded that the publication take down articles detailing Project Everest, the group's 2014 plan to restructure its Australian holdings, which is under investigation by the Australian Taxation Office.
* Former Sky PLC deputy Chairman Martin Gilbert resumed his position as senior independent director of Glencore, effective immediately.
BASE METALS
* KGHM Polska Miedź SA CEO Marcin Chludzinski said the polish miner is focusing on shoring up its balance sheet rather than any early return to dividends, noting that the company will deliver an updated strategy by the end of 2018, Reuters reported. The executive said the miner is focusing on de-bottlenecking or improving efficiency at its Sierra Gorda mine in Chile, targeting boosting output to between 130,000 and 140,000 tonnes by 2020-21.
* Capstone Mining Corp. reported total copper production of 21,400 tonnes for the third quarter; 14,200 tonnes came from the Pinto Valley mine in Arizona.
* Aurubis AG said a deal to sell its flat rolled copper products business to Germany's Wieland-Werke AG could fall through as European antitrust authorities were likely to request new conditions, Reuters reported.
* A restart study for Superior Lake Resources Ltd.'s namesake zinc project in Ontario pegged a posttax net present value, discounted at 10%, of US$118.9 million, a 48% internal rate of return and a 6.5-year mine life.
* Venturex Resources Ltd.'s definitive feasibility study for the Sulphur Springs copper-zinc project in Western Australia outlined a pretax net present value, discounted at 8%, of A$472 million and an internal rate of return of 51%.
* A scoping study for Rox Resources Ltd.'s Fisher East nickel project in Western Australia estimated a pretax net present value, discounted at 10%, of approximately A$79 million and an internal rate of return of about 44% under a concentrator case.
* Oroco Resource Corp. struck a deal with Altamura Copper Corp. for the exclusive option to acquire the remaining shares of Altamura to indirectly gain additional interest in the Santo Tomas copper concessions in Mexico. The company owns about 13% of Altamura.
* Pacifico Minerals Ltd. closed the acquisition of a 75% stake in the Sorby Hills lead-silver-zinc project in Western Australia from Quintana MH Holding Co. LLC.
* NorZinc Ltd. secured governmental approval for the Prairie Creek all season road, which will provide long-term, year-round access to the company's Prairie Creek zinc mine in Canada's Northwest Territories.
* Artemis Resources Ltd. said that resources at the Whundo mine in Western Australia rose 30% to 30,266 tonnes of copper and 30,289 tonnes of zinc contained in 2.6 million tonnes grading 1.14% copper and 1.14% zinc in the indicated category.
* Jangada Mines PLC identified significant nickel-copper sulfide anomalies beneath the existing platinum group metals mineralization at its Pedra Branca project in Brazil.
PRECIOUS METALS
* The South African Competition Commission approved Glencore's plan to sell its stake in the Mototolo mine and chrome plant in South Africa to project partner Anglo American Platinum Ltd., Business Day reported. Mototolo is Glencore's last platinum asset, and it will exit the platinum sector once the deal closes.
* LeaGold Mining Corp. temporarily shut down its Riacho dos Machados gold mine in Brazil's Minas Gerais state due to continued regional drought conditions.
* The Chilean Supreme Court upheld an environmental order for the closure of water pumping wells at Kinross Gold Corp.'s Maricunga gold mine, Reuters reported. An environmental watchdog initially ordered the closure in 2016. The court in its ruling pointed at "inadequate management of unforeseen environmental impacts on the Pantanillo-Ciénaga Redonda basin" located in the country's Atacama desert.
* Sierra Metals Inc. reported a 44% yearly rise in silver production to about 700,000 ounces for the third quarter, while copper output rose 24% to 8.6 million pounds.
* South Africa's Department of Mineral Resources approved Platinum Group Metals Ltd.'s mining right application for the large-scale Waterberg platinum project in the country, Mining Weekly reported.
* Rogue Resources Inc. entered into a letter of intent to acquire Victoria Gold Mines East Timmins Ltd. from a Timmins, Ontario-based resource developer. Victoria Gold Mines owns the early stage Golden Arrow gold project, covering more than 700 hectares of patented and staked mining claims in Ontario.
* Zhaojin Mining Industry Co. Ltd. said that shareholder Shandong Zhaojin Group Co., Ltd. submitted a proposal for the former to issue up to 1.5 billion Chinese yuan in 10-year corporate bonds.
* An updated resource estimate for Polymetal International PLC's Prognoz silver project in Russia totaled 256 million ounces of silver equivalent grading 789 g/t in the indicated and inferred categories.
* Avesoro Resources Inc. discovered two mineralized vein systems located 1.5 kilometers east of its Youga gold mine in Burkina Faso.
BULK COMMODITIES
* Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. plans to launch a 12-month on-market share buyback program of up to A$500 million, after the release of its first quarter results on Oct. 25.
* PT Bayan Resources Tbk. produced 8 million tonnes of coal in the third quarter, up 23% year over year. The company is on track to exceed its full-year guidance of between 24 million and 28 million tonnes.
* Norsk Hydro ASA plans to return to full output at the Alunorte alumina refinery in Brazil, Reuters reported, citing CEO Svein Richard Brandtzaeg, who said the company is not considering any layoffs at the refinery. "We believe the embargo will be lifted and then we need all our people."
* In September, Australia's Port Hedland shipped about 37.4 million tonnes of iron ore to China, rising 5.3% from shipments in August, Reuters reported. According to the Pilbara Ports Authority, total shipments from the port to China were about 43.5 million tonnes, up from 42.4 million tonnes in August.
* Universal Coal PLC's EBITDA forecast for its fiscal 2019 is pegged at A$93 million, representing a 29% increase from the previous year. The Australia-listed producer also projects a 28% increase in sales tonnage to 6 million tonnes per annum.
* Steel Authority of India Ltd. dismissed the CEO of its Bhilai steel plant, M. Ravi, and suspended two senior officials after a fire at the plant in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, the Press Trust of India reported, citing Union Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh.
* Westmoreland Coal Co. proposes to sell its Canadian business and mines as well as its San Juan operations in New Mexico as part of a plan to emerge from bankruptcy by Feb. 28, 2019.
* Queensland granted Adani Enterprises Ltd. approval to increase coal exports through the Abbot Point terminal by 20%, ABC reported. According to the documents appointed by the newswire, the government approved a 10-million-tonne increase in annual coal export capacity through the terminal, on top of the previously approved limit of 50 Mt.
* Queensland booked a 4% year-over-year decline in September coal exports to 18.49 million tonnes, Metal Bulletin reported.
SPECIALTY
* Chile is exploring the potential of trading lithium on the London Metals Exchange, saying it would provide greater "clarity" about its value, Reuters reported, citing Mining Minister Baldo Prokurica. "We want to generate conditions for our products to be sold in a transparent manner, and that raises the possibility that lithium be traded on the London Metals Exchange so there can be clarity about its value," Prokurica said.
* Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile SA's controlling shareholder, Pampa Group, filed a lawsuit with Chile's Constitutional Court to block the planned sale of a 24% stake in SQM to China's Tianqi Lithium Corp., Reuters reported. The legal action claims that the Chilean antitrust court failed to follow due process when it approved a settlement between Tianqi and Chilean regulators allowing the Chinese miner to acquire the stake.
* Wolf Minerals Ltd.'s board decided to appoint administrators as it cannot meet its short-term working capital needs after funding talks failed. The company had warned Oct. 9 that it would have to wrap up talks successfully this week to not run out of cash.
* Montero Mining & Exploration Ltd. agreed to team up with a private geological consortium to explore for lithium in Chile's Atacama Region.
* Zimbabwe said an ongoing U.S. dollar shortage, which has been widely criticized by miners in the country, is a "short-term problem" and will be remedied by a stronger economy, Reuters reported, citing Mines Minister Winston Chitando.
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