TOP NEWS
Nippon Steel eyes ¥200B in divestments to fund overseas M&A
Nippon Steel Corp. aims to raise ¥200 billion by March 2021 through divestments, mainly in cross-held shares in fellow Japanese companies, to fund overseas acquisitions and upgrade its domestic plants, Reuters reported, citing Katsuhiro Miyamoto, Nippon Steel's executive vice president. The company also plans to hike product prices and increase productivity by streamlining its manufacturing structure to boost earnings.
Russian fertilizer producer PhosAgro's Q2'19 earnings soar 4x on forex gains
In the second quarter, PJSC PhosAgro's attributable net profit quadrupled year on year to 11.78 billion Russian rubles from 2.95 billion rubles thanks to a favorable exchange rate. Revenue grew 3% yearly to 58.15 billion rubles due to a 37% increase in domestic sales that was sparked by the early start of the high season.
AngloGold cautiously optimistic on hopes for another Tropicana-style deposit
Experts say AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. could have another Tropicana-style gold deposit on its hands in Western Australia's Goldfields region, if the recently discovered 9-km gold-in-soil anomaly at the Southern Traverses prospect is any indication, according to an exclusive S&P Global Market Intelligence report.
BASE METALS
* Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co. Ltd.'s net profit attributable to shareholders for the first half slumped 97.8% year over year to 32.8 million Chinese yuan from 1.51 billion yuan of the year-ago period.
* OZ Minerals Ltd.'s first-half net profit plummeted year over year to A$43.9 million, or 13.6 cents per share, from A$127.8 million, or 42.7 cents per share, resulting from deferred copper sales at lower commodity prices.
* Lundin Mining Corp. signed an amended agreement to increase its secured revolving credit facility to US$800 million, with a US$200 million accordion option, as well as reduce the cost of borrowing and extend the term to August 2023 from October 2022.
* Metallurgical Corp. of China Ltd.'s majority-owned Ramu nickel-cobalt plant in Madang, Papua New Guinea, spilled waste into the Basamuk Bay over the weekend, Reuters reported, citing three sources.
* Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. recommended Cobalt 27 Capital Corp. shareholders to vote in favor of Pala Investments Ltd.'s takeover bid.
PRECIOUS METALS
* Altus Strategies PLC signed a nonbinding term sheet to sell its contiguous Djelimangara and Sebessounkoto Sud gold projects in western Mali to Desert Gold Ventures Inc.
* Resolute Mining Ltd. kicked off the construction of the first-stage expansion of the Ravenswood gold mine in Queensland, Australia, which targets production of about 80,000 ounces of gold.
* Fiore Gold Ltd. achieved record fiscal third quarter production of 11,685 ounces of gold, a 9% quarterly increase.
* Scotgold Resources Ltd. postponed the first gold production at its Cononish gold-silver project in Scotland to February 2020 from December 2019 due to construction delays of the processing plant.
* Gold bars with faked stamped logos of major refineries are being passed off as originals as part of methods to launder smuggled or illegal gold, Reuters reported, citing refining and banking executives.
* A consortium of Chinese investors, with the participation of Fosun International Ltd., is proposing to acquire Russian gold producer Vysochaishy, Kommersant reported.
* Azure Minerals Ltd. executed its agreement with Minera Teck SA de CV to acquire the Alacran silver-gold project in Mexico, with Minera Teck parent Teck Resources Ltd. becoming a stakeholder of Azure with 19.9% interest in the company.
* Western Copper & Gold Corp. unit Casino Mining Corp. completed the acquisition of the Canadian Creek gold property in Yukon from Cariboo Rose Resources Ltd.
* Marathon Gold Corp. expects the pre-feasibility study for its Valentine gold project in Newfoundland to be finished early in the second quarter of 2020.
BULK COMMODITIES
* Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Union Co. Ltd.'s net profit attributable to shareholders for the first half fell 26.5% year over year to 1.04 billion Chinese yuan from 1.42 billion yuan of a year earlier.
* PJSC Raspadskaya's first half net profit dropped 6% year on year to US$211 million, or 30.1 cents per share, from US$225 million, or 32.0 cents per share, amid lower prices. Coal output increased 31% yearly to 7.1 million tonnes due to operational successes at the Raspadskaya mine in Russia.
* South32 Ltd. temporarily pulled out hundreds of underground workers from its Appin and Dedrobium coal mines, part of the Illawarra operation in New South Wales, Australia, due to safety issues on the breathing masks used by the miners, ABC News reported. The incident did not impact shipping or production, the report said.
* Rio Tinto awarded NRW Holdings Ltd. a mining pre-strip contract for the Koodaideri iron ore operation in Western Australia.
* The World Bank's International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes ordered Colombia to repay a US$19 million fine levied to Glencore PLC in January 2016 over its Prodeco coal mine in the country, but rejected all the company's other demands, including a petition for an additional US$575 million in damages, Reuters reported.
* The Indian government relaxed foreign direct investment rules on four sectors, including coal mining, in which 100% foreign ownership is now allowed, Reuters reported, noting that the new policy may attract BHP Group, Glencore and Peabody Energy Corp.
* Australian Potash Ltd.'s definitive feasibility study for its Lake Wells sulfate of potash project in Western Australia outlined a posttax net present value, discounted at 8%, of A$441 million, a 21% internal rate of return and a 4.75-year payback period.
* The Mineral Resources and Petroleum Authority of Mongolia terminated three mining licenses for SouthGobi Resources Ltd.'s Soumber coal deposit in Mongolia, effective Aug. 21, due to SouthGobi Sands LLC's violations on its environmental reclamation obligations.
* Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd.'s Atlas Iron Ltd. extended its contract with BGC Contracting Pty Ltd. over the Mount Webber iron ore mine in Western Australia until the end of the site's operations in June 2022.
* Tata Steel Ltd. plans to float a separate company for its planned foray into merchant mining in India, Mining Weekly reported.
* PJSC Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works CEO Pavel Shilyaev said the company is targeting the automation of routine processes at its operations within 25 years, Vedomosti reported.
* thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions AG is building a new materials handling system that can accommodate 5,500 tonnes of iron ore at the remote Baffin Island port near Baffinland Iron Mines Corp.’s Mary River mine in Canada, International Mining reported.
* The U.S. Department of the Interior signed a record of decision that allows Crystal Peak Minerals Inc. to start construction of its Sevier Lake sulfate of potash project in Utah.
* Seriti Resources Pty Ltd. expects South Africa to rely on coal for decades amid its home country's efforts to cut emissions through carbon taxes, Bloomberg News reported.
* Avidian Gold Corp.'s 73%-owned High Tide Resources Corp. agreed to acquire the Goethite Bay iron ore project in Newfoundland from Altius Minerals Corp. subsidiary Altius Resources Inc.
* Platte River Equity, also known as PRV Management LP, agreed to sell its PRV Metals, LLC unit to Tinicum LP. Deal terms were not disclosed.
* Pacific Bauxite Ltd. entered a binding agreement to sell its residual interests in milestone payments and royalties from the Mount Richardson, Rogetta and Golden Camel projects to Maincoast Pty. Ltd. for A$100,000.
* The Chinese steel-producing city of Tangshan ranked as the country's most polluted in July despite its mills being ordered to cut output in the last 10 days of the month, Reuters reported, citing data from the environment ministry.
* The US Department of Commerce extended anti-dumping duties on imports of lightwalled rectangular pipe and tube from China, Mexico, South Korea and Turkey, Fastmarkets MB wrote.
SPECIALTY
* Anglo American PLC unit De Beers SA's provisional revenue from rough diamond sales in the seventh sales cycle this year fell to US$280 million, from US$503 million in the year-ago sales cycle.
* Ganfeng Lithium Co. Ltd. posted first half attributable net earnings of 297.2 million Chinese yuan, or 23 fen per share, dropping 59.3% from 730.2 million yuan, or 66 fen per share, a year ago.
* Alita Resources Ltd. entered voluntary administration after restructuring talks with potential investors failed and Galaxy Resources Ltd. became its largest equity holder by acquiring the troubled lithium miner's senior secured loan facility worth US$28.8 million, the Australian Financial Review's Street Talk wrote.
* Lynas Corp. Ltd. achieved record fiscal 2019 production of rare earth oxide at 19,737 tonnes and record output of neodymium and praseodymium at 5,898 tonnes. The company's net earnings increased to A$80 million, from A$53.1 million a year ago.
* VRX Silica Ltd.'s bankable feasibility study for its Arrowsmith North silica sand project in Western Australia pegged a posttax net present value, discounted at 10%, of A$242.3 million, a 79% internal rate of return and a 2.4-year payback period.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* Federal mine safety officials are looking for information on economically and technologically feasible means to protect workers from exposure to respirable quartz, a material linked to lung disease among miners.
* Queen Elizabeth II has accepted a request from the U.K. government to suspend Parliament, making it harder for members of Parliament to block a no-deal Brexit. The British pound shed almost 1% against the U.S. dollar earlier in the day following reports of the request.
* The suspension orders on some of the miners in the Philippines that passed an audit following a 2017 crackdown on the industry have yet to be lifted, BusinessMirror's Businesswise wrote, citing an unnamed representative of one of the firms.
* Mining ministers from Africa will gather in Perth, Western Australia, next week for the Africa Down Under conference in an effort to attract more Australian mining investment, Africa News Agency reported.
* The governments of Rwanda and Zimbabwe signed a memorandum of understanding to boost private investments in their respective mining sectors, The New Times reported.
* Ausdrill Ltd., trading as Perenti Global, booked a rise in fiscal 2019 net profit to A$181.3 million from A$59.3 million, while revenue increased to A$1.97 billion from A$1.72 billion.
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