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Vale faces criminal charges over Feijao; Peru eyes US$21B in mining investment

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Vale faces criminal charges over Feijao; Peru eyes US$21B in mining investment

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TOP NEWS

Brazil police propose criminal charges against Vale, dam auditor

In the aftermath of the Feijao dam disaster, federal police in Brazil have called for criminal charges against Vale SA, dam auditor TÜV SÜD AG and 13 employees, Reuters wrote. Citing a document it had seen, the newswire reported that federal police proposed charges alleging falsification of documents concerning the stability of Vale's Brumadinho dam at the Feijao mine.

Peru seeks to attract US$21B in mining investments by 2023

Peru President Martín Vizcarra seeks to attract US$21 billion in mining investments before his term ends in 2023, Mining.com reported, citing state-owned news agency Andina. According to the report, Peru's energy and mines minister Francisco Ísmodes said at the Perumin 34 conference that the figure is the expected amount to be in place before the end of Vizcarra's term, out of the projected US$57 billion from 48 mid to long-term projects.

Court lifts 1 of 2 embargoes on Norsk Hydro's new Alunorte tailings area

Norsk Hydro ASA moved closer to resuming commissioning activities at the DRS2 bauxite residue deposit area of its Alunorte alumina refinery in Brazil after the Federal Court in Belém lifted an embargo under a civil lawsuit. DRS2, which is intended to replace the old DRS1 tailings area, is still subject to an embargo under a parallel criminal case, although Norsk Hydro expects it to be lifted shortly.

BASE METALS

* Ero Copper Corp. has started to aggressively drill greenfield targets away from its Brazilian copper mines in the MCSA Mining Complex as part of a 200,000-meter drill program this year as it looks to generate new reserves at an asset it acquired in 2016 before a 2017 IPO, President and CEO David Strang said in an exclusive S&P Global Market Intelligence report.

* The Minnesota Court of Appeals suspended PolyMet Mining Corp.'s two key permits for its NorthMet copper-nickel project following a challenge by environmental activists, the Associated Press reported. The permits were put on hold ahead of an Oct. 23 hearing, where the state's Department of Natural Resources must address whether it should conduct a review of the project's dam and include majority owner Glencore PLC in the permits.

* Japan's Pan Pacific Copper Co. Ltd. expects the global copper shortage to tighten in 2020 with an increase in Chinese output and a slowdown in demand amid the U.S.-China trade war, Reuters wrote, citing the company's general manager for marketing, Naoki Kojima. He expects global consumption to rise 1.5% and the supply of refined copper to climb 1.7% compared with this year, forecasting a supply shortage of 38,000 tonnes in 2020, compared to 89,000 tonnes this year.

PRECIOUS METALS

* Northern Star Resources Ltd. declared its bid to acquire the remaining shares in Echo Resources Ltd. it does not already own for 33 Australian cents apiece unconditional.

* Barra Resources Ltd.'s scoping study for its Burbanks gold project in Western Australia identified the potential for shallow underground mining at the Birthday Gift and Main Lode gold mines. The company also said the project can be developed with no capital expenditure, other than modest working capital, to fund underground development launched from existing open pit and underground workings.

* First Energy Metals Ltd. entered a nonbinding letter of intent to wholly acquire private explorer Muzhu Mining Ltd., which holds an option to acquire up to 80% of the Xiao Wa Gou silver-lead-zinc property in China's Henan Province, by issuing 9.0 million shares.

* Golden Mile Resources Ltd. completed its acquisition of the Yuinmery gold project exploration license 57/1043 in the Youanmi gold mining district of Western Australia from Legend Resources Pty. Ltd.

* An updated resource estimate for the Boundary and Trump deposits at Black Cat Syndicate Ltd.'s Myhree gold project in Western Australia posted 87% and 89% increases, respectively.

* Red Lake Gold Inc. temporarily suspended field operations in Red Lake, Ontario, amid a state of emergency declared by the municipality due to inclement weather.

BULK COMMODITIES

* BHP Group is projecting to meet its iron ore shipment commitments, as maintenance work being conducted at its Jimblebar and Newman mines in Western Australia has had a minor impact on production, Reuters reported, citing a statement from the miner.

* The long-term outlook for metallurgical coal remains "very attractive," B. Riley FBR analyst Lucas Pipes said on a call with the American Coal Council.

* PJSC Uralkali will slash its second-half potassium production by 150,000 tonnes to 300,000 tonnes, owing to a decline in demand for the commodity this year, Vedomosti reported.

* Tunisia's highest court, the Court of Cassation, rejected the appeal from Tunisian Mining Services challenging the orders of the Court of Appeal in favor of Celamin Holdings Ltd. in a dispute over the Chaketma phosphate project.

* Gerald Metals LLC will halt its Marampa iron ore operation in Sierra Leone due to a dispute with the government over royalty payments, Reuters reported, citing a company letter. Nearly 1,000 workers will be affected by the move, the report said.

* China has taken fewer iron ore shipments from Iran over August and September due to additional export tariffs to be implemented by Tehran, Reuters reported, citing Refinitiv Eikon data.

* Producers in major steelmaking districts in China's Hebei province intend to cut output in the last week of September in a bid to improve air quality, Reuters reported, citing documents viewed by the newswire.

SPECIALTY

* Rising demand for lithium from the battery sector for use in electric vehicles and rising prices have driven acquisitions of projects and mines with lithium resources over the past 7.5 years, according to the Metals and Mining Research team at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

* The Federal Court of Australia appointed Deloitte as provisional liquidators of Merlin Diamonds Ltd., which is accused of using A$13 million in investor money to fund Chairman Joe Gutnick's private businesses without shareholder approval and benefit to the company, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

* Mkango Resources Ltd.'s 75.5%-owned unit Maginito Ltd. signed a term sheet for an option to take up to a 49% stake in private rare earth magnet recycler HyProMag Ltd.

* Noront Resources Ltd. secured an option from Algoma Steel Inc. to lease a brownfield property for a ferrochrome production facility, and Hatch Ltd. is undertaking engineering and project support services for the company's Eagle's Nest and Ring of Fire chrome projects in Ontario.

* Xiamen Tungsten Co. Ltd. completed an offering for 600 million Chinese yuan of short-term bonds on Sept. 20. The notes will mature in 270 days with a fixed interest rate of 3.35%.

* Harvest Minerals Ltd. said the open pit mining area at its Arapua phosphate project in Brazil was expanded and exposed a further estimated 70,000 tonnes of weathered ore, with an increased run of mine storage capacity added next to the open pit.

* Lake Resources NL is targeting pre-production of initial lithium products at its flagship Kachi project in Argentina to begin in early 2020, using a pilot plant under construction.

INDUSTRY NEWS

* Australia pledged to invest A$150 million in its local businesses and new technologies over five years that will support NASA's missions on the Moon and Mars. NASA earlier urged Australian miners such as BHP and Rio Tinto to make their autonomous mining technology applicable to space.

* Australian mining companies agreed to team up to help develop global standards for tailings management, Minerals Council of Australia CEO Tania Constable said.

* Western Australia brought in a record A$78.2 billion in revenue from iron ore sales in its fiscal 2019, with gold sales also at an all-time high of A$12 billion on the back of a record Australian-dollar denominated gold price. Meanwhile, employment in the state's minerals sector grew to an average of 124,010 workers from 112,008 workers in the prior year.

* Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan criticized the federal government's plan to cut tax concessions for remote housing, saying that it will impact regional mining towns, The West Australian wrote.

* A Filipino congressman is seeking an amendment to the Philippines' mining taxes that will see 30% of the country's revenue from the industry allocated to a sovereign wealth fund, BusinessWorld reported.

* The U.K. will establish a £1 billion fund for scientists around the world to create new technology to help developing countries cut carbon emissions, Reuters reported, citing Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who will present the plan at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

* Chile's ruling party, Chile Vamos, wants mining companies to be allowed to operate on rocky glaciers that are not listed as protected areas, Mining.com reported, citing a Bío Bío radio interview with senators who made a presentation during a discussion on a new glacier law.

* President Donald Trump's administration is temporarily excluding 437 product types from the additional tariffs it imposed on an estimated US$250 billion worth of Chinese goods in 2018, according to documents published by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

* Trading on Egypt's stock exchange was halted Sept. 22 after the EGX 100 fell by 5% amid several protests in the country against government corruption, Reuters reported.

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