TOP NEWS
Trading partners react to US steel, aluminum import tariffs
The European Commission condemned new U.S. trade tariffs on steel and aluminum imports as "blatant intervention" to protect the U.S. domestic industry, and Germany's steel federation, Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahl, urged the European Union to act swiftly and systematically to defy the U.S. import barrier. China said the U.S. ignored World Trade Organization rules in its decision and severely impaired the interests of Chinese exporters, while the press secretary to the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, said the Kremlin would monitor the situation. Brazil's Industry Ministry insisted its steel does not represent a threat to North American national security.
Australian regulator takes Rio Tinto, former executives to court over Mozambique deal
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission started legal proceedings against Rio Tinto its former CEO Thomas Albanese and former CFO Guy Elliott, saying the parties made misleading or deceptive statements regarding the US$4 billion Riversdale coal mine acquisition, later named Rio Tinto Coal Mozambique.
Mining policy reforms to take backseat at Chinese leadership meetings
As China's top legislators and political advisers gather for the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference the week of March 5, analysts expect that reducing capacity for industries such as coal and steel, which has been a focus in previous annual government work reports presented by Chinese premier Li Keqiang during previous years' sessions, will take a backseat this year.
DIVERSIFIED
* Anglo American Platinum Ltd. CEO Chris Griffith said Zimbabwe should enact a number of foreign investment-friendly measures to boost mining investment in the country as it undergoes a transformation following the resignation of former President Robert Mugabe, Reuters reported. The chief executive of the Anglo American Plc unit said the measures should include a consistent legal framework, a right to retain a controlling interest in operations and a bigger share in profits.
BASE METALS
* A long-awaited government report compiled by the Geological Survey of Victoria and Geoscience Australia into the under-explored Cambrian Stavely Arc in western Victoria vindicated Stavely Minerals Ltd.'s early entry into the volcanic belt and should boost investment in the region. The two agencies will start a deep seismic reflection and gravity survey of eastern Victoria this month, which will be the first time that region's geology has been surveyed at great depth.
* Federation of Copper Workers President Raimundo Espinoza fears that a proposal by Chile's incoming government to split Codelco into two divisions may lead to the state miner's privatization, Bloomberg News reported.
* The main union of Antofagasta Plc's Los Pelambres copper mine will vote on the latest collective bargaining proposal from the company, which may lead to a strike should the union not accept the offer, Reuters reported.
* Cobalt 27 Capital Corp. is looking to raise up to C$130 million to fund the acquisition of cobalt-related streams and royalties and general corporate purposes.
* Workers of Grupo México SAB de CV's San Martin zinc-copper mine in Zacatecas, Mexico, voted to end an 11-year strike after Section 201 of Mexican union association SNTMMSS lost the right to represent workers in collective agreement negotiations with the company, El Financiero reported. Competitor union association CROC will now be responsible for negotiating the new contract with the miner.
* Minfocus Exploration Corp. major shareholder GreenBank Capital Inc. requisitioned a shareholder meeting to restructure the company's board. The shareholder claims the existing directors engaged in actions that do not serve the interests of the company's shareholders, including issuing a significant number of stock options to themselves.
* The Democratic Republic of the Congo will launch new monitoring and tracing mechanisms this month in a bid to combat child labor in cobalt and copper production, Reuters reported, citing Alexis Mikandji, the director general of the Ministry of Mines' certification agency, CEEC.
* Peru's mining production in January fell 1.99% year over year, mainly due to lower output recorded at the Freeport-McMoRan Inc.'s Cerro Verde copper mine and MMG Ltd.'s Las Bambas project, Gestion reported, citing figures from Peruvian statistics institute INEI.
PRECIOUS METALS
* AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. completed the sale of the Moab Khotsong gold mine in South Africa to Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd. and the Kopanang gold mine to Heaven-Sent SA Sunshine Investment Co. Ltd. The company used 3.57 billion South African rand in proceeds from the disposals to reduce debt.
* Newcrest Mining Ltd.'s success in turning itself from a "quasi-basket case" in 2013 and resurrecting what some have called the "black widow" of gold projects, Lihir, positions the company to undergo what the Australian miner is internally calling "Transformation 2," Citi Vice President of Metals and Mining Research Trent Allen said.
* Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. suspended four shafts at the Rustenburg operations in South Africa from January, and the labor restructuring announced in September 2017 led to 1,400 job cuts at the operations as of Dec. 31, 2017, translating to annual savings of 350 million South African rand for the group. The miner swung to a gross profit of 733 million rand in the fiscal first half from a gross loss of 139 million rand a year ago, and its net loss narrowed to 164 million rand from 328 million rand a year ago.
* Construction at Pan African Resources Plc's Elikhulu gold project in South Africa is ahead of schedule, with first gold expected to be produced in August. Ramp up to full production of about 55,000 ounces per annum is expected to take place within two months.
BULK COMMODITIES
* U.S. President Donald Trump stoked tensions with trading partners and outraged much of the U.S. energy industry March 1 when he announced plans to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports that are stiffer than his own commerce secretary recommended. The new tariffs will likely hurt the renewable energy and oil and gas sectors, industry participants and observers said. Meanwhile, U.S. manufacturers and retailers are bracing for retaliatory duties and a potential increase in production costs on a wide range of consumer products.
* Separately, the tariffs are expected to be a bigger threat to Chinese aluminum producers than for steel mills, according to analysts. Liu Xinwei, an analyst with commodities consultancy SCI International, does not expect to see a strong reaction from China's steel industry to the planned tariffs by the U.S., given the low volumes of steel exports to America.
* Steelmakers in South Korea expect a negative impact on their businesses, saying an increase in global steel prices will lower the competitiveness of U.S. companies that use steel, Korea Herald reported. Meanwhile, POSCO intends to ask for tax exemptions from state governments. South Korea is the third-largest steel exporter to the U.S. after Canada and Brazil.
* The trade tariffs may cause an oversupply of aluminum and steel in Southeast Asia, with China, Russia, Ukraine and Turkey competing to sell their steel to countries including the Philippines and Vietnam, Reuters reported. Aluminum exporters from China may compete for business with South Korean and Thai producers.
* Canadian steel and aluminum producers are hoping that the country will be able to secure an exemption from U.S. import tariffs but warned that the move could spark a trade war, The Australian Financial Review reported. Australian Trade Minister Steven Ciobo was also hopeful that the country will be exempted from U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, which threaten over A$170 million of Australian steel and aluminum exports, The Australian reported. Brazil also said it will seek exemption from the U.S. measures and expressed deep concern regarding the move, Metal Bulletin reported.
* Century Aluminum Co. CEO Michael Bless said the U.S. steel and aluminum import tariffs will enable the company to move ahead with a US$100 million investment in a Kentucky plant that is operating at 40% of its capacity and to rehire just under 300 workers, the Financial Times reported.
* ArcelorMittal decided to partner with Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. for its previously submitted takeover offer for Essar Steel India Ltd.
* Geo Energy Resources Ltd.'s full-year 2017 revenue reached a record high of US$316.3 million, a 74% increase from US$182.1 million a year ago. Net profit for the period ended Dec. 31, 2017, increased 56% to US$36.7 million, from US$23.5 million in 2016.
* Australian businessman Clive Palmer plans to proceed with the A$6.5 billion Waratah coal mine in Queensland later in the year, regardless of whether Adani Enterprises Ltd. secures funding for the Carmichael coal mine, The Australian Financial Review reported. Palmer said the recent hike in coal prices has made the project more economically viable.
SPECIALTY
* The Czech Republic's trade and industry ministry backed out of a memorandum of understanding signed with European Metals Holdings Ltd. in October 2017 over the Cinovec lithium project in the country. The termination does not affect its exploration rights over Cinovec or its tenure over the project's exploration permits.
* Westwater Resources Inc.'s initial optimization study for the Coosa graphite project in Alabama, owned by its acquisition target Alabama Graphite Corp., increased the net present value, discounted at 8%, to US$490 million, from US$444 million in the 2015 preliminary economic assessment.
* Lithium explorer Lake Resources NL signed a landmark agreement with Argentina's Jujuy province confirming its tenure on about 45,000 hectares of mining leases.
* Atlas Iron Ltd. agreed to export direct shipping ore sourced from the Pilgangoora lithium project in Western Australia, owned by Pilbara Minerals Ltd., to Sinosteel Australia Pty. Ltd.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* Effective June 1, the London Metal Exchange plans to introduce a fee for off-exchange, over-the-counter contracts that reference its prices, in order to boost revenue after it slashed other fees in 2017, Reuters reported.
The Daily Dose is updated as of 7 a.m. ET and scans news sources published in Chinese, English, Indonesian, Malay, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai and Ukrainian. Some external links may require a subscription.
