TOP NEWS
SQM to invest US$2.1B to boost lithium production
Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile SA plans to invest about US$2.1 billion in the next five years to boost lithium production amid an anticipated rise in demand, Reuters reported, citing a presentation to investors by CEO Ricardo Ramos. About US$1.33 billion will be allocated to the company's lithium operations, with the remainder for nitrates and iodine capacity and maintenance between 2019 to 2023.
Nutrien flags FY'19 potash output losses on Q4 inventory shutdowns
Nutrien Ltd. flagged the loss of about 700,000 tonnes of potash production this year as it plans to shut down inventories at its Allan, Lanigan and Vanscoy potash mines for eight weeks during the fourth quarter amid a market slowdown. As a result, the company expects its potash annual EBITDA to be slashed by US$100 million to US$150 million.
Nippon Steel warns of output cut as typhoon damages steel plant
Nippon Steel Corp. halted an oxygen furnace at its Kimitsu steel plant in Japan's Chiba prefecture after Typhoon Faxai toppled a chimney that discharges gas, Reuters reported, citing a company spokeswoman. Blast furnaces are operating normally, but the company may need to cut output if the repairs take longer, the spokeswoman said in the report.
DIVERSIFIED
* BHP Group dodged a shareholder resolution on the carbon emissions of its customers after assuring Friends of the Earth subsidiary Market Forces that it will publish targets for its so-called Scope 3 emissions next week, The Australian Financial Review reported.
BASE METALS
* Large mining firms in Indonesia, including PT Vale Indonesia Tbk. and PT Aneka Tambang Tbk, welcomed the government's decision to fast-track a ban on nickel ore exports to the end of 2019 from January 2022, Reuters reported.
* Ironbark Zinc Ltd. is reviewing the option of reducing the targeted production rate at its Citronen zinc project in Greenland to 1 million tonnes per annum, compared to the originally planned 3.3 Mtpa. The smaller initial operation is expected to reduce development costs, the company noted, and a revised study is anticipated in two months.
* Atico Mining Corp. completed its acquisition of Toachi Mining Inc. to form a mid-tier copper-gold explorer and producer focused on Latin America.
PRECIOUS METALS
* Ramelius Resources Ltd. extended the mine life of its Vivien underground gold mine in Western Australia by two years to June 2021, after recent drilling boosted the total ore reserve with an extra 200,000 tonnes grading 4.8 g/t of gold for 30,000 ounces of gold.
* Evolution Mining Ltd. decided to proceed with the stage two earn-in on its Drummond gold joint venture with Andromeda Metals Ltd. in Queensland, Australia. Evolution can raise its project stake to 80% by spending A$4 million within two years.
* Golden Minerals Co. terminated an option agreement granting Compañía Minera Autlán SAB de CV the right to acquire the Velardena silver property and other Mexican assets for US$22 million.
* Indiana Resources Ltd. said the Mali government granted an exploration permit for the Saboussire license near its Kossanto West gold project to FIMOCO SARL. Indiana's Mukuyu Resources unit has an option to acquire an 85% stake in Saboussire.
* Altyn PLC's application for a US$17 million loan from Kazakh Bank JSC was approved by the bank's credit committee. The company will use the proceeds to ramp up production at the Sekisovskoye gold project in Kazakhstan and to fund development plans.
* Chaarat Gold Holdings Ltd. received a term sheet from unnamed investors expressing interest to fund the construction of the Tulkubash gold project, part of the Chaarat property in Kyrgyzstan.
* Orefinders Resources Inc. is considering legal action after Mistango River Resources Inc. abruptly canceled a shareholder vote over a board revamp that Orefinders is demanding due to low voter turnout.
* Riverside Resources Inc. closed its purchase of the Los Cuarentas gold project in Mexico from Millrock Resources Inc.
BULK COMMODITIES
* Baoshan Iron & Steel Co. Ltd. plans to invest 2.4 billion Chinese yuan to optimize the product mix of nonoriented silicon steel at its Baoshan facility in China amid increasing demand in electric vehicles, sina.com reported. The project will be completed by 2023.
* A blast furnace maintenance outage at Cia. Siderúrgica Nacional's Usina Presidente Vargas unit in Brazil was extended by several weeks, Fastmarkets MB reported, citing market participants. The company had announced a 66-day suspension starting June 29.
* Whitehaven Coal Ltd. said in its 2019 sustainability report that it believes that the demand for higher-quality coal among developing economies in the Asian region will continue to grow and that coal is likely to remain the largest source of electricity generation globally up to 2040.
* Australia's Resources Minister Matt Canavan urged the Queensland Government to approve New Hope Corp. Ltd.'s New Acland coal expansion project, where the company recently fired 150 workers due to long-delayed permits, The Sydney Morning Herald wrote.
* WestStar Industrial Ltd. was awarded about a A$5 million contract to build 25-MW diesel power generation facilities at Fortescue Metals Group Ltd.'s Eliwana iron ore mine and rail project in Western Australia.
* Kibo Energy PLC's water rights for its Mbeya coal-to-power project in Tanzania were renewed ahead of schedule.
SPECIALTY
* The supervisory board of PJSC Alrosa approved the liquidation of its 97.5%-owned PJSC ALROSA-Nyurba unit, as part of the Russian diamond producer's plan to consolidate core assets to improve efficiency.
* TNG Ltd. shifted plans to develop its Mount Peake vanadium-titanium-iron project in Australia's Northern Territory to an initial single-stage operation of 2 million tonnes per annum, potentially reducing the initial capital expenditure and extending the mine life.
* Strongbow Exploration Inc. retained its royalties on the MacTung and Cantung tungsten projects in Canada after settling a US$1.5 million loan from Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd. through the transfer of a royalty on Westhaven Ventures Inc.’s Shovelnose gold property.
* State-owned Minerals Marketing Corp. of Zimbabwe launched an auction featuring 316,000 carats of diamonds, Bloomberg News reported.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* Chile's economic ministry said about US$34 billion will be invested in the country's mining sector over the next five years, BNamericas wrote.
* The International Council on Mining and Metals will include clearer rules on management accountability in the global safety standards it is creating following the dam disaster at Vale SA's Feijao iron ore mine, Reuters reported. A draft is expected by late September or early October, the report said.
* A broad coalition of companies and environmental organizations has finalized the pillars of its plan to create an economywide U.S. carbon tax that the group estimates will halve nationwide carbon dioxide emissions from 2005 levels by 2035. The proposal still faces an uphill battle to gain Republican support in the U.S. Congress, however, where top GOP lawmakers remain leery of a carbon tax's economic impacts.
* Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Chairman Laura Cha said she did not anticipate significant regulatory hurdles regarding the company's proposed £31.6 billion acquisition of the London Stock Exchange, but analysts said the political risks of such a deal would be considerable. Cha pointed to the HKEX’s record as owner of the London Metal Exchange, which it acquired in 2012, as an indicator that the company had previously satisfied U.K. authorities, though investment bank Berenberg noted this was a much smaller acquisition than the proposed takeover of the LSE.
* The Brazilian government fired Evandro Cunha dos Santos, head of Para state's environmental agency, just a week after being appointed, following comments he made about burning machinery from illegal miners, Reuters reported.
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