TOP NEWS
Vale's lawyers demand US$500M deposit by BSG to continue appeal over US$2B award
Lawyers representing Vale SA demanded BSG Resources Ltd. make a security deposit of US$500 million before continuing its appeal on a US$2 billion arbitration award owed to Vale for their dispute over the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea, Financial Times reported. In a court filing cited in the London-based newspaper's report, Vale claimed BSG was enacting all possible measures in order to "frustrate and delay Vale's ability to recover the compensation."
Kone mulls joint bid for thyssenkrupp's elevator business
KONE Oyj is studying a joint bid with a private equity firm for thyssenkrupp AG's elevator business, Reuters reported, citing three people familiar with the matter, with one suggesting that an asset sale to the partner could ease widely expected antitrust risks. However, there is still a possibility that the Finnish escalator and elevator manufacturer will make a solo offer.
GFG launches US$475M of bonds after steel unit's shelved IPO
Sanjeev Gupta's GFG Alliance Ltd. launched US$475 million of five-year bonds after it shelved the planned A$1 billion IPO of Australian steel unit Infrabuild, Financial Times reported. JPMorgan, which is handling the bond issuance, will provide a A$250 million facility that will rank ahead of the unsecured bonds, the report said.
DIVERSIFIED
* South32 Ltd. outlined its approach to climate change in a report released Sept. 5, with a plan focused on the three areas of climate change opportunity, including providing the raw materials that support climate action and enable the shift to a lower carbon future; climate resilience, which includes incorporating climate change modeling in capital allocation and investment decisions; and emissions reduction, which includes reviewing and increasing its carbon emissions reduction approach every five years starting fiscal year 2021.
* Australia's federal government conferred Major Project Status to both Australian Vanadium Ltd.'s namesake project and to Kalium Lakes Ltd.'s Beyondie sulfate of potash project, both in Western Australia.
BASE METALS
* Havilah Resources Ltd. faces an uphill battle getting SIMEC Mining's A$100 million funding deal approved at a Sept. 12 shareholder meeting that experts say is a lifeline for the junior, after a negative Takeovers Panel decision on Sept. 3 sent its share price to a 12-month low. The Takeovers Panel said it would not investigate the company's claim that co-founder and former director Keith Robert "Bob" Johnson, who opposes the deal, and "certain other" shareholders obtained 38.51% of the company by means that contravene ASX rules.
* Poseidon Nickel Ltd. intends to restart operations at its Black Swan nickel project in Western Australia following the recent surge in nickel prices. The board approved an accelerated program of works to be completed over the coming months at an estimated cost of A$2.9 million.
* Two Dundee Precious Metals Inc. employees were injured after a pressurization incident in the Ausmelt offgas system of its Tsumeb copper smelter in Namibia. The offgas system will be shut down up to 14 days for repairs. Despite this, a planned maintenance shutdown in the fourth quarter will still proceed. As a result of the additional downtime, the company expects the smelter to hit the lower end of its guidance of between 225,000 tonnes and 250,000 tonnes of complex concentrate smelted.
* OZ Minerals Ltd. and Minotaur Exploration Ltd. formalized three joint venture agreements for copper projects in the Cloncurry district of Queensland, Australia.
* Horizon Minerals Ltd., formerly Intermin Resources Ltd., increased the proposed consideration to purchase the Coolgardie gold project in Western Australia from Focus Minerals Ltd. after the latter received a competing proposal from a third party. The company will now pay A$55 million in four tranches, compared to the previous A$40 million purchase price.
* The World Platinum Investment Council expects total platinum demand to increase 9% in 2019 as an increase in investment demand is expected to more than offset the decline from the automotive and jewelry segments of 4% and 5% respectively. The annual 2019 market balance will narrow to a surplus of 345,000 ounces, from the previously forecast surplus of 375,000 ounces, it said.
* The Constitutional Court of South Africa dismissed an application brought by the Greater Lonmin Community, representing communities in the Rustenburg area, to have Sibanye Gold Ltd.'s acquisition of platinum miner Lonmin PLC set aside.
(N) * Argonaut Gold Inc. completed the fourth water well at its San Agustin gold operation in Mexico, which has sufficient water capacity to allow the operation to run at 30,000 tonnes per day of ore.
* Gold Fields Ltd. CEO Nick Holland said that successive World Gold Council changes to cost reporting guidelines since 2013 are stoking resource nationalism by making it appear miners are making more money than they are.
* Newmont Goldcorp Corp. priced its US$700 million offering in 2.800% senior notes due 2029 to help repay outstanding debt. The notes will be guaranteed on an unsecured senior basis by the company's Newmont USA Ltd. unit.
* A preliminary economic assessment for Serabi Gold PLC's Coringa gold project in Brazil outlined a posttax net present value, discounted at 10%, of US$30.7 million, an internal rate of return of 31% and 2.25-year payback period, using a base case gold price of US$1,275 per ounce.
* Canada-based miner Irving Resources Inc. signed a nonbinding letter of intent to engage in business opportunities with Tokyo-based trading conglomerate Sumitomo Corp.
* Nusantara Resources Ltd. refuted a report by Indonesian newspaper Kontan that suggested PT. Indika Energy Tbk was seeking up to US$200 million financing for the Awak Mas gold project in Indonesia, as well as to raise its stake from the current 19.9%.
* Eric Sprott, through 2176423 Ontario Ltd., took up a 19.7% stake in gold-copper explorer Freegold Ventures Ltd. on a partially diluted basis.
* RTG Mining Inc. reached a deal with White Cliff Minerals Ltd. to acquire a 90% stake in the Chanach gold-copper project in Kyrgyzstan.
* Aldoro Resources Ltd. struck a deal to purchase the Penny South gold project in Western Australia through the acquisition of the issued share capital of Altilium Metals Ltd.
* TriMetals Mining Inc.'s South American Silver Ltd. subsidiary received from the Bolivian government the full settlement amount of US$25.8 million related to the 2012 expropriation of the Malku Khota silver-indium-gallium project.
* Americas Silver Corp., rebranded as Americas Gold and Silver Corp., reported a 250% yearly increase in total gold equivalent reserves as of June 30 after its acquisition of the Relief Canyon gold mine in Nevada.
* A worker at Banro Corp.'s Namoya gold mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was freed by kidnappers after 41 days in the forest, Reuters reported, citing the official Twitter account of the province where he was abducted. His three other kidnapped colleagues were released in August, the report said.
BULK COMMODITIES
* Mosaic Co.'s Brazil-based unit Mosaic Fertilizantes do Brasil Ltda. has resumed mining at full capacity at the Araxa and Tapira phosphate mines, where operations were suspended in April after the company failed to secure a deadline extension on the submission of the stability statements.
* Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. completed an offering for US$600 million of senior unsecured notes to repay a portion of its outstanding US$1.4 billion syndicated loan facility maturing in 2022. The iron ore major is also in talks with lenders to extend the loan maturities of US$600 million to 2025, with the balance of US$200 million to be repaid from operating cash.
* Assore Ltd.'s attributable earnings in its fiscal 2019 rose 16% to a record 5.93 billion South African rand, driven by a weak rand, higher iron ore prices and higher manganese ore sales. The company declared a final dividend of 14 rand per share, increasing the full-year dividend to a record 24 rand per share.
* Malaysia will cap monthly bauxite exports at 600,000 tonnes, part of the new operating procedures the government finalized for the sector, Reuters reported.
* Jupiter Mines Ltd. said Tshipi é Ntle Manganese Mining (Pty) Ltd.'s board decided to pay shareholders a further dividend of 600 million South African rand, taking its total first half dividend to 1.75 billion rand. The payout was higher than expected due to additional low-grade product sold in the fiscal second quarter and currency depreciation.
* Belarus may slash potash production by almost a third within the next three to four months amid weaker global demand, Reuters reported, citing JSC Belaruskali CEO Ivan Golovaty. The potash producer reportedly plans to modernize its facilities and focus on maintenance during the period. JSC Belarusian Potash Co. also plans to start talks on a new supply deal with India this September, the report said, citing Belarusian Potash CEO Elena Kudryavets.
* Aspire Mining Ltd. will raise A$33.5 million through an investment by major shareholder Tserenpuntsag Tserendamba, which will increase his stake in the coal explorer to 51.0% from 27.5%.
* A miner was found dead in the Cardinal coal mine, operated by Warrior Coal, a subsidiary of Alliance Resource Partners LP, in Kentucky. An investigation over the incident is underway, 14 News reported, citing a company statement.
* Russia's Ministry of Transport expects OAO Metalloinvest as the anchor investor in the Taman seaport as declining exports and falling commodity prices led to coal producers losing interest in the dry cargo area of the port, Kommersant reported, citing transport minister Yevgeny Dietrich.
SPECIALTY
* Cameco Corp. will not restart mines and is considering cutting output until uranium prices improve, Reuters reported, citing CEO Tim Gitzel.
* Lynas Corp. Ltd. signed a memorandum of understanding with the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder in Western Australia for the review and due diligence of potential sites for its new cracking and leaching plant, which will be moved from Malaysia.
* PJSC Alrosa's board is considering ending its participation in the share capital of PJSC ALROSA-Nyurba through the voluntary liquidation of the unit, part of a strategy to improve the group's efficiency and structure.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* Mining companies that are looking to invest in Argentina are waiting for next month's presidential election to get some clarity on future of the mining sector in the country, Bloomberg News reported. Executive director of Argentina's mining chamber Caem, Gustavo Koch, said it is natural for foreign miners to wait. "Decisions will be delayed and I'm not sure they will necessarily happen after the elections," Koch said.
* Some activists said that a 10-year moratorium on deep sea mining that Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape agreed to support is not enough, as a total ban should be imposed due to environmental, social and economic risks, the Canadian Mining Journal wrote.
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