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Newmont ups 2018 output guidance at improved cost range

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Newmont ups 2018 output guidance at improved cost range

TOP NEWS

Newmont ups 2018 output guidance at narrower cost range

Newmont Mining Corp. released an improved 2018 guidance, with an increased gold output target of between 4.9 million and 5.4 million ounces at all-in sustaining costs of US$965/oz to US1,025/oz. The company's previous 2018 guidance for production was between 4.7 million and 5.2 million ounces at all-in sustaining costs of US$950/oz to US$1,050/oz. Newmont also expects to produce between 4.9 million and 5.4 million ounces of gold in 2019, and longer-term production is forecast to remain stable at between 4.6 million ounces per year and 5.1 million ounces per year through 2022.

SQM looks to expand into 4th country, officials say

Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile SA is looking to expand into a fourth country, after Chile, Argentina and Australia, in a bid to ride lithium's price surge as demand for batteries continues to grow, Bloomberg News reported, citing company officials.

Glencore, Canadian pension fund forge base metals streams, royalties JV

Glencore Plc and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan created a 50/50 joint venture focused on base metals streams and royalties named BaseCore Metals LP. Glencore contributed an initial portfolio of royalties in the joint venture, while the Canadian fund subscribed for its stake in BaseCore Metals by paying Glencore in cash. The value of the initial royalty portfolio was about US$300 million.

DIVERSIFIED

* Citigroup on Dec. 5 upgraded ratings for mining giants BHP Billiton Group and Rio Tinto to buy.

BASE METALS

* The Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority indefinitely suspended train services, including copper transportation, after unionized employees in Zambia went on strike, demanding payment of salaries for October and November, Reuters reported. Separately, the Zambian government lifted the ban on truckers' night driving after mining companies said the measure affected their commercial activities. According to Reuters, the ban, which was imposed in 2016, will remain enforced for public transport.

* Ishine International Resources Ltd. entered into an option to acquire Superior Mining Pty. Ltd., which holds a 70% initial indirect interest in the past-producing Pick Lake zinc project in northwestern Ontario.

* Copperbank Resources Corp. initiated a strategic review for its Contact copper oxide project in Nevada's Elko County, based on the assumptions from previous technical reports, including the October 2013 pre-feasibility study.

* Riva Resources Ltd. executed a binding agreement to acquire 100% of the Hylea cobalt-nickel-platinum-scandium project in central New South Wales, Australia, from Providence Metals Pty. Ltd. for A$8 million.

* The Peruvian state will assume responsibility for past environmental liabilities of Doe Run Peru SRL's La Oroya mining complex, according to a recent legal decree issued by the Ministry of Environment. The move is aimed at luring potential investors to bid for the mining facility in tender offer events scheduled for March and April 2018, daily La República reported.

PRECIOUS METALS

* Hochschild Mining Plc will redeem US$294.8 million of 7.750% bonds due 2021, with settlement expected Jan. 23, 2018. The company will pay US$103.875 per US$100 principal amount for a total payment of US$306.2 million.

* Kin Mining NL executed a binding term sheet with Sprott Private Resource Lending for a US$27 million senior secured credit facility for the construction of its Leonora gold project in Western Australia.

* Newmont Mining Corp. entered into an agreement to further explore the Esperance gold discovery in French Guiana, owned by Compagnie Miniere Esperance. The deal entitles Newmont to earn up to a 70% interest in the property through multiyear investments.

* Stratex International Plc unit Thani Stratex Resources Ltd. estimated a maiden resource at the Anbat gold project in Egypt of 5.9 million tonnes grading 1.11 g/t gold for 209,000 ounces in the inferred category. The company will invest a further US$200,000 in Thani, taking its interest to 30.1%.

* Amani Gold Ltd. said Luck Winner Investment Ltd. terminated a subscription agreement that was part of a binding deal signed in early July under which Luck Winner could have acquired a 28% interest in the company for A$25 million.

* Russia produced 193.58 tonnes of gold in the first eight months of the year, higher compared to 179.73 tonnes produced in the same period in 2016, Reuters reported, citing the country's finance ministry.

BULK COMMODITIES

* South32 Ltd. gave miners at its Appin colliery in New South Wales a month to decide on whether they would take voluntary redundancy to help the company "inform future planning," Illawarra Mercury wrote, citing a form given to the employees.

* Data from the Pilbara Ports Authority showed that iron ore shipments from Australia's Port Hedland stood at 41.3 million tonnes, flat year over year.

* Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. priced its previously announced offerings of US$400 million of its senior secured notes due 2024 and up to US$316.3 million of its convertible senior notes due 2025.

* Regency Mines Plc signed a memorandum of understanding with privately-owned Legacy Hill Resources Ltd. for the companies' cooperation in structuring, financing and owning coal investments in the U.S.

* Usinas Siderúrgicas de Minas Gerais SA and its Mineração Usiminas SA subsidiary signed an addendum to a current iron ore supply contract, which reduces the minimum mandatory amount of iron ore that Usiminas must buy from the unit to 2.3 million tonnes per year, from 4 million tonnes per year previously, news agency Olhae reported, citing the company. The contract is valid until 2022.

* CAP SA subsidiary CAP Mineria reached an agreement with union workers at its Elqui and Huasco units as part of the collective bargaining process involving 700 workers that was brought forward from 2018. New benefits include a productivity bonus payment of 6 million Chilean pesos per worker and a 15% increase in the case of wages that were considered too low.

* Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. appointed Kotug Australia Pty. Ltd. as its towage services operator for Port Hedland.

* Teck Resources Ltd. expects to realize an average steelmaking coal price in the range of US$165 per tonne to US$170 per tonne in the fourth quarter, lower than the US$191-per-tonne benchmark price established for the period September through November.

* S&P Global Ratings lifted its corporate credit rating on Alcoa Corp. to BB from BB-. The outlook is positive. It also raised the issue-level rating on the company's senior secured credit facility to BBB- from BB+. The move reflects the rating agency's expectation that the company's stronger credit measures will remain solid in 2018 and 2019.

* Seperately, S&P Global Ratings affirmed its B corporate credit rating on Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. in connection with the company's announced issuance of US$675 million in new debt. The outlook was revised to negative from stable.

* Afarak Group Oyj called an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders for Feb. 5, 2018, to consider Kermas Resources Ltd.'s proposal to push for delisting the company from the Helsinki Stock Exchange in Finland. The meeting, requested by Kermas, which holds 26.90% of Afarak shares and voting rights, will also address the demand for conducting a special audit of the company.

* Incitec Pivot Ltd. was notified that with effect from expiry of its current contract with BHP Iron Ore on Nov. 28, 2019, Incitec will cease to be the contracted supplier of ammonium nitrate prill. The loss of the ammonium nitrate prill volumes is estimated to have a one-off impact on net profit of about A$10 million in fiscal 2020 and A$25 million in fiscal 2021.

* Chinese aluminum sheet manufacturer Henan Mingtai Aluminum expects its production and sales to keep growing in 2018, despite the launch of U.S. trade probes into imports of the product from the country, Reuters reported. The company holds a production capacity of 650,000 tonnes per year of semifinished aluminum products.

* Kobe Steel Ltd.'s Japanese Industrial Standards certification for its extrusion plant in Chofu in western Japan was temporarily suspended, Reuters reported. The suspension will remain in place until the aluminum plant improves its quality control and assurance system to prevent falsification in inspection procedures.

* India's Bhushan Power and Steel Ltd. is ramping up production at its new blast furnace in Rengali in the country's Odisha state after firing it up Nov. 7, Metal Bulletin reported. The 2,015-cubic-meter furnace is capable of producing 4,450 tonnes per day of hot iron.

* Kommersant reported that commodity trader Mercuria agreed to purchase 75% of Commercial Sea Port Lavna from the State Transport Leasing Company of Russia. The seaport is set to build a coal terminal in the Murmansk region with a capacity of 18 million tonnes per year. The deal is expected to be approved by the government, but financing has not yet been secured. Mercuria is ready to supply the port with coal, but other co-investors are also needed.

SPECIALTY

* Tronox Ltd. plans to "vigorously fight" a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission seeking to block the company's proposed acquisition of the titanium dioxide business of Cristal, a Saudi Arabia-headquartered chemical and mining company.

* Cougar Metals NL will move to arbitration over the notice of default sent by DNI Metals Inc. regarding the earn-in agreement over the latter's Toamasina graphite project in Madagascar, also known as Vohitsara. Cougar said the delays in completing its earn-in obligations were beyond its control, including the arrest of its driller Amarildo Moura and the attempted arrest of its Managing Director Randal Swick in Madagascar allegedly "orchestrated by DNI."

* Prospect Resources Ltd.'s ore reserves at its Arcadia lithium project in Zimbabwe increased to 26.9 million tonnes at 1.31% lithium oxide, a 70% increase compared to the pre-feasibility study. The project is estimated to contain 351,000 tonnes of lithium oxide.

* Force Commodities Ltd. executed a binding heads of agreement with Mining Mineral Resources Sprl to establish a new lithium-focused joint venture called the Kanuka lithium project.

* POZ Minerals Ltd. secured a mining agreement with the traditional owners for the northern part of the Blina diamond project area in Western Australia, the Warrwa Combined Native Title Group. A work program will be conducted on the Bunuba area in 2018 and on the Warrwa area in 2019.

* Advantage Lithium Corp. and Nevada Sunrise Gold Corp. completed the sale of the Clayton Northeast and Triton lithium projects in Nevada to Pure Energy Minerals Ltd.

* National Atomic Co. Kazatomprom JSC's decision to cut its uranium output 20%, or about 28.5 million pounds, over three years, beginning with a cutback of 10.4 million pounds in 2018, led to an immediate rise in the spot price for the fuel. Price reporting company TradeTech reported the daily U3O8 spot price Dec. 4 at US$26.50/lb, a 14% increase from US$3.25 on Dec. 1.

INDUSTRY NEWS

* BHP Billiton Group CEO Andrew Mackenzie highlighted the role of technology in the mining sector in a recent speech made at the Melbourne Mining Club, saying mining companies need to address concerns over economic dislocation, technology and relentless automation, Mining Weekly reported.

* Separately, Reuters reported that Barrick Gold Corp. is looking to hire artificial intelligence experts to manage projects that use technology for mining activities from exploration to robot-controlled mining.

S&P Global Ratings and S&P Global Market Intelligence are owned by S&P Global Inc.

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.