TOP NEWS
Vale to mostly finish paying for Feijao dam disaster by 2021
Vale SA expects to finish paying for most of the expenses related to the Feijao dam burst by 2021, Reuters reported. Vale, in securities filings, projected costs from halted operations related to the incident to fall to US$2.50 to US$3.50 per tonne of iron ore in the fourth quarter, from US$3 to US$4 per tonne in the third quarter.
Indonesia's nickel reserves may run out by 2029
Indonesia's nickel reserves could be exhausted by 2029, the country's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources said, as reported by Kompas.com. The outlook is due to the lack of new reserve discoveries and an increasing demand for the metal after 2022.
Glencore unit blamed for US$32M loss in complex metals fraud
Glencore PLC's warehouse unit Access World was largely to blame for US$32 million in losses from a complex metal fraud, wherein it failed to quickly identify fake receipts for nickel stored at Asian warehouses. However, broker Marex Spectron International Ltd. would have to pay the bill to French bank Natixis, which sued the broker for the fraudulent receipts, Reuters reported, quoting London High Court Judge Simon Bryan.
DIVERSIFIED
* Strategic Elements Ltd. received final regulatory approvals to drill multiple deep holes into a potential meteorite impact structure in the Gibson desert for the Behemoth project in Australia. The project is seeking nickel, copper, gold and rare earths in a virtually unexplored area on the Western Australia and South Australian border.
BASE METALS
* Buxton Resources Ltd. entered into additional joint venture agreements with Independence Group NL for Buxton's Merlin and NWC nickel-copper projects in Western Australia, while it will vest all of its remaining West Kimberley nickel-copper tenure into a previously agreed joint venture.
* General Electric Co. will pay about US$2.7 million to settle claims that it breached U.S. sanctions in Cuba after its three current and former subsidiaries accepted payment from Cuba's Cobalt Refinery Co., which was blacklisted by the U.S. in 1995, the U.S. Treasury Department claimed. Cobalt is a joint venture between a GE Canadian customer and the Cuban government.
* China's 10 major nonferrous metals grew 4.6% year over year in the first eight months with output of 38.6 million tonnes, Xinhua reported, citing data from the National Development and Reform Commission. Copper output was recorded at 6.2 million tonnes, up by 5.8% from the comparative period in 2018, while lead production increased by 18.8% to 4.0 million tonnes.
PRECIOUS METALS
* Newmont Goldcorp Corp. CEO Tom Palmer said that the company will maintain capital allocation discipline, prioritizing paying down debt, before funding projects and finally increasing dividends, Bloomberg reported. Palmer said that Newmont Goldcorp will extract value from its existing portfolio.
* Sandstorm Gold Ltd. said that it has sold about 17,300 attributable gold equivalent ounces and realized preliminary revenue of US$25.8 million during the three months ended Sept. 30, both representing records for the company. The preliminary cost of sales, excluding depletion, for the third quarter amounted to US$5.0 million, resulting in cash operating margins of about US$1,200 per attributable gold equivalent ounce.
* Silver Range Resources Ltd. acquired the East Gold Point property in Nevada, which has unexplored extensions of high grade and solver veins mined intermittently since 1905.
* Otis Gold Corp. will start a 3,250-meter reverse circulation drilling program at its flagship Kilgore gold project in Idaho. Road and drill construction are scheduled to commence on Oct. 4, with drilling to begin on or around Oct. 9. This is the first phase of a larger 25,000-meter exploration program for the project.
* Nelson Resources Ltd. applied for a 201-square-kilometer tenement, the Morris prospect, which will increase the tenure of the company's Woodline gold project in Western Australia to 858 square kilometers if granted.
* Two were injured, while no fatalities were reported, in a bursting of a dam at a gold mine in western Brazil in Tuesday, Reuters reported, citing the country's National Mining Agency.
* Dacian Gold Ltd. estimated a maiden inferred mineral resource of 481,000 tonnes at 8.1 g/t gold for 125,000 ounces for the Phoenix Ridge deposit within the Mount Morgans gold operation in Western Australia. This increases the total mineral resource at the project to 55.2 million tonnes at 2.1 g/t gold for 3.65 million ounces.
BULK COMMODITIES
* Brazilian demand for potash will continue due to the booming soybean production in the country, encouraged by the U.S.-China trade dispute, CPU Group fertilizer analyst Humphrey Knight told S&P Global Market Intelligence.
* Theft and corruption amounting to US$500 million is being alleged in court proceedings that have pit workers against Samancor Chrome Holdings (Pty) and its previous owner and chair, Danko Koncar, amaBhungane reported.
* Coal India Ltd. will halt production at its Dipka mine in India's Chhattisgarh province for at least 30 days due to flooding in the region, Reuters reported, citing a senior company official. Dipka has an annual coal production capacity of over 30 million tonnes and makes up about 5% of the company's overall output, according to the report.
* India has made it mandatory for mining leases granted to state-run companies to be renewed for up to 20 years to ensure iron production will be secure as several leases were due to expire in March 2020, S&P Global Platts reported, citing a statement from the steel ministry.
* Anglo American PLC is unlikely to invest in new thermal coal mines in South Africa, as the energy transition tends to make prices more volatile but will aim to extend the life of its existing assets, Bloomberg wrote, citing CEO Mark Cutifani. The executive also said that there is no shortage of geological opportunities in South Africa, but political stability and regulatory clarity are required to attract mining investments in the country.
* FYI Resources Ltd. kicked off trial production of high-purity alumina at its recently built and commissioned pilot plant at its Cadoux kaolin-HPA project in Western Australia.
* The government of Odisha, India, expects to see intense bidding in iron ore mining block auctions as producers of pellets, sponge iron and pig iron will compete alongside steel companies, Business Standard reported.
* Lloyd's of insurer Axis Capital Ltd. has ruled itself out of providing coverage for Adani Enterprises Ltd.'s Carmichael coal project in Queensland, Australia, Reuters reported, citing an unnamed source.
* Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment professor Avner Vengosh discovered that coal ash produces hexavalent chromium, a cancer-causing chemical, when it interacts with fresh water to create a liquid known as leachate.
* Athabasca Minerals Inc. received approval for its Susan Lake public pit closure plan by Alberta Environment and Parks on Aug. 15, and has also executed a settlement agreement with Syncrude Canada Ltd. effective Sept. 26. Both companies agreed to file discontinuances of claim and counterclaim.
SPECIALTY
* The annual report of Lynas Corp. Ltd. revealed that since June 30, the company has paid a premium on a contract insuring directors and officers against liabilities incurred in their roles, to the extent permitted under the Corporations Act, Australian Financial Review reported. The company has paid A$711,543 in insurance contract premiums, higher than the A$526,086 it paid in 2018, but a Lynas spokesperson said that this reflects trends in the insurance market and not any company-specific factors.
* Republican lawmakers in the U.S. asked the Trump administration to cut down on regulations against uranium mining on federal lands and speed up environmental reviews for projects in a bid to increase domestic production of nuclear fuel, Reuters reported.
* The National Development and Reform Commission of China has approved Jinan Hi-tech Holding Group Co. Ltd.'s proposed acquisition of a 34.01% stake in Triton Minerals Ltd.
* Mineral Resources Ltd. decided to withdraw from its joint venture on the McIntosh graphite project in Western Australia with Hexagon Resources Ltd. The company determined that any future investment in the joint venture will not meet its minimum investment return threshold.
* Talga Resources Ltd. U.K. subsidiary Talga Technologies Ltd. gained funding to develop its graphitic anode for solid-state batteries under the U.K. government's ISCF Faraday Battery Challenge initiative.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* Nearly half, or 44%, of global mining and metals executives rank license to operate as the top risk to their business for the second year in a row, according to a recent survey by Ernst & Young.
* Investors with more than US$35 trillion in assets participating in the Climate Action 100+ initiative said they are far from convincing all of the companies in their cross-hairs to review and act on climate change, according to a progress report.
* Anglo American Platinum Ltd. CEO Chris Griffith said during the Joburg Indaba conference that if he were the mineral resources and energy minister of South Africa for a day, he would create regulatory certainty by withdrawing the department's appeal against a court ruling on the once-empowered always-empowered aspect of the Mining Charter, BusinessDay reported.
* House solon Joey Salceda filed a bill imposing a 3% royalty tax on large scale mining operations in the Philippines within a mineral reservation, while a margin-based royalty tax ranging from 1% to 5% shall be imposed on large-scale operations outside mining reservation areas, BusinessMirror reported. Small-scale mining operations will be exempt from the payment of royalty.
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