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Zimbabwe removes local listing requirement from proposed mining bill

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Zimbabwe removes local listing requirement from proposed mining bill

TOP NEWS

Zimbabwe removes local listing requirement from proposed mining bill

Zimbabwean Mines Minister Winston Chitando confirmed the removal of a clause that requires mining companies to list on the local exchange from the country's proposed mining bill, Reuters reported. The mining bill is expected to be adopted by parliament by the end of this month, the chairman of the parliamentary committee in charge of mining and energy said. Bloomberg News added that Chitando also noted the release of new ownership policies for platinum and diamond mining by the end of June.

Lundin teamed up with Euro Sun in Nevsun takeover bid to avoid Eritrea

Lundin Mining Corp.'s decision to bring in Euro Sun Mining Inc. as its partner for the proposed acquisition of Nevsun Resources Ltd. was motivated by a refusal from Lundin's board to invest in Eritrea due to the country's weak human rights record, Reuters reported May 18, citing sources familiar with the matter. According to the report, a 2014 lawsuit filed by Eritreans alleged they were forced to work in Nevsun's Bisha zinc mine from 2008 to 2012.

Kazakhstan plans US$3.5B IPO of state uranium miner Kazatomprom

The Kazakh government plans to sell at least 25% of state-owned uranium miner National Atomic Co. Kazatomprom JSC, estimated to be worth about US$3.5 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported. Akhmetzhan Yessimov, head of the country's sovereign wealth fund Samruk Kazyna, said the government has hired Wall Street banks, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., to offer shares of Kazatomprom in London or Hong Kong.

DIVERSIFIED

* Canuc Resources Corp. signed a letter of intent to acquire oil company Full Circle Energy Ltd. in an all-scrip deal, where the valuation of the share exchange will be determined by an independent consultant.

BASE METALS

* Freeport-McMoRan Inc. President and CEO Richard Adkerson met with Indonesia's energy and mineral resources minister May 18, though further details of the meeting were not disclosed, The Jakarta Post reported.

* Anglo American PLC tapped Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to help in the sale of up to a 30% stake in its Quellaveco copper mine in Peru, with a transaction expected to be announced within the next two months, Reuters reported, citing sources. Several Japanese companies, including Mitsubishi Corp., which owns an 18.1% interest in the project, are interested in a minority interest in the asset.

* Independence Group NL lifted its stake in Orion Minerals Ltd. from 4.2% to 11.1% after subscribing to A$5 million in Orion shares at 5 cents each. The proceeds of the placement will be partially used to fast-track developing the Prieska zinc-copper project in South Africa.

* Jinchuan Group International Resources Co. Ltd. CEO Gao Tianpeng said the company will double its African copper and cobalt output capacity over the next two to three years, Reuters reported. Its current annual capacity is at about 50,000 tonnes of copper and 5,000 tonnes of cobalt.

* Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co. Ltd. plans to produce over 30,000 tonnes of cobalt metal equivalent this year amid an expansion in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Reuters reported, citing Vice President Frank Chen. The company produced about 20,000 tonnes of cobalt equivalent in 2017.

* KGHM Polska Miedz SA's majority-owned Sierra Gorda copper mine in Chile resumed normal operations following a temporary shutdown. Operations were suspended earlier in the week after a contractor died in an accident during routine maintenance activity.

* Vedanta Resources PLC's Tuticorin copper smelter in India's Tamil Nadu state will remain closed until at least June 6. The state environmental officials adjourned a hearing for the renewal of Vedanta's license to operate the smelter until that date, said V Ramasubbu, a lawyer petitioning against the plant's reopening.

PRECIOUS METALS

* Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission fined Citigroup Global Markets Asia Ltd. HK$57 million for failing in its duties as a sponsor on an IPO as the regulator clamps down on IPO misconduct. The regulator said Citi did not properly fulfill its duties as a sponsor in the listing application of Real Gold Mining Ltd. Specifically, Citi failed to conduct enough due diligence on Real Gold's customers and properly supervise its staff when carrying out sponsor work on Real Gold's listing application.

* A miner died from injuries sustained in a shaft ore pass accident at Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd.'s Moab Khotsong gold mine in South Africa on May 17.

* Cambodian Minister of Industry and Handicraft Cham Prasidh warned that the government will take action against certain miners for mishandling toxic substances used to flush gold mines, Radio Free Asia reported. According to the minister, toxic mining chemicals seeped into a river, sickening hundreds and killing more than a dozen people in two northeastern Cambodian provinces.

* An independent preliminary economic assessment on Marathon Gold Corp.'s Valentine Lake gold property defined an after-tax net present value of US$367 million, using a 5% discount, with a 25% internal rate of return. The proposed open pit operation, located on the island portion of Newfoundland and Labrador, is expected to produce 188,500 ounces of gold per year for the first 10 years of operations. Initial production is targeted for 2022.

* Manas Resources Ltd. entered into a deal to earn up to a 70% interest in Perseus Mining Ltd.'s Mbengue gold project in Cote D'Ivoire.

* GoldStone Resources Ltd. secured the renewal of prospecting licenses PL6/87 and RL6/96, which incorporate its Akrokeri and Homase gold projects, respectively, in Ghana. The licenses are valid to April 2020.

BULK COMMODITIES

* The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union called on BHP Billiton Group and Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan to keep the structural steelwork for the company's US$3.6 billion South Flank iron ore project within the state, The West Australian reported.

* Rio Tinto secured approval from Australia's Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator for its AutoHaul autonomous train operation, which serves its Western Australian iron ore operations.

* Russian steelmaker TMK booked an 80% year-on-year drop in first-quarter net profit to US$8 million on the back of a decrease in foreign exchange gains, though EBITDA rose to US$160 million, from US$142 million a year ago, Reuters reported.

* Chinese steel mills are investing in shredding equipment to turn cars and other junk metal into raw materials for steel production as the government toughens pollution rules, Reuters reported, noting mills' increased liquidity after bumper profit margins in 2017.

* China's Kingtec Steel Corp. is moving to apply for bankruptcy amid debt problems. According to Reuters, the company attributed the decision to the poor steel business environment in Xinjiang and its deteriorating operational conditions.

* Australian coal miner Bounty Mining Ltd. seeks to raise between A$14 million to A$18 million at 35 Australian cents per share in an IPO to list on the ASX, based on its prospectus filed to potential investors.

* United Co. Rusal PLC is unable to pay full salary to a number of its workers outside of Russia in the wake of U.S. sanctions on the Russian aluminum producer, Bloomberg News reported.

* Officials from Turkey's economy ministry told Reuters that the government plans to impose countermeasures on the U.S. in response to the latter's steel and aluminum import tariffs. Turkey's measures will target U.S. goods such as coal, paper and petrochemical products, among others.

* Tata Steel Ltd. is looking to secure a loan of 115 billion Indian rupees to help fund its acquisition of a controlling stake in debt-laden Bhushan Steel Ltd., Bloomberg News reported, citing anonymous sources. The group is said to be in talks with banks for a six-month bridge facility, which it aims to refinance with a loan that would mature in about 15 years.

* Meanwhile, ThyssenKrupp AG's anticipated deal signing over a joint venture with Tata Steel by the end of June could be pushed back as Tata Steel's Dutch works council takes its time to assess the venture. Council President Frits van Wieringen told Reuters that the assessment would take up to three months from its May 1 start date.

* The Republic of the Congo-based SAPRO SA is negotiating with a consortium of French banks to fund the 450-kilometer railway track that will link its Mayoko iron ore project to a port at Pointe Noire, Bloomberg News reported. The company has invested about US$550 million in Mayoko, where construction is expected to start in 2019 and be completed by 2022.

* An ongoing strike at ArcelorMittal's steel mill at its Kryviy Rih operations in Ukraine could result in a complete stoppage of output, Reuters reported. Steelmaking and rolling operations were halted due to a labor action by the workers of its railway division, with only 14 out of 92 locomotives in operation.

* Centrex Metals Ltd. signed a nonbinding memorandum of understanding with Gujarat State Fertilisers & Chemicals Ltd. for the off-take of approximately 300,000 tonnes of phosphate rock from the Ardmore project in Queensland, Australia.

* S&P Global Market Intelligence's Metals and Mining Research expects the global production of iron ore to increase 2.2% year over year in 2018 to almost 2,200 million tonnes. First-quarter results showed the top 20 producers have increased output 1.5% compared with the same quarter in 2017 and produced a collective 329 Mt. We assess that the dominant drivers of this first-quarter increase are robust iron ore prices, some industry projects that continue to ramp up, and environmental conservation in China that continues to incentivize higher-grade products.

* Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. agreed to invest about US$163.8 million for the construction of the Boffa bauxite project in Guinea. The total development cost is estimated at about US$706 million.

* India's National Company Law Appellate Tribunal admitted the appeal by Renaissance Steel India Pvt. Ltd. against Vedanta Ltd.'s 53.20 billion Indian rupee resolution plan for Electrosteel Steels Ltd., Mint reported. The tribunal approved Vedanta's acquisition of Electrosteel in April.

* U.S.-listed aluminum products developer Constellium N.V. is expanding its operations in Decin, Czech Republic, to accommodate growing demand from its customers. The project, which is expected to be completed by October 2019, includes constructing a new casthouse and extrusion press and boosting the plant's recycling capacity.

* Jastrzebska Spólka Weglowa SA's attributable net profit fell to 753.9 million Polish zloty in the first quarter, from 864.5 million zloty in the year-ago quarter, Puls Biznesu reported.

SPECIALTY

* Noble Group Ltd. unit Talaxis Ltd. signed a definitive agreement to earn up to a 75% interest in the Songwe Hill rare earths project in Malawi from Mkango Resources Ltd.

* Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc. reached an agreement with Hydro-Québec for a license and a research and development deal for the use of technologies developed by Hydro-Québec in processing graphite for lithium-ion batteries.

* PJSC Alrosa may finalize the acquisition of state-owned diamond polisher Kristall Smolensk this year, Reuters reported May 17, citing Russian Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev. The government will make a final decision on the privatization of Kristall after completing a review of its value. Moiseev said the diamond polisher, which was affected by low profit margins, will be sold at market price.

* Lucapa Diamond Co. Ltd. raised US$3 million through the sale of a parcel of 1,632 carats of alluvial diamonds from the Lulo diamond project in Angola, representing an average price of US$1,838 per carat.

* The U.S. government will declare the entire planned product suite of superalloy metals that will be mined and processed at NioCorp Developments Ltd.'s Elk Creek project in Nebraska as critical minerals.

* De Beers SA hiked prices for the third time at its latest invitation-only diamond sale due to record demand, Bloomberg News reported, citing sources. The diamond producer increased prices nearly 1%. While the latest sale is ongoing, total sales are expected to range between US$530 million and US$550 million.

INDUSTRY NEWS

* Environmental groups suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over its 2017 decision to drop rulemaking that would have slapped more financial requirements on U.S. mining operations for cleanups are facing an uphill battle in court in trying to reverse the decision, a legal expert said. "These kinds of lawsuits are difficult for challengers," said Jeffrey Lubbers, a professor in administrative law at the Washington College of Law. "There have been one or two cases where courts have demanded reasons for abandoning a rulemaking that has already occasioned a lot of comments, but those cases are rare."

* Batirai Manhando, head of Zimbabwe's Chamber of Mines, said the country needs up to US$11 billion to modernize mining operations and push production to maximum capacity over the next five years, Reuters reported. According to Manhando, all mines in the country are operating below capacity, with the exception of platinum mines.

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