TOP NEWS
US to impose 10% tariff on US$300B of Chinese goods in September
President Donald Trump put consumers, companies and manufacturers on heightened alert, breaking the long-anticipated news that his controversial and largest batch of tariffs to date on imports from China will go into effect in September. Calling it a "small additional tariff," Trump tweeted that the proposed 10% tariff on US$300 billion of Chinese goods will go into effect Sept. 1 after accusing Beijing of reneging on prior commitments to quell the escalating trade spat between the two economic powerhouses. According to Chris Rogers, research analyst for Panjiva, a division of S&P Global, the largest product groups in the batch include smartphones, laptops, toys, video games and clothes.
Report: Restart of Codelco's Chuquicamata smelter delayed to late-October
The restart of Codelco's Chuquicamata copper smelter in Chile has been further delayed to the end of October, Reuters reported, citing four sources. The sources added that the Chilean state-owned miner is purchasing copper cathode on the spot market, with two sources claiming that the company was short of metal and another saying that it is part of Codelco's plan to set up its in-house trading unit.
US Steel's Q2'19 profit plummets 68.2% YOY
U.S. Steel Corp.'s net profit plummeted 68.2% year over year in the second quarter to US$68.0 million, or 39 cents per share, from US$214.0 million, or US$1.20 per share. Operations during the period were affected by challenging market conditions, with severe weather also posing logistics headwinds for the steelmaker. Meanwhile, U.S. Steel completed upgrades to its operations, including the Mon Valley steelworks in Pennsylvania, on time and within budget.
BASE METALS
* Hudbay Minerals Inc. will appeal a ruling by the U.S. District Court in Arizona that set aside the approval for its Rosemont copper project in Arizona.
* Rio Tinto is conducting cultural heritage surveys and preliminary environmental baseline studies, geotechnical and metallurgical test work on its Winu copper discovery in Western Australia's Paterson province. Construction of a gravel airstrip is also nearly done while it also continues exploration within the broader province on its licenses and joint venture licenses this year.
* Freeport-McMoRan Inc. priced US$1.2 billion of senior notes, including US$600 million of 5.0% notes due Sept. 1, 2027, and US$600 million of 5.250% notes due Sept. 1, 2029. The sale of the notes is expected to settle Aug. 15.
* New Century Resources Ltd. successfully raised A$42.5 million through a fully underwritten share placement to institutional, professional and sophisticated investors, with funds generated to be used towards the continued refurbishment and ramp-up of the Century zinc mine in Queensland, Australia.
* In the third quarter of its fiscal 2019, high-performance alloy provider Haynes International Inc.'s net income soared 433% year on year to US$3.8 million, or 30 cents per share, from US$713,000, or 6 cents per share, due to higher sales and prices.
PRECIOUS METALS
* Barrick Gold Corp. President and CEO Mark Bristow and Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape met to discuss a partnership to develop the Porgera gold mine in the country.
* On the back of a US$283 million agreement to acquire the Chulbatkan gold project in Russia, Kinross Gold Corp. management was optimistic about the project's chances of getting approved as a strategic resource if necessary.
* LeaGold Mining Corp.'s consolidated gold production in the second quarter shrunk to 91,285 ounces, from 105,949 ounces in the prior quarter. The miner swung to a loss of US$70.2 million, or 25 cents per share, from a year-ago profit of US$9.8 million, or 5 cents per share.
* In the second quarter, Eldorado Gold Corp. swung to a net attributable profit of US$12.2 million, or 8 cents per share, from a year-ago loss of US$24.4 million, or 15 cents per share. Higher sales boosted revenue to US$173.7 million, compared to US$153.2 million in 2018.
* Hummingbird Resources PLC poured 27,466 ounces of gold at its Yanfolila mine in Mali in the second quarter, 15% higher than its first-quarter total of 23,807 ounces. All-in sustaining costs for the period fell 23% to US$998/oz.
* North American Palladium Ltd. declared a special dividend of 35 Canadian cents per share on top of its quarterly dividend of 10 Canadian cents per share, after the company posted record second-quarter revenue of C$135.6 million. Palladium output totaled 56,472 payable ounces, from 57,652 payable ounces in the year-ago period.
* Equinox Gold Corp. lowered its full-year gold production guidance to the range of 200,000 ounces to 235,000 ounces of gold, from 230,000 ounces to 265,000 ounces, due to a longer-than-expected leach cycle for nonoxide ore and stacking of lower-grade material at Mesquite, as well as construction delays at Aurizona.
* Genesis Minerals Ltd. secured a A$6 million cornerstone investment from Alkane Resources Ltd. as part of a A$7.5 million capital raising. Proceeds will be used to fast-track the next phase of resource and exploration drilling at the Ulysses gold project in Western Australia.
* Ora Banda Mining Ltd. slashed the cost of remediation work at its Davyhurst gold processing plant in Western Australia by 43% to A$8.5 million following a detailed review.
* Ring the Bell Capital Corp., to be renamed as Arizona Metals Corp., said its 11459040 Canada Inc. unit successfully merged with Croesus Gold Corp. in a reverse takeover.
* Sabre Resources Ltd. agreed to acquire Power Metals Pty. Ltd., which owns the Bonanza gold project in Western Australia.
* O3 Mining Inc. completed its previously announced acquisition of Alexandria Minerals Corp. and its Cadillac Break gold property in Quebec.
* Barra Resources Ltd. will initiate a study for potential mining options at the Burbanks gold project in Western Australia, after outlining a maiden inferred resource estimate at the Burbanks North Trend deposit. Total resources at the project increased 16% to 145,700 ounces of gold contained in 1.24 million tonnes grading 3.7 g/t gold.
* Global gold demand in the second quarter improved 8% year on year to 1,123 tonnes due to record purchases from central banks, according to the World Gold Council.
BULK COMMODITIES
* Vale SA's iron ore production "bottomed" in the wake of the deadly tailings dam failure in January at the Feijao mine in Brumadinho, Brazil, CFO Luciano Pires said in an earnings call. Meanwhile, the miner expects to reach a final settlement by the end of the year for all claims from the collapsed dam at Feijao, Valor International reported.
* JSW Steel Ltd. unit JSW Steel (USA) Inc. sued the U.S. after failing to secure an exemption from the Trump administration's metal tariffs, Bloomberg News reported, adding that the move came less than a year after CEO John Hritz lauded the levies for allowing the company to proceed with its US$1 billion expansion plan in the country.
* In the first half, Ferrexpo PLC booked a 78% yearly rise in profit to US$270 million, or 45.8 cents per share. Revenue for the six months ended June 30 grew 28% to US$787 million.
* CAP SA booked an attributable net profit of US$37.4 million, slightly down from the year-ago US$37.7 million.
* BGC Contracting Pty. Ltd. was awarded an earthworks and civil construction works contract for Rio Tinto's West Angelas iron ore mine in Western Australia. Work at the site will begin in October, with completion expected in less than a year.
* Century Aluminum Co. swung to a second-quarter net loss of US$20.7 million, or 23 cents per share, from a year-ago profit of US$17.9 million, or 20 cents per share, driven by an inventory adjustment and a loss on the sale of its 40% stake in its BHH anode plant in China.
* Gulf Manganese Corp. Ltd. signed a deal to acquire a 20% interest in private Timor Leste-focused manganese explorer Iron Fortune Pty. Ltd.
* PJSC Novolipetsk Steel decided to use merchant steel slab supplies at its U.S. assets instead of importing its own slab due to market volatility, Fastmarkets MB wrote.
* Leigh Creek Energy Ltd. completed talks with South Australian regulators over the operation of a pre-commercial demonstration plant at its Leigh Creek coal project.
* Orion Minerals Ltd. said it signed a memorandum of understanding to add Safika Resources as a shareholder to Prieska Resources, the company's black economic empowerment partner company.
SPECIALTY
* Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad confirmed that Lynas Corp. Ltd. will no longer have to export low-level radioactive waste stored near its Gebeng rare earths plant in the country ahead of a license renewal, The Australian Financial Review reported. Lynas welcomed the news and said that while it awaits a formal notification, preliminary work is ongoing to identify the site of a permanent disposal facility.
* Turkish ferrochrome producer Eti Krom AS tapped JPMorgan Chase & Co. to raise US$250 million from its first sale of five-year, dollar-denominated sukuk, or Islamic bonds, later this year, Bloomberg News reported, citing CFO Evren Ozturk.
* Clancy Exploration Ltd. entered a conditional agreement to acquire RareX Pty. Ltd., which holds an option to acquire the Cummins Range rare earth project in Western Australia from Element 25 Ltd.
* Nova Minerals Ltd. unit Snow Lake Resources Ltd. reached an agreement to cooperate with Tanco Mining Corp. of Canada Ltd. in relation to its Thompson Brothers lithium mine in Manitoba.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* Japan's Cabinet approved the removal of South Korea from a list of preferred trading partners, effective Aug. 28, in a sign of deepening tensions between the two economies.
* Australian miners need to take a bigger role in helping indigenous businesses grow if they want sustainable suppliers and contractors, as Aboriginal procurement experts say broken promises have harmed the sector's reputation, according to an exclusive S&P Global Market Intelligence report.
* Mining investment in Peru totaled US$2.53 billion in the first half, up 26.2% compared with the same period in 2018, according to official figures released by the Ministry of Energy and Mines, El Comercio reported. Meanwhile, ministry figures also showed that copper, lead, tin, and molybdenum production in Peru recorded an increase of 1.6%, 9.9%, 13.9%, and 1%, respectively, in the half, compared with the same period in 2018, La República reported.
* Mining and construction contractor Macmahon Holdings Ltd. completed its previously announced takeover of underground mining contractor GBF Underground Mining Group.
* Foreign investors in Zimbabwe will be allowed to take majority stakes in platinum and diamond mines as the government plans to repeal its black ownership law, Reuters reported, citing Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube. The sectors had been exempted from a ruling in 2018 that removed the ownership requirement.
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