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Vale, Mitsui secure US$2.73B financing for Nacala rail and port project

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Vale, Mitsui secure US$2.73B financing for Nacala rail and port project

TOP NEWS

Vale, Mitsui secure US$2.73B of financing for Nacala rail and port project in Mozambique

Vale SA and Mitsui & Co. Ltd. signed binding financing contracts to raise US$2.73 billion for the Nacala Logistics Corridor rail and port infrastructure project, which will connect the Moatize coal mine to the Nacala port in Mozambique. The project finance facility will be repaid in 14 years from the proceeds of the tariff related to the coal transportation services and from general cargo services provided by the project.

BHP expects 10% lower costs, US$1.6B in productivity gains in Australia over next 2 years

BHP Billiton Group expects to cut costs at its Australian mining operations by a further 10% and forecasts that the division will deliver US$1.6 billion in productivity gains over the next two years, The Sydney Morning Herald reported, citing Mike Henry, president of BHP Minerals Australia. Henry added that the company would continue to find savings by bringing in expertise from other industries and by better leveraging technology.

Mechel's Q3 output for coal increases, steel production drops

Russia's Mechel PAO posted mixed third-quarter production results, with run-of-mine coal and pig iron output increasing 2% quarter on quarter, though steel production fell 9%. Run-of-mine coal production stood at 5.36 million tonnes, and pig iron output rose to 1.01 million tonnes. Steel production, meanwhile, dropped to 1.00 million tonnes due to planned repairs at the Chelyabinsk metallurgical plant.

BASE METALS

* The access to Codelco's Andina Division copper project was blocked by protesters opposed to the company's plan to close the underground operations in 2022 due to exhaustion of reserves, Metal Bulletin reported. The company said, however, that its production will not reduce as a result of the plan to stop operations.

* Save the Scenic Santa Ritas, the Arizona Mining Reform Coalition, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Sierra Club filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Forest Service's approval of Hudbay Minerals Inc.'s Rosemont copper project in Arizona. The lawsuit alleges the forest service failed to comply with mandatory procedural and substantive requirements before granting the approval.

* Southern Copper Corp. union officials said an agreement has not yet been reached to end the indefinite strike that started Nov. 21 and no trains transporting copper concentrate from the Cuajone and Toquepala mines in Peru have been able to reach the Ilo refinery since Nov. 22, daily Gestión reported.

* Alexander Mining Plc unit MetaLeach Ltd. was granted the patent for a method of oxidative leaching of sulfide ores and concentrates in the U.S. The patent has a 20-year term, effective from June 13, 2010.

* Noranda Income Fund said workers at the CEZ zinc refinery in Quebec, which is operated by a Glencore Plc subsidiary, ended a strike after voting in favor of a new collective agreement.

* Eastern Field Developments Ltd., the bidding vehicle for an Indonesian consortium looking to take over Finders Resources Ltd., said the recent operational and financial downgrades by the target company "raise serious questions about Finders' ability to achieve its long-stated production goals and extend mine life." The consortium tabled a 23 Australian-cent-per-share cash offer in October.

* New Century Resources Ltd.'s restart feasibility study for the Century zinc mine in Queensland, Australia, pegged a net present value, discounted at 8%, of A$1.31 billion, and a 270% internal rate of return. Start-up capital cost is estimated at A$50 million and post-commissioning ramp-up capital cost, including a soluble zinc plant, is estimated at A$63 million. The mine is expected to produce 507,000 dry tonnes of zinc concentrate per annum during its 6.3-year mine life.

* Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. updated the preliminary economic assessment for its Kamoa-Kakula copper project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, incorporating 50%-higher mining rates than the December 2016 PEA. The new PEA estimated a net present value, discounted at 8%, of US$7.2 billion, a 33% internal rate of return and a 44-year mine life.

PRECIOUS METALS

* Korab Resources Ltd. discovered scandium at its Batchelor gold project in Australia's Northern Territory during the first stage of reverse circulation drilling at the project.

* Spectrum Rare Earths Ltd. applied for an additional gold prospective tenement covering 117.8 square kilometers in Western Australia's Pilbara region, which will increase its tenement ground position by 76%. Meanwhile, the company started a moving loop electromagnetic survey over its Whaleshark copper-gold project.

* American Paramount Gold Corp. signed a letter of intent to acquire the issued share capital of Indigenous Roots Corp., a company developing fully licensed medical marijuana growing facilities, for 22 million shares.

* The Federal Supreme Court of Ethiopia dismissed all claims against KEFI Minerals Plc on the impact of exploration field activities conducted between 1998 and 2006, a period that pre-dated KEFI's involvement in the Tulu Kapi gold project. The original claim of US$12 million was previously reduced to US$600,000, but now the company is no longer liable for any damages.

* Primary Gold Ltd. entered into a memorandum of understanding with Westgold Resources Ltd. for an exclusive period until Dec. 31 to negotiate a two-year toll treatment agreement for processing the former's Coolgardie gold project ore at Westgold's 1.2 million-tonne-per-annum Jubilee mill in Western Australia.

* Rockcliff Metals Corp. purchased a 100% interest in the Lucky Jack gold property in Manitoba, covering 15 mining claims over 2,557 hectares. The company paid C$77,250 and a 2% net smelter royalty on seven of the 15 claims.

* Conquest Resources Ltd. entered into a conditional agreement to acquire the Golden Rose gold project in Ontario by purchasing the issued share capital of Northern Nickel Mining Inc.

* Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris is set to launch a new investment vehicle to acquire gold-mining assets across the world, the Financial Times reported. The new firm will be led by outgoing Acacia Mining plc CFO Andrew Wray, who is expected to join the company in January 2018, according to sources.

BULK COMMODITIES

* Minbos Resources Ltd. terminated the merger agreement to acquire its 50% joint venture partner in the Cabinda phosphate project in Angola, Petril Phosphates Ltd.

* U.S. Steel Corp. will redeem US$200 million aggregate principal amount of its outstanding 8.375% senior secured notes due in 2021 at a 100% redemption price plus premium and interest.

* Peabody Energy Corp. completed the sale of the majority of four mining tenements and related infrastructure at the Burton mine in Queensland, Australia, to New Hope Corp. Ltd.'s 90%-owned Lenton joint venture for roughly US$11 million.

* Chinese explosives maker Anhui Leimingkehua Co. Ltd. plans to acquire state-run coal miner Huaikuang Co. Ltd for 20.3 billion Chinese yuan, or about US$3.08 billion, in a cash and share deal as part of the government's push to boost efficiency at state-owned enterprises, Reuters reported.

SPECIALTY

* Dajin Resources Corp. said the Cooperativa San José received lithium brine exploration permits to start exploration at the 4,400-hectare San José and Navidad mines in Argentina's Jujuy province.

* Millennial Lithium Corp. posted a maiden resource statement for its Pastos Grandes project in Argentina of 2.1 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent and 8.1 million tonnes of potash equivalent in the measured and indicated resource categories.

* Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile SA is set to invest US$485 million in the next two years, conditional on approval from the company's board for the CapEx plan for 2018 to 2019, Vice President of Finance Gerardo Illanes told daily La Tercera. Of the total amount, 83% would go to expanding lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide production in Chile and advancing the Exar project in Argentina.

* European Metals Holdings Ltd. upgraded the mineral resource estimate for its Cinovec project in the Czech Republic, adding 39.4 million tonnes at 0.41% lithium oxide and 0.04% tin. The project now hosts a total indicated and inferred resource of 695.9 million tonnes at 0.195% lithium oxide, 0.04% tin and 0.014% tungsten.

* Hastings Technology Metals Ltd.'s definitive feasibility study for its Yangibana rare earths project in Western Australia pegged an after-tax net present value, discounted at 8%, of A$466 million, a 78% internal rate of return and a 2.3-year payback period. Preproduction capital costs are estimated at A$335.3 million, with operating costs of A$17.06/kilogram of total rare earth oxides.

* Anglo American Plc unit De Beers SA is seeking expressions of interest from potential buyers for its Voorspoed open pit diamond mine in South Africa.

INDUSTRY NEWS

* Potential changes to Brazil's mining law, now under review in Congress, could increase the sector's share in the country's GDP from 4% to 6% in ten years, according to projections by Mining Secretary Vicente Lôbo, daily Isto é Dinheiro reported.

* The mining industry is showing clear signs of increasing health, according to a Metals and Mining Research report by S&P Global Market Intelligence. This was particularly evident during the September quarter in the exploration sector, as measured by S&P Global Market Intelligence's Pipeline Activity Index, which is a measure of exploration and development activity. After what had been a poor start to 2017, the index has returned to the level of the final quarter of 2016. The improvement is driven mostly by an increase in drilling activity, with the number of distinct projects reporting drill results rising nearly 9% from 456 in the June quarter, itself up 45% from the previous period, to 496 projects.

The Daily Dose is updated as of 7 a.m. ET time and scans news sources published in Chinese, English, Indonesian, Malay, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai and Ukrainian. Some external links may require a subscription.