trending Market Intelligence /marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/z9hE_BOi1s74YNoOeZDzmQ2 content esgSubNav
In This List

Sibanye swings to H1'19 loss; BHP nears sale of Nimba iron ore project stake

Blog

Insight Weekly: US stock performance; banks' M&A risk; COVID-19 vaccine makers' earnings

Blog

Insight Weekly: LNG exports surge; investors unfazed by inflation; neobanks drive VC funding

Blog

Essential Metals Mining Insights November 2021

Blog

[Infographic]: 2021 World Exploration Trends


Sibanye swings to H1'19 loss; BHP nears sale of Nimba iron ore project stake

The Daily Dose LIVE returns to the City of London on Tuesday, Oct. 1. Join us for a timely panel discussion on the vulnerabilities facing corporate Europe in a period of deep political, policy and economic uncertainty. Register today to secure your place at this popular breakfast event.

TOP NEWS

Sibanye swings to H1'19 loss; interest in AngloGold's Mponeng confirmed

Confirming its forecast earnings for the first half, Sibanye Gold Ltd. swung to a loss of 265.2 million South African rand, from a 76.7 million rand profit in the comparable year-ago period. Headline earnings tanked to a 1.26 billion rand loss, from a profit of 101.0 million rand. Earnings were negatively impacted by a five-month strike at its South African gold operations, which led to an estimated 1.6 billion rand in revenue loss. Separately, the miner confirmed its interest in acquiring AngloGold Ashanti Ltd.'s Mponeng gold mine in South Africa, which the latter is trying to sell as part of a portfolio review, Reuters reported.

Report: BHP near Nimba iron ore project stake sale

BHP Group is close to selling its stake in the Nimba iron ore deposit in Guinea for an insignificant amount as the miner is keen on sealing a deal after years of failing to offload the asset, Reuters reported, citing banking sources. The newswire added that Nimba does not fit the company's preference of operating in stable and developed economies amid legal disputes in the country as well as high infrastructure costs, which make it hard to make money from the iron ore.

Peabody, Glencore secure approval for United Wambo coal project

The New South Wales Independent Planning Commission in Australia conditionally approved the A$381 million United Wambo coal project, owned by Glencore PLC and Peabody Energy Corp. The joint venture was looking for approval to expand open cut mining operations at the existing United Wambo mine and the United colliery to extract an additional 150 million tonnes of run-of-mine coal over 23 years.

BASE METAL

* In the first half, Jiangxi Copper Co. Ltd.'s attributable profit increased about 1.8% to 1.30 billion Chinese yuan, as operating revenue inched up 0.5% to 105.04 billion yuan.

* Analysts at Fitch Solutions revised upwards its nickel price forecast this year, to US$13,550 per tonne from US$13,250 per tonne, on the back of a strong speculative rally in July and August, Mining.com reported. Analysts said tight fundamentals for the commodity will keep prices for the base metal at a high level in the remaining months of the year, according to the report.

* Jerry Garry, head of Papua New Guinea's Mineral Resources Authority, said Metallurgical Corp. of China Ltd. could be ordered to close the Ramu nickel-cobalt plant it operates in the country as well as pay compensation following a waste spill into the ocean that turned parts of it red, Reuters reported.

* URU Metals Ltd.'s application for a mining right over three prospecting rights that form the Zebediela project was accepted by the South African Department of Mineral Resources. The application covers the right to mine nickel and platinum group minerals, chromite, cobalt, copper, gold, iron ore and vanadium for 30 years.

PRECIOUS METALS

* Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd.'s first-half attributable net profit slumped 26.6% year over year to 1.85 billion Chinese yuan from 2.53 billion yuan. Operating profit in the half slipped to 3.22 billion yuan from 3.78 billion yuan a year ago due to an increase in administrative, financial and interest expenses, as well as lower investment income and gains on changes in fair value. Gold production for the Chinese diversified miner climbed 44.6% year over year to 151,735 kilograms in the six months, while silver production fell 18.6% to 250,609 kilograms.

* Great Boulder Resources Ltd. signed an option agreement with Zebina Minerals Pty. Ltd. to acquire a 75% interest in the Whiteheads gold project in Western Australia.

* Southern Gold Ltd. completed the sale of its Australian assets for a total of A$2.5 million in cash to Aurenne Group Holdings Pty. Ltd., allowing the company to focus on its South Korean assets.

* Resolute Mining Ltd. upgraded its full-year gold production guidance to 400,000 ounces at all-in sustaining costs of US$960 per ounce, following the acquisition of Toro Gold Ltd., from the previous guidance of 330,000 ounces at AISC of US$990 per ounce.

* TriMetals Mining Inc. will receive US$25.8 million from Bolivia as settlement over the expropriation of its Malku Khota silver project in 2012.

* Eric Sprott, through 2176423 Ontario Ltd., took up an about 13.1% stake in Amarillo Gold Corp. after participating in the junior explorer's C$10 million share placement.

* Seabridge Gold Inc. closed its acquisition of the Goldstorm project in Nevada from Mountain View Gold Corp. for 25,000 shares.

BULK COMMODITIES

* A report by the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, or IEEFA, found that Adani Enterprises Ltd. would require US$4.4 billion in Australian government subsidies over the 30-year life of the Carmichael coal mine in Queensland, Australia. The project would otherwise be unbankable and unviable, The Guardian reported. Adani called the report "inaccurate," saying the institute is "known for publishing alarmist papers that attempt to discredit the fossil fuel industry." The company noted that details of the royalties agreement are confidential and IEEFA's claims to know the details are untrue.

* The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission kicked off civil proceedings in the Federal Court against BlueScope Steel Ltd. and its former general manager sales and marketing Jason Ellis for alleged cartel conduct in the supply of flat steel products. The competition regulator said BlueScope and Ellis, between September 2013 and June 2014, tried to get various steel distributors in Australia and overseas manufacturers to enter agreements containing a price fixing provision. BlueScope Chairman John Bevan said the board is treating the allegations "very seriously" and the company will review the allegations.

* Ferrexpo PLC's independent review committee to probe the use of funds donated to the Blooming Land Charity was unable to explain a number of discrepancies outlined in the 2018 annual report. The company said it is possible that some of the funds could have been misappropriated, but added that none of its directors, management or employees were involved in any possible misappropriation.

* The farm-in and joint venture contract between Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. unit FMG Resources Pty Ltd. and Tasman Resources Ltd. over the latter's Vulcan iron oxide-copper-gold-uranium prospect in South Australia received South Australian ministerial approval.

* The British government intends to allocate £250 million of a planned £390 million program to reduce industry carbon emissions to the domestic steel industry, which it said accounts for 15% of the country's industry emissions. Investment in hydrogen and low carbon technology could help cut industry emissions and meet the country's 2050 zero-emission target, said the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

* Shumba Energy Ltd. has signed a cooperation agreement with two Chinese companies to move forward on the development of a US$1 billion coal-to-liquid plant using coal from the Mabesekwa coal project in Botswana, according to a report in Miningmx.

* A federal bankruptcy court approved Blackhawk Mining LLC's modified Chapter 11 reorganization plan and disclosure statement shortly after the coal producer wrote in court filings that it is on schedule to emerge without impairing its general unsecured claims.

* TerraCom Ltd.'s salable coal production in fiscal 2019 swelled 35% year over year to 3.0 million tonnes, and coal sales surged 59% to 3.0 Mt. Run-of-mine coal production also climbed 35% to 3.4 Mt. Operating EBITDA in the year climbed A$66.7 million to A$93.9 million.

* IRC Ltd.'s attributable loss in the first half climbed to US$25.2 million, from US$15.6 million a year ago. Revenue in the six months jumped to US$89.2 million, from US$70.2 million, but was offset by an increase in operating expenses and financial costs. Production from the company's K&S iron ore mine in Russia climbed 16% to 1.3 million tonnes and sales rose 18% to 1.2 Mt.

* Contura Energy Inc. can acquire up to US$100 million in its own stock after its board of directors approved a plan to purchase shares at set prices over a specified period, the company announced Aug. 29.

* Cazaly Resources Ltd. finalized the sale of the Parker Range iron ore project to Mineral Resources Ltd. and received the A$20 million cash portion of the payment.

* Hindalco Industries Ltd. unit Novelis Inc. is close to gaining approval from EU competition authorities for its US$2.6 billion takeover of Aleris Corp., Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

* U.S. coal companies are often scrutinized for the climate impacts of burning the fuel, but the sector has also proven vulnerable to the sort of severe weather that scientists predict will be increasingly more likely due to rising global temperatures, according to an exclusive S&P Global Market Intelligence report.

* Even though thyssenkrupp AG CEO Guido Kerkhoff would prefer to keep a minority stake in the group's elevator division with a planned IPO in the works, he could be forced to sell the segment off in its entirety in order to save the group's remaining businesses amid mounting financial pressures, as a formal auction would be faster, Reuters wrote citing four sources close to the company.

* Mechel PAO agreed to supply up to 700,000 tonnes of metallurgical coke, pulverized coal injection and anthracites by the end of 2020 to Steel Mont GmbH.

* Cadence Minerals PLC's judicial restructuring plan to recover and restart operations at the Amapá iron ore project was approved by over 90% of the credit value and was approved by the courts.

SPECIALTY

* Portugal is finalizing plans to put up an international lithium exploration licensing tender, part of the country's thrust to become Europe's leading supplier to electric vehicle battery producers, Reuters reported.

* Battery Minerals Ltd. tapped ThirdWay Africa to aid in securing funding for the Montepuez graphite project in Mozambique.

INDUSTRY NEWS

* Mining services provide Macmahon Holdings Ltd. expects revenue in fiscal 2020 of US$1.2 billion to US$1.3 billion, and EBIT of US$80 million to US$90 million. Revenue in fiscal 2019 jumped 55% to US$$1.10 billion, as the company increased activity across its contract mining projects in Australia and Indonesia. The company did not recognize a previously expected provision on the Telfer gold project contract with Newcrest Mining Ltd., saying it now expects the net present value of incremental cash flows from the contract to be positive over the project's remaining term.

* Driven lower by base metal pricing, the S&P/TSX Global Mining Index total return fell throughout April and May yet rose in June to end the month 6.6% higher, due to its heavy weighting to gold, and leaving the index up strongly since end-2018, S&P Global Market Intelligence Metals & Mining industry research found.

* Canada's C$21.5 million in funding for a proposed all-weather arctic road project in Nunavut that would ease access to remote mining sites and Arctic communities could pave the way for a near "shovel ready" project in two or three years, said Scott Northey, COO of Nunavut Resources Corp., in an exclusive interview with S&P Global Market Intelligence.

* U.S. economic growth slowed slightly more than initially estimated in the second quarter, but consumer spending was revised up to its fastest pace in four years and partially offset the impact of the country's trade tensions with China.

The Daily Dose has an editorial deadline of 7 a.m. London time. Some external links may require a subscription. Links are current as of publication time, and we are not responsible if those links are unavailable later.