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Strike looms at Antofagasta's Los Pelambres; NSW risks A$1B in Bylong rejection

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Strike looms at Antofagasta's Los Pelambres; NSW risks A$1B in Bylong rejection

TOP NEWS

Strike looms at Antofagasta's Los Pelambres copper mine

A workers' strike looms at Antofagasta PLC's flagship Los Pelambres copper mine in Chile after a union leader urged workers to reject the company's latest wage offer, which is only half of the amount the workers requested, Mining.com reported. The company also only approved three out of the 44 demands of the workers.

New South Wales may jeopardize A$1 billion investment in rejecting Bylong coal project

New South Wales Deputy Premier John Barilaro said that revenue from royalties and regional jobs could be at risk after the state's Independent Planning Commission rejected Korea Electric Power Corp.'s Bylong coal project, The Australian reported. Barilaro said the rejection of the project may jeopardize 1,100 jobs and A$1 billion in investment into the state.

Banro suspends Congo gold operations due to armed rebels

Banro Corp. has suspended operations at several of its sites in Democratic Republic of Congo because it can no longer ensure their security from armed rebels, Reuters reported, citing the company's CEO Brett Richards. Four Banro employees were kidnapped in July and were held for several weeks.

BASE METALS

* Wu Yuneng, former general manager of Jiangxi Copper Co. Ltd., has been expelled from the ruling Communist Party and public office after being found to have illegally accepted gifts, used public funds to play golf and used company vehicles for personal travel, Reuters reported, citing a statement from China's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

* Peru's Environmental Assessment and Control Agency, OEFA, ordered Minera Las Bambas, a joint venture project of MMG Ltd. and CITIC Metal Company Ltd., to change how it transports copper concentrate through the Southern Runway to reduce environmental pollution, Mining.com reported.

* Consolidated Zinc Ltd. took full ownership of the Plomosas zinc mine in Mexico after completing the acquisition of the remaining 10% stake from Retec Guaru SA de CV.

* Keras Resources PLC will distribute its 33.71% shareholding in Calidus Resources Ltd., with its shareholders receiving 1 Calidus share for every 3.44229 Keras shares held. The board of the London-listed junior believes that the demerger will release significant value to shareholders and give them direct exposure to both companies' business interests.

* Wealth Minerals Ltd. completed the acquisition of TriMetals Mining Inc.'s 100% interest in the Escalones copper project in Chile.

PRECIOUS METALS

* Ore processing has commenced at the El Nino mine within Premier Gold Mines Ltd.'s 40%-owned South Arturo mine in Nevada. Gold production ramp up is expected in the second half, with the first gold bar pour held on Sept. 26.

* 12 Exploration Inc. has determined not to fulfill the balance of its requirement to spend C$300,000 in order to earn an initial 50% in the Deepwater project in Ontario.

* Sable Resources Ltd. said that it has received proceeds in the amount of C$5.5 million as the initial closing under its royalty purchase agreement with Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd. has occurred.

BULK COMMODITIES

* BHP Group will roll out hundreds of robots across its metallurgical coal operations in Queensland as part of the company's US$800 million program to introduce up to 500 new autonomous vehicles across the Pilbara and Queensland, The Australian reported.

* Andromeda Metals Ltd. outlined a pretax net present value of A$413 million at an 8% discount rate, with a payback period of 15 months, an internal rate of return of 174%, and all-in sustaining cost at an average of A$396 per tonne of fully refined kaolin with an anticipated selling price of A$700 per tonne, in the company’s scoping study for the Poochera halloysite-kaolin project in South Australia.

* ASX-listed Bounty Mining Ltd. said major shareholder Amaroo Blackdown Investments LLC notified the company of an event of default after the shareholder declined to waive a free cash flow generation covenant, which is part of a loan facility.

* The decision on legal appeals on mining of iron ore off the South Taranaki coast in New Zealand is expected by the end of the year, Taranaki Daily News reported. Trans-Tasman Resources Ltd sought to overturn a 2018 high court decision that canceled the company's permit to mine in the bight.

* Colorado Gov. Jared Polis joined officials from local utility Xcel Energy Inc., solar energy developer Lightsource BP Renewable Energy Investments Ltd. and steelmaker EVRAZ North America Inc. to announce the 240-MW Bighorn Solar project at an Evraz steel mill in Pueblo, Colo.

* Adani Enterprises Ltd. has established a new division for its infrastructure business after the Queensland's labor government ended a nine-year delay on the last major environmental permit for the company's Carmichael coal mine in June, The Australian reported, quoting Adani Mining CEO Lucas Dow.

* Perth, Australia's Magistrate Court fined BHP A$50,000 after it neglected to close a road damaged by floods in 2016, which resulted in a worker sustaining a back injury while driving a fuel haul truck to the Yandi iron ore mine in Western Australia.

* Klöckner & Co SE has decided not to merge with thyssenkrupp AG, Economicinform reported, citing information from German Handelsblatt. The report said that the decision not to pursue with the merger was due to the dismissal of CEO Guido Kerkhoff.

* Fourth-quarter premiums for aluminum shipments to Japan were locked at US$97 per tonne, dropping 10% from the third quarter amid an abundance of Asian supplies and weak demand from the electronics and auto industries, Reuters reported, citing three sources directly involved in the pricing talks.

* India's Coal Ministry has started identifying additional coal blocks that could be put up for auction before December, exclusively for commercial coal mining by private domestic miners and international resource majors, Mining Weekly reported.

* Canyon Resources Ltd.'s total resource estimate for the Minim Martap bauxite project in Cameroon grew 62% to 892 million tonnes at 45.1% aluminum oxide and 2.8% silicon oxide, using a cutoff grade of 35% aluminum oxide.

* The Australian government's global steel production forecast declined to 1.80 billion tons in 2021 from the previous forecast of 1.81 billion tons, Bloomberg reported. The Chinese steel production forecast, meanwhile, went up to 930 million tons in 2021, from the previous estimate of 926 million tons.

SPECIALTY

* Opposition parties opposed the ongoing exploration for uranium in Andhra Pradesh, India, and demanded the government to pass a resolution clarifying it will not support mining for the mineral in the state, The Hindu reported.

* NextSource Materials Inc. outlined a posttax net present value of US$184.3 million, at an 8% discount rate and an internal rate of return of 36.2%, with a payback period of 3.8 years in its feasibility study for the first and second phase of the Molo graphite project in Madagascar. The project costs a total of US$60.1 million in capital.

* Syrah Resources Ltd. defended its disputed claim of depressed graphite market prices across all flake sizes, which financial advisory Hartleys said could impact project financing for hopefuls such as Battery Minerals Ltd. Syrah CEO Shaun Verner told S&P Global Market Intelligence that the company recently saw weaker prices "across the board" for graphite, regardless of users' differing specifications.

* Kazakhstan's sovereign wealth fund, Samruk-Kazyna, sold nearly 9.9 million JSC National Atomic Co. Kazatomprom global depositary receipts at US$13 apiece for proceeds of US$128.2 million in an accelerated bookbuild via the London Stock Exchange and Astana International Exchange. The sale reduces Samruk-Kazyna's ownership to 81.2% from 85%, raising Kazatomprom's free float to 18.8%. It was necessary because of the stock's lack of liquidity, a source familiar with the matter told S&P Global Market Intelligence.

* De Beers SA is extending its policy of offering almost unprecedented flexibility to diamond buyers as the company fends off a slump in demand for the gems, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources.

* BlueRock Diamonds PLC recovered a 20.72-carat, gem-quality diamond from its Kareevlei mine in South Africa.

* Element 25 Ltd. completed the sale of the Cummins Range rare earths project in Western Australia to Sagon Resources Ltd.

* Lithium Australia NL's option to acquire the Youanmi lithium project in Western Australia expired.

* Greenpower Energy Ltd. ceased its Guyana operations and is seeking buyers for its 51% stake in Guyana Strategic Metals Inc., which owns the Morabisi rare earths-lithium project.

INDUSTRY NEWS

* Australian Resources Minister Matt Canavan said that it is necessary that the country's financial sector continues to support domestic resources and energy projects, including new thermal coal projects, The Australian reported. Export earnings from Australia's resources and energy sector are forecast to hit a record of A$282 billion this year, while coal exports alone are expected to hit A$16 billion over the next two years.

* The Mine Safety and Health Administration is reinstating rules pertaining to standards for workplace examinations more than 2.5 years after they were first published.

* Zambia will not replace its value-added tax with a nonrefundable sales tax as previously planned, Reuters reported, quoting the country's finance minister Bwalya Ng’andu.

* Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is not likely to lift the ban on open-pit mining, BusinessWorld reported, quoting presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo.

* Congo plans to investigate potential conflicts of interest in a U.S.-funded project to certify mines that produce minerals responsibly, Reuters reported, citing Joseph Ikoli, secretary general of the country's mines ministry.

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