ASX-listed Metallica Minerals has received environmental approval from the federal government to develop its Urquhart bauxite project, in far north Queensland.
“This is an important milestone in the development of the Urquhart bauxite project and clearly demonstrates that the environmental plan for the project is sustainable and meets best practice standards as determined by federal authorities,” said Metallica CEO Simon Slesarewich.
Aim- and AltX-listed Kibo Mining will, in the coming weeks, hold formal negotiations with infrastructure investors that have expressed an interest in making an equity investment in the Mbeya coal-to-power project (MCPP), in Tanzania. Kibo, which is headed up by CEO Louis Coetzee, expects to work towards the finalisation of a comprehensive funding arrangement for the MCPP in the weeks ahead.
Increased shipments, higher average received prices and lower unit costs have contributed to a turnaround in mineral sands miner Kenmare Resources’ earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) in the six months to June 30. The miner, which operates the Moma mine, in Mozambique, on Tuesday posted Ebitda of $29.8-million for the six months under review, compared with a $10.7-million loss before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation in the first six months of 2016.
Diversified mineral development company Bushveld Minerals’ Bushveld Vametco subsidiary has agreed with Wogen Resources to retire the $3-million prepayment facility entered into, in March, to help fund the acquisition of a 78.8% interest in Strategic Minerals Corporation (SMC) from Evraz Group. SMC is the holding company of the Vametco Alloys operation, near Brits, which has the capacity to produce about 3 000 t of vanadium in the form of Nitrovan – a vanadium product used in the steel industry – and modified vanadium oxide.
TUCKER, Ga.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–GMS Inc. (NYSE:GMS) (the “Company”), a leading North American distributor of wallboard and suspended ceilings systems, announced today that it will release its financial results for the fiscal first quarter ended July 31, 2017 before the market opens on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, September 6, 2017. A conference call will be held that same day at 10:00 a.m. eastern time to review financial results, discuss recent events and conduct a question-and-answ
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–El Capitan Precious Metals, Inc. (OTCQB: ECPN) confirms that it received its first payment on the sale of precious metals extracted from El Capitan ore in June of this year from a domestic precious metals refinery. The Company has since dispatched a second shipment of precious metal alloy bars to the refinery for processing and payment. According to John F Stapleton, Chairman and CEO, the first shipment—weighing slightly over four pounds—was a key step in est
The removal of the loss-making ounces will result in a vibrant and sustaining future for the remaining mines in the South African region of AngloGold Ashanti, into which capital expenditure (capex) of $200-million is currently being injected. In outlining this to Creamer Media’s Mining Weekly Online at a media round table, AngloGold CEO Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan said that by eliminating losses at the old Kopanang, TauTona and Savuka mines, the company was securing a vibrant future of the remaining Mponeng, Moab Khotsong and Mine Waste Solutions operations.
Mozambique’s government plans to set up a sovereign investment fund where taxes paid on sales of the country’s minerals will be used to finance development projects, State-run AIM news agency said on Monday quoting the finance minister. Minister of Economy and Finance Adriano Maleiane said the new fund would have capital gains taxes paid on the sales of shares in the country’s mineral resources as the main source of funding.
The Jan Karski coking coal project has cleared another hurdle with the Polish Agriculture Ministry approving the rezoning of 56 ha of agricultural land for industrial use, which will allow for the construction of a mine.
The approved spatial development plan is considered a “significant” milestone towards ASX- and Aim-listed Prairie Mining obtaining a mining concession for Jan Karski, and follows the recent approval of the project’s deposit development plan (DDP).
Net profit at Polish coal mines stood at 1.45-billion zlotys ($400.06-million) in the first half of the year compared to a 800-million zlotys loss a year earlier amid higher coal prices and restructuring, data from a state agency showed on Tuesday.
Data by the Industrial Development Agency (ARP), quoted by state-run news wire PAP, said the average price, including thermal and coking coal, rose by 38% year-on-year in the first half of the year to 317.09 zlotys per tonne.
Brazil-focused explorer Centaurus Metals has been awarded a key environmental licence for its Salobo Wet copper/gold project, prompting the ASX-listed company to fast-track its maiden exploration programme at the asset.
Centaurus on Tuesday said that with the receipt of the licence much earlier than anticipated, the company was now in a position to start a detailed programme of non-ground disturbing field activities, prior to the onset of the wet season.
JSE-listed Impala Platinum (Implats) expects to swing to a headline loss a share of between 125c and 150c for the financial year ended June 30, compared with the headline earnings a share of 12c reported in the 2016 financial year. The company attributed the decline in headline earnings a share to the posting of a gross loss and the fact that its income tax credit was negatively impacted on by higher profits for its Zimplats subsidiary, in Zimbabwe, and a nonrecurring tax credit on a bad debt in the prior year.
Hidden within the salt flats high in the Andes mountains of South America are vast deposits of the lithium that Elon Musk may need for his electric-car revolution. But extracting the mineral from brine ponds created by Orocobre has proved more difficult than expected. Bad weather and pump glitches meant production at the Olaroz facility in northern Argentina was 21% below Orocobre’s initial target in the year through June. While things are getting back on track, Chief Executive Officer Richard Seville says the company “either underestimated the complexity or overestimated our capability.”
Indian major Adani on Tuesday welcomed a decision by the Queensland Court of Appeal to dismiss an activist challenge against the $16.5-billion Carmichael coal mine.
“The decision presents yet another independent judicial decision upholding nearly eight years of development planning and rigorous approvals, and dismisses activist claims to the contrary,” Adani said in a statement.
Nickel miner Western Areas has returned to profitability in 2017, as revenues increased.
A net profit after tax of A$19.3-million was reported for the financial year ended June, compared with a net loss after tax of A$29.8-million in 2016.
Gold miner Northern Star Resources has reported net profits after tax for the year ended June, as the company’s organic growth strategy continues to deliver.
Net profit after tax for the full year was up 42%, to A$215.3-million, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization also hit a record A$461.3-million, up 16% on the previous corresponding period.
The Indian government’s review of National Mineral Policy (NMP) 2008 and drafting of a new version will aim to make “transparency, sustainability and conservation” the cornerstone of governance of the mining sector.
The trigger point for deeper inculcation of these elements into mining sector governance has been the recent Supreme Court verdict levying hefty penalties for illegal mining in the eastern province of Odisha, with risk of it having cascading country-wide ramifications.
Another patchy day, with the good results — led by Seven Group and Oil Search — outweighing the bad.
Mining major BHP has heeded investors’ calls to exit its shale gas business, announcing on Tuesday that it would sell the US onshore assets that it had bought for $20-bilion five years ago.
BHP, which has come under pressure from activist shareholders over its US shale investment, said it had determined that the onshore US assets were noncore to its operations and that it was “actively pursuing options” to exit these assets.
The Chilean government rejected on Monday a controversial $2.5-billion copper and iron project proposed by privately-held Andes Iron, though the company vowed to appeal.
Chile’s Ministers’ Committee, a gathering of high-ranking political officials who decide on the fate of controversial projects, pointed to numerous alleged flaws with the Dominga project, which would have produced 12 million tonnes of iron annually and 150 000 t of copper.
Higher prices for critical rare earth elements (CREE) are marking a return of confidence to the industry and the end of the so-called “hand-to-mouth” market as users increasingly turn to contracting to secure long-term security of supply.
“For several years users were unsure about the market direction, prompting them only buy about three months supply of CREEs at any given time, since they were looking to capitalise on potentially lower prices. But now, early stage demand is taking off and we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel,” Sudbury, Ontario-based industry observer Adamas Intelligence founding director and exploration analyst Ryan Castilloux tells Mining Weekly Online in an interview on Monday.
The Chinese government has so far this year ordered 4.3-million tonnes of aluminium capacity closures at smelters in Inner Mongolia, Shandong and Xinjiang, pointing to the potential for a global aluminium market deficit to emerge before year-end, the latest analysis from Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofAML) Global Research has found.
After being range-bound between February and July, aluminium prices have rallied on a series of announced production curtailments in China.
The latest date published by the International Lead and Zinc Study Group (ILZSG) has found a 3% year-on-year wider zinc market supply gap for the first six months of 2017.
According to preliminary data recently compiled by the ILZSG, the global market for refined zinc metal was in deficit by 203 000 t, at 6.74-million tonnes, over the first six months of the year, with total reported inventories declining by 212 000 t over the same period.
BHP Billiton said it will not be seeking approval for its Jansen potash project in the 2018 calendar year due to uncertain timing on the need for the commodity used as fertiliser.
“We will not be seeking board approval for Jansen this year,” CFO Peter Beaven told an analyst briefing after the company reported a five-fold lift in annual underlying profit to $6.7-billion in fiscal 2017.
Junior explorer Callinex Mines has established a district-scale land page at the company’s Nash Creek zinc project, in the prolific Bathurst mining district of New Brunswick, the company announced on Monday.
The land package now covers a 20 km trend and includes several high-grade base metal occurrences. Previously, Falconbridge, BHP Billiton and Noranda explored on the southernmost portion of the land package and has indicated potential to host additional base metals deposits.
BHP swings back from last year’s massive loss to a $US5.9 billion ($7.4 billion) profit, but its earnings look to have missed analyst expectations.
Global copper mine output was 3% lower year-on-year during the first five months of 2017, according to the latest data from the International Copper Study Group (ICSG). Concentrate production declined by around 2.5% and solvent extraction-electrowinning (SX-EW) declined by around 4.5%.
BHP Billiton’s truce with activist investors led by billionaire Paul Singer won’t last long if the world’s biggest mining company doesn’t pump up returns and deliver on strategic reform in the wake of its expected bumper profit report this week.
The naming in June of BHP’s youngest director Ken MacKenzie, 53, as chairman from next month has helped soothe disgruntled shareholders including Singer’s Elliott Management, while continued demand growth in China for iron ore to coal is boosting prices, swelling earnings’ forecasts and raising expectations for higher payouts.
ASX-listed lithium player Lepidico has signed a binding term sheet with fellow-listed Maximus Resources to earn a 75% interest in the lithium rights of the Spargoville gold project, in Western Australia. The lithium rights will be known as the Moriarty lithium project.
Rare earths developer Hastings Technology Metals will raise some A$15.5-million through a share placement.
The company said on Monday that some 77.5-million new ordinary shares would be placed at a price of 20c each, under the company’s current capacity.
The share price of coal miner Australian Pacific Coal fell by more than 16% on Monday after the company said that it had been unable to reach acceptable terms to finalise a binding funding proposal.
The ASX-listed company last week flagged a possible funding offer, telling shareholders that it had received a binding written offer for the provision of funding.
休斯顿, 德克萨斯州–(BUSINESS WIRE)–MOGAS Industries, Inc. （MOGAS）近日获得来自恒力石化（大连）有限公司的严酷工况隔离阀供应合同，用于其在中国辽宁大连长兴岛的全新重油建设项目。 中国恒力石化（大连）有限公司隶属恒力集团，MOGAS 将向其供应 950 多个阀门，用于流化床设备的一系列严酷工况应用，包括高压排出隔离、催化剂隔离以及诸多高循环、热冲击应用。这些阀门计划于 2018 年初交货，以满足紧张的施工进度安排。 MOGAS Industries, Inc. 总裁兼 CEO Matt Mogas 表示：“我们非常高兴向恒力集团供应世界上最好的隔离阀。MOGAS 产品以其一流品质、可靠性和耐久性而著称。我们向客户提供最低的拥有成本、安全性以及无与伦比的售后服务体验。这些阀门将会在 MOGAS 美国休斯敦工厂定制设计和制造。” MOGAS Systems & Consulting 总经理 Johann Verster 表示：“恒力集团致力于打造世界上最好的石化工业区，MOGAS 阀门将助力我们的客户实现他们的愿景。在过去十年里，M
HOUSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–MOGAS receives multimillion dollar contract to manufacture severe service isolation valves to Hengli Petrochemical Refinery in China.
ASX-listed Beach Energy reported an after-tax net profit of A$387.5-million for the year ended June 30, compared with a net loss of A$588.8-million in the previous corresponding period.
Beach told shareholders on Monday that the after-tax net profit was A$976-million higher than the 2016 financial year, mainly owing to the recognition of a deferred tax assessment in the current year, as well as asset sales and reduced impairment charges.
The share of revenues that the government of Tanzania has received from the Geita gold mine is “pretty generous” when compared with what shareholders have received, AngloGold Ashanti CEO Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan said on Monday when the company reported an adjusted headline loss of $93-million, which includes retrenchment provision of $47-million and a silicosis provision of $46-million. Since 2000, the Tanzanian government has received 55% of the cash distributed compared with AngloGold’s 45%, with the Geita mine delivering more than $1-billion in royalties, corporate taxes and employees’ income tax since 1999. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video)
