South Africa focused coal miner Universal Coal has unveiled plans to expand its Kangala colliery with the acquisition of a 29% interest in the adjacent Eloff project.

The ASX-listed Universal on Wednesday reported that the company, through its 49%-held subsidiary Universal Coal Development IV, had taken a 29% stake in Eloff Mining Company for A$4.35-million.

JAKARTA, Indonesia–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#AGnP–PT POWER SERVICE INDONESIA, a RISCO GROUP COMPANY, is an Indonesian leader in energy solutions for industrial, power and mining sectors.

The New South Wales Government is buying back a majority of the Shenhua Watermark Coal exploration licence in the Liverpool Plains.

Intermediate Canadian mine Detour Gold has secured a $500-million senior secured credit facility with its existing bank group, the company announced on Tuesday.
The debt facility comprises a four-year $300-million revolving credit facility and a $200-million term loan over three years. The bank facility will replace the company’s current C$135-million senior secured credit facility upon closing, which is expected to take place later this week.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a pre-publication federal register notice to withdraw the July 2014 Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 404(c) proposed determination that would have pre-emotively imposed restrictions on the discharge of dredged or fill material from the Pebble project, in Alaska’s Bristol Bay watershed.
The EPA has agreed to initiate the proposed withdrawal as part of a May 11 settlement agreement with the project’s proponent, the Pebble Limited Partnership (PLP), a fully owned subsidiary of Northern Dynasty Minerals.

A federal court in Argentina has ordered the suspension of activities at Glencore’s Alumbrera gold and copper mine as part of a pollution complaint, according to court documents seen by Reuters on Tuesday.

The mine, in the northwestern province of Catamarca, had been scheduled to shut down next year. Glencore owns 50% of the unit, Goldcorp 37.5%, and Yamana Gold 12.5%.

Aluminium producer Alcoa Corp said on Tuesday it would partially restart its Warrick smelter in Indiana, more than a year after closing the then largest operating smelter in the US.

Alcoa expects the aluminium smelting capacity from the restart to supply its rolling mill at Warrick ahead of an expected increase in production, said Tim Reyes, the president of Alcoa’s aluminium business.

The NYSE-listed stock of Consol Energy on Tuesday rose 6.6% following the company’s pre-market announcement that it will separate its coal and natural gas business units into two into two publicly traded companies.
Consol filed a registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to spin off a public company that will be in charge of the Bailey, Enlow Fork, and Harvey coal mines, in southwestern Pennsylvania, a coal preparation plant, the Baltimore coal export terminal, and undeveloped reserves in Appalachia and the Illinois basin, as well as other assets and liabilities.

LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#MetalsandMinerals–The global silver nanoparticles market is projected to grow at a CAGR of nearly 16% over the forecast period, 2017-2021.

NEW ENTERPRISE, Pa.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–New Enterprise Stone & Lime Co., Inc. (“NESL” or the “Company”), a leading privately held, vertically integrated construction materials supplier, announced today that the Company will conduct a conference call on Thursday, July 20, 2017 at 9 a.m. ET to review its fiscal 2018 first quarter financial results. For those who wish to join the conference call, or for more information about the Company, please contact Al Stone (814-766-2211 or astone@nesl.com)

Increased cash flows, merger and acquisitions (M&A) activity and new debt issues have helped many of the world’s top miners to strengthen their balance sheets in 2016, reflecting miners’ response to investor messages around capital discipline, new analysis from PwC Canada has shown.
“As the global mining industry is moving out of a challenging time into a period of recovery, it is very encouraging to see Canada as an international mining leader in a variety of areas. Having four Canadian-based companies amongst the largest metal streaming and royalty businesses in the world demonstrates Canada’s leadership, not only in alternative financing, but in the sector as a whole,” stated PwC Canada’s national mining leader, Liam Fitzgerald.

PITTSBURGH–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Alcoa Corporation (NYSE:AA) today announced plans to restart three of five potlines at its Warrick Operations aluminum smelter near Evansville, Ind., an action that will further improve the competitiveness of the on-site rolling mill. The process to restart the three lines, with 161,400 metric tons of annual capacity, will begin immediately and is expected to be complete in the second quarter of 2018. The three potlines will directly supply the Warrick rolling mill,

Global energy investment fell by 12% in 2016, the second consecutive year of decline, as increased spending on energy efficiency and electricity networks was more than offset by a continued drop in upstream oil and gas spending, according to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA’s) latest ‘World Energy Investment’ report.
Global energy investment amounted to $1.7-trillion in 2016, or 2.2% of the global gross domestic product (GDP). For the first time, spending on the electricity sector around the world exceeded the combined spending on oil, gas and coal supply. The share of clean-energy spending reached 43% of total supply investment, a record high.

Xtract Resources’ subsidiary Explorator has completed a mining contractor agreement with Sino Minerals Investment Company for the exploitation of alluvial gold deposits at the Manica mining concession, in Mozambique. Xtract and Nexus Capital in February agreed that the alluvial gold deposit at Manica would be developed jointly through the appointment of third-party contract miners.

Nothing can stop the proliferation of iPhones, solar panels and Teslas, except perhaps a shortage of key natural resources, comments the latest Fortune magazine, which puts manganese from South Africa on the list of crucial technology metals needed in the US. Fortune’s world map showing the sources of America’s most wanted technology minerals heading for short supply in coming years, lists South Africa and Australia as the sole suppliers of 100% of the manganese brought into the US for use in lithium-ion batteries.

PITTSBURGH–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Webcast of Q2 Conference Call

Gabon, Africa’s second-biggest manganese producer, wants to partner with private companies to process most its minerals locally before exporting them, Mining Minister Christian Magnagna said. Local processing will boost the mining industry’s contribution to gross domestic product from the current 2.1% to at least 4% as the central African nation seeks to make its economy less dependent on oil, Magnagna said in an interview in the capital, Libreville. The country’s main manganese mine in Moanda in the southeast processes about 6% of its total output, which stood at 3.8 million metric tons last year.

Anglo American plans to redevelop the historical premises of its De Beers diamond unit after choosing the building as its preferred option for a new London headquarters, according to people with knowledge of the plan. The company intends to modernise the Charterhouse Street property and then transfer staff there from its current premises near Buckingham Palace, the people said, asking not to be identified because the plans are private. The decision is subject to Anglo winning planning and regulatory approvals for the project, two of the people said. The company has also examined relocating staff to a new building and selling the De Beers property.

The global lithium market has witnessed “significant and tangible” change in recent weeks, with Europe embracing lithium-ion energy storage on a political and industry level, says project developer Plymouth Minerals.

The company, which is developing the San Jose lithium/tin deposit in regional Spain, says Europe is positioning itself to be a leader in lithium-ion vehicle manufacture and use, citing the French government’s announcement last week that it would outlaw the sale of all petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040. Vehicle manufacturer Volvo also announced recently that it would offer electric options on its entire vehicle fleet by 2019.

Australia’s Winmar Resources is assessing additional projects in the Iberian Pyrite Belt and is in discussions with a number of parties holding properties in the region, the company said this week, as it announced that it had stopped all significant expenditures at the Lomero joint venture (JV) project, in Spain.

The gold/silver/copper/zinc project tenement is held by Kimberley Diamonds, which is under administration. Although Winmar believes that its JV arrangement and participating interest in the Lomero project are secure, the company said that it considered it prudent not to spend more on the project during the administration process.

NEW YORK & NEW ORLEANS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#SGS–Seaport Global Securities Expands Equity Research & Sales Team

SPOKANE, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Gold Reserve Inc. (TSX.V: GRZ) (OTC: GDRZF) (“Gold Reserve” or the “Company”) is pleased to provide an update on current and ongoing activities in Venezuela on the Brisas Cristinas Gold Copper Project which is held by Empresa Mixta Ecosocialista Siembra Minera, S. A. (“Siembra Minera”) which is owned 55% by Corporacion Venezolana de Mineria, S. A., a state-owned entity, and 45% by GR Mining (Barbados) Inc., a subsidiary of Gold Reserve. Current and ongoing activ

ASX-listed phosphate developer Fertoz has inked a marketing agreement for up to 10 000 t of rock phosphate from a US project owned by Solvay USA.

The agreement will see Fertoz hold the exclusive right to market the product for a period of two years, with Solvey to be responsible for loading the material. The mined material is currently sitting at surface in stockpiles, ready for distribution.

India’s gold imports in June more than tripled from a year ago as retail demand jumped ahead of the start of a new sales tax that prompted jewellers and bullion dealers to replenish stocks, provisional data from consultancy GFMS showed.

June gold imports climbed to an estimated 75 t from 22.7 t a year ago, GFMS said. For the first half of the year, imports rose to 514 t, up 161% from a year ago.

South Africa’s State-run power utility Eskom said on Tuesday that external auditors had raised “two reportable irregularities” with their regulatory body related to an obscure company and the reinstatement of former chief executive Brian Molefe, who has since left under a cloud. Eskom, which said earlier that it postponed its annual results presentation scheduled for Tuesday, did not provide details of the irregularities but said in a statement that it “had 30 days to take appropriate steps to mitigate the risks identified.”

Aim-listed Georgian Mining (GEO) has declared a maiden inpit resource of 1.14-million tons at 1.10 g/t of gold at Gold Zone 2 in the Kvemo Bolnisi East (KB) project in the Tethyan belt, in Georgia.

The Gold Zone 2 is one of three zones currently being developed at KB, which may form one large epithermal copper/gold system. The initial Gold Zone 2 resource exceeds the interim target and increases confidence in GEO’s three-phase strategy to develop a total resource in excess of 50-million tons that exploration activities are targeting at KB.

The share of clean-energy spending rose to a record 43% of total energy-related investment in 2016, the International Energy Agency’s (IEA’s) yearly World Energy Investment report shows. Global energy investment fell by 12% to $1.7-trillion last year, the second consecutive year of decline. However, for the first time, spending on the electricity sector exceeded the combined spending on oil, gas and coal supply.

The government of the southern Indian province of Andhra Pradesh has formally demanded an equity stake in Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) and even hinted at the possibility of taking legal recourse to secure an interest in the mining company. In a communication to the federal government and various central Ministries, the Andhra Pradesh government has demanded at least part of the ownership of SCCL should be vested with it and has opposed transfer of ownership of SCCL to the government of neighbouring province of Telengana.

The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) has warned that the Victorian government’s policy on the future use of coal in the state perpetuated the ‘closed for business’ reputation that the current government has earned.

South Australian Resources Minister Wade Noonan at the end of last week announced a policy on the future use of brown coal in the region, ensuring that new projects complied with the Victorian government’s commitment to net zero emissions by 2050, and placing strict requirements on private sector proposals for new uses of coal.

Wildfires in British Columbia have forced Canadian lumber mills to shut and were edging closer to a Kinder Morgan Inc. oil pipeline as hot, dry weather sparked blazes across swathes of western Canada and the U.S. Norbord Inc., the largest North American producer of oriented strand board used in residential construction, said Monday it has temporarily suspended production at its mill in 100 Mile House in central B.C. The Toronto-based company, which has 440 million square feet of annual production capacity, said it’s assessing the fire’s impact.

ASX-listed phosphate developer Fertoz has inked a marketing agreement for up to 10 000 t of rock phosphate from a US project owned by Solvay USA.

The agreement would see Fertoz hold the exclusive right to market the product for a period of two years, with Solvey to be responsible for loading the material. The mined material is currently sitting at surface in stockpiles, ready for distribution.

Gold miner Ramelius Resources has missed out on its production target for the June quarter by mere ounces, reporting on Tuesday that gold production during the three montsh reached 29 859 oz, compared with the guidance of between 30 000 oz and 34 000 oz.

This is the second consecutive quarter that Ramelius missed out on its production forecast, after producing 28 083 oz during the March quarter.

A technical report by dual-listed Austral Gold has shown that combining the companies Guanaco and Amancaya projects, in Chile, would prove profitable for the company.

Guanaco is currently producing at a rate of around 50 000 oz/y, and is projected to continue at this rate for the next five years according to the life-of-mine plan.

TSX- and Aim-listed Avesoro Resources reported a 6% quarter-on-quarter increase in gold production at its New Liberty mine, in Liberia, to 15 824 oz during the quarter to June 30. The West African gold producer achieved an average gold recovery of 88%, with low recovery levels in May, as a result of a high proportion of transitional ore from the Marvoe pit contained within the plant feed, offsetting the record process plant use and recovery of 97% in June.

Project house GR Engineering Services has started legal proceedings in the Supreme Court of Western Australia against gold miner Eastern Goldfields.

GR Engineering was in September last year awarded a contract to refurbish the 1.2-million tonne a year Davyhurst gold processing plant, in Western Australia.