Новости за 01.02.2019

Coal exports are expected to drop this year, following a disappointingly slow run over the past few months, says Transnet Freight Rail coal GM Mandisa Mondi. “For the current financial year, the target for export was 77-million tonnes. We are trending at 73-million tonnes. We hope to have a good February and March, but unfortunately we are seeing a cancellation in terms of orders,” he told the IHS Market Southern African coal conference, in Cape Town, on Friday.

While many industrial commodities fell victim to geopolitical and macroeconomic woes in 2018, Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) CEO Benedikt Sobotka expects to see a strong upside for cobalt and copper this year as underlying demand rallies. With some additional volatility expected ahead, the severe underinvestment in mining projects is set to drive up prices, he said in a release issued on Friday.

Katanga Mining, which is a subsidiary of diversified major Glencore, says its cobalt debottlenecking project is progressing on schedule. In an update to shareholders published on Friday, the Democratic Republic of Congo-based company said three new filter presses, a magnesium oxide reagent plant within the existing cobalt circuit and the construction of two cobalt hydroxide dryers are scheduled for completion and commissioning during the first quarter of this year.

Zambia has fired Dr Pius Kasolo, the CE of State mining investment arm Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines Investment Holding (ZCCM-IH), Mines Minister Richard Musukwa said on Friday, without giving a reason. On Monday, Kasolo said the government should quickly resolve its tax row with mining companies to avoid hitting operations and ZCCM-IH dividends.

Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe is expected to officially open the annual Investing in African Mining Indaba in Cape Town on Monday. In a statement, the department of mineral resources said the minister will be joined by his cabinet colleagues as they engage delegates at the Indaba. The government will engage delegates on South Africa as a competitive and investor-friendly destination that offers a unique combination of highly developed economic infrastructure and a vibrant emerging market... Читать дальше...

Canada-based First Quantum has resumed copper production at the hydrometallurgical plant at Cobre Las Cruces, in Spain, processing lower-grade stockpiled ore while it obtains necessary regulatory approvals to begin mining at an area unaffected by a recent land slippage. The slippage occurred late last month and resulted in the shutdown of the openpit operation and hydrometallurgical complex.

Despite promises to revive the US coal mining industry, analysts are saying that the country’s policy actions are not enough to reverse the trend of declining coal demand from the power generation industry. In 2018, US coal production fell to 755-million short tons – a 20-million short ton decline on the previous year and 36% less than in the previous decade. The Energy Information Administration states that only two of the five major coal-producing regions reported higher output last year.

Mitsui & Co on Friday cut full-year profit forecast by 2% due to the absence of a dividend from Vale, but the Japanese trading house does not plan to change its holding in the Brazilian miner, a company executive said. With 110 people confirmed dead and another 238 missing, according to firefighters' count on Thursday evening, the collapse of tailings dam, which belongs to top iron-ore miner Vale in the town of Brumadinho may be Brazil's deadliest-ever mine disaster.

The Minerals Council South Africa on Thursday said local miners would be reviewing their tailing storage facilities construction, maintenance and operating protocols following the collapse of the tailings dam at Brumadinho in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. At least 60 people have been confirmed dead and an estimated 292 remained missing at Vale after a dam storing mine waste at the Corrego de Feijao mine in Brumadinho on January 25. Vale SA is the world's largest producer of iron ore, the raw ingredient for making steel.

Diversified miner Glencore on Friday reported an 11% year-on-year increase in its copper production and a 54% year-on-year increase in its cobalt output, mainly as a result of the restart of Democratic Republic of Congo- (DRC-) based subsidiary Katanga Mining’s processing operations in late 2017. Glencore’s own sourced copper output increased to 1.4-million tonnes, but copper sales were 22 000 t lower than production, as a result of the timing of shipments.

Project Halo, a South African group that bid R3.05-billion for Tegeta Exploration & Resources' coal assets after it was placed under administration, said it expects the deal to go ahead and it’s unaware other offers will be entertained. “As things stand today we are the preferred bidder,” Project Halo director Paul Buckley told an IHS Markit coal conference in Cape Town on Thursday. “We haven’t been notified that the process has been reopened.”

Chile's Codelco's, the world's top copper miner, said on Thursday it had reached an agreement on the contract for two unions at its sprawling Chuquicamata copper mine in the north of the country. The agreement, which covers 611 workers, includes a salary increase of 1.2% and signing bonuses for a total of 11.5-million pesos (about $16 500).

The deadly collapse of a Vale tailings dam in Brazil is serving as a wake-up call for an industry that regularly cuts costs by storing mining waste in the cheapest possible way. The slurry of ground rock and effluents left over after companies extract marketable minerals from the ground has been stored for decades in massive ponds held back by embankments or dams. Their safety, though, depends very much on the design of the ponds, and on the cost of building them.

The deadly dam disaster involving Vale will have a profound impact on the world’s largest iron-ore producer, not only in terms of serious reputational risk, but it could strain the company’s liquidity and its ability to meet financial requirements, Moody’s Investor Service said this week. The Brazilian major has a “good” liquidity profile with $6.1-billion in cash and $5-billion committed in credit facilities fully available, but Moody’s warned that the potential liabilities and sanctions against... Читать дальше...

Shares of India’s Vedanta slumped to a two-and-a-half-year low on Friday after analysts expressed concerns over an investment by the parent company of the conglomerate in African miner Anglo American. Vedanta said on Thursday its foreign unit Cairn India Holdings had paid $200-million to buy a stake in Anglo American from Volcan Investments, the miner's parent company, as a part of its "cash management activities".

Ncondezi Energy continues to engage positively with the liaison committee regarding the approval of the project timetable for its integrated 300 MW power and coal mine project, in Tete, Mozambique. Ncondezi aims to deliver the first power from the project in 2023.

Diversified miner Independence Group has delivered a record quarter at its Nova nickel and Tropicana gold projects, in Western Australia. The ASX-listed company this week reported that nickel production from the Nova operation reached 7 574 t during the three months to December, up from the 6 854 t in the previous quarter.

Dr Michiel de Wit will be stepping down as TSX-V-listed Tsodilo Resources president and COO. Dr Alistair Jeffcoate has been appointed as his successor.

Diamond miner Lucapa Diamond Company has generated A$22.9-million in revenue from the first sale of exceptional diamonds under the new diamond marketing policy in Angola. The ASX-listed company sold seven large and top quality diamonds weighing 498 ct from its Lulo alluvial mine, achieving a sales price of $16.7-million, which averaged at $33 530 a carat.

Canada’s largest diversified miner has warned of an after-tax loss of C$86-million, or C$0.15 a share, for the fourth quarter, which is “significantly” below current consensus estimates. The loss warning follows the disappointing fourth-quarter financial results of Teck’s energy business unit and trail operations, as well as inventory valuations. The company said in a statement late on Thursday that these factors, together, reduced earnings by C$0.30 a share and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation by C$195-million.

Sister companies Integrated Pump Technology and Integrated Pump Rentals believe that while their market offerings differ it is their philosophy of providing single-source pump solutions to customers in the mining industry that has led to the significant growth of both in the past four years. “When you look at our integrated pump solutions approach, where we offer sales as well as rental options, it becomes obvious that we are able to cater to specific customer requirements and this includes meeting... Читать дальше...

The HIPPO flameproof, medium/high voltage, submersible slurry pump manufactured by heavy-duty slurry pump manufacturer Hazelton Pumps is regarded as the world leader when pumping acidic liquids containing solids at high heads and high volumes and has been exported to the major mining countries. Owing to US President Donald Trump insisting that US international companies, such as General Motors, bring their manufacturing activities back to the US, it is expected that a shortage of electrical power will be experienced.

Local pump manufacturer KSB Pumps and Valves has won a multimillion-rand tender to supply locally manufactured specialised slurry pumps to minerals and metals processing specialist Outotec, for the large-scale greenfield Mutoshi copper and cobalt mining project in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Owned by multinational copper and cobalt mining and metals company,

A new type of detection technology from global technology powerhouse Siemens protects centrifugal pumps from dry running in hazardous areas. For this purpose, the corporation has developed special current/voltage detection modules for its Simocode pro motor management system. The principles and practical applicability of this technology have been investigated within the scope of a research cooperation project with the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (National Metrology Institute of Germany)... Читать дальше...

The Krebs slurryMAX range of slurry pumps from global minerals process specialist FLSmidth has brought new levels of hydraulic efficiency to Africa’s slurry operations.