Новости за 18.02.2019

Following the release of a trading statement earlier this month, Impala Platinum (Implats) on Monday said that it “now has reasonable certainty” that its headline earnings and headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the six-month period ended December 31, 2018, are likely to be between R2.21-billion and R2.24-billion and between 308c and 312c a share. On February 4, Implats forecast that both headline earnings and basic earnings were expected to be at least R2.1-billion for the period, while HEPS... Читать дальше...

A surge in iron-ore prices is fueling hopes for bigger returns and a share-buyback spree as the world’s top miners prepare to report results. BHP, Rio Tinto, Glencore and Anglo American are expected to announce bumper profits over the next two weeks. So far, the biggest producers have remained stubbornly focused on shareholder returns, rather than spending on the types of acquisitions and big-ticket projects that burned investors during the last commodity boom.

Brazil is prohibiting a specific type of tailings dam after two of those structures run by miner Vale SA burst in recent years, causing death and environmental devastation. All so-called upstream dams need to be decommissioned or removed by August, 2021, according to a resolution the National Mining Agency published on Monday in Brazil’s official gazette.

Aim- and BSE-listed exploration company Botswana Diamonds has started with the planned intensification drilling on its Thorny River prospect in South Africa, with the first four holes having intersected diamonds at predicted thicknesses and depths.  The programme, which comprises the drilling of 40 reverse circulation angle percussion boreholes to a depth of 30 m is expected to be completed within the next four weeks.

LSE-listed Petra Diamonds, which on Monday announced the appointment of Richard Duffy as CEO, narrowed its adjusted net loss after tax to $4.5-million for the six months ended December 31, 2018, from the net loss of $7.2-million recorded for the six months to December 31, 2017. Nevertheless, outgoing CEO Johan Dippenaar conceded that the company’s interim results had been impacted on by the lower value of the product mix at its Cullinan mine, in South Africa’s Gauteng province.

Just weeks after the police unit was formed, they caught their first glimpse of the copper thieves -- the silhouettes of a group of men on a hill overlooking the rail lines -- triggering a car chase at the dead of night across Chile’s Atacama desert. While the pursuit ended in failure, with the gang disappearing into the dark at full speed, at least the police had stopped a potential train heist.

TSX- and NYSE-listed Taseko Mines has successfully added a near-shovel-ready copper project to its assets with the successful acquisition of  Yellowhead Mining. The company reported on Friday that the transaction had closed and that Yellowhead’s shares would be delisted from the TSX-V.

Diversified miner Exxaro Resources on Monday confirmed that NYSE-listed mining and inorganic chemicals company Tronox has completed the first stage of its redomiciliation, whereby it has acquired Exxaro’s remaining ownership interest in Tronox Sands for just over R2.06-billion, or about $148-million. Exxaro in 2012 merged its mineral sands operations with those of Tronox Sands and initially held about 38.5% of the merged entity. In 2017, it sold about 22.4-million Tronox Sands shares for about R6.5-billion.

Vancouver-based Copper Mountain has reported a fourth-quarter and full-year net loss, despite a strong operational performance, which saw the miner increasing quarterly output by 9.7% and meeting its 2018 production guidance. Fourth-quarter production increased to 24.5-million pounds of copper equivalent, comprising 20.6-million pounds of copper, 8 124 oz of gold and 62 711 oz of silver, at a lower C1 cash of $1.60/lb of copper produced.

The Mexican Federal Economic Competition Commission on Friday approved the proposed transaction whereby Pan American Silver will acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of dual-listed Tahoe Resources. In a statement, Tahoe confirmed that all required regulatory, shareholder and court approvals had been received and that the  arrangement would be completed on or about February 22.

The board of ASX-listed Universal Coal has urged shareholders to sit tight as the company awaits a possible takeover offer from a consortium of investors, headed by South Africa’s Ata Resources. Universal in December last year struck a non-solicitation agreement with the special purpose bidding company, which had proposed to acquire Universal through a cash consideration of A$35c a share.

ASX-listed New Century Resources has secured up to A$100-million in working capital facilities from investment firm Varde Partners, as the company restarts its Century zinc operations, in Queensland. The funding will consist of a A$60-million secured facility, which has been approved and is available for draw down, and a A$40-million unsecured facility, which remains subject to performance hurdles.

A rare bird could threaten the development of the $16.5-billion Carmichael coal project, in Queensland, project owner Adani has revealed. The Queensland Department of Environment and Science in December told the Indian major that it was referring Adani’s Black-throated Finch management plan to an external panel for review, despite an assessment process that had already spanned 18 months.

Around 200 residents were evacuated from an area near a tailings dam in Brazil operated by Vale late on Saturday, amid fears that it was structurally weak and could burst like a similar barrier failure last month that killed 300 people. Vale said in a statement that it had evacuated people living near the inactive B3/B4 dam of the Mar Azul mine about 25 km south of Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais state, after revising security data on the structure.