Новости за 25.03.2019

Aim-listed Botswana Diamonds has confirmed that its Thorny River diamond dyke project, in South Africa, remains on track to start bulk sampling and diamond production by the middle of this year. Bulk sampling is anticipated to start in May, assuming final permits are obtained in time, and will ramp up to 20 000 t a month.

A Brazilian court has issued an injunction ceasing operations at several tailings dams owned by mining firm Vale, the iron-ore giant said on Monday, which will hit production at a major mine. The injunction, issued in response to a motion by prosecutors in the state of Minas Gerais, requires the firm to paralyse operations at 13 dams. As a result, the company said, production at its major Brucutu mine will take longer than expected to come back on line.

Gold mining major Barrick is committed to its operations in Latin America and will reinvent the way its Veladero mine, in Argentina, operates and will devise a new plan for Lagunas Norte, in Peru, says CEO Mark Bristow. The Veladero mine, in which China’s Shandong Gold Group is Barrick’s equal partner, is struggling with “internal and external challenges, including the currency devaluation and fiscal challenges”.

China's coking coal imports from Australia slumped 21% in February from a year earlier as traders reported lengthy checks on Australian cargoes at several ports. Australian supplies were at 1.16-million tonnes last month, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs on Monday, compared to 1.47-million tonnes in February 2018.

Junior White Rock Minerals has struck a A$30-million earn-in and joint venture (JV) option agreement with fellow-listed Sandfire Resources over its Red Mountain base and precious metals project, in Alaska. Under the terms of the agreement, Sandfire could earn up to a 51% interest in the project by spending A$20-million on exploration over a four-year period, with a minimum A$6-million spend during the first year.

Coal miner New Hope has completed the acquisition of joint venture partner Mitsui’s 10% interest in the Bengalla project, in New South Wales, taking its interest to 80%. New Hope in November of last year struck a A$215-million deal with Mitsui to purchase its 10% interest in the Bengalla JV, after spending A$860-million to acquire Wesfarmer’s 40% stake in the project.

ASX- and LSE-listed MOD Resources has reported a 61% increase in the openpit reserve at its T3 copper project, in Botswana. The openpit reserve is now estimated at 34.4-million tonnes, grading 1% copper and 13.2 g/t silver, for 342 700 t of copper and 14.6-million ounces of silver.

Diversified major BHP CEO Andrew Mackenzie says that the success of China’s Belt and Road initiative will hinge on cooperation within the international community. Speaking in Beijing at the weekend, he noted that the ambitious infrastructure initiative, which, like the ancient Silk Road trade route aims to link China to Europe, would bring a host of opportunities and challenges to its host nations.

The Wynyard potash project has ticked all the boxes necessary for development, but the central Saskatchewan carnallite/sylvanite project lacks one ingredient – a potash price that makes it economically viable. TSX-listed Karnalyte Resources said on Friday that although the potash price remained too low to trigger an investment decision, it had witnessed “encouraging signs” in 2018 and that the timing was right for a new capital cost estimate.

Chile's Antofagasta expects to reach an agreement with miner BHP to help ensure water supply at its Zalidvar copper mine in the country's northern desert, a company official told a Chilean newspaper on Friday. Antofagasta needs access to water for the future development of its Zaldivar copper deposit, which is near BHP's Escondida mine, the world's largest copper mine. Zaldivar's size, however, does not justify investing in its own desalination plant to bring water in from the Pacific ocean, Antofagasta has said.

It’s not a great time to be a coal miner, but there’s never been a better time for their shareholders. US coal companies returned almost $3.7-billion in dividends and buybacks to shareholders in the 12 months through September, and S&P Global Ratings expects more of the same this year. That’s boosting yields to unheard-of levels, in some cases to about nine times that of ten-year treasuries.