Новости за 28.03.2019

Russian nickel and palladium producer Norilsk Nickel (Nornickel) said it will invest up to 90-billion roubles ($1.4-billion) over four years in two major projects in Russia. The projects - expansion and reconstruction of the Talnakh ore concentrator and development of the South Cluster mine - come as Nornickel aims to ramp up nickel output and tap an expected boom in demand from electric vehicle makers.

State-owned Chilean copper miner Codelco, the world's largest copper producer, expects output at its El Teniente mine to rise to more than 500 000 t/y by 2025, according to a report from the company. The increase would position the mine, which produced 465 000 t of copper in 2018, as one of the world's largest deposits.

Brazilian miner Vale on Thursday estimated selling up to 75-million tonnes less iron-ore this year, after several mines were halted following its second deadly dam burst in less than four years. The estimate, which is 20% below its prior forecast, is the latest blow to Vale from the collapse at Brumadinho, which killed some 300 people and forced the world's largest iron-ore exporter to fire its CEO earlier this month.

Canada-headquartered Ivanhoe Mines is considering an expanded copper mining development in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which will rank the Kamoa-Kakula mine as the world’s second largest after the giant Escondida mine of BHP and Rio Tinto in Chile. At an expanded production rate of 18-million tonnes a year with peak copper output of 740 000 t/y, Kamoa-Kakula will be a bigger producer than the projected 2025 output of Grasberg, in Indonesia, and Oyu Tolgoi, in Mongolia.

Brazilian mining firm Vale activated alarms in areas below three tailings dams on Wednesday night due to an elevated risk of rupture, amid a tense atmosphere in Minas Gerais state where a dam burst in January killed about 300 people. The company activated alarms in areas downstream of the B3/B4 dam and the Forquilha I and Forquilha III dams as a "preventative measure," after the structures failed to receive a safety certification from independent auditors.

In contrast to State-run merchant miners, coal production from captive mines from April 2018 to February 2019 has been estimated at 44-million tons, recording a growth of 31% and outstripping the government’s target of 40-million tons for the current financial year, according to data sourced from the Coal Ministry. With a 31% growth recorded by captive coal miners, in contrast to a likely growth rate of 6% for State-run merchant miners, the Coal Ministry has set a target of 105-million tons a year for captive coal miners by 2020/21.

Toronto-listed Nevada Copper has a new senior VP to oversee all construction and technical activities of its US-based Pumpkin Hollow underground copper project, which remains on track to produce its first copper in the before the end of the year. Effective from Thursday, professional mining engineer David Swisher has been promoted to senior VP for operations. He has held multiple senior operating roles at mines in North America and has overseen the development of numerous mining projects globally.

Exxaro delivers record coal output, sales; ups total dividend; and, Canyon offers Eskom cheaper coal on open-book basis

AltX- and Aim-listed Jubilee Metals Group on Thursday posted a lift in earnings for the six months ended December 31, as the Hernic operations, in Limpopo, continued to deliver strong operational and financial results. The group achieved earnings a share of 0.06p during the half-year under review, compared with the loss a share of 0.025p in the comparative period in 2017.

This week Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer unpacks Sibanye-Stillwater’s investment in DRDGold, South Africa’s good position in coal and renewables and the Minerals Council South Africa’s decision to take the Department of Mineral Resources to court.

Brazilian iron-ore miner Vale on Wednesday announced a series of writedowns and provisions related to the Brumadinho tailings dam collapse that killed some 300 people two months ago, saying there would be an affect on future results. The writedowns include $124-million related to the Corrego de Feijao mine where the dam was located, as well Vale's wider array of upstream tailings dams, considered the most vulnerable to collapse and slated for shutdown in the coming years.

BHP Group is among the potential bidders for Blackstone Group and LLOG Exploration Co.’s oil-exploration joint venture Bluewater, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The Bluewater business, which is also attracting interest from closely held Fieldwood Energy, is focused on deep-water exploration in the Gulf of Mexico and could fetch about $1.5-billion to $2-billion in a sale, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.

A feasibility study into the T3 copper project, in Botswana, has estimated that the project could be developed at a capital cost of $182-million. ASX- and LSE-listed MOD Resources on Thursday reported that T3 was expected to produce an average of 28 000 t/y of copper and 1.1-million ounces a year of silver over an 11.5-year mine life, with first production targeted for the first quarter of 2021.