Новости за 23.04.2019

Ukraine-focused iron-ore pellet producer Ferrexpo on Tuesday said that some funds of a charity it donates to could have been "misappropriated" as indicated by findings of an independent investigation. The company said although the Independent Review Committee's investigation into Blooming Land's use of Ferrexpo's funds was ongoing, new evidence pointed to potential discrepancies.

Russian diamond major Alrosa has announced an investment of ten-billion ruble in a project that will extend the life of the Aikhal underground mine up to 2044, sustaining 500 jobs. The mining company has approved the stripping and mining of Aikhal pipe reserves at the levels of between 100 m and 400 m below the ground.

The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) has called on the federal government to repeal a ban on nuclear energy. The call comes after Prime Minister Scott Morrison last week said in a radio interview that while nuclear energy was “not on the agenda”, he noted that nuclear energy had to pay its own way.

Canadian miner Teck Resources, the world's second-biggest exporter of steelmaking coal, reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Monday, boosted by its energy business and a slight increase in commodity prices. The miner said even though commodity prices were lower than a year ago, prices rose during the first quarter and closed higher than prices at December 31, 2018.

China's environment ministry reprimanded provincial officials in Shandong, the country's biggest aluminium producing province, for failing to comply with policies to cut coal consumption and curb the growth of highly polluting aluminium output. Shandong has been a key part of China's efforts to curb pollution in the industrial north, but it has struggled to find cleaner forms of growth. Seven of the province's cities were set targets to cut smog over the winter, but only one - Jining - managed to do so.

Congo-Brazzaville shipped its first iron-ore exports on Friday ahead of an expected boom in production from mines owned by Congolese billionaire Paul Obambi's Sapro and Swiss commodities giant Glencore. Sapro mined the oil-dependent Central African country's first iron ore in 2017 from its Mayoko project in the southwest and plans to reach output of 12-million tonnes a year by 2022.

Diamond miner De Beers Group has appointed its COO Nancy Liu CEO of its Forevermark brand. She succeeds Stephen Lussier, who remains De Beers group executive for consumer, brands VP and now also Forevermark chairperson.

Australian major Newcrest has signed a binding option and farm-in agreement with exploration company Cornerstone Capital Resources over the Caña Brava and Tioloma properties in Ecuador, targeting epithermal gold/silver and porphyry gold/copper deposits. The agreement replaces the heads of agreement entered into between the companies in February.

Anglo American has hired three investment banks to fend off a potential takeover bid from the billionaire owner of Vedanta Resources, Anil Agarwal, the Telegraph reported, citing unidentified people. Agarwal has previously stated he had no intention to take over the miner, but bankers think he is now working with adviser JP Morgan Chase & Co to help finance a bid as soon as September, the British newspaper said.

JXTG Holdings, a Japanese oil refiner and miner, on Monday declined to comment on a media report that it is exploring the sale of its majority-owned Caserones copper mine in Chile. The Wall Street Journal said on Friday that JXTG is exploring the sale of Caserones, which could gain the company about $1-billion, citing people familiar with the matter.