Новости за 14.05.2019

A large proportion of the minority shareholders in Rio Tinto Plc-controlled Turquoise Hill Resources voted against the re-election of the company's independent directors on Tuesday. While all seven directors were re-elected to the board, according to a Turquoise Hill filing, over 40% of Turquoise Hill's minority shareholders, including its second-biggest investor, Sailingstone Capital Partners, voted against the four independent directors.

Barrick Gold, the world's second largest bullion miner, is preparing its Zambian copper mine Lumwana for sale in the second half of 2019, looking to target Chinese buyers, three sources with knowledge of the matter said. Fresh from two major deals in recent months, Barrick has said it plans to shed $1.5-billion of less productive mines, which have little expansion potential.

Brazilian miner Valesaid on Tuesday it is considering doubling the output of its Carajas Serra Sul iron-ore mine in the northern part of the country after 2020, saying the move would allow it to cut the use of tailings dams. One such dam, used to store the muddy, toxic mining debris, collapsed in late February, killing more than 230 people.

Aim-listed Edenville Energy has recently received the proceeds of £100 000 from a share placement and expects to receive the net proceeds from a conditional offer to raise a further £410 000 shortly and has, therefore, restarted a number of activities at its Rukwa coal project, in south-west Tanzania. The company had previously been forced to constrain operations to maintain capital while it sought funding.

London-listed Petra Diamonds has sold the 424.89 ct Legacy of the Cullinan Diamond Mine diamond to Stargems Group/Choron for just under $15-million. The exceptional D-colour Type IIa diamond was mined from the Cullinan C-Cut and adds to the most famous diamonds to have originated from the historic mine. "This is a significant sale for Petra and an endorsement of the quality not only of the Legacy diamond, but also the Cullinan orebody itself, which is known for its exceptional stones," Petra CEO Richard Duffy said on Tuesday.

Global miner BHP will hold on to the Australian nickel operations it previously put up for sale, while Rio Tinto is working on copper and lithium projects as the mining industry bets on demand for electric vehicle (EV) batteries. The biggest mining companies say they are well positioned to provide the metals needed for the shift to EV technology, although they acknowledge the political risks and environmental issues in some of the countries where the best supplies are found.

Vancouver-headquartered Equinox Gold has hit the first gold pour milestone at its Aurizona gold mine, in Brazil, the company announced on Tuesday. The milestone was achieved with no lost-time injuries.

Despite losing 12 days of production to an illegal strike at the Yauricocha mine, in Peru, and reporting a slower-than-expected ramp up of throughput at its Mexico mines, Sierra Metals still expects to achieve its 2019 production guidance, CEO Igor Gonzales said on Tuesday. The TSX-listed miner produced 700 000 oz of silver, 16.4-million pounds of zinc, 7-million pounds of lead and 7.7-million pounds of copper, as well as 1 986 oz of gold, in the quarter ended March 31. Compared with the first quarter of 2018... Читать дальше...

Canadian miner Stornoway Diamond Corporation has initiated a series of actions to preserve its liquidity, including targeted cost reductions of C$18-million to C$20-million this year. The miner, which operates the Renard mine in Quebec, said on Monday that the continued downward pressure on the rough diamond market was inhibiting its ability to generate positive free cash flow.

Diversified miner BHP on Tuesday admitted to an overspend at the Jansen potash mine, in Canada, but CEO Andrew Mackenzie has argued that the project remains an attractive asset. The mining giant has already spent $2.7-billion on the potash project, east of Saskatoon, Saskatchwan, and will have to invest another $5-billion to finish construction, which started six years ago.

ASX-listed Centrex Metals has inked a second offtake agreement for phosphate rock concentrate from its Ardmore project, in Queensland. Centrex has reached an agreement with New Zealand fertilizer group Ballance Agri-Nutrients to supply some 5 000 t of concentrate, which will be produced as part of the trial production process anticipated to start in 2019.

ASX-listed Centrex Metals has inked a second offtake agreement for phosphate rock concentrate from its Ardmore project, in Queensland. Centrex has reached an agreement with New Zealand fertilizer group Ballance Agri-Nutrients to supply some 5 000 t of concentrate, which will be produced as part of the trial production process anticipated to start in 2019.

Gold miner Caledonia Mining, which owns 49% of the Blanket mine, in Zimbabwe, produced 11 948 oz of gold in the quarter ended March 31, an 8% year-on-year decrease as a result of lower grades but in line with expectations. Its consolidated operating profit before tax for the quarter, however, increased by 105% year-on-year to $12.3-million, which the company said was entirely owing to exceptional gains of around $3-million on foreign exchange, following the devaluation of the Zimbabwean currency... Читать дальше...

Copper/gold miner Oz Minerals and fellow listed Minotaur Exploration have struck a number of agreements over Minotaur’s tenement holdings in Queensland. Following Oz Minerals obtaining a 70% interest in the Eloise copper/gold joint venture (JV), by investing A$10-million in the project, the two companies have now agreed to form a separate JV over the Jericho deposit, which is contained within the greater Eloise project area.

The Queensland government has approved the proposed A$1-billion Olive Downs metallurgical coal mine being developed by Pembroke Resources. The Stage 1 project is expected to require a capital spend of A$450-million and will produce 4.5-million tonnes a year of steelmaking coal, which will be exported through the Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal.