Новости за 03.10.2019

Brazil's government will present a bill later this month giving more leeway to mining in the country, including allowing mines on indigenous land, Mines and Energy Minister Bento Albuquerque said on Thursday. The bill, which is already being analyzed by the president's chief of staff, will also look to legalise more small-scale, independent wildcat mines, many of which now operate illegally, the Minister said at a ceremony in Brasilia.

Canadian miner Iamgold said on Thursday it continues ramp-up activities at the southern pits of its Rosebel mine in Suriname but cautioned that 2019 guidance remained conservative. The Toronto-listed company said its 2019 guidance for Rosebel incorporates several scenarios, including cases with no production from the southern pits and Saramacca.

London-listed Galileo Resources said on Thursday that negotiations for an offtake agreement with fellow-listed Jubilee Metals were advancing satisfactorily. The companies are working on an agreement to process ore from the Zambian Star Zinc and Kashitu projects at the Kabwe refinery, where Jubilee plans to commission a dedicated zinc, vanadium and lead refinery circuit, in addition to the existing copper circuit.

Global major diversified natural resource group Glencore has a solid outlook for the next few years, because, among others things, of its diversified portfolio, its conservative financial policy and likely rising prices for the main metals and coal that it produces. But clouds on the horizon exist in the forms of major legal investigations into its activities and transactions, being undertaken by authorities in the US, Brazil and India. And there is also the risk that trade wars and possible recession could drive commodity prices down.

Russian steel and coal producer Mechel has agreed to buy Gazprombank's 34% stake in the Elga coal deposit for around 30-billion roubles ($461-million), two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. Mechel is expected to pay for the stake within the next four months, one of the sources added. Mechel accepted Gazprombank's offer to sell the stake in September.

The Queensland Department of Environment and Science has given environmental approval for the proposed A$1-billion Olive Downs coal mine. The state government gave approval for the project in May this year, saying that it would create 1 000 operational jobs and a further 500 during construction.

A survivor and relatives of 29 men who died nine years ago in one of New Zealand's worst industrial disasters visited the Pike River mine on Thursday, ahead of government attempts to make a full recovery of the site. More than two dozen people went 170 m (560 feet) into the closed mine to where it was sealed off after the deadly series of methane explosions in November 2010, the Pike River Recovery Agency said in statement.

The Western Australian Chamber of Minerals and Energy (CME) has called on the state’s Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to carefully consider the submissions made on its greenhouse gas emissions assessment guidance. CME CEO Paul Everingham said despite attempts by some campaigners to flood the EPA with 6 655 pro forma submissions, it was encouraging that 293 private citizens, organisations, companies, industry bodies and academic and community groups had made the effort to provide individual submissions.

Diamond miner De Beers sold $295-million worth of diamonds during the eighth sales cycle of the year. This was higher than the $287-million worth of diamonds sold during the seventh sales cycle of this year, but well below the $482-million of diamonds sold in the eighth sales cycle of 2018.

TSX-V-listed Noble Mineral Exploration has announced that it will create a new nickel company – Canada Nickel – to consolidate and own the Crawford nickel/cobalt sulphide project, in Ontario. Noble has also committed C$5-million in financing to Canada Nickel to fund the cost of the project consolidation and to allow the company to execute the next phase of drilling and metallurgical work.

The directors of ASX-listed Kalium Lakes has approved the development of the A$250-million Beyondie sulphate of potash project, in Western Australia. “The decision is the most significant in Kalium Lakes' relatively short history and represents the culmination of an enormous amount of unremitting hard work by our close-knit team and key technology partners here in Australia and Germany,” said chairperson Mal Randall.

Brazilian miner Vale on Wednesday said it expects to finish paying for most of the expenses related to the disaster at one of its facilities that killed at least 250 people by 2021. In securities filings, Vale laid out its expectations for expenses related to the rupture of a mining dam at its facility in the town of Brumadinho in January, which released a torrent of mud burying buildings and people.

Murray Energy, the US coal giant that had pressed the Trump administration for help averting bankruptcy, may be headed toward default. The largest closely held coal miner in America failed to make multiple payments to lenders this week, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. Creditors have agreed not to take legal action until October 14, buying Murray some time to figure out how to shore up its balance sheet, the St. Clairsville, Ohio-based company said.

Fuel cell continues to power Minerals Council building; And, Coal mine lives on