Новости за 23.10.2019

President Sebastian Pinera’s mea culpa and raft of concessions designed to quell Chile’s worst social unrest in decades weren’t enough to prevent more street protests and disruptions at giant copper mines and ports. On Wednesday, workers proceeded with planned strikes and demonstrations, with at least three facilities owned by state copper producer Codelco disrupted as unions encourage members to join anti-government protests that have swept Chile for the past five days.

Aim-listed Firestone Diamonds recorded a solid operational performance at its Liqhobong diamond mine, in Lesotho, in the quarter ended September 30 – the first quarter of its 2020 financial year. However from a market perspective, pricing remained subdued, CEO Paul Bosma said on Wednesday.

Copper producer Antofagasta said on Wednesday protests in Chile could cut its production by about 5 000 t, equivalent to less than 3% of third quarter output, due to delays in supplies and travel disruptions for workers. The London-listed miner, which has four mines in Chile and employs about 19 000 people, kept its full-year forecast unchanged at 750 000 t to 790 000 t of copper this year, but said 2020 output would be lower at 725 000 t to 755 000 t.

Aim-listed Bushveld Minerals has renegotiated the consideration payable for the Vanchem business, reducing the purchase price from $68-million to $53.5-million. Bushveld will pay $30-million of the consideration in cash, with the balance to be funded from unsecured convertible loans.

Precious metals miner Fresnillo said on Wednesday annual silver and gold production would be at the lower end of an already reduced target range, after reporting a fall in output for the third quarter due to lower ore grades. Fresnillo's silver production slumped 14.5% to 13.28-million ounces for the three months ended September 30, while gold production fell nearly 7% to 209 800 oz.

French miner and metals producer Eramet said on Wednesday its Weda Bay Nickel plant in Indonesia would start operation ahead of schedule in the first half of 2020, and it reiterated production targets for this year. Weda Bay, a nickel pig iron (NPI) project, is a nine-million-tonne nickel resource which will be run by Eramet and its joint venture partner, Tsingshan Holding.

The London Metal Exchange (LME) has asked members to report any unusual activity in nickel trading after prices lurched up and down in the wake of large transactions last week, sources familiar with the matter said. Sources said the LME sent an email last week asking about reasons for the nickel trading carried out for clients.

China is likely to become the first country in the world to start mining seabed minerals if the international rules for exploitation are approved next year, the head of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) said. The quest for exploiting seabed minerals, such as polymetallic nodules containing nickel, copper, cobalt and manganese is driven by demand for smart phones and electric car batteries, and the need to diversify supply.

Uranium developer Vimy Resources has completed a A$3.9-million capital raise to fund exploration at the Alligator River project and to update a definitive feasibility study for the Mulga Rock project. Vimy on Wednesday said that it would issue 77.87-million shares, at a price of 5c each, to institutional and sophisticated investors, under the company’s existing placement capacity.

North America-focused copper producer and developer Taseko Mines on Wednesday announced that it would pursue a listing on the main market of the LSE, with approval expected before the end of the year. The company said that the listing should raise its profile in the global investment market and broaden access to copper-focused institutional investors.

The Cobre Panama mine has achieved commercial production – one month earlier than previously expected, Canadian miner First Quantum reported on Tuesday. The new copper mine, located in the Colón province of Panama, achieved commercial production on September 1.

Diversified mining group Teck Resources will use electric buses to transport its employees to, and from, its Fording River and Greenhills steelmaking coal operations, in British Columbia’s Elk Valley region. The two electric buses, which Teck says is the first to be used in the Canadian mining industry for transporting employees, will replace diesel buses in its fleet.

Junior Metminco has struck an agreement to divest of its legacy and non-core Mollacas asset, in Chile, to a local company for $1-million. The sale would be subject to the satisfaction of a due diligence, Metminco said on Wednesday.

Nickel miner Western Areas has reported a slight increase in production in the September quarter, compared with the previous quarter. Nickel production for the three months under review increased to 5 805 t, up from the 5 423 t produced in the previous quarter, with total nickel in concentrate production down slightly from 5 433 t to 5 250 t in the same period as nickel grades declined.

ASX-listed Panoramic Resources has appointed Victor Rajasooriar as the new MD and CEO, starting November 11. Rajasooriar will be replacing Peter Harold, who announced his resignation in August this year, after serving 18 years with the company.

The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) has welcomed an announcement by the New South Wales government to introduce legislation to stop planning authorities from blocking coal mine developments based on the emissions from the coal once it has been burnt. Resources Minister John Barilaro reportedly said that the new laws would prevent “the regulation of overseas, or scope-three, greenhouse gas emissions” in mining approvals.

Diversified miner Rio Tinto on Wednesday announced a strategic review of its 79.36% interest in New Zealand’s Aluminium Smelter (NZAS) at Tiwai Point. The review will determine the operation’s ongoing viability and competitive position, given the challenging short- and medium-term outlook for the aluminium industry on the back of the current market conditions and high energy costs.

Aluminium producer Norsk Hydro reported a smaller- than-expected decline in third-quarter earnings on Wednesday, as a ramp-up in its previously shut Brazilian operation and lower input costs partly compensated for lower metals prices. Underlying third-quarter earnings before interest and tax fell to 1.37-billion Norwegian crowns from 2.68-billion crowns a year earlier, beating the average forecast of 969-million crowns collected by the company from 14 analysts.

Gold can be at the forefront of supporting the global decarbonisation transition, as this yellow commodity is expected to be more resilient to global economic changes as a result of climate change, World Gold Council (WGC) CFO Terry Heymann told Mining Weekly Online. This is because gold itself has an emissions profile that is consistent with leading mainstream investment assets and should be “an interesting investor option” for investors to remain interested in how emissions can be minimised within their portfolios, he elaborated.