Новости за 08.11.2019

The diamond pipeline appears to be heading towards a balance again, as the world’s major producers had reduced supply by a quarter since the beginning of the year, the CFO of Russian miner Alrosa said on Friday. Commenting on the company’s third-quarter and nine-month results, Alexey Philippovskiy said that the oversupply of polished diamonds and the “challenging situation” in India’s financial sector had had a significant impact on the diamond market.

Diversified miner Exxaro Resources on Friday launched its Khetha Ukuphepha safety campaign across all its business units and operations, as part of its journey towards zero harm. The campaign is aimed at improving the company’s lost time injury frequency rate (LTIFR) back to the target of 0.11 and to establish a firm foundation and culture of further improvements beyond this target to achieve zero harm.

Dangote Industries will invest in a $2-billion phosphate project in Togo, positioning itself to become a main supplier of fertiliser in West Africa. The company controlled by Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote will mine an estimated two-billion tons of phosphate in nearby Togo for processing as much as one-million tons of fertilizer a year at a new complex in Lagos, according to a joint statement by the company and the Togolese presidency.

ICBC Standard Bank, a venture between the biggest lenders in China and Africa, will close its base metals and equities businesses because of poor performance and difficult market conditions. The changes will affect 150 jobs and will take place in the first half of 2020, according to a statement from the London-based lender. The bank will keep other businesses, including precious metals and energy, and the decision is subject to shareholder approval.

Dual-listed Aura Energy is seeking compensation from Sweden for the financial losses that it incurred as a result of the country’s uranium ban that came into effect in August last year. Aura provided Sweden a written notification under Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), which is a multilateral legal framework promoting cross-border cooperation in the energy sector, comprising of 54 signatories and presupposes that signatories respect fundamental legal principles.

Those involved in the build-up to the Kimberley Process (KP) plenary meeting to be held in New Delhi, India, later this month, are experiencing “whirlwind days”, the World Diamond Council (WDC) said in a blog post this week. The KP plenary meeting will open on November 18 and conclude on November 22.

TSX-listed Argonaut Gold produced 44 712 gold-equivalent ounces (GEOs) in the third quarter, which is a 31% improvement on the prior-year period’s 34 165 GEOs, but the company said on Thursday that it was tracking towards the lower-end of its 2019 production guidance. The guidance for the year is to produce between 200 000 and 215 000 GEOs. Argonaut said it would produce between 190 000 and 200 000 GEOs during 2019.

JSE- and TSX-listed Eastern Platinum’s (Eastplats’) operating loss narrowed to $800 000 in the third quarter, compared with a loss of $2.4-million in the third quarter of 2018. As a result of positive working capital of $8.4-million as at September 30, the net loss to shareholders decreased to $4.3-million, or $0.03 a share, for the nine months ended September 30, compared with a net loss of $8.4-million, or $0.07 apiece, for the nine months ended September 30, 2018.

Exploration company Solaris Copper, which was spun out of Equinox Gold last year, has assembled a new executive team with the appointment of a new CEO, CFO and VP for corporate affairs, as it expands its exploration activities and prepares for a public listing. Solaris, which is focusing on the Warintza project in Ecuador, as well as other projects in Mexico, Chile and Peru, appointed Daniel Earle its new president and CEO, as well as director.

TSX-listed Ivanhoe Mines and joint venture (JV) partner Zijin Mining have made good progress with developing the Kamoa-Kakula copper mine, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with initial production on track for the third quarter of 2021. An independent preliminary economic assessment, issued in February, indicated that Kamoa-Kakula has a potential production rate of at least 18-million tonnes a year.

Production at JSE-listed Gold Fields’ South Deep gold mine, in South Africa, increased again in the third quarter to 61 000 oz, up 23% year-on-year and 6% quarter-on-quarter. CEO Nick Holland on Friday said the mine was likely to exceed its production guidance for the full-year by between 5% and 10%.

Investment fund Zeta Resources on Friday said it did not intend to accept nickel miner Independence Group's hostile A$312-million ($214.6-million) takeover bid for Panoramic Resources. Zeta Resources is managed by Bermuda-based hedge fund ICM, which holds a 34.7% majority stake in Panoramic.

Gold headed for the biggest weekly loss in three years as progress in US-China trade talks hammered demand for havens and sent miners’ shares tumbling. The metal dropped 3.7% this week, the most since November 2016, as China and the US indicated they are heading toward an interim deal to halt the trade war. Some signs of stabilization in the global economy have also dented gold’s allure, and JPMorgan Chase & Co and Citigroup closed out their bets on the traditional haven.

The share price of Vancouver-headquartered Skeena Resources advanced 14% on Thursday, after the company outlined the potential of its Eskay Creek gold/silver project in a preliminary economic assessment (PEA). Located in the Golden Triangle of British Columbia, Eskay Creek is a past-producing mine that operated as an underground until 2008. The PEA outlines a plan for the mine to reopen as an openpit site, producing an average of 306 000 gold-equivalent ounces (GEO) a year, with a diluted mill feed... Читать дальше...

Commodity pricing volatility and global demand variability are two profitability pressures mining companies, especially Africa-based mining companies, have to deal with. This creates a need for smarter and more efficient operations, which can be engineered through the application of leading-edge digital technology, says components and service supplier Wabtec.

International commodities consultancy Core Consultants states that African mining jurisdictions can create investor awareness through initiatives that have been successfully carried out in Canada.

Climate change and population growth have significant potential to be destabilising factors in Africa and can affect water sources, agricultural land and subsistence farming adversely, resulting in population displacement.

Australian software developer Blockhead Technologies has partnered with South African mining technology provider Dwyka Mining Services to distribute the full suite of Blockhead software solutions to the resources sector across sub-Saharan Africa. The distribution agreement, announced last month at the Dwyka Technology Showcase, in Sandton, aims to broaden mining organisations’ ability to leverage blockchain technology, thereby enabling better trust and analysis of the significant amount of data they currently manage.

Angola should produce 14-million carats of diamonds between now and 2022. This was reported by Empresa Nacional de Prospecção, Exploração, Lapidação e Comercialização de Diamantes de Angola (the National Company for the Prospecting, Mining, Polishing and Commercialisation of Diamonds of Angola – better known as Endiama) President Ganga Júnior. He was speaking on the sidelines of the recent Russia-Africa Economic Forum in Sochi, Russia.

Roof bolts, in helping to create a stable rock structure, are the first line of defence to protect mineworkers from fall-of-ground-related hazards, which highlights the importance of correct roof bolt placement in underground mining, South African mining safety and monitoring solutions provider Monitech states.

Engineering solutions provider Babcock’s transparency, combined with its range of leading construction equipment and its successful collaborations with customers, struck a chord with Lomeza Mining Services, who required reliable construction equipment to fulfil its obligations for a long-term contract to load and haul overburden in Delmas. Lomeza Mining Services MD Simon Mkhonza says he initially approached Babcock three years ago seeking reliable construction equipment for diversified miner Exxaro’s Leeuwpan coal mine. Читать дальше...

The success of Africa’s mining sector is determined by a combination of the quantity and quality of resources, commodity prices, and the domestic policy and regulatory environment’s ability to attract and retain investment.