Новости за 10.02.2020

Synthetic diamond producer Element Six, part of De Beers Group, has welcomed the successful conclusion of its patent infringement lawsuit against a Singaporean diamond producer. The High Court of Singapore found that the Singaporean diamond producer had infringed an Element Six patent for proprietary synthetic diamond products and their methods of manufacture.

Platinum group metals (PGMs) mining company Anglo American Platinum is convinced that PGMs are poised to play increasingly significant roles in a greener, cleaner world, against the background of the favourable new opportunities presented by societal megatrends. Anglo American Platinum CEO Chris Griffith, who presented a major address at last week’s Investing in African Mining Indaba in Cape Town, says PGMs are earmarked to unlock the versatility of green hydrogen in both stationary power generation and transport... Читать дальше...

Global diversified miner Glencore has entered into a five-year cobalt hydroxide supply agreement with rechargeable battery manufacturer Samsung SDI. Glencore will supply up to 21 000 t of cobalt contained in cobalt hydroxide between 2020 and 2024.

Engineering design and project management enterprise Gibb Mining has been awarded the tender to complete a feasibility study for JSE-listed Sasol Mining’s Alexander project. The project seeks to deploy production sections within the Alexander coal blocks, in Mpumalanga, by 2025.

ASX- and JSE-listed coal producer Resource Generation (Resgen) has appointed Brian Harvey CFO, effective June 1. Harvey has more than 15 years’ experience in senior finance roles, having worked for multinational JSE-listed and foreign listed companies, including Weir Minerals Africa and Middle East, Royal Bafokeng Holdings and Anglo American.

Gold/copper explorer Georgian Mining has changed its name to Empire Metals to reflect its growth strategy of investing in and advancing projects in new jurisdictions alongside the development of its current, Bolnisi, in Georgia. Trading in the company's shares on London’s Aim will start under the new name Empire Metals with effect from 8.00 am on Tuesday 11.

Aim-listed Shanta Gold has entered into a definitive agreement to buy miner Barrick Gold’s Acacia Exploration subsidiary, which is based in Kenya. In exchange, Barrick will become Shanta’s fifth-largest shareholder, with a 6.4% interest.

Tim Gitzel, president and CEO of uranium major Cameco, believes optimism and confidence in the uranium market is growing, with demand going up, while supply is decreasing. “The fundamentals are really quite simple, demand is on an upswing and utilities have a growing wedge of uncovered requirements, precisely at the same time that supply is on a downswing, and today's prices are insufficient to reverse this trend.

TSX- and NYSE-listed Lithium Americas Corporation (LAC) has entered into definitive agreements with Ganfeng Lithium which will alter the ownership structure of its joint venture (JV) company Minera Exar. Minera Exar owns 100% of the Caucharí-Olaroz lithium project, which is currently being constructed in Argentina.

The ribbon has been cut at ASX-listed Big River Gold’s Borborema gold project, in Brazil. A definitive feasibility study has estimated that the project would produce some 729 000 oz of gold over a mine life of just over ten years, producing an average of 71 000 oz/y, and around 88 000 oz/y over the first four years of the mine life, and would require a capital investment of $88-million.

An employee of a contractor at the Kamoa-Kakula copper project, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), passed away last week, after a fat embolism syndrome caused severe brain damage, Canada’s Ivanhoe Mines has reported. The fat embolism syndrome is a rare complication of long bone fractures. The contract employee suffered a broken bone in a workplace accident on January 21. The accident involved a contractor-operated underground utility vehicle at the Kakula mine, the company explained.

Even before publicly vowing to unwind its investments in coal, BlackRock began cutting its stake in the biggest US miner. The world’s largest asset manager had about 4.87-million shares of Peabody Energy as of December 31, a 5% stake, according to a regulatory filing Friday. That’s down 14% from the end of January 2019, making it the miner’s sixth-largest holder, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. BlackRock announced last month that it would put climate change at the heart of its strategy... Читать дальше...

The Trump administration is seeking alternative uses for coal as it acknowledges its use in generating electricity is declining. The Energy Department is exploring if critical minerals or rare earth elements -- used in such technology as battery storage -- can be extracted from coal, or coal ash residue, Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette said Friday in a speech at the think tank Atlantic Council. Battery storage can help bring more renewables on line, he said. Other options include exporting it... Читать дальше...

BHP Group, the world’s top miner, is in talks with Chinese customers to delay shipments of copper concentrates as the nation extended plant shutdowns to combat the spread of the coronavirus, according to people familiar with the matter. Suppliers are considering giving buyers in China flexibility on deliveries to discourage them from declaring force majeure, offering them a way out of contractual obligations, said the people, asking not to be identified because the information isn’t public. In Chile... Читать дальше...

Gold climbed for a fourth straight day as investors weighed the unfolding coronavirus crisis, including a blunt warning from the head of the World Health Organization about the potential for more cases beyond China. Prices rose as the global death toll from the outbreak topped 900 and the WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus voiced concern over the spread from people with no travel history to China, saying “we may only be seeing the tip of the iceberg.” Beijing will spend at least $10-billion to fight the outbreak.

Japan's Mitsubishi Materials Corp (MMC) has bought a 30% stake in Mantoverde copper mine and an associated copper project from Mantos Copper for $236 million to secure more concentrates for its smelters, the company said on Friday. The mine, which has 2.1-million tonnes of copper reserves, is owned by a consortium led by British investment company Audley Capital Advisors and Orion Mine Finance Group, which control Mantos Copper. Mitsubishi, Japan's third-biggest copper smelter, will acquire the... Читать дальше...