Новости за 07.05.2020

Rio Tinto shareholders in Australia voted on Thursday against forcing the miner to set targets for the emissions of its steel-making customers, but the issue is unlikely to go away as more than a third supported the motion. Investors have been pushing for corporate giants to cut back their emissions as part of a wider drive to combat global warming outlined in the Paris climate accord. Rio Tinto, which makes around 85% of its profits from sales of iron-ore, has come under increasing pressure given its huge exposure to the steel industry... Читать дальше...

AltX- and Aim-listed Jubilee Metals has successfully completed the commissioning of its cobalt production line to complement the copper refinery and sulphuric acid plant at the Kabwe Sable refinery, in Zambia. This while all of its platinum group metal and chrome operations in South Africa have resumed operations following the national lockdown.

TSX-listed exploration and development company African Gold Group reports its definitive feasibility study (DFS) on an expanded throughput scenario on process plant at the Kobada gold project in southern Mali, has been completed, suggesting the process plant could be ramped up to exceed the DFS target of 100 000 oz/y. Mineral processing project management and engineering firm SENET conducted the definitive feasibility study for the plant, which is a three-million ton a month run-of-mine feed combined... Читать дальше...

Poland plans to test 1 000 miners a day at drive-through sites to check whether they have been infected with the coronavirus as data show a rapid growth in new cases in the coal region. Poland has reported 14 898 infections, including 737 deaths. Earlier this week the Silesia mining region in southern Poland showed the highest number of infections at 3 025.

Three years ago, companies selling frack sand to oil producers were booming, opening multi-million dollar mines, buying rivals and selling shares in what was the hottest niche in oilfield services. But the shale bust in early March has turned the frack sand mining business into the new coal. As US oil prices plunged, sand suppliers have shut mines, dismissed workers and slashed operations as customers stop drilling and fracking new shale oil wells. "You can drive by plants and see which ones have... Читать дальше...

ArcelorMittal withdrew its closely watched global steel guidance because of the coronavirus pandemic, but sounded a relatively upbeat tone as lockdown restrictions start to ease. While ArcelorMittal likened the suddenness of the virus impact to the global financial crisis, it looked forward to economies reopening. A recovery in Chinese demand, coupled with easing lockdowns in some parts of Europe and the US, including restarts at auto plants is “a good start,” CFO Aditya Mittal said.

Copper miner Atalaya Mining says the regional authorities of the Junta de Andalucía have validated the environmental permits for Proyecto Riotinto, ending a legal process that started a year-and-a-half ago. In September 2018, the Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Andalucía ruled in favour of an environmental group against the government of Andalucía (JdA). Atalaya was a co-defendant in the case, which stems from a 2014 legal claim from Ecologistas en Accion (EeA) seeking that the JdA overturn the... Читать дальше...

Mining Weekly editor Martin Creamer unpacks repairs on Amplats' Anglo Convertor Plant Phase B Unit, Harmony Gold's healthy Operating free cash flow and the knock-on effects of Covid-19 at the Dwarsrivier chrome mine.

For more than two decades, Zimbabwe has been trying to break ground on a giant coal-power complex by the world’s biggest man-made reservoir. China just agreed to get the $4.2-billion project underway. The development near the southern shore of Lake Kariba is good news for Zimbabwe, where a collapsing economy and erratic policies have deterred foreign investment for the past 20 years. But it flies in the face of a growing global consensus that has seen financial institutions from Japan to the US and Europe shun investments in coal projects. Читать дальше...

Diversified miner Glencore has announced that its annual general meeting (AGM) will be held on June 2. However, owing to Covid-19 restrictions, it will be a closed meeting and shareholders will not be able to physically attend.

Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter told lawmakers on May 6 that “good progress” had been made on the “divisionalisation”, under Eskom Holdings, of the utility’s generation, transmission and distribution businesses, with separate boards and MDs having been appointed for each unit. He also indicated, however, that full legal separation of the businesses is only expected during 2023 as part of “phase 2” of the roadmap to legal unbundling.

Anglo American plans to exit its South African thermal coal business within the next three years by spinning off the unit as the miner accelerates its retreat from the dirtiest fuel. Anglo has been increasingly vocal on its plans to stop mining thermal coal in the past year, but has so far given few details. Today’s comments, in a written response to shareholder questions, provide a clear route to the exit.

Surface gold mining company DRDGold on Thursday reported an 18% quarter-on-quarter increase in adjusted earnings to R389.3-million for the three months to March 31. The increase reflects a 13% increase in the average rand gold price received to R785 581/kg, the Johannesburg- and New York-listed company headed by CEO Niël Pretorius stated.

Eskom's income has shrunk by about R2.5 billion in April as energy demand plummeted due to the country's national lockdown in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the power utility's CEO Andre de Ruyter said on Wednesday. "We have seen a reduction in cash-generation for April of some R2.5 billion. The full financial impact will still need to be assessed," De Ruyter told a virtual meeting of Parliament's portfolio committee on public enterprises.

Mining major Barrick Gold is building its future around its existing big operations. But the five-million-ounce-a-year Canadian miner, which is already on the ground in all the world's major gold destinations other than Russia and East Europe, is also looking to new horizons.

Diversified major BHP has appointed Dion Weisler and Xiaoqun Clever to its board as independent non-executive directors. Weisler’s appointment will be effective from June 1, while Clever’s will become effective from October 1.

A full bench has heard the application for a judicial review of certain aspects of the Mining Charter gazetted in September 2018. Judge President Mlambo, judges Vally and  Van Der Schyff reserved judgment on the application lodged by the Minerals Council South Africa on March 27, 2019, when the 180-day time limit came into effect for reviews under the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act.

Mining major Anglo American on Thursday said that the cause of the explosion which rocked its Grosvenor mine, in Queensland, on Wednesday, and injured five, has not yet been established. “Our focus right now is on supporting our injured colleagues and their families, and our team is doing everything they can to provide support,” said Anglo American’s CEO of its metallurgical coal business, Tyler Mitchelson.

Albemarle, the world's largest producer of lithium for electric vehicle batteries, cut its 2020 budget and pulled its annual forecast on Wednesday as sales drop amid the global spread of the coronavirus. The steps reflect the first concrete signs that the lithium industry is beginning to feel the pain of sliding automobile sales and the economic malaise caused by the coronavirus, which causes the Covid-19 respiratory disease.