Новости за 17.01.2022

Aim-listed BlueRock Diamonds achieved higher production, considerable grade increases and a 41% increase in carats sold for 2021, executive chairperson Mike Houston says. The company owns and operates the Kareevlei diamond mine, in the Kimberley region of South Africa.

De Beers pushed through one of its most aggressive diamond price increases in recent years as the world’s biggest producer of the stones cashes in on a buying frenzy for uncut gems. De Beers raised prices by about 8% at its first sale of the year, according to people familiar with the situation who asked not to be identified because the information is private. The biggest increases were for smaller, cheaper stones.

Swedish mining and smelting group Boliden expects to resume nickel production at its Harjavalta smelter in the near future, it said on Monday. The company said three weeks ago that nickel output at the smelter in Finland had been stopped due to a slag explosion, adding the plant was expected to be off line until mid-January.

Gold was steady as investors weighed the outlook for tighter monetary policy and the threat of the omicron virus variant to the global economic recovery. Billionaire investor Bill Ackman said the Federal Reserve is losing its battle against inflation and should raise its key interest rate by a bigger-than-expected 50 basis points in March to “restore its credibility.” Facing pressure from Congress and the public to tackle the hottest inflation since the 1980s, a chorus of officials this month floated... Читать дальше...

Russia's Nornickel, the world's largest producer of refined nickel, said on Monday that the state export tax, which Moscow had imposed between August and December of 2021, did not affect the amount of its nickel exports. Russian exporters of nickel, steel, aluminium and copper paid extra export taxes in the last five months of 2021. The government imposed them to protect its defence and construction industries from further inflation in raw materials costs. "The company did not change the shipment... Читать дальше...

London-listed explorer Kavango Resources has recommenced with drilling of the KSZDD002 hole at its Kalahrai Suture Zone project in Botswana, following a pause over the December holidays whereby the hole was sealed off at 350 m. On January 14, Mindea Exploration and Drilling mobilised the rig and drill team back to the site, successfully removing the hole casing that was left in the hole prior to Christmas to keep KSZDD002 open.

Brazilian miner Vale said on Monday it has partially resumed operations in the state of Minas Gerais after being forced to halt some mines a week ago due to heavy rains that increased the risk of accidents and caused logistics disruptions. According to a securities filing, the stoppages caused an impact of about 1.5-million tonnes in Vale's iron-ore production. Still, the company reaffirmed its iron ore production guidance for 2022 at 320-million to 335-million tonnes.

China's coal output hit record highs in December and in the full year of 2021, as the government continued to encourage miners to ramp up production to ensure sufficient energy supplies in the winter heating season. China, the world's biggest coal miner and consumer, produced 384.67-million tonnes of the fossil fuel last month, up 7.2% year-on-year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Monday. This compared with a previous record of 370.84-million tonnes set in November. For the full year of 2021... Читать дальше...

London- and Toronto-listed Endeavour Mining has reported its strongest year for exploration yet, adding three-million measured and indicated ounces to its flagship mines in West Africa – Ity, Houndé and Sabodala-Massawa. The company says it is now well positioned to achieve its five-year discovery target of between 15-million to 20-million ounces of indicated resources, at a discovery cost of less than $25/oz, between 2021 and 2025.

Metso Outotec will take the next structural development steps in its business portfolio, following the completed integration of its Minerals business and the successful turnaround of its Metals business. Metso is a process technology, equipment and services company serving the minerals, metals and aggregates industries.

Aim- and TSX-V-listed Altus Strategies has appointed Michael Starke corporate development VP, with immediate effect.   With over 14 years’ experience in corporate finance in the natural resources industry, he was previously LSE- and TSX-listed copper and gold explorer SolGold corporate finance manager.

Copper miner Taseko Mines has reported lower copper production and sales for 2021, as the company suffered major weather-related disruptions in the final quarter of the year. The TSX- and NYSE American-listed miner produced 112-million pounds of copper and sold 105-million pounds from the Gibraltar mine, in British Columbia, during the year. This was lower than the 123-million pounds of copper that the mine produced in 2020 and also below its guidance for the year. Fourth-quarter copper production was 29-million pounds.

Two people have died and two others were injured in a collapse at French nuclear group Orano's Cominak uranium mine in Niger, Cominak said in a statement on Sunday. The cause of Saturday's collapse was not clear but it occurred during "dismantling" of the mine, which officially stopped producing in 2021 after nearly 50 years because of depleted reserves, the company said.

ASX-listed American Pacific Borates (ABR) was on track to complete its listing on the NASDAQ by February. The company on Monday announced that it had received comments from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), requesting additional administrative clarification.

A Chilean court on Friday ordered the suspension of a lithium contracts auction that took place earlier this week, part of a plan by the South American country to boost production of the coveted mineral used in car batteries. An appeals court ordered the suspension, which was requested by the regional governor of the Atacama region and local indigenous communities. Much of Chile's lithium is located in brines under the arid Atacama desert that stretches along Chile's coast.

Prosecutors for the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais appealed to the country's Supreme Court (STF) on Friday over a ruling that transferred to the federal judiciary a criminal case surrounding the deadly collapse of a tailings dam in 2019 that killed 270 people. In January 2020, state prosecutors charged Fabio Schvartsman, the former chief executive of mining company Vale, and 15 other people with homicide for the dam disaster at a mine near the town of Brumadinho. But later that year a court ruled... Читать дальше...

The federal Department of Water, Agriculture and Environment (DAWE) has issued ASX-listed BCI Minerals with the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act approval for its Mardie salt and potash project, in Western Australia. BCI told shareholders on Monday that this was a key approval which complemented the Western Australian environmental approval, granted in November of last year.

Diversified miner South32 on Monday has tapped the Taylor deposit, at its Hermosa project in Arizona, as its first ‘next generation mine’. A prefeasibility study (PFS) into the polymetallic metals project has estimated an annual average production of 111 000 t of zinc, some 138 000 t of lead and 7.3-million ounces of silver, with the current resource life supporting a mine life of some 22 years and a nameplate capacity of 4.3-million tonnes.

Major BHP will purchase four battery-electric locomotives and conduct trials at its Western Australia iron-ore rail network, as part of the company’s ongoing efforts to reduce its operational emissions. The four locomotives are scheduled for delivery in late 2023, with two to be supplied by BHP’s current provider Progress Rail, a Caterpillar company, and two from Wabtec.