Новости за 23.02.2022

Samarco Mineracao faces a possible creditor standoff at meetings starting on Wednesday to vote on debt restructuring proposals which would allow the Brazilian iron-ore miner to exit bankruptcy protection. Creditors of the iron-ore joint venture between Vale and BHP are expected to vote on the latest proposals to restructure some $5-billion in financial debt.

This week: DRDGold building initial 20 MW solar, 100 MW storage at Ergo gold operation; DRDGold has 41 programmes to take mine communities out of poverty; and, It’s records all round for Glencore in ‘terrific’ 2021

Base metals company Taseko Mines has delivered its best financial results yet, buoyed by strong metal prices which will continue to provide a tailwind for the Gibraltar mine, in British Columbia, Canada, over the coming year. The TSX- and NYSE American-listed miner, which also owns Florence Copper in the US, generated record revenue of C$433.28-million, an increase of about $90-million on the previous year’s revenue.

Possible US sanctions on Moscow over the Ukraine crisis may affect Russia's aluminium industry, Rio Tinto CEO Jakob Stausholm said on Wednesday. "It is a very difficult situation ... Specifically in our business, there could be disruptions primarily in the aluminium industry if we are going to see sanctions," Stausholm told reporters on a results call.

Chrome producer Merafe's share price on the JSE rose by more than 15% on February 23 after the company announced it would report higher earnings for the year ended December 31. In a trading statement, Merafe said it expected to report basic earnings a share of between 62.8c and 70.8c and headline earnings a share of between 66.8c and 67c.

Diversified giant Rio Tinto has reported record results for the 2021 financial year, with a 116% surge in aftertax profit. "Our people have continued to safely run our world-class assets and are working hard to improve our operational performance, despite challenging operating conditions from prolonged Covid-19 disruptions,”  CEO Jakob Stausholm said on Wednesday.

Precious metals miner Hochschild Mining posted a 41% jump in full-year core earnings on Wednesday, boosted by a rise in average silver prices and rebound in production after operational stoppages in 2020 due to the pandemic. London-listed Hochschild, which operates two mines in southern Peru and one in Argentina, said adjusted core profit rose to $382.8-million for the year ended December 31, from $270.9-million a year earlier.

Chinese authorities will prevent "excessive hoarding" of iron-ore and guide port firms to ensure that traders of the commodity bring inventories back to a reasonable level as soon as possible, the powerful state planner said on Wednesday. The decision follows a symposium called by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the market regulator, ports association and some port firms, according to an NDRC statement.

US President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced several investments in the domestic production of key critical minerals and materials, as the country moves to break its dependence on China and secure a ‘Made in America’ supply chain. In a White House statement, Biden announced that MP Materials had been awarded $35-million in public funding from the Department of Defense (DoD) to support the construction of a commercial-scale processing facility for heavy rare earth elements (HREEs) at its facility in Mountain Pass, California.

The New South Wales government on Wednesday announced a ban on offshore exploration and mining, under a new policy introduced by the state government. Deputy Premier and Minister responsible for Resources Paul Toole announced the New South Wales government would not support commercial applications for offshore mineral, coal, or petroleum exploration or mining, in or adjacent to, New South Wales coastal waters.

Zimbabwe has selected Kuvimba Mining House, a State-owned company, which has been shrouded in controversy, to revive one of the continent’s largest steel mills. The miner, which already has vast interests in gold and nickel, has been picked as the “investment partner” to breath new life into the Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company, which has been shut for 14 years. At its peak, the plant produced nearly 1 million tons of steel a year.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has published its final list of 50 mineral commodities critical to the US economy and national security, updating the 2018 list that contained fewer commodities. New additions to the list include nickel and zinc, while helium, potash, rhenium and strontium have been removed. The new list also splits the rare earth elements and platinum group elements into induvial entries, rather than including them as mineral groups.

Brazilian miner Vale said on Tuesday it has asked local regulatory bodies to extend the deadline for it to remove 23 upstream tailing dams located in the state of Minas Gerais as it faces a "technical inability" to meet the current deadline, which expires this month. Vale said in a statement it remains committed to the removal of all its upstream tailing dams, which were built using a method linked to past collapses. The miner said it expects to end 2022 with 40% of its upstream dams eliminated.

Teck Resources is exploring the sale of a minority stake in its metallurgical coal business as it seeks to take advantage of surging prices for the commodity, people familiar with the matter said. The Canadian miner has approached parties including smaller rival Arch Resources to gauge their interest in buying a stake of 10% or more in the business, the people said, asking not to be identified as the matter is private.

The Totten mine, in Sudbury, Canada, has resumed operations and is ramping up production, following six-month shutdown. In September last year, a scoop bucket became lodged in the main shaft, trapping 39 workers. At the time, all the underground workers were safely returned to surface using a second egress.