Новости за 11.08.2022

Antofagasta posted a fall in half-year profit on Thursday, as higher costs, lower grades and a persistent drought in Chile hit the miner's copper production. It said it would slash its interim dividend to 9.2 cents per share from a record 23.6 cents last year, joining fellow miners including Rio Tinto and Anglo American in lowering payouts after last year's bonanza.

London-listed miner Antofagasta has increased the capital cost for a new concentrator plant at its Centinela mine, in Chile, to $3.7-billion. This is a $1-billion increase on the 2015 prefeasibility study estimate of $2.7-billion and includes a new water system and design changes. The company will decide by early 2023 if it is going to proceed with the expansion, which will increase production by an average of 170 000 t/y of copper-equivalent and move Centinela into the first cost quartile.

Copper prices hit a six-week high on Thursday as bets the US Federal Reserve will ease the pace of interest rate rises pushed up riskier assets and weakened the dollar, making dollar-priced metals cheaper for buyers with other currencies. US data on Wednesday suggested inflation may be peaking, reducing the need for rate increases that would stifle economic activity and metals demand.

Copper production in Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa's top miner of the metal, surged by 51% in the first quarter of 2022, and cobalt output rose by 37%, central bank statistics showed on Thursday. The central African country produced 572,983 tonnes of copper and 28,990 tonnes of cobalt in the first three months of the year, the statistics showed.

Mining production decreased by 8% year-on-year in June, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) reports. The largest negative contributors were gold (-28.6% and contributing -4.7 percentage points); platinum group metals (PGMs) (-9.8% and contributing -2.4 percentage points); and coal (-6% and contributing -1.6 percentage points).

China’s coal industry has come roaring back since last year’s supply crunch saw Beijing prioritise energy security, but a recent spate of accidents is now ringing alarm bells. Production of the fossil fuel in Asia’s largest economy is up markedly this year, but that’s come at a horrible cost. Some 129 coal miners have died in accidents in the first seven months of 2022, according to figures from the National Mine Safety Administration.

Canada-based miner Lucara has started sinking the main shaft at its Karowe diamond mine expansion project, in Botswana, although it says that the transition from pre-sinking has taken longer than planned. The TSX- and LSE-listed miner says that it has identified opportunities to decrease the main sink cycle times, which should limit the impact to the project’s schedule.

The Australian resources sector, including its coal and gas sectors, had a significant role to play in the nation’s decarbonising efforts, federal Resources Minister Madeleine King said. Speaking at the Queensland Resources Media Club, in Brisbane, King said that traditional resources would help underpin Australia’s transition to a net zero economy.

Aim-listed iron, vanadium and titanium project developer Ironveld and its team of specialist contractors has started work at the mothballed Ferrochrome Furnaces (FCF) smelter site, in Rustenburg, in South Africa’s North West province. This follows the successful completion of a £4.5-million fundraise to acquire the remaining stake in the FCF business that Ironveld does not already own, as well as to refurbish the FCF smelting complex.

Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King has urged the resources industry to do more to encourage female employment in the sector, hosting a roundtable on jobs and skills in the sector. King heard from industry about what they are doing to invest in, develop and attract skilled workers so the industry can sustain its crucial role supporting the Australian economy, and used the roundtable in Brisbane to outline some of the workforce challenges facing the sector, and to hear how the government can support the industry to tackle the issues.

The head of Colombia's leading business association said on Wednesday that new leftist President Gustavo Petro must be careful to ensure potential tax and labor reforms do not have an undesired impact on the economy. The Petro administration, which took office on Sunday, has proposed a tax reform bill to Congress that would raise some 25-trillion pesos ($5.8-billion) in 2023 in an effort to increase revenue for anti-poverty programs.

Copper miner Austral Resources will raise A$17-million to fund exploration and to repay debt. The company on Thursday announced that it had received firm commitments for the placement of some 45.9-million shares, at a price of 37c each.

The shift from linear to circular value chains has the potential to impact all aspects of mining and requires a rethink, Anglo American Platinum sustainable impact head Stephen Bullock has told a Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM) webinar. In a presentation on the circular economy – which favours activities that preserve value in the form of energy, labour, and materials ­– Bullock said mining needed to rethink more efficient operations by addressing the value loss through... Читать дальше...

A definitive feasibility study (DFS) into the restart into the Kayelekera uranium project, in Malawi, has confirmed that the project would rank as one of the lowest capital cost uranium projects globally. ASX-listed Lotus Resources on Thursday reported that the project would require a capital investment of $88-million with cash costs estimated at $29.1/lb and an all-in sustaining cost of $36.2/lb during the first seven years of production of a ten-year mine life.

ASX-listed Australian Pacific Coal and its major shareholder and creditor Trepang Services have extended the transaction date for the Datrbrook coal project until August 23. Australian Pacific Coal in April unveiled an offer from Trepang to purchase the Dartbrook coal project, in New South Wales, which would result in Australian Pacific Coal’s consolidated liabilities reducing by some A$65-million, and the company receiving royalties from the net profits of the Dartbrook project of between A$2.50/t and A$5/t... Читать дальше...

Diversified miner BHP has announced a partnership to undertake a technical assessment of wind-assisted propulsion to lower its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The miner has partnered with Pan Pacific Copper (PPC), a member of JX Nippon Mining & Metals group, and auxiliary wind propulsion systems provider Norsepower, to reduce GHG emissions from maritime transportation between BHP’s mines in Chile and PPC’s smelters in Japan.