Новости за 23.08.2022

Copper prices rose on Tuesday, helped by low inventories, signs of improving demand in China and fears that sky-high energy prices could force smelters to cut output. Investors remained cautious, however, with a global economic slowdown threatening to curtail demand.

Swedish miner Boliden has declared force majeure on zinc deliveries to Europe due to a strike among Norwegian electrochemical industry workers, although some production is still running, a company spokesperson said on Tuesday. The strike, which started on Monday, is targeting several electrochemical plants, including Boliden's zinc smelter in Odda and Glencore's nickel refinery in Kristiansand as well as aluminium output at Norsk Hydro and Alcoa.

Portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) assay results for the first two batches of soil samples over targets within four Zambian exploration licences has yielded "significant copper anomalies", according to mining company First Quantum and exploration and resource development company African Pioneer. First Quantum and African Pioneer previously entered into an option agreement and subsequent exploration programme to develop the targets.

Prices of most base metals moved higher on Tuesday, as supply-and-demand worries amid an energy crisis in Europe and China lent some support to the market against the backdrop of reduced stockpiles. The most-traded September zinc contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SZNc1 was up 2% at 25 425 yuan ($3 711.73) a tonne, as of 02:13 GMT.

The Horne Smelter, a Glencore company, has announced a $500-million investment to improve its air quality over the next five years, reducing its arsenic emissions to 15 ng/m3. “The investments we plan will make the Horne Smelter one of the world's lowest-emitting copper smelters,” says COO of Glencore’s North American copper assets, Claude Belanger.

Electric-vehicle (EV) makers are choosing steel over aluminum as the preferred metal for automotive bodies, says the top executive at the largest steel provider to the US car industry. Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves said EV companies are going “all-in” on steel as they build out plans for the transition away from combustion-engine vehicles. The comment is significant given Cliffs’ visibility in the auto market, where the company supplies steel to automotive giants such as General Motors... Читать дальше...

Clean energy provider Sosimple Energy is protecting businesses in South Africa against rising electricity prices, helping them to save money through its solar installation offerings. The offering, which requires no investment and no costs for maintenance or insurance, provides businesses with an opportunity to save more than 20% on their electricity costs.

JSE-listed Aveng says improved revenues, gross margins and operating earnings, combined with strong cash generation, were underpinned by a stronger capital base in the financial year ended June 30. The construction and engineering group has completed its recovery and turnaround to profitability and management believes it is now in a position to focus on long-term growth prospects.

US-based United Energy Corp (UEC) has emerged as the biggest diversified North America-focused uranium company following the successful acquisition of Canadian junior UEX. UEX shareholders last week approved the transaction with UEC, and the Supreme Court of British Columbia followed suit. Pursuant to the terms of the arrangement, UEX shareholders received 0.090 common shares of UEC for each UEX common share held.

Twin Metals, a subsidiary of Chilean multinational Antofagasta, on Monday sued the US government to reclaim federal mineral leases that were cancelled by the Interior Department earlier this year. Twin Metals turned to the District Court in Washington, DC, to reverse a “series of arbitrary and capricious actions” by federal agencies, which it said was aimed to prevent the development of its mining project in northern Minnesota.

Sasol posted a 147% jump in full-year core profit on Tuesday boosted by higher fuel and chemicals prices, helping the South African chemicals and energy firm declare its first dividend since 2019. Headline earnings per share, which strips off some items such as the impact of non-recurring costs and the effect of hedging, rose to R68.54 for the year ended June 30, from R27.74 a year earlier.

Ferrochrome company Merafe Resources on Tuesday reported a profit of R925-million for the six months ended June 30 on higher realised ferrochrome prices and a weaker rand-dollar exchange rate. Ferrochrome prices have since declined and cost pressures from inflation, higher reductant costs, chrome ore costs and electricity tariffs continue to mount.

Zijin Mining is restarting normal production at its Colombia gold mine, a spokesperson said on Monday, after people from the surrounding community ended more than a week of road blockades. The blockades were set up near the mine in Buritica municipality, in Antioquia province, on August 12 as community members demanded a rescue mission to find informal miners allegedly trapped in a tunnel.

Coal miner New Hope has seen its underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) for the quarter ended July nearly double from the quarter ended April. Underlying Ebitda for the quarter ended July was reported at A$645-million, up from the A$358.6-million in the quarter ended April, as coal prices strengthened further, with final unaudited underlying Ebitda reported at A$1.56-billion, up from the A$913-million in the April quarter.

Diversified miner South32 on Tuesday announced that it would not pursue the near $700-million Dendrobium Next Domain (DND) project at its Illawarra metallurgical coal operations, in New South Wales. The miner told shareholders that while recently completed study work and analysis of alternatives had demonstrated the potential to meaningfully extend the life of the Dendrobium mine, the expected returns from investment were not sufficient to support an investment relative to alternatives considered for the complex.