South African miner Exxaro is eyeing South32's local coal assets, which include an export quota, as it looks to increase its exports, Exxaro's CEO told Reuters on Wednesday. "We have expressed interest at this very early round in the South32 assets," Mxolisi Mgojo said on the sidelines of the Joburg Indaba mining conference.
Russia will maintain its dialogue with global oil producers in order to keep oil markets balanced, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday. He also said, at the Russian Energy Week forum in Moscow, that Russia will strengthen its position in Asian coal markets amid steadily rising global demand for coal.
The challenges facing the local mining industry this year are comparable to those facing the global mining industry, PwC Southern Africa CEO Dion Shango said on the first day of the Joburg Indaba, on Wednesday. He said said there is a strong correlation between the market capitalisation of companies and commodity prices, among the top 40 global mining companies.
Norwegian aluminium company Norsk Hydro on Wednesday announced that it would shut down its Alunorte alumina refinery and its Paragominas bauxite mine, in Brazil, owing to a dispute with authorities over water discharges from the refinery. The refinery – the world’s largest alumina producer – has been operating at 50% capacity since a March 1 embargo, after heavy rainfall in the previous month caused flooding, prompting questions over unauthorised spills of waste water.
An employee of a contractor working at the Empire State mine, in New York state, died on Tuesday afternoon, TSX-listed Titan Mining said and announced that all mining activities had been suspended. The company said it was working with authorities to determine the cause of the accident that caused the fatality.
Coal miner Peabody Energy on Wednesday reported that the initial steps to extinguish the fire at its North Goonyella mine, in Queensland, appeared to be delivering results, with either steam or white smoke emanating from only one mine shaft. The company at the start of this week started implementing a multi-tiered plan to extinguish and contain a fire at the North Goonyella mine, after personnel observed black smoke coming from the mine, and elevated gas levels were detected.
Junior Finders Resources has reported a wall failure within the Kali Kuning openpit operation at its Wetar copper project, in Indonesia. The company on Wednesday said that some 300 000 bank cubic meters of waste rock from the north-eastern highwall was displaced into the pit on October 1, prompting the miner to suspend operations for nearly 12 hours to allow for a geotechnical assessment.
Quebec diamond miner Stornoway has announced a series of financing transactions, totalling $129-million, with lenders and key stakeholders to provide greater financial and operational flexibility. The financing package is made up of a deferral of certain loan principal repayments for a 24-month period, representing debt service cost deferral of up to C$54-million; amendments to the Renard diamond streaming agreement comprising and a private placement.
Coal developer Paringa Resources has signed a new sales agreement with utility Ohio Valley Electric Corporation and its subsidiary Indiana-Kentucky Electric Corporation for 650 000 t of coal from the Poplar Grove mine, in Kentucky, from 2019 to 2020. The company told shareholders that the new sales contract complemented an existing sales contract for 4.75-million tonnes from 2018 to 2022 with fuel buyer LG&E and KU.
ASX-listed Sunstone Metals has enacted an earlier letter of intent to divest of its Viscaria copper project, in Sweden, in a transaction valued at A$47.3-million. Under the terms of a binding share sale and purchase agreement with Swedish listed Copperstone Resources, Sunstone will receive an initial 40-million kronor and 160-million Copperstone B shares on the completion of the transaction.
Junior firm Bunker Hill Mining confirmed on Tuesday that it was in default of its lease with option to purchase agreement with Placer Mining, after it missed payments totalling $400 000. The option is to acquire 100% of the Bunker Hill mine, which once was the largest producing mine in the Coeur D'Alene zinc, lead and silver mining district in northern Idaho.
Copper explorer Panoro Minerals has a new joint venture partner in Peru, with Japan Oil, gas and Metals National Corporation (Jogmec) entering an agreement to earn up to 60% indirect interest in the Humamantata property, in Peru. In terms of the option, Jogmec invest $8-million in the copper/gold property to earn its 60%. In the first three years of the agreement, the company could earn a 49% interest.
Peru’s ability to post eight consecutive months of investment growth is calming fears that political woes would derail mining activity in the world’s second-largest producer of copper, zinc and silver. Mining investment in Peru jumped 6.3% August compared with last year, to $395-million, according to the latest report by the- Energy and Mines Ministry. Investment in development and preparation, the first stages in building a mine, reached $63-million, the highest in more than four years.
MC Mining has an eye on acquisition and project access, Botswana manganese estimate fires up aspirant battery supplier and the Bokamoso Barona initiative is promising to show how mining and agriculture can go hand-in-hand. Mining Weekly editor Martin Creamer unpacks the headlines.
Zambia has asked mining companies to pay mineral royalties directly to the central bank in dollars as one of the measures to help stabilise its kwacha currency , its finance minister said on Tuesday. The kwacha gained more than 5% to close at 11.9500 per dollar on Tuesday after hitting 12.6750 on Monday, its weakest level this year.
Brazilian prosecutors in Minas Gerais state said on Tuesday they reached a final compensation deal with mining companies Samarco, Vale and BHP Billiton regarding a 2015 dam burst, Brazil's largest ever environmental disaster. According to a statement from prosecutors released late on Tuesday, the deal allows for compensation payments to start to relatives of the 19 people killed in the disaster, as well as to people who lost their houses and other properties.
