Новости за 11.10.2018

LSE-listed Pembridge said on Thursday that it would renegotiate the acquisition terms for the Minto openpit mine and that Capstone Mining would implement a phased care-and-maintenance programme at the Canada-based mine until the acquisition can be closed. Pembridge stated that market conditions had made it increasingly difficult to close the equity financing element of the Minto acquisition on terms that would be favourable to all concerned parties.

Mexico-focused miner Endeavour Silver warned on Thursday that it would fall short of its 2018 production guidance and that its costs would also be affected, citing delayed commercial production at its El Compas mine, lower grades at Bolañitos and lower mine output at Guanaceví. In the third quarter, TSX- and NYSE-listed Endeavour produced 1.43-million ounces of silver and 12 968 oz of gold, resulting in silver equivalent production of 2.4-million ounces.

NYSE-, Aim- and TSX-listed Caledonia Mining produced 13 978 oz gold from its Blanket mine, in Zimbabwe, during the quarter ended September 30. This is 10% above the output achieved in the second quarter but 3% below that of the third quarter of 2017.

Aim- and TSX-V-listed Altus Strategies has signed a letter of intent with ASX-listed Canyon Resources to terminate its existing bauxite joint venture agreement with Canyon and to transfer 100% of Altus’ interest in the Birsok and Mandoum licences to Canyon. In return, Altus will receive up to 30-million new shares in Canyon and a royalty of $1.50/t on ore mined and sold from the Birsok project.

Romania has granted Aim-listed miner Vast Resources a licence to operate the Baita Plai mine, paving the way for the company to reopen the polymetallic mine that was placed on care-and-maintenance in 2013. Vast, which this week announced that The National Agency for Mineral Resources had approved its licence, would implement a development strategy aimed at resuming production at Baita Plai in “as short timeframe as practicable”, CEO Andrew Prelea stated.

Equities are plummeting, President Donald Trump says the Federal Reserve’s gone ‘loco’ and the trade war’s heating up, yet traditional havens in times of trouble such as gold are not getting any love. The biggest selloff in equities since February rolled through Asia and into Europe on Thursday, triggering steep losses in benchmark share indexes, but gold has barely stirred, while other havens from US Treasuries to the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc showed only limited fluctuations.

Latin America-focused Leagold on Wednesday announced a two-month shutdown of its RDM mine, in Brazil, citing continued regional drought conditions. In 2017, the RDM mine was closed on August 11 and restarted, on an intermittent basis, in early November with the onset of the region's rainy season.

Chile has called for lithium to be traded on the London Metals Exchange to provide greater "clarity" about its value, Mining Minister Baldo Prokurica said on Wednesday. At present, lithium producers negotiate contracts with buyers but the terms of the deals are not made public. Critics say this lack of clarity has a chilling effect on potential new investment in the market since the metal's value cannot be precisely measured.

The controlling shareholder in Chilean lithium producer SQM on Wednesday filed suit with Chile's Constitutional Court to block a deal allowing the sale of nearly one-fourth of the miner to China's Tianqi Lithium. The lawsuit alleges that Chile's antitrust court last week failed to follow due process when it approved a settlement between Tianqi and Chilean regulators allowing the Chinese miner to purchase a coveted 24 percent stake in the world's No. 2 producer of lithium. The court said the agreement... Читать дальше...

Chile's Supreme Court upheld an environmental order for a gold mine owned by Canada's Kinross Gold Corp to close its water pumping wells, the environmental regulator said on Wednesday, bringing the curtain down on a long-running dispute that sparked the Toronto-based miner's retreat from Chile. The environmental watchdog, known locally as the SMA, initially ordered that the wells serving the Maricunga mine be shut down in 2016. The ruling was challenged by Kinross in Chile's environmental tribunal and then in the country's highest court.

The court-ordered ILO 169 consultation process with the Xinka communities over the Escobal mine is set to begin, precious metals miner Tahoe Resources reported on Wednesday, adding that Stage 1 of the consultation process could be concluded in one month. On Tuesday, the Guatemala Constitutional Court provided some clarifications on its September 3 order, which maintained a suspension of operations at the silver mine to allow for a consultation process.

ASX-listed Oz Minerals has earned a 51% interest in the West Musgrave nickel/copper project, in Western Australia, after spending A$22-million on the project area. Oz and its joint venture (JV) partner Cassini Resources are now conducting a prefeasibility study, with OZ CEO Andrew Cole saying early results have been encouraging.

NYSE- and TSX-listed Barrick Gold has maintained its 2018 production guidance at 4.5-million to 5-million ounces and its copper guidance at 345-million to 410-million pounds, after reporting preliminary third-quarter production results. The miner, which recently agreed to buy London-listed Randgold Resources for about $5.4-billion, increased its gold production by 8% quarter-on-quarter to 1.15-million ounces and its copper output by 28% quarter-on-quarter to 106-million pounds of copper.