Новости за 16.10.2018

Anglo American should restart operations at its Brazilian Minas Rio iron ore mine in November or December but a planned ramp-up to 26.5-million tonnes per year is likely to be pushed back to 2021 from 2020 as previously expected, the miner's Brazil chief said on Tuesday. The company halted production at its Minas Rio mine after two leaks in March in a pipeline that channels slurry more than 500 km from the mine in Minas Gerais state to a port in Rio de Janeiro state.

NYSE-listed Honeywell and Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop innovative technologies that will increase productivity at ERG’s operations in Kazakhstan, Brazil and several African countries. Under the terms of the MoU, Honeywell will initially implement its Symphonite statistical data reconciliation software to help ERG with its reporting process of production and inventory information.

The T3 mine feasibility study for Aim-listed strategic natural resource investor Metal Tiger’s joint venture project with ASX-listed MOD Resources in the Kalahari copperbelt, in Botswana, is “progressing well within budget”, and is due for completion in March 2019, Metal Tiger said on Tuesday. Additionally, metallurgical test work results further identified capital and operational cost savings versus those contained in the prefeasibility study.

The ground-based geophysics survey over a portion of Aim-listed exploration and development group URU Metals’ Zebediela nickel/sulphide project, in Limpopo, has been completed. The purpose of the programme was to assist with the accurate placement of further planned exploration drill holes and to help gain a better understanding of the geology of the area.

Aim-listed Arc Minerals on Tuesday reported additional reverse circulation and diamond drill assay results from the company’s 11 000 m drilling programme at the Kalaba prospect, which is part of its Zamsort copper/cobalt project, in Zambia. The results found that mineralisation continues to be intersected in all holes drilled to date, with good thickness. Four new holes, with elevated copper grades ranging between 0.50% and 1% have been discovered, and the disseminated cobalt mineralisation continues to be intersected in the mineralised zones.

The Polish government is working on amending tax laws, which could lead to tax deductions of up to 5% on certain minerals, it said on Tuesday. Poland currently taxes copper and silver exploration, but the only company paying the levy is KGHM, one of the world's biggest copper and silver producers.

Aim-listed African Battery Metals (ABM) has started geological work on its recently acquired 380 square kilometre Lizetta II nickel/cobalt/chrome exploration project, in Côte d’Ivoire. ABM commissioned a site visit by a technical team to prepare for a structured field exploration programme, the results of which will supplement the 2017 Watts Griffis McOuat independent consultancy results.

Canada-based Gran Colombia has marked the fourth consecutive quarter of gold production exceeding 50 000 oz and the first quarter of producing more than 50 000 oz at its Segovia mine alone, executive chairperson Serafino Iacono reported on Monday. The TSX-listed miner produced 57 163 oz of gold in the third quarter of 2018, a 54% improvement on the prior-year period, bringing year-to-date output to 162 741 oz.

Diamond miner De Beers Group on Tuesday announced that it had sold $475-million worth of rough diamonds during the eighth sales cycle of this year. This is lower than the $503-million worth of diamonds sold in the seventh cycle of the year, but higher than the $376-million worth of diamonds sold in the eighth cycle of 2017.

The $5.3-billion underground project at the Oyu Tolgoi copper/gold mine, in Mongolia, remains on schedule to be completed by 2022, but operator Rio Tinto has flagged a nine-month delay in achieving sustainable production. Rio Tinto-owned Turquoise Hill, which holds the giant mine in a 66:34 partnership with the Mongolia government, reported on Tuesday that sustainable production would be achieved in the third quarter of 2021, rather than the previously guided start of 2021.

Mexico-focused First Majestic has reported a record of 6.7-million ounces of silver equivalent production in the three months ended September, on the back of a full quarter of output from the San Dimas mine, along with higher silver and gold grades at five of the company’s six mines. Total production was 31% higher than the prior quarter and consisted of 3.5-million ounces of silver, 35 260 oz of gold, 4.4-million pounds of lead and 1.2-million pounds of zinc.

Coal miner Whitehaven Coal has reported a 37% drop in production during the September quarter, compared with the previous corresponding period, reflecting a longwall change-out at the Narrabri operation. Managed run-of-mine (ROM) production reached 3.61-million tonnes in the three months to September, down from the 5.73-million tonnes in the same period of 2017, while managed saleable coal production decreased from 5.87-million tonnes to 3.98-million tonnes.

Mining major BHP has subscribed for a further £45-million worth of shares in copper developer SolGold, which is the majority owner and operator of the Cascabel porphyry copper-gold project, in Ecuador. BHP will be issued an additional 100-million shares, at a price of 45p each, taking its interest in the company from 6.1% to 11.18%.

Diversified major Rio Tinto has reported lower production across nearly all its commodities, besides copper, in the three months to September. “We have delivered consistent operational performance in the third quarter, highlighted by strong production from the group’s copper assets,” Rio CEO Jean-Sebastian Jacques reported on Tuesday.

Iron-ore output at Brazilian miner Vale, the world's largest iron-ore producer, reached a record in the third quarter, boosted by the ramp-up of its S11D project in the Amazonian state of Pará. In a securities filing on Monday, Vale said iron-ore output jumped 10.3% from the year before to 104.945-million tonnes, while pellet output rose 8.7% to 13.878-million tonnes. Ore sales also touched a new high at 84.0-million tonnes.