October Newsletter – 09.10.18
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Behre Dolbear participates in UK Department for International Trade Mission in Kazakhstan October 8-11, 2018. To arrange a meeting in Astana or Almaty please contact Tanya Matveeva tanya.matveeva@dolbear.com.
Behre Dolbear participated in the panel discussion at Blockchain for Africa conference October 5th, 2018 in Berlin, Germany. (see photo below)
Behre Dolbear is representing UK businesses at IGC Mining Subgroup meeting, Department of International Trade, Astana, Kazakhstan, October 8, 2018, Marriott Hotel.
TOP NEWS
Americas Silver, Pershing Gold to Merge
Americas Silver Corp. and Pershing Gold Corp. have entered into a definitive agreement to complete a business combination to create a low-cost, precious metal growth company for the Americas. The transaction pairs two polymetallic mines, the Galena Complex in Idaho and the San Rafael mine in Mexico, which are expected to produce approximately 7 million silver equivalent ounces (oz) with the Relief Canyon (precious metals) development project in Nevada, which could potentially add approximately 91,000 gold oz annually.
https://www.e-mj.com/breaking-news/americas-silver-pershing-gold-to-merge/
China’s Ganfeng Lithium prices HK listing at bottom of range
By Julia Fioretti
China’s top lithium producer Ganfeng Lithium, a supplier to carmakers such as Tesla and BMW, has priced its Hong Kong listing at the bottom of its marketed range, raising $421 million, according to a source involved in the deal. Ganfeng priced its offering at HK$16.50 ($2.11) per share, the source said, at the bottom end of an indicative range of between HK$16.50 and HK$26.50 ($2.11-$3.38).
The company declined to comment.
China Dominates Rare Earth Minerals Supply to Sabotage US Military, According to Upcoming Pentagon Study
By Annie Wu, Epoch Times October 5, 2018
A forthcoming Pentagon study will focus on how China has sought to monopolize access to certain natural resources critical to the U.S. military in an effort to undermine U.S. defense.
The study, ordered by President Donald Trump, is expected to be released in the coming weeks and seeks to identify areas where the U.S. military has over-relied on foreign suppliers.
Reuters, citing anonymous U.S. officials, reported on Oct. 2 that the studywill emphasize how China has become the main supplier of many rare earth minerals used by the United States. Such reliance on China could be a national security risk, as Pentagon officials worry that China could hobble the U.S. military by cutting off supplies of materials or by sabotaging technology that it exports.
Vale to approve $1B expansion of Salobo copper mine in Brazil — report
Vale (NYSE:VALE), the world’s No.1 iron ore miner, is set to approve a $1 billion expansion of its vast Salobo copper-gold mine, located in Carajás, Brazil, later this month, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The project — known as Salobo 3 — is expected to take about three years to complete and will add about 50,000 tonnes to the open-pit mine’s current capacity of nearly 200,000 tonnes of copper per year.
According to local news outlet Portal Canaã, Vale is waiting for the Ministry of the Environment’s administrative arm — IBAMA — to issue a permit for the planned expansion, which could generate as many as 3,000 jobs.
The project — known as Salobo 3 — will add about 50,000 tonnes to the open-pit mine’s current capacity of nearly 200,000 tonnes of copper per year.
At around 1,800km2, Carajás is the second largest land holding in a region known for iron oxide copper-gold deposits of which Salobo is the prime example. The mine, the largest copper deposit ever discovered in Brazil, is estimated to hold more than 1 billion tonnes of the red metal.
http://www.mining.com/vale-studying-1b-expansion-salobo-copper-mine-brazil-report/
COMMODITIES
India’s Q4 gold imports to jump as investors seek safer bets than stocks
MUMBAI, Oct 3 (Reuters) – India’s gold imports may rise in the fourth quarter as investors seek alternatives to faltering equity markets and a plunging rupee at the same time traditional buying will rise during the festival season, said multiple sources involved in the market.
Increased buying by the world’s second-biggest gold consumer would support global prices that have traded roughly near $1,200 an ounce since late August, but also widen India’s trade deficit and add to pressure on the Indian rupee, which fell to a record low on Wednesday.Demand for gold usually strengthens at the end of the year on purchases for the traditional wedding season and major festivals including Diwali and Dussehra, when bullion buying is considered auspicious.
In the fourth quarter of 2018, gold imports could rise 9 percent from a year ago to 250 tonnes, said Bachhraj Bamalwa, a bullion dealer based in Kolkata who was formerly the Chairman of the All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation.
“In the December quarter, festival demand would be robust. Investment demand is also gaining traction,” said Bamalwa.
In the fourth quarter of 2017, India imported 229.6 tonnes of gold, according to metals consultancy GFMS.
Gold investment demand may rise as falling stock markets have prompted investors to diversify their portfolios, Bamalwa said.
http://www.mining.com/web/indias-q4-gold-imports-jump-investors-seek-safer-bets-stocks/
FINANCIAL
Billions of British investment pounds predicted to enter Kazakhstan market
Kazakhstan is an “overlooked powerhouse” and one of the world’s next big investment destinations was the message delivered to over 200 business leaders who attended the Kazakhstan Global Investment Forum in London yesterday.
Several billion pounds of inward investment is expected to enter Kazakhstan over the next five years, as global organizations seek to benefit from a streamlining of government services, additional opportunities linked to the New Silk Road and increased investment support.
Kazakh Invest, the national organization for attracting global FDI, lead the charge for greater inward investment by highlighting the levels of support that Kazakh Invest offers potential investors across many sectors.
Kazakh Invest Chairman Saparbek Tuyakbayev told investors how Kazakh Invest acts as a “one-stop-shop” for investment support and said that it was actively working with dozens of global organizations already looking to invest in Kazakhstan.
Tuyakbayev told forum participants that Kazakh Invest had identified and prepared 70 specialist projects across agriculture, chemicals, mining and metallurgy, Kazakh Invest has identified and prepared 70 specialist projects across agriculture, chemicals, mining and metallurgy engineering, retail, tourism, and energy, offering opportunities for international investors.
http://www.mining.com/billions-british-investment-pounds-predicted-enter-kazakhstan-market/
PROJECTS
Baffinland and Qikiqtani Inuit sign amended Mary River project agreement
Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation and the Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA) today signed the Amended Mary River Project Inuit Impact Benefit Agreement (IIBA).
The Amended Agreement supersedes the original Mary River IIBA, originally signed in September 2013, and comes into force upon final signature.
Baffinland and QIA have jointly committed to increasing the benefits of the Mary River Mine to Nunavummiut by enhancing the focus on Inuit training and employment. Baffinland and QIA have jointly committed to increasing the benefits of the Mary River Mine to Nunavummiut by enhancing the focus on Inuit training and employment
The focus will be on increasing skills and training opportunities to provide Nunavummiut with the skills needed to gain meaningful employment at the Mary River Mine including: increased financial commitments to training and skills development; development of a state of the art training facility in Pond Inlet; implementation of enhanced pre-employment training opportunities to prepare Inuit for employment at the mine, programs designed to specifically increase Inuit employment in all aspects of Baffinland’s organization, and improved support for all residents of the Qikiqtani communities.
http://www.mining.com/web/baffinland-qikiqtani-inuit-sign-amended-mary-river-project-agreement/
COMMODITY PRICES
