Australia/New Caledonia/Papua New Guinea Mining

Newmont Gets Newcrest Data Access in Gold Takeover Tussle – by Jacob Lorinc, Yvonne Yue Li and Harry Brumpton (Bloomberg News – March 22, 2023)

March 27, 2023

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Newmont Corp. has gained partial access to the corporate books of Australian rival Newcrest Mining Ltd., according to people familiar with the matter, a sign that the US company could make a revised offer to seal what would be the world’s largest gold takeover.

Newmont is undertaking limited due diligence on Newcrest weeks after management of the Melbourne-based miner dismissed a $17 billion proposal from the world’s top bullion producer, according to people who asked not to be named because the information isn’t public.

Commodity markets brace for return of China environmental crackdowns – by Alex Gluyas (Australian Financial Review – February 28, 2023)

March 1, 2023March 1, 2023

https://www.afr.com/

Signs that China is re-focusing its attention on environmental regulation have injected fresh volatility into commodity markets, as traders position for the potential return of intermittent crackdowns amid the economy’s reopening.

Ore-processing operations in China’s top lithium production hub, Yichun, were ordered to halt output as investigators probed alleged environmental infringements at lithium mines, Bloomberg reported.

Australia blocks Chinese investor from raising stake in rare earths miner – by Staff (Mining.com – February 28, 2023)

February 28, 2023

https://www.mining.com/

Australian rare earths producer Northern Minerals (ASX: NTU) said on Tuesday that the federal government had prevented its largest shareholder, China’s Yuxiao Fund, from raising its stake in the company on grounds of national interest.

Yuxiao Fund needed the Foreign Investment Review Board’s (FIRB) approval to increase its holding in Northern Minerals to 19.9% from 9.92%. Beijing has condemned Australia for previously blocking Chinese investment on national security grounds, saying those moves have contributed to a years-long diplomatic freeze.

Mount Isa celebrates 100 years of mining history and outback life in north-west Queensland – by Emily Dobson, Zara Margolis and Larissa Waterson (Australian Broadcasting Corporation – February 22, 2023)

February 25, 2023

https://www.abc.net.au/

Mount Isa, one of Queensland’s longest-running mining towns, has this week turned 100. Founded on the land of the Kalkadoon people, it is renowned for mine stacks that rise from red-dirt country at the foothills of the Selwyn Ranges. But as locals celebrate a rich and varied past, many look toward a future where the town’s lifeblood is sustained by more than mining.

A chance discovery

On February 22, 1923, John Campbell Miles and his horses stopped to camp during a journey through the arid Queensland outback to the Northern Territory. Curiosity led the prospector to a particularly large outcrop where he knapped off a piece of rock that, according to his writings, he instantly recognised “contained mineral from its weight”.

How Australia became the world’s greatest lithium supplier – by Royce Kurmelovs (BBC.com – November 10, 2022)

February 25, 2023February 25, 2023

https://www.bbc.com/

As demand soars for electric vehicles and clean energy storage, Australia is rising to meet much of the world’s demand for lithium. While this helps reduce the need for fossil fuels, it raises another question – how can we source lithium sustainably?

Roughly a three-hour drive south of Perth, Western Australia, off the South Western Highway and behind the historic mining town of Greenbushes, the land beyond the town’s primary school falls away to reveal a deep, grey scar.

This is the site of an old tin mine known as the Cornwall Pit. At roughly 265m (870ft) deep, the terraced wall of the pit represents a century’s worth of work that began in 1888 when a pound of tin was lifted out of a nearby creek. When the surface-metal was scoured from the landscape, methods changed eventually giving way to open-cut mining in the host pegmatite vein – an igneous rock with a coarse texture similar to granite.

Morningstar crowns world’s top lithium stock plays – by Tom Richardson (Australian Financail Review – February 23, 2023)

February 23, 2023

https://www.afr.com/

Lithium investors are hoping a retreat in lithium carbonate prices in China has passed after a torrid February for the ASX’s green energy darlings. The sector leaders, including Pilbara Minerals, Mineral Resources, Allkem and IGO Ltd, all firmed on Thursday as investors monitor the collateral damage to lithium demand from China’s decision to end electric vehicle subsidies for consumers from the start of this year.

Lithium carbonate prices in China fell 7500 yuan ($1595) to a one-year low of 410,000 yuan a tonne on Wednesday and have shed around 30 per cent from highs in November 2021.

Australian explorers rush to join Canada’s lithium boom – by Tim Treadgold (Small Caps – February 23, 2023)

February 23, 2023

Small Caps

The call of Canada is being heard clearly by Australian lithium hopefuls, with some of the best-known names from the Aussie mining boom heading north to ride a wave driven by the US Government’s trade protection policies.

Ken Brinsden, the key man in growing Pilbara Minerals (ASX: PLS) from penny dreadful to $13 billion member of the ASX’s top 50, is the leading Australian lithium export as chairman of the Quebec-focussed Patriot Battery Metals.

Newcrest Rejects Newmont’s $17 Billion Takeover Offer – by James Fernyhough (Bloomberg News – February 15, 2023)

February 20, 2023

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Newcrest Mining Ltd. rejected an initial $17 billion takeover bid by US rival Newmont Corp., with the Australian miner’s interim CEO saying the company was “worth a lot more.”

It did offer some hope to its suitor, however, by indicating it’s prepared to provide access to its books on a non-exclusive basis. The all-shares deal would have been the largest globally this year and created the world’s biggest gold miner.

Iron ore remains the Pilbara’s sturdy trunk, but greener roots are starting to emerge – by Mark Foreman (Australian Broadcasting Corp. – February 18, 2023)

February 20, 2023

https://www.abc.net.au/

Iron ore looks set to continue its surge in 2023 but the rise of green energy is creating massive opportunities for the Pilbara. Rare earth minerals, lithium, wind and solar are just some of the emerging commodities setting the pace in one of WA’s most productive regions.

Pilbara Development Commission chief executive Terry Hill said the changing landscape was exciting for the region. “One of the really significant changes in the region of the last few years is the diversification in the range of exploration and mineral projects,” Mr Hill said. “One of the ones that is going to come through really strongly this year, and will be at the forefront of growth for the next few years is green energy.”

Another ASX-listed lithium explorer is poised to roll the dice in Canada’s battery ecosystem – by Josh Chiat (Stockhead.com – January 27, 2023)

February 16, 2023

https://stockhead.com.au/

The new CEO of ASX lithium hopeful Battery Age Minerals (ASX:BM8) Gerard O’Donovan has seen it all since he first stepped into lithium in 2015, eventually becoming the project manager on the concentrator at Pilbara Minerals’ (ASX:PLS) Pilgangoora mine.

From there he saw the downturn as the new supply brought on by WA miners like Pilbara flooded the market, before leaving to work on Rio’s Winu’s copper-gold discovery, and returned to oversee the rebuild of the Ngangaju plant at Pilgangoora, acquired from PLS’ collapsed neighbour Altura, as the lithium market rose like a phoenix to new heights.

Lithium stock bubble pops for retail investors – by Tom Richardson (Australian Financial Review – February 14, 2023)

February 14, 2023

https://www.afr.com/

Benchmark lithium carbonate prices fell for an eleventh straight day in China on Monday to an 11-month low, as short sellers raised their bets on Australian lithium stocks falling in 2023.

The latest ASIC data shows that five of the 16 most shorted stocks on the ASX are lithium hopefuls, after a younger demographic of retail investors hooked on mobile share trading apps made the same businesses the most popular stocks to own in 2022.

The history and the future of mining in Australia – by Jon Taylor (Mining.com – February 7, 2023)

February 9, 2023

https://www.mining.com/

Mining in Australia is a vast industry famous worldwide due to its fascinating history, power in the export market, and as a trendsetter in ‘future-proofing’ the sector. Furthermore, the high number of Australian mines means that it provides a huge jobs market to citizens and the number of foreign workers who flock to work in the industry due to its global reputation.

In this article, we will explore the rise of mining in Australia, its current status as a pillar of the country’s economy, and how it intends to tackle the rising pressures of climate change. Let’s start by looking at the current state of play for the industry.

‘We need to restore the land’: as coal mines close, here’s a community blueprint to sustain the Hunter Valley – by Kimberley Crofts and Liam Phelan (The Conversation – February 7, 2023)

February 9, 2023

https://theconversation.com/

The decline of the coal industry means 17 mines in the New South Wales Hunter Valley will close over the next two decades. More than 130,000 hectares of mining land — nearly two-thirds of the valley floor between Broke and Muswellbrook — will become available for new uses.

Restoring and reusing this land could contribute billions of dollars to the Hunter economy, create thousands of full-time jobs and make the region a world leader in industries such as renewable energy and regenerative agriculture that improves soil and water quality and increases biodiversity and resilience. But to unlock these future opportunities, we must first clean up the legacy of the past.

Australia blocks coal mine to protect Great Barrier Reef – by Tiffanie Turnbull (BBC.com – February 8, 2023)

February 9, 2023

https://www.bbc.com/

For the first time in history, Australia has blocked the creation of a coal mine under environmental laws. The government on Thursday rejected a proposal for a new mine about 10km (6.2 miles) from the Great Barrier Reef.

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said the project posed an unacceptable risk to the World Heritage area, which is already highly vulnerable. The mine’s owner, the controversial Australian billionaire Clive Palmer, has not yet responded to the rejection.

Is Newmont’s blockbuster gold deal ushering in a return to growth for growth’s sake? – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – February 7, 2023)

February 9, 2023

https://financialpost.com/

Analysts wonder if Newmont’s $17-billion bid for Newcrest will create a company too large for its own good

Newmont Mining Corp.’s US$17-billion bid for Australia’s Newcrest Mining Ltd. would be the largest merger in the history of the gold mining sector, so Newmont chief executive Tom Palmer’s splash over the weekend naturally has prompted lots of questions.

But one simple query kept coming up as analysts studied the proposal. Why? Specifically, is Newmount, already the world’s largest gold miner, seeking to get bigger merely for the sake of increasing scale?