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Glencore licenses Horne 5 operations to Falco Resources – by Staff (Mining.com – January 24, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

Falco Resources (TSXV: FPC) has entered into an operating license and indemnity agreement (OLIA) with Glencore Canada allowing Falco to use part of Glencore’s lands. Falco intends to develop and operate its wholly owned Horne 5 copper-zinc mine at Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec.

The agreement includes the creation of a technical committee consisting of two nominees from Glencore and two from Falco to ensure that operations of Glencore’s Horne copper smelter are not adversely affected. A similar strategic committee will also be created. Glencore will appoint one nominee to Falco’s board of directors.

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Barrick denies one of its executives recently met with First Quantum in Panama to talk M&A – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – January 19, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Barrick Gold Corp. ABX-T is disputing an account by a Panamanian official about an alleged meeting between one of its executives and First Quantum Minerals Ltd. in Panama to discuss a possible buyout deal. Vancouver-based First Quantum said this week it is considering a range of merger and acquisition options as it attempts to stem the financial damage caused by the closing of its giant Panama copper mine.

Ebrahim Asvat, a former adviser with the Panamanian government, told The Globe and Mail on Thursday that Juana Barceló, president of Barrick’s Pueblo Viejo operations in the Dominican Republic, was in Panama in early January, and met with people at First Quantum.

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First Quantum weighs asset sales as Cobre Panama shutdown takes toll – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – January 17, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

First Quantum Minerals Ltd. FM-T is considering a range of merger and acquisition options as it attempts to stem the financial damage caused by the closing of its giant Panama copper mine.

The Vancouver-based copper miner said in a release it is considering the sale of some of its smaller operations, as well as potentially selling stakes in its large mines. First Quantum has already been approached by at least one major mining company interested in pouncing as its stock flounders. First Quantum’s share price has fallen by more than two-thirds since last summer.

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Bigger Storm Copper brewing in Nunavut – by Shane Lasley North of 60 Mining News – January 18, 2024)

https://www.miningnewsnorth.com/

It is hard to decide what to get more excited about at American West Metals Ltd.’s Storm Copper project in Nunavut – the abundance of near surface high-grade copper mineralization with the potential to be upgraded to a direct shipping ore, or the much larger yet still high-grade sediment-hosted copper orebody being unveiled under the zones being outlined on the surface.

Together, these zones on the Storm Copper project on Somerset Island in Canada’s Arctic offer a potential supply of the copper being demanded by a world transitioning to clean energy.

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Panama’s High Court Prizes Ecosystems Over Copper Mining. The Impact? – by Ken Silverstein (Forbes Magazine – January 15, 2024)

https://www.forbes.com/

Panama’s Supreme Court has unanimously rejected a government copper contract with a Canadian company, triggering an ongoing ripple effect. On the surface, it may bode poorly for the renewable energy cause. However, after a little more digging — no pun intended — it may be a net plus for developing countries.

Raw materials such as copper, cobalt, and lithium are central to the renewable energy revolution — the construction of everything from windmills and solar panels to electric vehicle batteries. But producers dig for the natural resources in poorer countries while conglomerates potentially get rich by building high-value end products.

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Grupo Mexico weighs bid for First Quantum’s Spanish mine – by Jacob Lorinc, Dinesh Nair and Archie Hunter (Bloomberg News – January 11, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

Grupo Mexico is among several firms considering bids to buy a Spanish copper mine from First Quantum Minerals Ltd., as the Canadian metals producer seeks to bolster its balance sheet after its flagship mine in Panama was ordered to shut down.

First Quantum initiated a process to sell its Las Cruces mine in southern Spain in December after the sudden closure of the Cobre Panama mine left the company facing financial uncertainty, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. Las Cruces, one of First Quantum’s smallest operations, is valued at less than US$1 billion, the people said.

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QC Copper says Opemiska resource tops 1.88 billion lb. copper, 915,000 oz. gold – by Marilyn Scales (Canadian Mining Journal – January 8, 2024)

https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

QC Copper and Gold (TSXV: QCCU) has updated the resource estimate for its Opemiska project to Over 1.88 billion lb. of copper and 915,000 oz. of gold. The project is located in the Chapais-Chibougamau district of Quebec.

The pit-constrained measured and indicated resource is 87.3 million tonnes grading 0.77% copper (0.93% copper equivalent), containing 1.49 billion lb. copper, 762,000 oz. of gold, and 762,000 oz. of silver. The pit-constrained inferred resource is 9.8 million tonnes at 0.48% copper (0.59% copper equivalent), containing 104 million lb. copper, 55,000 oz. of gold, and 689,000 oz. of silver. A cut-off of 0.15% copper equivalent was used in this estimate.

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Is First Quantum a takeover target? Here we go again – by David Berman (Globe and Mail – January 6, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

First Quantum Minerals Ltd. has begun 2024 looking like a winning stock, but its early rebound may add another layer of risk to an investment that has been reeling from setbacks related to the company’s huge copper mine in Panama.

Just ask anyone who jumped on the rally by Laurentian Bank of Canada last July, in the hope of a bidding war for the struggling lender. By the time the bank announced six weeks later that no buyer had emerged, the shares were down nearly 30 per cent.

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Teck ditches coal, flags lower copper output in Chile – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – January 4, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

Teck Resources (TSX: TECK.A, TECK.B) (NYSE: TECK) has kissed coal goodbye after closing the sale of its minority stake in steelmaking coal operations to Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp. and South Korean steelmaker Posco.

Nippon Steel now has a 20% interest in Teck’s coal business, known as Elk Valley Resources. In exchange, the Japanese firm gave up its prior 2.5% stake in one of Teck’s coal operations and has paid $1.7 billion in cash.

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Barrick considering new takeover offer for First Quantum, report says – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – January 4, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Barrick Gold Corp. is reportedly considering a fresh takeover bid for embattled Canadian copper miner First Quantum Minerals Ltd., after making an earlier approach in the middle of last year.

According to a report on Wednesday, Toronto-based Barrick contacted some of First Quantum’s biggest shareholders late last year to ascertain their interest in a takeover. Barrick would need their support in the event of a transaction.

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Barrick sounds out First Quantum holders on possible bid – by Thomas Biesheuvel, Dinesh Nair and Alfred Cang (Bloomberg News – January 3, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

Barrick Gold Corp. has spoken with some of First Quantum Minerals Ltd.’s major investors to gauge their support for a potential takeover, after the sudden closure of its flagship mine left the Canadian copper producer reeling and wiped out more than half its market value.

Barrick chief executive officer Mark Bristow approached some of First Quantum’s largest investors late last year, according to people familiar with the situation, who asked not to be identified as the talks were private. It wasn’t immediately clear if Barrick has made a fresh approach to First Quantum, and there’s no guarantee it will make a formal offer.

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Newsmakers 2023: End of an era for Vancouver mining giant Teck – by Nelson Bennett (Business In Vancouver – December 21, 2023)

https://biv.com/

Vancouver-based Teck Resources sacrifices most profitable assets on altar of ESG

One of the biggest B.C. business news stories of 2024 was the announcement Teck Resources (TSX:TECK.B, NYSE:TEK), B.C.’s biggest miner and Canada’s only diversified mining major, will sell its most profitable assets – its B.C. coal mines – to an even bigger diversified mining major: Switzerland’s Glencore plc (LSE:GLEN).

For $9 billion, Glencore will acquire a 77 per cent interest in Teck’s four steelmaking coal mines in B.C., collectively called Elk Valley Resources (EVR), with Nippon Steel and South Korea’s POSCO owning the balance in a deal totalling $12 billion. EVR will also own 46 per cent of Neptune Terminals in North Vancouver.

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OPINION: Teck Resources is amassing the cash to slowly triple its copper production – by Andrew Willis (Globe and Mail – December 19, 2023)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

By next fall, Teck Resources Ltd. chief executive officer Jonathan Price will likely be sitting on US$9-billion in cash, the payout for selling its coal mines in British Columbia.

The CEO of the country’s largest mining company will also have a long list of projects to spend that money on, including planned new mines in Mexico, Peru, Chile, the United States and Canada that will triple Teck’s copper production and make it one of the world’s largest metal producers.

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Why Congo’s chaotic election matters (The Economist – December 18, 2023)

https://www.economist.com/

The country is a vortex of instability at the heart of Africa

One of the world’s least orderly elections will be held on December 20th. Or will it? A presidential ballot is scheduled in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a mineral-rich but breathtakingly poor country of 100m people. However, the preparations have been so shambolic that some locals expect a delay, or an extension of voting.

Many areas will not receive crucial papers for recording the results by election day. By one estimate 70% of voter-identity cards are illegible, raising fears that some people will be barred from voting, while others will vote twice. And those are just some of the problems in the parts of the Congo that are not at war.

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Miner Anglo American could become takeover target, say analysts – by Alex Lawson (The Guardian – December 11, 2023)

https://www.theguardian.com/

Shares are down almost 45% this year, and firm took further pummelling on Friday after production outlook warning

The mining company Anglo American could become a takeover target after warning of weaker than expected production, analysts believe. Shares in the London-listed company rose nearly 1% to £18.17 on Monday, valuing the business at £24.3bn, after a pummelling last week that left it exposed to a potential bid.

Anglo’s stock is down nearly 45% this year, and the shares suffered their biggest one-day fall since the financial crisis on Friday when the miner slashed its production outlook.

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