Latin America Mining – Page 97

Canadian miner Sherritt posts wider loss as nickel prices drop (Reuters Canada – July 28, 2015)

July 29, 2015

http://ca.reuters.com/

(Reuters) – Canadian miner Sherritt International Corp S.TO reported a bigger loss for the second quarter, hurt by lower nickel prices.

The Toronto-based company said on Tuesday its adjusted net loss from continuing operations widened to C$75.2 million ($58.2 million), or 25 Canadian cents per share, in the three months ended June 30 from C$56.2 million, or 19 Canadian cents per share, a year earlier.

Sherritt operates nickel mines in Madagascar and Cuba. Average realized prices for nickel fell about 19 percent to $7.13 per pound in the quarter, the company said.

Sherritt, which also produces oil and gas, said its combined revenue fell about 12 percent to C$268.4 million.

Sherritt said it expected total production of 78,000-82,000 tonnes of nickel in 2015, down from a previous estimate of 80,000-86,000. The company cut the estimate for the Ambatovy mine in Madagascar to 45,000-48,000 tonnes from 47,000-52,000.

NEWS RELEASE: Ned Goodman Rejoins Excellon Board of Directors

July 28, 2015

TORONTO, ON–(Marketwired – July 28, 2015) – Excellon Resources Inc. (TSX: EXN)(OTC: EXLLF) (“Excellon” or the “Company”), Mexico’s highest grade silver producer, is pleased to announce that Mr. Ned Goodman has rejoined the Company’s Board of Directors, effective immediately. Mr. Goodman served as a board member of Excellon from April 2013 to February 2014 and Special Advisor to the board until recently.

“We are delighted to welcome Ned back on the Board,” stated Brendan Cahill, President and Chief Executive Officer. “His experience as an industry leader and company builder is invaluable. He returns to the Board at a vital time, as we upgrade Platosa into one of the lowest cost silver mines in the industry and position the Company to take full advantage of the opportunities afforded by current market conditions.”

Mr. Goodman has made transformative and enduring contributions to Canada’s minerals industry and capital markets as a company-builder, merchant banker and investment advisor during a dynamic career spanning almost half a century. He applied his geological training and business acumen to help build several successful mining companies — notably International Corona and Kinross Gold — and nurtured many other mineral producing companies through astute and timely investments.

He is considered one of the leading architects of Canada’s investment management industry.

Vale’s Nickel IPO Chances Wane as Fires, Shutdowns Hurt Output – by Juan Pablo Spinetto(Bloomberg News – July 23, 2015)

July 24, 2015

http://www.bloomberg.com/

A fire in Canada, disruptions in Indonesia and shutdowns in Brazil and New Caledonia: it was tough getting nickel out of the ground last quarter for Vale SA.

Output of the metal at Vale, the world’s largest producer, missed estimates for a second consecutive quarter. The lower-than-expected production comes as a plunge in metal prices makes the Rio de Janeiro-based company’s plan to sell as much as 30 percent of the unit in an initial public offering less likely.

Vale said in its second-quarter output report Thursday that nickel production rose less than 9 percent to 67,100 metric tons, missing a 73,900-ton average forecast by seven analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. The result, called “poor” by BMO Capital Markets in a research note, puts production for the first half at 136,000 tons, or less than 45 percent of the company’s annual target of 303,000 tons.

Operations in the quarter were affected by a fire at its operations in Sudbury, Ontario, which reduced nickel and copper production by 5,000 tons each, furnace maintenance in Indonesia and a “brief shutdown” for plant improvement at the Onca Puma project in Brazil, Vale said. The miner is planning to close facilities at Sudbury and Thompson in August for maintenance, it said.

[Vale] World’s Top Iron-Ore Miner Presses on Output as Price Slide – by Juan Pablo Spinetto (Bloomberg News – July 23, 2015)

July 23, 2015

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Vale SA boosted iron-ore production last quarter to the second-highest ever for the company, exceeding analyst estimates and worsening a supply glut that saw prices of the steelmaking ingredient collapse.

Iron-ore output rose 7.4 percent to 85.3 million metric tons in the quarter through June 30, compared with 79.4 million tons a year ago, the company said in a statement Thursday. The result, which excludes third-party purchases and operations at a venture with BHP Billiton Plc, topped the 82.5 million-ton average of eight analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

The Rio de Janeiro-based company, the world’s top iron-ore producer, is expanding supply to a record 340 million tons this year while seeking to replace low-quality ore with premium products to improve profits. The expansion by Vale and its main rivals BHP and Rio Tinto Group coincides with an unexpected decline in demand from China, the biggest iron-ore buyer, prompting Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to forecast weaker prices in incoming quarters.

The increase in Vale’s three main production systems was driven by better-than-expected weather and expanded operations at the N4WS mine and Plant 2 unit in the Carajas complex, Vale said in the statement. Output for the first-half reached a record 159.8 million tons, 6.2 percent more than last year.

Production cuts by Vale and Rio will not solve iron ore glut – by Neil Hume (Financial Times – July 17, 2015)

July 17, 2015

http://www.ft.com/home/us

The bruised and battered iron ore industry finally received some good news this week. First, Vale said it would withdraw 25m-30m tonnes of annual production from the market then Rio Tinto cut its total 2015 export forecast by 10m tonnes to 340m tonnes.

While welcome, it would be a mistake to think these announcements mark the beginning of a disciplined response from the industry’s biggest producers to an ongoing supply glut. They don’t.

Take Vale’s “cut”. After its share price jumped more than 6 per cent on the news, the Brazilian miner moved to clarify the remarks made by Peter Poppinga, its executive director of ferrous minerals.

Vale said there was no change to its output guidance for the year of 340m tonnes, or its longer-term target to produce 450m tonnes by 2018. Rather it was cutting production of high cost iron ore — the key ingredient in steelmaking — and replacing it with cleaner, lower cost output from some of its other mines.

Vale’s designs on China add to Rio, BHP drive for more iron ore – by James Regan (Reuters U.S. – July 15, 2015)

July 16, 2015

http://www.reuters.com/

SYDNEY – As Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton ship more iron ore than ever to China, the Australia mining giants face a fightback from Brazil’s Vale for market share that threatens to drive already weak prices even lower.

Rio Tinto and BHP, which will release quarterly production data this week and next, have been racing to keep up exports to boost profits while lower prices eat into margins.

They now face stiffer competition from Vale, which is also working its mines harder, after the world’s biggest producer won approval for its giant Valemax ships to unload in China, cutting down on freight costs.

With a capacity of 400,000 tonnes each, the 34 Valemaxes are the world’s biggest bulk carriers and twice the size of vessels used by Rio and BHP, but a ban on entering Chinese ports had severely curbed the cost efficiencies of the larger ships.

“BHP and Rio have been looking to raise volumes in this environment to maximize every tonne,” said Morgans Financial analyst James Wilson.

Peru renews raids on illegal gold mines as wildcatting spreads – by Mitra Taj (Reuters U.S. – July 15, 2015)

July 16, 2015

http://www.reuters.com/

Peruvian police razed dozens of illegal gold mining camps at the edge of an Amazonian nature reserve this week, part of a renewed bid to halt the spread of wildcatting in a remote rainforest region.

The stings at the edge of the Tambopata National Reserve were the first in the southeastern region of Madre de Dios since a crackdown let up in December.

Another six operations planned for the rest of the year – about the same pace as in 2014 – could sap a fledgling rebound in gold output from Peru, the world’s fifth biggest producer and exporter.

Production from wildcat miners in Madre de Dios, who sell their ore up the supply chain, made up about 10 percent of national production before President Ollanta Humala launched the harshest crackdown yet on illegal gold mining last year.

In a two-day operation that ended late Tuesday, police burned down more than 50 mining camps, detained six people on suspicions of human trafficking, and blew up dozens of motors that power makeshift dredges in alluvial mining pits.

Barrick Poised to Sell More Gold Mines as It Whittles Down Debt – by Danielle Bochove and Scott Deveau (Bloomberg News – July 16, 2015)

July 16, 2015

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Barrick Gold Corp., nearing a deal for its Zaldivar copper mine, is likely to consider three other mines as leading candidates for sale as it works to cut the biggest debt in the gold industry.

Among the remaining non-core mining operations that Barrick would examine selling are its 50 percent stake in Australia’s Kalgoorlie mine, Canada’s Hemlo and Bald Mountain in Nevada, according to analysts and investment bankers.

The world’s largest producer of the metal has pledged to raise at least $3 billion this year to reduce its $12.9 billion debt. The Toronto-based company is in advanced discussions to sell a 50 percent stake in its Zaldivar mine in Chile with final bids submitted last week by China Molybdenum Co., BHP Billiton Ltd. and others, people familiar with the matter said last week.

While Barrick has said it only wants to sell a 50 percent stake in the mine, some of the bidders were expected to have submitted bids for the whole operation, which is valued at more than $2 billion, the people said.

If completed, Zaldivar would mark the last of three deals Barrick has pledged to complete this year.

Former Kinross Gold CEO working on potential bid for Anglo assets – by Rachelle Younglai (Globe and Mail – July 14, 2015)

July 14, 2015

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

Kinross Gold Corp.’s former chief executive Tye Burt is interested in Anglo American PLC’s three copper mines in Chile, according to people familiar with the matter.

Mr. Burt is working with another former Kinross executive, Hugh Agro, to create another mining company after being ousted as Kinross’s CEO for a deal gone awry.

Mr. Burt and Mr. Agro, the former M&A executive at Kinross, are now seeking financing for a potential bid on the Anglo assets, the sources said.

Mr. Burt is one of many people who were given the opportunity to examine Anglo’s Mantoverde, Mantos Blancos and El Soldado mines.

Others include former Xstrata PLC CEO Mick Davis, who now runs a private mining entity called X2 Resources LLP, sources said.

Primero’s precious problem – by Kip Keen (Mineweb.com – July 14, 2015)

July 14, 2015

http://www.mineweb.com/

Primero reports being unable to sell silver or gold from Mexico.

HALIFAX – Primero Mining can’t sell its Mexican silver and gold abroad.

The miner, which owns the San Dimas mine in Mexico and the Black Fox mine in Canada, said Thursday that its import and export licenses in Mexico had been revoked following a mess-up over a change of address. Primero said its Mexican subsidiary changed corporate addresses in Mexico from Mexico City to Durango and that precipitated the revocation of its import and export license.

The revocation happened back in May.

Since at least then Primero silver and gold has piled up. It said $6.5 million in revenue from the sale of 880,000 ounces silver had been delayed and that it could not deliver some 630,000 ounces silver as part of a silver streaming agreement with Silver Wheaton.

“Senior customs officials have confirmed that the company’s registry status is being reviewed, but the company has not been given a definitive date for reinstatement of the licenses,” Primerso stated.

Vale’s Cut Is No Panacea for Iron Ore, Morgan Stanley Says – by David Stringer (Bloomberg News – July 13, 2015)

July 14, 2015

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Iron ore prices trading near the lowest level since at least 2009 will probably remain under pressure and may even extend declines after Brazil’s Vale SA announced changes to production plans, according to Morgan Stanley.

The world’s biggest producer said on Monday that it would cut about 25 million metric tons of higher-cost supply from this month, while sticking to a full-year output target of 340 million tons.

The decisions are a recognition that the market is oversupplied this year and will probably remain in surplus in 2016, according to Executive Director Peter Poppinga.

“This will not lead to higher iron ore prices in the short term — it could even have the opposite effect,” Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in an e-mailed report. The changes by Vale won’t reduce supply, rather they will add more lower-cost material into the export market, the analysts said.

Benchmark prices are mired in a bear market as Vale and its main Australian competitors — Rio Tinto Group and BHP Billiton Ltd. — increase low-cost production even as demand stagnates in China, spurring a glut.

Vale Rallies Most in Month Amid Iron-Ore Supply Cut Plan – by Juan Pablo Spinetto (Bloomberg News – July 13, 2015)

July 13, 2015

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Shares of Vale SA, the world’s largest iron-ore miner, rallied the most in a month as the company presses ahead with plans to cut production and boost profit.

Vale will withdraw output of iron ore by 25 million metric tons starting this month, Peter Poppinga, the company’s executive director for ferrous and strategy, said at an industry conference in Sao Paulo.

The cuts will come from its lower-quality products at its mines in south and southeast Brazil and from third-party purchases, he said.

“Our mantra is not volume at any cost anymore, it’s to maximize margins,” Poppinga told reporters at the event. “It doesn’t mean shutting mines, it means optimizing some production flows at plants.”

The Rio de Janeiro-based miner is moving to trim low-quality output as it focuses on boosting profit amid what it sees as an oversupplied market in 2015, and one that will probably be in surplus next year, Poppinga said.

Iron Ore’s Bear Market May Deepen as Clarksons Forecasts $40 – by Jasmine NgDavid Stringer(Bloomberg News – July 7, 2015)

July 7, 2015

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Iron ore will probably extend declines after falling back into a bear market on Monday as low-cost supplies from Australia and Brazil are set to expand further this half while demand stumbles in China.

Prices may drop toward $40 a metric ton, according to Clarksons Platou Securities Inc. A deepening slowdown in China’s steel industry and higher iron ore exports from the largest miners are weighing on prices, said Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.

Iron ore’s return to a bear market highlights that the same factors of surging supply and stalling demand growth, which dragged prices to a decade-low early April, remain at the forefront. Recent losses followed figures showing inventories in China rebounded, while exports in June from Australia’s Port Hedland were at a record. The Minerals Council of Australia on Tuesday defended local miners’ policy of adding output, saying cuts would be a failed strategy that would aid competitors.

“Momentum is clearly negative and that is going to be hard to reverse in the immediate short term,” Paul Gait, an analyst at Bernstein in London, said in an e-mailed response to questions. “The revealed preference of the miners is for volume over value, for tons ahead of price.”

NEWS RELEASE: McEwen Mining Addresses New York Stock Exchange Listing Requirements

July 3, 2015

TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwired – July 2, 2015) – McEwen Mining Inc. (NYSE:MUX) (TSX:MUX) announced today that it has fallen below the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) continued listing requirement related to the price of its common stock. The NYSE requires that the average closing price of a listed company’s common stock be above US$1.00 per share, calculated over a period of 30 consecutive trading days. The Company was advised by the NYSE on July 1, 2015 that the average price of our common stock for the previous 30 trading days was below US$1.00 per share

Under the NYSE’s rules, McEwen Mining has a period of six months from July 1, 2015, the date of the Company’s acknowledgement, to bring its share price and 30 day average closing share price back above US$1.00. During this period, McEwen Mining’s common stock will continue to trade on the NYSE, subject to all other continued listing requirements. The Company’s listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange (“TSX”) is unaffected by any actions of the NYSE.

“We do not believe that McEwen Mining’s current share price is reflective of the true value of the Company’s assets. Our share price has been under pressure as a result of the decline in gold and silver prices and a general reduction in financing options that have affected many companies in the mining space. The Company values its NYSE listing and will evaluate measures to bring our share price into compliance with listing requirements.” said Rob McEwen, Chairman and Chief Owner.

Barrick Gold makes big changes to become a smaller company – by Joe Castaldo (Canadian Business Magazine – July 3, 2015)

July 3, 2015

http://www.canadianbusiness.com/

Long-suffering shareholders see potential as the company focuses on shedding debt and getting back to gold

It’s quiet at the headquarters of Barrick Gold in Toronto. On a Wednesday afternoon in May, all that can be heard is the soft hum of the ventilation system. A few years ago, around 500 people filled the office, overseeing mining operations that spanned the globe. Today, there are just 140 employees responsible for a much smaller geographical footprint. And that footprint might shrink over the coming year.

For long-suffering Barrick shareholders, this is welcome news. “We’re taking Barrick back to the way it was 15 years ago,” says Kelvin Dushnisky, the company’s co-president. Back then, Barrick was not a bloated organization that had lost investor confidence, nor was it facing a mountainous $13-billion debt in a depressed gold market. Since 2012, Barrick’s share price has fallen by roughly 70%.

While gold prices are a long way from where they were at the height of the 2000s commodities boom—a reality that’s hurt many miners—Barrick’s wounds are mostly self-inflicted. In 2011, founder and chairman Peter Munk pushed the company to spend billions on an underperforming copper mine in Zambia. Barrick also botched the development of what was to be a monster gold mine on the border of Chile and Argentina called Pascua-Lama. These two headaches have cost Barrick about $15.9 billion over the past few years, according to an analyst at Macquarie Group.