<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2048" height="1366" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/YCD2FHWTRZP6DDDGNUZALMARSY-scaled.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-424765" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/YCD2FHWTRZP6DDDGNUZALMARSY-scaled.jpg 2048w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/YCD2FHWTRZP6DDDGNUZALMARSY-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/YCD2FHWTRZP6DDDGNUZALMARSY-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/YCD2FHWTRZP6DDDGNUZALMARSY-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/YCD2FHWTRZP6DDDGNUZALMARSY-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/YCD2FHWTRZP6DDDGNUZALMARSY-1536x1025.jpg 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: A small toy figure and gold imitation are seen in front of the AngloGold Ashanti logo in this illustration taken November 19, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



Sept 10 (Reuters) &#8211; AngloGold Ashanti will buy Egypt-focused smaller rival Centamin in a $2.5 billion stock and cash deal, the companies said on Tuesday, as the U.S.-listed global miner expands its operations in Africa.



Shares in Centamin jumped about 24% to 148.10 pence in early trade, their highest level since October 2020. Shares in Centamin&#8217;s London-listed peer Hochschild rose about 4%.



Under the terms of the deal, Centamin shareholders will receive 0.06983 new AngloGold shares for each Centamin share and $0.125 in cash.



The implied 163 pence ($2.14) per share offer represents a premium of 36.7% to Centamin&#8217;s Monday closing price of 120 pence, the companies said in a statement.



The acquisition coincides with a flurry of deal activity in the gold mining sector over the past couple of years, with the world&#8217;s top gold producer Newmont buying Australia&#8217;s Newcrest Mining for $16.8 billion in late 2023.



In May, miner BHP Group walked away from its $49 billion plan to take over rival Anglo American after its last-ditch request for more time was rejected by the London-listed firm, ending its six-week pursuit for now.



Following the completion of the Centamin deal, it is expected that AngloGold shareholders will own about 83.6% and Centamin shareholders about 16.4% of AngloGold Ashanti&#8217;s enlarged issued share capital.



AngloGold Ashanti said it expects the deal to be accretive to free cash flow per share in the first full year post completion of the transaction.



Terming the deal &#8220;highly compelling&#8221;, AngloGold Ashanti Chair Jochen Tilk said the acquisition offers &#8220;enormous geological potential&#8221; that the company is well placed to develop.



Centamin&#8217;s principal asset is the Sukari gold mine, which is Egypt&#8217;s largest gold mine as well as one of the world&#8217;s largest producing mines.



Adding Sukari&#8217;s annual output of 450,000 ounces would push AngloGold&#8217;s yearly production above 3 million ounces, making it the fourth largest gold producer in the world by volume, behind Newmont, Barrick Gold and Agnico Eagle.



The Centamin acquisition also expands AngloGold&#8217;s portfolio to yet another key gold producing region. It currently has assets in nine countries &#8211; Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Guinea, Australia, the U.S., Brazil, Argentina and Colombia.



The Centamin board said it intends to unanimously recommend the deal to its shareholders.



($1 = 0.7634 pounds)



(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Nelson Banya; Editing by Sonia Cheema, Miral Fahmy, Jan Harvey and David Evans)

FILE PHOTO: Small toy figure and gold imitation are seen in front of the AngloGold Ashanti logo in this illustration

AngloGold Ashanti to buy Centamin in $2.5 billion deal

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="768" height="512" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Kalgoorlie_open_cast_mine.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-372386" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Kalgoorlie_open_cast_mine.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Kalgoorlie_open_cast_mine-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Kalgoorlie_open_cast_mine-696x464.jpg 696w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Kalgoorlie_open_cast_mine-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: via Flickr</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, July 22 (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa&#8217;s Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) expects its demerger from parent company Anglo American to be completed next year and is planning a secondary listing in London, its CEO said on Monday.



Amplats, which reported first half results, also said it had cut some 3,700 jobs to reduce spending ahead of the demerger.



Meeting cost targets and the unbundling plan are crucial for efforts by Anglo American CEO Duncan Wanblad to restructure the wider group &#8211; after fending off a $49 billion takeover bid from rival mining giant BHP Group.



Amplats CEO Craig Miller said the standalone business would have brighter prospects.



&#8220;The planned demerger will create a more focused, independent global leader in the PGM industry,&#8221; Miller said, adding that a secondary listing would diversify its investors.



Amplats&#8217; profit fell 18% to 6.5 billion rand ($355.4 million) in the six months to June 30, while it declared a dividend of 9.75 rand per share, amounting to a total of 2.6 billion rand, in the first-half.



The wider Anglo group is due to report first half results on July 25, with investors hoping for a progress update.



Anglo has been battling an underground fire at one of its Australian coal mines since June 29, which could affect the way investors value the assets. Anglo&#8217;s sale of the coal assets is seen by investors as instrumental to raising capital.



&#8220;Anglo&#8217;s main problem this reporting period will be with the coal operations and how it will sell a burning coal mine,&#8221; said Ian Woodley, a portfolio manager at Old Mutual.



A spokesperson for Anglo said the coal assets sale had attracted strong demand from various investors.



&#8220;The sale process is well under way and there is strong interest in this world class set of steelmaking coal assets from a large number of parties,&#8221; the spokesperson said.



($1 = 18.2898 rand)



(Reporting by Felix Njini and Melanie Burton; Additional reporting by Nelson Banya and Clara Denina; Editing by Louise Heavens, David Goodman and Alexander Smith)

Kalgoorlie_open_cast_mine

Amplats says on track to demerge in 2025, plans secondary London listing

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/LYW554QLQNJ4RACN24N6DUUM3E-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-430732" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/LYW554QLQNJ4RACN24N6DUUM3E-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/LYW554QLQNJ4RACN24N6DUUM3E-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/LYW554QLQNJ4RACN24N6DUUM3E-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/LYW554QLQNJ4RACN24N6DUUM3E-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/LYW554QLQNJ4RACN24N6DUUM3E-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/LYW554QLQNJ4RACN24N6DUUM3E-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A general view of Shaft 11 at Impala Platinum Mine, in Rustenburg, South Africa, November 28, 2023. REUTERS/Sumaya Hisham</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, Nov 28 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Impala Platinum&nbsp;IMPJ.J&nbsp;on Tuesday temporarily halted operations at its Rustenburg mining complex in South Africa after 11 workers died and 75 were injured in what the CEO said was &#8220;the darkest day&#8221; in the company&#8217;s history.



The Johannesburg-based platinum miner said in a statement that 86 workers were involved in the incident at its No. 11 shaft. All the injured had been admitted to four hospitals in the area. The company spokesperson said medical physicians classified 14 workers in the hospital as&nbsp;&#8220;high priority&#8221;.



&#8220;Today is the darkest day in the history of Impala and our hearts are heavy for the lives lost and the individuals affected by this devastating incident,&#8221; CEO Nico Muller said in a statement.



Impala said workers were being brought to the surface at the end of their shift on Monday, when the conveyance system, which carries workers up and down an underground shaft 1,000 meters (3,280.84 ft) deep, started a rapid descent.



All mining operations at the Rustenburg complex in South Africa&#8217;s North West province were suspended on Tuesday. The halt could be extended to Wednesday to allow the company to &#8220;mourn and heal emotionally&#8221;, Johan Theron, Impala&#8217;s spokesperson said.



He also said investigations into the cause of the accident had begun.



Impala&#8217;s shares in Johannesburg declined 6.74% at 0847 GMT.



South Africa has some of the world&#8217;s deepest, oldest and most costly platinum and gold mining shafts.



The deaths at Rustenberg add to the 41 fatalities that had been recorded in South Africa&#8217;s mining industry this year so far. Last year, 49 workers died in South Africa&#8217;s mines, which was the lowest number of fatalities to date, Minerals Council South Africa, the industry lobby group, said.



Spokesman Theron said he could not be precise about the impact of the stoppage on Impala&#8217;s metals output.



&#8220;It&#8217;s impossible to quantify the impact on production save to say (the) shaft on its own is a very large complex and contributes roughly 15% of Impala Rustenburg&#8217;s production,&#8221; Theron said.



&#8220;To the extent that it&#8217;s stopped for any length of time, it will have a corresponding impact on the entire company.&#8221;



(Reporting by Felix Njini and Nelson Banya; Editing by Kim Coghill, Jamie Freed, Louise Heavens and Barbara Lewis)

A general view of Shaft 11 at Impala Platinum Mine, in Rustenburg

Impala Platinum halts some South African mines after 11 workers died

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="545" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/14831517782_a39f0228a9_o-820x545.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-413342" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/14831517782_a39f0228a9_o-820x545.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/14831517782_a39f0228a9_o-300x199.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/14831517782_a39f0228a9_o-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/14831517782_a39f0228a9_o-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/14831517782_a39f0228a9_o-1536x1021.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/14831517782_a39f0228a9_o-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Sulfidic serpentintite (platinum-palladium ore) (Johns-Manville Reef, Stillwater Complex, Neoarchean, 2.71 Ga; Stillwater Mine, Beartooth Mountains, Montana, USA) 
Photo: via Flickr </figcaption></figure>



LONDON, May 15 (Reuters) &#8211; A global deficit of platinum in 2023 will be 77% larger than previously expected due to supply constraints and higher demand, the World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC) said in a quarterly report on Monday.



 Demand for platinum, used in vehicle exhausts, industry and jewellery, is expected to grow by 28% in 2023 to 8.2 million troy ounces, the WPIC said. The use of more metal per vehicle, and substitution by auto makers of palladium for cheaper platinum, is driving the increase. Both metals neutralise harmful engine emissions.



 Industrial demand is expected to rise to record levels, the WPIC said, thanks largely to an expansion in China of glassmaking facilities which require platinum. Supply, meanwhile, is expected to fall by 1% to 7.2 million ounces, partly due to electricity shortages in major producer South Africa.



 That will leave the market undersupplied by 983,000 ounces, said the WPIC, having only two months ago predicted a deficit of 556,000 troy ounces this year.



 &#8220;The market will need to rely upon above-ground stocks to meet the shortfall, but…it is not clear how freely available they are likely to be at current prices, particularly as a sizeable portion of above-ground stocks appear to be held in China,&#8221; it said. The platinum market was already undersupplied in the first three months of 2023 &#8211; the first quarterly deficit since the second quarter of 2021, the WPIC said.



 Demand jumped by 28% in the first quarter as investors bought bars and coins as a safe store of value amid global economic uncertainty or as a speculative bet that deficits will push platinum prices higher.



(Reporting by Polina Devitt; editing by Kirsten Donovan)

14831517782_a39f0228a9_o

Million-ounce deficit looms over platinum market, WPIC says

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/YCD2FHWTRZP6DDDGNUZALMARSY-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-424765" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/YCD2FHWTRZP6DDDGNUZALMARSY-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/YCD2FHWTRZP6DDDGNUZALMARSY-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/YCD2FHWTRZP6DDDGNUZALMARSY-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/YCD2FHWTRZP6DDDGNUZALMARSY-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/YCD2FHWTRZP6DDDGNUZALMARSY-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/YCD2FHWTRZP6DDDGNUZALMARSY-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: A small toy figure and gold imitation are seen in front of the AngloGold Ashanti logo in this illustration taken November 19, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



May 12 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Miner AngloGold Ashanti&nbsp;ANGJ.J&nbsp;will move its primary listing to New York from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), it said on Friday.



AngloGold, which completed the sale of its South African assets in 2020, said it would also move its corporate base to the United Kingdom.



&#8220;The changes announced today will complement the work already underway to reduce our cost of capital, enhance our cost competitiveness versus our peers and optimise our portfolio by providing improved access to the world’s largest capital markets and pool of gold investors,&#8221; CEO Alberto Calderon said in a statement.



The plan to move AngloGold&#8217;s primary listing will be put to a shareholders vote and requires at least 75% support from investors, Calderon said on a conference call.



The gold miner has shifted its focus to more lucrative mines in Ghana, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as Australia and Latin America as mining in South Africa becomes more difficult and costly due to geological challenges posed by mining some of the world&#8217;s deepest gold deposits.



South Africa is also struggling with severe power cuts that are souring investors&#8217; sentiment in Africa&#8217;s most industrialised economy.



On Friday, AngloGold said it had produced 584,000 ounces of gold in the first quarter of 2023, marginally lower than 588,000 ounces a year earlier.



The company maintained its production guidance for 2023 at between 2.45 million and 2.61 million ounces. Its all-in sustaining cost guidance for the year also remains $1.450 per ounce.



In March, AngloGold said it had&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N35O0HV&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">agreed to merge</a>&nbsp;its Iduapriem mine in Ghana with Gold Fields&#8217;GFIJ.Jneighbouring Tarkwa operation in a deal that could create Africa&#8217;s biggest gold mine, producing about 900,000 ounces annually for the first five years of the joint venture.



(Reporting by Nelson Banya and Felix Njini; editing by David Goodman and Jason Neely)

AngloGold Ashanti to shift primary listing to New York

May 31 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South African miner Gold Fields Ltd&nbsp;GFIJ.J&nbsp;on Tuesday agreed to buy Canada-based precious metals miner Yamana Gold Inc&nbsp;YRI.TO&nbsp;in an all-share deal, valuing the Toronto-listed company at $6.7 billion.



Gold Fields said its shareholders will own about 61% of the combined group, while Yamana Gold shareholders will own around 39% after the deal completes.



The South African miner said Yamana&#8217;s board has unanimously approved the deal and also recommended its shareholders to vote in favour of the offer.



The offer consists of new shares or newly issued American Depositary Shares in Gold Fields at a fixed exchange ratio of 0.6 of a Gold Fields share for each Yamana share outstanding.



Shares of Yamana will be delisted from the stock markets, while Gold Fields will continue trading in Johannesburg, where the combined group will have their headquarters.



(Reporting by Amna Karimi and Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Uttaresh.V and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

P5SMH45ZXZISHHJMFTO3TFOVFQ

S.Africa’s Gold Fields to buy Yamana Gold in $6.7 bln deal

Glencore agrees settlements in U.S., Brazil



Glencore Energy (UK) charged with bribery over oil operations



U.S. prosecutor calls bribery scheme &#8220;staggering&#8221;



Updates with details from U.S. settlement with Glencore, adds comments from prosecutors in Brazil



By Clara Denina, Kirstin Ridley and Sarah N. Lynch



LONDON/WASHINGTON May 24 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Glencore Plc&nbsp;GLEN.L&nbsp;said on Tuesday it anticipates paying up to $1.5 billion to settle accusations of bribery and market manipulation, as authorities in the United States, Britain and Brazil announced that three of the company&#8217;s subsidiaries were pleading guilty to crimes.



The miner and commodity trading giant agreed to pay more than $1 billion in the United States and Brazil, with Glencore representatives also appearing in courts in the United States and Britain on Tuesday.



U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said a $1.1 billion accord with the U.S. will resolve both a decade-long scheme to bribe foreign officials across seven countries and separate criminal and civil charges alleging one of the company&#8217;s trading arms manipulated fuel oil prices at two of the largest U.S. shipping ports.



&#8220;This represents the Justice Department&#8217;s largest criminal enforcement action to date for a commodity price manipulation conspiracy in oil markets,&#8221; Garland said at a press conference.



&#8220;We will continue to investigate, disrupt and hold accountable corporations that break our laws.&#8221;



The company said it expects a final global settlement, including a future fine in Britain, not to exceed the $1.5 billion it set aside in its reserves in February to resolve the probes relating to operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Venezuela.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL4N2UQ1V7&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



&#8220;Glencore has resolved the previously disclosed investigations by authorities in the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil into past activities in certain Group businesses related to bribery,&#8221; it said in a statement.



Any final resolution would wrap up a multi-year U.S. and British investigation that has dogged the Swiss-based multinational, which still faces corruption and bribery investigations by other countries including Swiss and Dutch authorities.



In Brazil on Tuesday, prosecutors said Glencore will pay $29.6 million directly to state-run oil company Petrobras&nbsp;PETR4.SA&nbsp;in compensation for defrauding the company and roughly $10 million to authorities in civil penalties.



The UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO), which opened a corruption investigation in 2019 code-named Operation Azoth, said on Tuesday it had exposed &#8220;profit-driven bribery and corruption&#8221; across oil operations in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and South Sudan.



Glencore Energy (UK) Ltd, which said Tuesday it would plead guilty to all the charges at a hearing at London&#8217;s Westminster Magistrates&#8217; Court, will be sentenced on June 21.



The SFO alleged that Glencore agents and employees paid bribes worth over $25 million for preferential access to oil, with approval by the company.



Damian Williams, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, called the bribery scheme &#8220;staggering.&#8221;



&#8220;Glencore paid bribes to secure oil contracts. Glencore paid bribes to avoid government audits. Glencore paid bribes to judges to make lawsuits disappear,&#8221; he said.



As part of the resolution with the United States, Glencore is also required to hire two separate independent compliance monitors.



In March 2021, former Glencore oil trader Emilio Jose Heredia Collado pleaded guilty in San Francisco, California, to manipulating a key oil price benchmark, while former Glencore trader Anthony Stimler pleaded guilty in New York in July 2021 over his role in a scheme to bribe Nigerian officials.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2LN22R&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a><a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2P22GL&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



However, none of the company&#8217;s top executives have faced charges to date. U.S. Justice Department officials told reporters on Tuesday their investigations remain ongoing.



Spotlight on Corruption, a public interest group, welcomed the charges on Tuesday, but said it was &#8220;essential that those responsible for the wrongdoing, including senior executives and the parent company, are held to account.&#8221;



(Reporting by Kirstin Ridley and Clara Denina in London and Sarah N. Lynch in Washington. Additional reporting by Tyler Clifford in Washington, Jonathan Stempel in New York, Gram Slattery in Rio de Janeiro and Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel, Paul Simao, David Gregorio and Richard Pullin)



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File: Glencore Plunges After U.S. Subpoena Regarding Money Laundering

Glencore prepares to pay up to $1.5 bln to settle U.S., UK, Brazil probes

GABORONE, May 16 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Botswana, Africa&#8217;s top diamond producer, sees a prolonged ban on Russian diamonds opening the way for synthetic gems to expand market share, the country&#8217;s minister told a mining conference on Monday.



The United States, the world largest market for natural diamonds, imposed sanctions on Russia&#8217;s state-controlled Alrosa&nbsp;ALRS.MM&nbsp;in April, aiming to cut off a source of revenue for Moscow after its February invasion of Ukraine.<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2W61HG&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Alrosa, the world&#8217;s largest producer of rough diamonds, accounted for about 30% of global output in 2021.



Botswana&#8217;s Minister of Minerals and Energy Lefoko Moagi said the ban on Russia diamonds might push prices up to the benefit of rival producers but he also said the gap would be hard to fill.



&#8220;We see the 30% gap that will be left by the ban being plugged by something else that is not natural. And for us that will be a challenge,&#8221; he said.



Jacob Thamage, head of Botswana&#8217;s Diamond Hub, said uncertainty over the Ukraine conflict makes it difficult for Botswana and other natural diamond miners to fill the supply gap as ramping up operations requires significant investment.



&#8220;You don&#8217;t want to invest a lot of money to up-scale and then the war ends the next day,&#8221; Thamage said. &#8220;We also see the higher prices pushing consumers to substitutes such as the synthetics and this can cause problems for us if we cede the market to unnatural stones.&#8221;



Sales at Debswana, a joint venture between Anglo American&nbsp;AAL.L&nbsp;unit De Beers and Botswana&#8217;s government, accounts for almost all of Botswana diamonds exports. These stood at $3.466 billion in 2021 compared with $2.120 billion in 2020.<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N2UB4O2&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Thamage also fears that consumers might start to shun natural diamonds due to traceability issues.



&#8220;There is an increased fear that buyers of diamonds will begin to treat all natural diamonds as conflict diamonds and therefore shift to unnatural diamonds,&#8221; he said.



(Reporting by Brian Benza, Editing by Nelson Banya and Jane Merriman)

diamonds-black-background

Botswana sees Russian diamond ban opening door to synthetic gems

LONDON, May 16 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Improving demand and lower supply will help palladium and rhodium swing back into deficit this year and reduce platinum&#8217;s surplus, consultants Metals Focus said on Monday.



The three precious metals are used by automakers in engine exhaust systems, where they neutralise harmful emissions. Platinum is also used in other industries and for jewellery and investment.



Demand from auto makers, which are beginning to overcome a shortage of semiconductors that forced them to cut production, will lift demand for all three metals, Metals Focus said.



On the supply side, palladium and platinum production could be constrained by major producer Russia&#8217;s conflict with Ukraine, while output from another key producer, South Africa, will fall, it said.



Logistical issues and limited automotive scrap feedstock will also impede supply from recycling.



Metals Focus said the roughly 10 million ounce a year palladium market should swing back from its first surplus in 10 years in 2021 to a deficit of 521,000 ounces in 2022 and that prices would average $2,290 an ounce this year.



Palladium&nbsp;XPD=&nbsp;jumped to a record high of $3,440.76 an ounce earlier this year and now costs around $1,930 an ounce.



The surplus in the nearly eight million ounce a year platinum market&nbsp;XPT=&nbsp;is expected be 40% lower than in 2021 at 477,000 ounces this year, while prices will average $990 an ounce, Metals Focus said.



It predicted a deficit of 30,000 ounces in 2022 in the one-million-ounce rhodium market, included in the Metals Focus report for the first time.



Rhodium&#8217;s annual average price&nbsp;RHOD-LON&nbsp;will fall 17% from last year to $17,750 an ounce in 2022, the report said. Rhodium currently trades around $15,600.



(Reporting by Zandi Shabalala; editing by David Evans)

Palladium to swing back into deficit, platinum surplus to fall

JOHANNESBURG, May 8 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The need to secure new sources of metals for the energy transition amid sanctions on top producer Russia has increased the Africa risk appetite for major miners, who have few alternatives to the resource-rich continent.



Companies and investors are considering projects they may have previously overlooked, while governments are also looking to Africa, anxious to ensure their countries can procure enough metals to feed an accelerating net-zero push.



This year&#8217;s Investing in African Mining Indaba conference, which runs May 9-12 in Cape Town, will see the highest-ranking U.S. government official in years attending, organisers say, as well as representatives from the Japan Oil, Gas and Metals Corporation (JOGMEC), in a sign of rich countries&#8217; rising concern about securing supply.



&#8220;The reality is that the resources the world wants are typically located in difficult places,&#8221; said Steven Fox, executive chairman of New York-based political risk consultancy Veracity Worldwide.



The U.S. administration wants to position itself as a strong supporter of battery metals projects in sub-Saharan Africa, he said.



&#8220;While Africa presents its challenges, those challenges are no more difficult than the corresponding set of challenges in Canada. It may be easier to actually bring a project to fruition in Africa, than in a place like Canada or the U.S.,&#8221; he added.



The United States has voiced support for new domestic mines, but projects have stalled. Rio Tinto&#8217;s&nbsp;RIO.AX&nbsp;Resolution copper project, for example, was halted over Native American claims on the land, and conservation issues.



Certainly, the risks of mining in sub-Saharan Africa remain high. The acute security challenge facing mines in the gold-rich Sahel region was highlighted last month when Russia&#8217;s Nordgold abandoned its Taparko gold mine in Burkina Faso over an increasing threat from militants.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2W93TK&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



And even in the continent&#8217;s most industrialised economy, South Africa, deteriorating rail infrastructure is forcing some coal producers to resort to trucking their product to ports.<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2WK5KH&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Yet with Russia&#8217;s 7% of global nickel supply, 10% of the world&#8217;s platinum, and 25-30% of the world&#8217;s palladium off the table, Africa&#8217;s rich deposits of those metals start looking a lot more attractive.



&#8220;As a mining company, there aren&#8217;t many opportunities and if you are going to grow, you&#8217;re going to have to look at riskier countries,&#8221; said George Cheveley, portfolio manager at Ninety One.



&#8220;Clearly, after Russia-Ukraine people are more sensitive to geopolitical risk and you cannot predict which projects are going to work out and which are not,&#8221; he added.



Kabanga Nickel, a project in Tanzania, secured funding from global miner BHP&nbsp;BHP.AX&nbsp;in January, and CEO Chris Showalter said it is seeing increased demand from potential offtakers.



Western sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine are forcing metals supply chains to reconfigure along geopolitical lines, Showalter said.



&#8220;Not everyone&#8217;s going to be able to get clean battery metals from a friendly jurisdiction, so I think some difficult decisions will have to be made, and it is going to force people to make some new decisions about where they want to source.&#8221;



(Reporting by Helen Reid in Johannesburg and Clara Denina in London; Editing by Amran Abocar and Susan Fenton)

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Global scramble for metals thrusts Africa into mining spotlight

<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Mineral exporters lose $2.2 bln in potential sales -survey</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Glencore among miners resorting to trucks rather than rail Trucking costs four times as much as rail freight</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Menar plans to procure its own locomotives and wagons</li></ul>



By Nelson Banya and Helen Reid



JOHANNESBURG, May 3 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Mining companies in South Africa have resorted to trucking coal to ports to meet a surge in European demand since the war in Ukraine started, bypassing the deteriorating rail infrastructure they blame for billions of dollars in lost revenue.



Poor maintenance, a lack of spare parts for trains, copper cable theft and vandalism have disrupted state logistics firm Transnet&#8217;s freight rail services, causing coal and iron ore exports to fall in recent years.



In April, Transnet declared force majeure on contracts with producers but with coal prices near record highs, mining firms including Glencore&nbsp;GLEN.L&nbsp;have turned to trucks, one industry source said. A Glencore spokesperson declined to comment.



Trucking coal costs about four times more than rail, according to miner Menar. It has started using trucks but said the high coal prices mean miners can absorb the cost, for now.



&#8220;The industry at large are on their knees, so they are resorting to drastic measures,&#8221; said Clifford Hallatt, chief operating officer at Canyon Coal, a joint venture between Menar and commodity trader Mercuria.



At Canyon Coal&#8217;s Khanye Colliery some 90 km (55 miles) from Johannesburg, it takes about 80 trucks &#8211; each carrying 34 tonnes &#8211; to replace one average Transnet train, making it unsustainable financially, boosting emissions and clogging roads.



But the company says it has little choice.



A year ago, it was loading five or six Transnet trains a week from Khanye. That has dropped to just two or three now, and its stockpiles of coal have been mounting, Hallatt said.



COAL PRICES ROCKET



Demand, meanwhile, has shot up since the war in Ukraine. The European Union has announced a ban on Russian coal and mining companies in South Africa say they are fielding calls from European countries looking for imports.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL3N2VB24Z&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a><a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2W50LZ&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



As for prices, Australian thermal coal futures&nbsp;NCFMc1&nbsp;were trading at about $80 a tonne at the start of 2021. A week after Russia sent its forces into Ukraine, they rocketed to a record high of $440 and are now trading at $326 a tonne.



Menar is trucking about 120,000 tonnes of coal a month and plans to increase that to 200,000 tonnes, Hallatt said.



As a whole, South African coal miners are putting about 400 trucks on the road a day, trucking some 6 million tonnes of coal on an annualised basis, according to the industry source.



&#8220;We are aware that there&#8217;s been an increase in the number of coal trucks now running into the ports and that&#8217;s not a good situation,&#8221; Transnet Freight Rail Chief Executive Sizakele Mzimela told Reuters.



Transnet shipped 58.3 million tonnes of coal to the Richards Bay Coal Terminal last year, 24% below its annual capacity of 77 million tonnes. Transnet expects an improvement in the delivery of coal this year, to about 60 million tonnes.



But limited rail capacity cost bulk commodity exporters at least 35 billion rand ($2.2 billion) last year in lost revenue, according to South Africa&#8217;s Minerals Council.



Transnet&#8217;s Mzimela said the state-owned firm feels the industry&#8217;s pain.



&#8220;The frustration is more about the lost opportunity, because of course if we were able to move more, we would benefit, they would benefit. We are tied at the hip,&#8221; she said.



OTHER OPPORTUNITIES?



Mzimela said Transnet was open to miners investing in their own rolling stock, as well as allowing private rail operators to run on some container route slots. But it does not plan to open its iron ore and coal lines to private firms.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2VZ0P3&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



That falls short of what mining firms, who are helping to fund private security to combat theft along rail lines, want.



Menar said it was pushing to invest in state-owned rail lines and procure its own locomotives and wagons as part of attempts to overcome the country&#8217;s infrastructure bottleneck.



Hallatt told Reuters that Menar would also consider operating a section of the bulk commodity rail lines, although that&#8217;s an option Transnet&#8217;s Mzimela rejects.



Since the security collaboration started, the number of drones monitoring the coal line from Mpumalanga to Richards Bay has more than doubled and incidents have fallen to about 19 a week from 35 previously, according to Transnet.



The copper cables carrying electricity from substations along the line to signalling systems are regularly stolen, for example, as well as other metal parts along the track.



For the first time, South Africa was ranked among the 10 least attractive jurisdictions for mining investment in the Fraser Institute&#8217;s annual mining industry survey last year.



Gabrielle Reid, associate director for strategic intelligence at S-RM, said the logistical challenges were now prompting some South African miners to look outside the country for growth opportunities.



&#8220;Our most recent experiences with rail in South Africa make for a compelling diversification case,&#8221; July Ndlovu, chief executive of thermal coal producer Thungela Resources&nbsp;TGAJ.J, told analysts on a call in March.



&#8220;Given the concentration that we&#8217;ve got in a single geography and the concentrated risk associated with that infrastructure, I think it stands to reason that we should look at other opportunities.&#8221;



(Reporting by Nelson Banya and Helen Reid; Editing by David Clarke)

black-coal-1542285036I13

South African coal miners turn to trucks as rail service deteriorates

Feb 14 (Reuters) &#8211; South African mining company Sibanye-Stillwater on Monday said it will meet unions this week over a looming strike at its gold operations in the country after some workers backed a walkout.



The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), which has been mediating between the two sides, cleared the unions to give strike notice a month ago after declaring a stalemate in wage talks.



A Sibanye spokesperson said a meeting with unions would take place this week, but did not specify a date.



South Africa&#8217;s major unions, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU), National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), Solidarity and UASA have been negotiating as a united coalition for the first time.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-sibanye-stillwater-ends-1-bln-brazil-mines-purchase-deal">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/sibanye-stillwater-ends-1-bln-brazil-mines-purchase-deal/">Sibanye Stillwater ends $1 bln Brazil mines purchase deal</a></h3>



NUM spokesperson Livhuwani Mammburu told Reuters on Monday that a Sunday meeting of NUM, AMCU, and UASA workers had voted to reject Sibanye&#8217;s latest wage offer.



&#8220;They rejected it. The majority voted to embark on a strike,&#8221; Mammburu said.



He added that the coalition of unions would only serve Sibanye with a 48-hour strike notice after meeting the company&#8217;s management if the deadlock remains.



Sibanye&#8217;s final offer, tabled on Feb.4, would increase underground workers&#8217; wages by 800 rand a month ($52.76) in each of the three years under negotiation. Other categories, including artisans and officials, would get 5% increases over the same period.



Mammburu said the unions&#8217; demand of 1,000 rand a month ($65.95) increases for each of the three years remained unchanged. 



($1 = 15.1621 rand) 



(Reporting by Nelson Banya, editing by Jason Neely, Kirsten Donovan)

download-33

Sibanye-Stillwater to meet unions as strike looms at South Africa gold mines

Gold and gold miners are set to benefit no matter who wins the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/03/election-2020-live-results-updates-trump-biden.html">U.S. election</a>&nbsp;this week, one investor told CNBC.



That&#8217;s because the United States will likely to adopt a sizeable fiscal stimulus program no matter which candidate wins the presidency, James Rasteh, CIO of Coast Capital, told CNBC&#8217;s &#8220;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/asia-squawk-box/">Squawk Box Asia</a>&#8221; on Tuesday.



&#8220;We would be printing trillions of dollars more and all of that ultimately has extraordinarily positive repercussions for gold,&#8221; he said.



&#8220;The fiscal and monetary policies would be almost identical under either leadership. I think that the differences that are being delineated are really more imaginative than real,&#8221; Rasteh added.We are discovering a lot less gold than we are producing. We will be producing 50% less gold than we do today.



Fiscal stimulus — or policies such as government spending or tax reduction aimed at boosting economic activity — typically leads to a wider deficit. That could undermine investor confidence and prompt them to put their money into safer assets such as gold, and in turn, push gold prices higher.



<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=XAU=">Spot gold</a>&nbsp;rallied above $2,000 in August before pulling back to trade around the $1,900 level in recent weeks.&nbsp;On Wednesday, the precious metal traded at $1,912.41 as of 7:25 a.m. HK/SIN.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gold-supply">Gold supply</h2>



A<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/30/india-gold-demand-fell-world-gold-council.html">&nbsp;report from the World Gold Council last week&nbsp;</a>said worldwide demand and supply for the precious metal fell last quarter due to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/coronavirus/">coronavirus</a>&nbsp;pandemic.



Rasteh explained that gold miners are spending more capital now to look for new gold and even when it is found, the quality of the precious metal discovered is much lower. &#8220;We are discovering a lot less gold than we are producing,&#8221; he said, adding that in a decade, &#8220;we will be producing 50% less gold than we do today.&#8221;We think that &#8230; the case for small-and-mid-cap gold miners, which admittedly are very difficult to invest into, is as strong as it has been in many, many generations.James RastehCIO OF COAST CAPITAL



According to Rasteh, capital invested in the gold market are flowing into exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, where the major miners dominate. It is an &#8220;extraordinarily underowned sector,&#8221; he said.



Given that those larger players are not making significant discoveries for new sources of gold and are running out of reserves, they are likely to be forced into buying out the smaller names in the market.



&#8220;So what we are doing is we&#8217;re buying all the wonderful small gold miners with long term attractive reserves and as activist investors, we&#8217;re able to put them up for sale,&#8221; Rasteh said. A new fund from Coast Capital is investing most of its capital into publicly-traded small-and-mid-cap mining companies.



&#8220;We think that very specifically, the case for small-and-mid-cap gold miners, which admittedly are very difficult to invest into, is as strong as it has been in many, many generations,&#8221; he added.



Meanwhile, major gold stocks are notably higher this year: Canada&#8217;s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=ABX-CA">Barrick Gold</a>&nbsp;has notched up more than 46% gains while U.S.-based&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=NEM">Newmont</a>, the world&#8217;s largest gold miner, is up more than 48%.

Close-Up Of Gold Ingots On Table

Gold will be a winner no matter who clinches the U.S. election, investor says

LUSAKA (Reuters) &#8211; Zambia should treat mineral royalty payments as a deductible expense in order to avoid double taxation and attract investment, the Zambia Chamber of Mines said on Monday.



Since 2019, mineral royalty payments have not been treated as a deductible expense when calculating corporate income tax and that provision was kept unchanged in the government’s annual budget unveiled on Friday.



“The effect of this is that mining companies end up being taxed on income that has already been paid over as a royalty – a situation referred to as double taxation,” the chamber said in a statement.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1110" height="740" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Zambia_2-1110x740.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-374752" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Zambia_2-1110x740.jpg 1110w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Zambia_2-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Zambia_2-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Zambia_2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Zambia_2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Zambia_2-scaled.jpg 2048w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Zambia_2-696x464.jpg 696w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Zambia_2-1068x712.jpg 1068w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Zambia_2-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Zambia_2-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1110px) 100vw, 1110px" /></figure>



Reversing that provision could unlock a series of investment approvals and kick-start economic recovery, it said.



The chamber welcomed the withdrawal of duty on ore imports, announced in the budget on Friday, and acknowledged the sensitivity of the issue, given the initiation of negotiations to suspend Zambia’s bond repayments.



Africa’s No. 2 copper producer has asked creditors to defer interest payments on three outstanding dollar-denominated bonds amid a crisis, which has driven spending and hit copper earnings.







Zambia had been wrestling with growing public debt before the coronavirus outbreak forced lockdowns around the world and cut demand for raw materials.



The Chamber of Mines noted that a good proportion of the Eurobond holders also hold shares in mining and prospecting in Zambia.



Such a change in the tax regime would help spur growth in the mining sector and help bondholders mitigate their income loss during the proposed moratorium on coupon payments, the chamber said.

shutterstock_318371045

Zambia chamber of mines says double taxation hurting investment

(Reuters) &#8211; The world’s top gold miners sought to reassure investors on Monday that they’re not going on a spending spree despite surging gold prices boosting their shares and free cash flow.



Miners are opting to give more cash back to shareholders rather than plotting takeovers which the market may disapprove of with the COVID-19 pandemic far from over.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/gettyimages-493425692-594x594-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-374831" width="704" height="471"/><figcaption>Mine workers walk along a raised walkway at Harmony Gold Mining Co.&#8217;s Doornkop mine west of Johannesburg, South Africa, on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015. The government is seeking to develop operations from mining rights that have been returned by companies, especially in coal and platinum, Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane told reporters. Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



“We don’t need to, and will not be, chasing volume,” Newmont Chief Executive Tom Palmer told the Gold Forum Americas conference. “In this current gold price environment we are actively assessing an increase to our sustainable dividend.”



Newmont’s annual dividend of $1 per share was based on a gold price of $1,200 per ounce. Gold was last trading at $1,887 per ounce.



Kinross reinstated its dividend last week, at 12 cents per share annualized, for the first time since 2013. “We think it’s a good starting point,” CEO Paul Rollinson said at the conference.







Newcrest Mining targets a dividend payout of at least 10% to 30% of free cash flow.



“Having a lot of gold won’t create value unless you can achieve strong margins from its extraction,” said Newcrest CEO Sandeep Biswas.



Barrick Gold CEO Mark Bristow said the industry needs further consolidation but sought to reassure investors he saw no imminent deals.



“Wherever we see opportunities to add to our Tier 1 portfolio, we’ll be right there in front of the queue,” he said, but added: “The most important thing is exploration and organic growth.”







Barrick will publish a formal dividend policy early next year.



Sibanye-Stillwater would like to increase exposure to gold but it’s a “difficult time to do anything,” Chief Executive Neal Froneman said.



“We don’t anticipate major M&amp;A announcements,” Credit Suisse analyst Fahad Tariq said on Friday. Site visits remain difficult and companies are wary of repeating past mistakes, he said.

Why people seek refuge in gold during crises like COVID-19

Gold miners insist they won’t splurge despite price surge

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; AngloGold Ashanti&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/ANGJ.J">ANGJ.J</a>&nbsp;reinstated but trimmed its annual production guidance on Monday citing improved operating certainty including the expected conclusion of its sale of its South African assets.



The miner withdrew its guidance in March as the pandemic accelerated and many governments responded by restricting travel, closing borders and ordering some businesses to cease or limit operations.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1110" height="740" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/gold-is-money-2430051_1280-1110x740.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-378165" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/gold-is-money-2430051_1280-1110x740.jpg 1110w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/gold-is-money-2430051_1280-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/gold-is-money-2430051_1280-820x546.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/gold-is-money-2430051_1280-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/gold-is-money-2430051_1280-696x464.jpg 696w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/gold-is-money-2430051_1280-1068x712.jpg 1068w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/gold-is-money-2430051_1280-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/gold-is-money-2430051_1280.jpg 1280w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1110px) 100vw, 1110px" /></figure>



AngloGold, which has mines in several African countries as well as Australia and South America, said it now expected production including its South African assets of between 3.03 million ounces and 3.10 million ounces.







That is slightly lower than its February outlook which saw output of between 3.05 million and 3.30 million ounces, while capital expenditure was anticipated between $920 million and $990 million.



“The company benefited from its diversified global portfolio and careful management during the intervening period, with the impact in the first half of the year limited to approximately 3% of production and 5% of the all-in sustaining cost (AISC) during the period,” it said.



The guidance was also reinstated in anticipation of the conclusion of the sale of its South African assets to Harmony Gold&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/HARJ.J">HARJ.J</a>&nbsp;at the end of September.







Its South African assets are expected to have produced around 240,000 ounces in the nine months to Sept. 30, at an AISC of approximately $1,300 per ounce, the firm added.



Excluding the South African assets for the full year, AngloGold Ashanti said it expected production of between 2.80 million and 2.86 million ounces.

goldggg

AngloGold Ashanti reinstates trimmed 2020 output guidance

ABUJA (Reuters) &#8211; Nigeria aims to have 50 mines in operation by 2023 and can make up for time lost because of the impact of COVID-19 on development of the nascent sector, the country’s mining minister said in an interview.



Africa’s largest oil producer is banking on mining to diversify its income and revive its finances following a collapse in crude prices, which earlier this year hit two-decade lows.



“The pandemic has slowed things down, but we can still catch up,” Minister of Mines Olamilekan Adegbite said.



Nigeria hopes mining will grow tenfold in five years to account for 3% of the economy and that Nigeria can process as well as mine, which generates increased profits compared with shipping raw minerals.



In particular, he said Nigeria aimed to process barite, used in drilling for oil and gas, and sell it to countries such as Ghana and South Africa, which need the mineral to exploit new oil discoveries.



In common with other African countries, Nigeria is also seeking to formalise artisanal mining, which could generate tax and royalties from gold.



Adegbite said Nigeria was encouraging small-scale miners to form cooperatives and sell at government-buying centres, where prices are closer to global values than those illegal buyers offer.



While oil prices have been weak because of the impact of the pandemic on movement and industry, which has curbed fuel demand, gold in August hit record highs.



A problem for Nigeria is that its gold lies mostly in the northwest, where, humanitarian organisations say it has helped to fuel violence attributed to armed groups.



Adegbite said security had improved and buying centres would stop artisanal miners dealing with criminals: “By weaning them off the illegal people and (making) sure they sell to government-approved centres, you take off that linkage.”



He also expects more commercial gold miners to be attracted once Thor Explorations’s gold mine in Nigeria’s southwest starts producing. Its first gold is expected in the second quarter of 2021.



Malte Liewerscheidt, vice president of London-based risk consultancy Teneo Intelligence, said the plans were likely to be undermined by “structural challenges pertaining to insecurity and infrastructure deficiencies”.

Central Bank of Nigeria cuts benchmark lending rate to 12.5%

Mining

AngloGold Ashanti to buy Centamin in $2.5 billion deal

Amplats says on track to demerge in 2025, plans secondary London listing

Impala Platinum halts some South African mines after 11 workers died

Million-ounce deficit looms over platinum market, WPIC says

AngloGold Ashanti to shift primary listing to New York

S.Africa’s Gold Fields to buy Yamana Gold in $6.7 bln deal

Glencore prepares to pay up to $1.5 bln to settle U.S., UK, Brazil probes

Botswana sees Russian diamond ban opening door to synthetic gems

Palladium to swing back into deficit, platinum surplus to fall

Global scramble for metals thrusts Africa into mining spotlight

South African coal miners turn to trucks as rail service deteriorates

Sibanye-Stillwater to meet unions as strike looms at South Africa gold mines

Gold will be a winner no matter who clinches the U.S. election, investor says

Zambia chamber of mines says double taxation hurting investment

Gold miners insist they won’t splurge despite price surge

AngloGold Ashanti reinstates trimmed 2020 output guidance

Nigeria says can tap mineral wealth despite COVID, unrest

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Mining

AngloGold Ashanti to buy Centamin in $2.5 billion deal

Amplats says on track to demerge in 2025, plans secondary London listing

Impala Platinum halts some South African mines after 11 workers died

Million-ounce deficit looms over platinum market, WPIC says

AngloGold Ashanti to shift primary listing to New York

S.Africa’s Gold Fields to buy Yamana Gold in $6.7 bln deal

Glencore prepares to pay up to $1.5 bln to settle U.S., UK, Brazil probes

Botswana sees Russian diamond ban opening door to synthetic gems

Palladium to swing back into deficit, platinum surplus to fall

Global scramble for metals thrusts Africa into mining spotlight

South African coal miners turn to trucks as rail service deteriorates

Sibanye-Stillwater to meet unions as strike looms at South Africa gold mines

Gold will be a winner no matter who clinches the U.S. election, investor says

Zambia chamber of mines says double taxation hurting investment

Gold miners insist they won’t splurge despite price surge

AngloGold Ashanti reinstates trimmed 2020 output guidance

Nigeria says can tap mineral wealth despite COVID, unrest

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