JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa’s diamond industry, famed for sales the world over and supplying gems for the British crown jewels, is looking closer to home to revive its fortunes following the coronavirus slump.



Even before the new virus triggered the COVID-19 pandemic, diamond prices and demand were weak. Global economic weakness has exaggerated that and Anglo American’s De Beers unit last week reported a plunge in earnings. 



Some of the many small players who polish the rough diamonds that De Beers and other miners unearth say they have been pleasantly surprised by the extent of lockdown jewellery-buying as enforced proximity kindled romance and feel-good spending.



South African cutting and polishing firm Nungu Diamonds said its custom-made jewellery sales have grown 60% since South Africa imposed a strict lockdown in March.



Customers used their weeks at home for online consulations and were lining up for their purchases when stores reopened in June, the company’s founder Kealeboga Pule said.



“We remain resilient. We fight on,” Pule said at his shop in a Johannesburg suburb. June was the best month in a year, he said, with sales including engagement and wedding rings.



Bucking the trend of rising unemployment, Nungu has hired an in-house jewellery designer &#8211; joining a team of 5 polishers and 9 jewellers.



Nungu says jewellery prices have held steady. Profit margins, however, could improve as lower global demand has depressed the prices of uncut, unpolished rough stones bought from the mines.



Thoko’s Diamonds, another South African company whose business was based on selling rough and polished stones, said it was turning to jewellery.



Zipho Dlamini, co-owner of Thoko’s Diamonds, said in a typical year the family business would supply more than 500 carats.



So far this year, the company had sold less than 20 carats and profits have fallen 65% as the exports that account for more than half of its business dried up.



Thoko’s hopes its new line in earrings will appeal to the local market.



“Because of COVID-19 we have managed to move into the jewellery space,” Dlamini said.

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South Africa’s diamond polishers look to lockdown lovers to add shine

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South African miner Gold Fields said on Wednesday booming gold prices could drive up half-year profits by more than 300%, triggering a 10% rally in its shares.



Gold Fields has already said the COVID-19 pandemic would have a limited negative impact on its performance, even though miners have had to shut operations during lockdowns and infections among employees.



Now, it says it is set to reap hefty gains as an ultra-low interest rate environment and expectations of more economic stimulus packages to offset the economic impact of the pandemic have driven gold, its main product, to record highs.



It said its headline earnings per share &#8211; the main profit measure in South Africa &#8211; for the six months to June 30, were likely to be between 290% and 310% higher than the $0.05 per share reported last year.



“The increase in earnings for the period is driven largely by the increase in the gold price received,” it said in a trading statement, adding that attributable gold equivalent production rose only marginally.



Gold Fields kept its production guidance for the full-year at the same level, but said its costs could be higher than previously flagged after these rose during the first half.

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South Africa’s Gold Fields sees 300% profit rise on gold rally

LONDON (Reuters) &#8211; Swiss-based Glencore said a stellar performance in trading would see it hit the top end of guidance for the year but posted lower production figures for its first half.



Copper output fell 11% to 588,100 tonnes for the six months to June 30 while cobalt output was down 33% to 14,300 tonnes owing to the closure of the Mutanda mine in Democratic Republic of Congo.



Glencore stuck to its full-year expectations for most of its commodities including copper and cobalt but said it expected to mine 14% less coal mainly due to the continued closure of its Prodeco operation in Colombia.



The marketing division, which sets Glencore apart from its mining peers, is now expected to be at the top end of the $2.2-$3.2 billion range this year.

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Glencore ups expectations for trading, cuts coal guidance

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; Gold miner AngloGold Ashanti’s chief executive Kelvin Dushnisky will step down on Sept. 1, the company said on Thursday, without giving a reason for the change in leadership.



Dushnisky has spent just two years in the role as CEO of the Johannesburg-listed gold miner. Current Chief Financial Officer Christine Ramon has been appointed interim CEO.



“The Board thanks Kelvin for his contribution in delivering on its strategy and wishes him well in the future,” the company said in a statement.

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Anglogold Ashanti CEO to step down on Sept. 1

LONDON (Reuters) &#8211; Diversified miner Anglo American said on Thursday first- half profits fell 39% as coronavirus-related lockdowns hit production and it said it was halving its interim dividend.



The London-listed miner posted underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $3.4 billion for the six months to June 30, beating a consensus of $3 billion from nine analysts compiled by Vuma.



Anglo declared an interim dividend of 28 cents per share, down 55% from a year earlier but in line with its 40% payout policy.



“The year has been like nothing I have ever seen in my 43 years in the industry,” CEO Mark Cutifani said on a call.



This month, Anglo stuck to most of the full-year production targets it set in the spring after lockdowns hit its output of diamonds, iron ore, coal, platinum and palladium.



Anglo also suffered operational incidents at its platinum unit in South Africa and in its Australian metallurgical coal mine which were partially offset by a good performances in Brazilian iron ore and its Chilean copper operations.

Anglo American lowers dividend after 39% profit fall from lockdowns

LAGOS/LONDON (Reuters) &#8211; Nigeria’s state oil firm NNPC has signed a $1.5 billion prepayment deal led by Standard Chartered and backed by oil traders Vitol Group and Matrix Energy, two sources close to the matter said, the first such agreement since the coronavirus pandemic.



The deal provides OPEC-member Nigeria with much-needed cash after its finances were hit by the oil price crash in April as COVID-19 lockdowns erased nearly one third of global oil demand.



The financing package called Project Eagle was also backed by African Export Import Bank (Afrexim) and United Bank for Africa. Vitol and Matrix will each get 15,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude as repayment over five years, starting in August. Nigeria’s crude production is nearly 2 million bpd.



Nigerian trader Matrix confirmed its participation in the deal. Vitol, the world’s biggest independent oil trader, declined to comment. A spokesman for Standard Chartered declined to comment. Afrexim did not have an immediate comment.



UBA and NNPC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.



Prepayments with traders are widely used in commodity finance as banks consider them to be one of the more secure forms of lending in countries viewed as risky.



For trading firms such as Vitol, these loans are ideal for securing long-term supplies and boosting razor-thin margins.



NNPC has been trying to raise cash through prepayments with traders for years. However, the firm’s opaque finances and costly gasoline subsidies have made it tough for it to secure private financing on attractive terms. Nigeria announced the end of subsidies earlier this year.



NNPC will use a large portion of the money to pay taxes owed by its subsidiary NPDC, the sources said. The remainder will go towards operational expenses and capital expenditure. One of the sources said money from the pre-payment could fund an upgrade of the Port Harcourt refinery.

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Nigeria in $1.5 bln oil prepay deal with traders Vitol, Matrix

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa’s Kumba Iron Ore Ltd on Tuesday reported a 17% drop in interim earnings due to the impact of the new coronavirus on output and sales but remained upbeat about its ability to withstand the turmoil.



The company, a unit of Anglo American, on Tuesday reported headline earnings per share, the main profit measure used in South Africa, down 17% to 26.19 rand for the six months ended on June 30, compared with 31.51 rand a year earlier.



“We are a resilient and capital efficient business with a robust balance sheet, well positioned to navigate the current environment and the longer term,” said Kumba chief executive Themba Mkhwanazi.



The company, which declared an interim cash dividend of 19.60 rand, also approved a 7 billion rand ($426 million) project to develop the new Kapstevel South pit at its Kolomela operations in the Northern Cape province.



The project, which is expected to deliver its first ore in 2024, will contribute to sustaining production of 13 million tonnes for the remaining life of the Kolomela mine.



During the period production dropped by 11% to 17.9 million tonnes compared with the same period a year ago due to the lockdown and reduced output levels during the pandemic.



Kumba said sales volumes had also declined by 13% to 18.6 million tonnes due to weaker exports and lower domestic sales.



($1 = 16.4506 rand)

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Kumba Iron Ore’s interim earnings fall on lower sales and lockdown

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) (<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/AMSJ.J">AMSJ.J</a>) posted a 7% fall in half-year profit on lower output due to shutdowns caused by COVID-19 and cautioned that further closures and power outages could put its full-year guidance at risk.FILE PHOTO: A cow is seen near the AngloAmerican sign board outside the Mogalakwena platinum mine in Mokopane , north-western part of South Africa , Limpopo province May 18, 2016. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo



Shares in one of the world’s biggest platinum producers, which have soared since mid-March, fell almost 4% before recovering to trade flat on the day as Amplats said it expects production to improve in the second half and declared an interim dividend.



Headline earnings per share, the main profit used in South Africa, for the six months to June 30 fell to 26.27 rand per share compared with 28.15 rand a year earlier.



Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) rose 6% to 13.1 billion rand, driven by sharply higher metals prices.



Amplats said it expects output to improve in the second half despite a 25% decline in year-on-year in platinum group metals (PGM) production to 1.6 million ounces due to shutdowns in South Africa and Zimbabwe.



Refined PGM production fell 49% due to power cuts and repairs at its ACP processing facilities 141 kms (88 miles) from Johannesburg after a blast forced it to declare force majeure.



“We expect to see a stronger production performance in H2 2020, but caution that significant headwinds still exist,” said Amplats CEO Natascha Viljoen.



Viljoen, who was appointed CEO in April, said output capacity levels were around 80% by the end of June and expected to increase to 95% by the end of the year.



Amplats said the possibility of further COVID-19 shutdowns, repairs at its plant and power outages could impact its ability to meet year end guidance of 3.1 to 3.6 million PGM ounces.



Mining companies in South Africa are anxious about managing COVID-19 and preventing outbreaks at mine sites where workers are in close quarters and confined spaces.



Viljoen said Amplats expected platinum, rhodium and palladium to be in deficit in the global market for the remainder of 2020 but expected platinum, the majority f which is mined in South Africa, to return to a surplus in 2021 as supply recovers.

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Amplats profit falls as COVID-19 shutdowns weigh, sees H2 output recovery

(Reuters) &#8211; Gold soared over 2% to its highest ever on Monday as heightened U.S.-China tensions hammered the dollar and sped up a flight to safety among investors concerned that the spat could amplify the economic hit from the coronavirus pandemic.



Spot gold hit a record high of $1,943.93 per ounce, and by 0940 GMT was up 2% to $1,939.29. U.S. gold futures gained 2% to $1,936.30 per ounce.



Silver too joined the rally, jumping more than 6% to $24.36, its highest since September 2013.



Bullion is surging on a broadly weaker dollar, U.S.-China tensions and negative real yields, FXTM analyst Lukman Otunuga said.



“Buying sentiment towards the precious metal is through the roof, with further gains expected in the medium to longer term,” he added.



In the latest escalation of Sino-U.S. tensions, China took over the premises of the U.S. consulate in the southwestern city of Chengdu on Monday in retaliation for Beijing’s ouster last week from its consulate in Houston, Texas.



This sent the dollar index to its lowest since September 2018. 



“Safe-haven demand (for gold) has been rising while there is none for USD anymore,” said ANZ commodity strategist Soni Kumari.



Investors are now awaiting the U.S. Federal Reserve’s meeting starting Tuesday, where it could flag another accommodative policy shift.



“You’d need a pretty upbeat and unexpectedly positive assessment from the Federal Open Market Committee to really dampen this rally,” said Julius Baer analyst Carsten Menke.



“Even if you had a surprise from the FOMC which weighed on gold, this is an opportunity to buy the dip.”



Non-yielding gold is considered a hedge against inflation and currency debasement, with analysts also pointing to massive inflows into gold-backed exchange traded funds as a driver behind its 28% rally in 2020. 



Meanwhile, COVID-19 cases surged to over 16.13 million globally, driving expectations of more stimulus to stem the economic blow.



Platinum rose 2.3% to $934.83 and palladium was up 2.4% at $2,272.25.

Gold surges to record high as dollar slips, Sino-U.S. row worsens

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) on Monday reported a drop in half-year earnings, hurt by the impact of the new coronavirus on output and the temporary shutdown of its processing facilities.



Amplats said headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the six months to June 30 fell to 26.27 rand per share, a decrease of 7%, compared with 28.15 rand a year earlier.



HEPS is the main profit measure used in South Africa that strips out certain once-off items.

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Amplats H1 earnings fall as pandemic and closure of processing facilities weigh

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; Petra Diamonds shares fell on Thursday after it reported selling 23% fewer diamond carats for 36% less revenue in the year to June 30 as the COVID-19 pandemic dealt a fresh blow to a struggling diamond industry.



Petra sold 2.9 million carats in its full-year 2020, down from 3.7 million in the previous year, while revenues dropped to $295.8 million from $463.6 million.



The falls reflect already weaker diamond prices to February this year, which were exacerbated when the pandemic disrupted sales cycles. Petra shares were down 5.8% at 1.55p by 0758 GMT. The stock has fallen 81% this year, Refinitiv data showed.



Petra cancelled May and June tenders because of travel restrictions and low demand from the midstream. It plans to hold its next tender in September.



The African diamond miner is restructuring debt. It said discussions with noteholders and South African lenders continued and it expects to announce progress this quarter.



Production fell 7% year-on-year, partly because Petra’s Williamson mine in Tanzania has been shut since the start of April. It remains suspended due to the impact of low pricing on its liquidity, the company said.



South Africa’s coronavirus lockdown also caused Petra’s mines there to shut for three weeks from March 26.



Petra said it is targeting a ramp-up to pre-COVID-19 production levels, and will give production guidance for 2021 once it reaches a “sustainable level of operational stability”.



Petra’s free cash flow fell to $53.6 million by June 30, from $64.2 million on March 30, while net debt rose to $658 million from $601 million.



As South Africa’s COVID-19 epidemic worsens, Petra said 39 workers have been confirmed coronavirus positive at its South African operations so far, and one worker at the Cullinan mine has died of the respiratory disease.

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Petra Diamonds full-year revenues drop 36%, COVID-19 weighs

ABUJA (Reuters) &#8211; Nigeria hopes changes it has made to gold mining regulation will earn the government $500 million a year in royalties and taxes and create 250,000 jobs, President Muhammadu Buhari said on Thursday.



The reforms have made artisanal mining legal and will create gold buying centres and tax trade of the precious metal, Buhari said in a statement.



“These operations will help in diversifying our revenue base,” said Buhari.



Nigerian authorities have said illegal mining, prominent in the northwest, has fuelled widespread violence they attribute to “bandits”. Thousands of people have been killed in the region in recent years and swathes of the region are inaccessible. The military is deployed to tackle the insecurity but the conflict shows little sign of ending.



The extra revenues from gold could be a lifeline as the coronavirus pandemic and resulting global oil price crash cut off much of the state’s income.



Buhari said the country has lost a total of $3 billion from 2012 to 2018 because of illegal gold mining.



In February, Nigeria licensed two gold refineries mainly to produce gold for the central bank to hold in its reserves but also for export. The bank received its first locally-produced gold bar on Thursday.



Nigeria has largely untapped deposits of 44 minerals including gold, iron ore, coal, tin and zinc, in more than 500 locations, but mining makes up just 0.3% of the economy

Investors rushing for gold amid COVID-19 fears

Nigeria hopes gold mining reforms can bring in $500 million a year

LUSAKA (Reuters) &#8211; Glencore’s Zambia subsidiary Mopani Copper Mines on Thursday said the country’s mines ministry rejected its proposal to suspend operations because of low copper prices and disruptions caused by the coronavirus crisis.



Mopani said it would appeal against the decision and will continue mining operations pending the outcome of the appeal process.



Operations were halted at its mines at the start of April, with Mopani citing the COVID-19 pandemic and other problems, but mining resumed a month later after the decision sparked a backlash from the Zambian government.



“Mopani remains of the belief that the only way to protect the company’s value and preserve the option to deliver its growth projects when conditions further improve is to transition the operations to C&amp;M (care and maintenance),” it said on Thursday.



Zambia’s mines minister, Richard Musukwa, said the government had made it clear from the beginning that it wants Mopani to continue and said he was happy Mopani had “responded favourably” to his call not to place the mine under care and maintenance.



Musukwa said that Mopani has cut the number of expatriates working at the mine from 94 to 49 and the company will address concerns over what he described as its high cost of production.



“We are open to dialogue because we want what’s best for the people of Zambia and Mopani is strategic to [our] economic trajectory,” he said.



Mopani Copper Mines, which produced 119,000 tonnes of copper in 2018, is 73.1% owned by Glencore, 16.9% by First Quantum Minerals and 10% by Zambia’s mining investment arm ZCCM-IH.

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Zambia rejects Glencore copper mine’s suspension plan

ABUJA (Reuters) &#8211; Nigeria hopes changes it has made to gold mining regulation will earn the government $500 million a year in royalties and taxes and create 250,000 jobs, President Muhammadu Buhari said on Thursday.



The reforms have made artisanal mining legal and will create gold buying centres and tax trade of the precious metal, Buhari said in a statement.



“These operations will help in diversifying our revenue base,” said Buhari.



Nigerian authorities have said illegal mining, prominent in the northwest, has fuelled widespread violence they attribute to “bandits”. Thousands of people have been killed in the region in recent years and swathes of the region are inaccessible. The military is deployed to tackle the insecurity but the conflict shows little sign of ending.



The extra revenues from gold could be a lifeline as the coronavirus pandemic and resulting global oil price crash cut off much of the state’s income.



Buhari said the country has lost a total of $3 billion from 2012 to 2018 because of illegal gold mining.



In February, Nigeria licensed two gold refineries mainly to produce gold for the central bank to hold in its reserves but also for export. The bank received its first locally-produced gold bar on Thursday.



Nigeria has largely untapped deposits of 44 minerals including gold, iron ore, coal, tin and zinc, in more than 500 locations, but mining makes up just 0.3% of the economy.

Muhammadu_Buhari_-_Chatham_House

Nigeria hopes gold mining reforms can bring in $500 mln a year

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) production of platinum group metal (PGM) fell by 41% or 521,600 ounces in the second quarter because of shutdowns in South Africa and Zimbabwe due to coronavirus crisis, it said on Thursday. Total PGM production for the quarter was 665,100 ounces, Amplats said.

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Amplats platinum output fell 41% in second quarter

GABORONE (Reuters) &#8211; Botswana expects its economy to shrink by 8.9% in 2020, less severe than its previous forecast for a 13.3% contraction, boosted by better than expected mining output and a shorter lockdown, the central bank said on Tuesday.



“The ministry of finance now sees a lower economic contraction in 2020. The first number was based on an assumption of a longer lockdown and larger contraction in mining activities,” said Tshokologo Kganetsano, director of research and financial stability at the central bank.

Botswana expects smaller economic contraction in 2020

ABUJA (Reuters) &#8211; The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has fired 850 workers, many of them from refineries, amidst the coronavirus pandemic, an oil union said on Tuesday.



The workers are both skilled and unskilled contractors, including technicians who helped maintain Nigeria’s oil refineries, said Lumumba Okugbawa, general secretary of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), speaking on the phone.



The NNPC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.



Layoffs in Nigeria’s oil sector are a tense issue, with frequent stand-offs between the NNPC and unions. Nigeria is dependent on crude sales to prop up its struggling economy, now at risk of its worst recession in four decades due to the coronavirus and the pandemic tanking global oil prices.



Yet Nigeria’s refineries are barely operational. Almost all of the country’s fuel supply is processed overseas at great cost, despite Nigeria being Africa’s largest crude producer.



In May, the NNPC said it had more than 6,600 staff.

Mining

South Africa’s diamond polishers look to lockdown lovers to add shine

South Africa’s Gold Fields sees 300% profit rise on gold rally

Glencore ups expectations for trading, cuts coal guidance

Anglogold Ashanti CEO to step down on Sept. 1

Anglo American lowers dividend after 39% profit fall from lockdowns

Nigeria in $1.5 bln oil prepay deal with traders Vitol, Matrix

Kumba Iron Ore’s interim earnings fall on lower sales and lockdown

Amplats profit falls as COVID-19 shutdowns weigh, sees H2 output recovery

Gold surges to record high as dollar slips, Sino-U.S. row worsens

Amplats H1 earnings fall as pandemic and closure of processing facilities weigh

Petra Diamonds full-year revenues drop 36%, COVID-19 weighs

Nigeria hopes gold mining reforms can bring in $500 million a year

Zambia rejects Glencore copper mine’s suspension plan

Nigeria hopes gold mining reforms can bring in $500 mln a year

Amplats platinum output fell 41% in second quarter

Botswana expects smaller economic contraction in 2020

Nigeria’s NNPC fired 850 workers, many from refineries, oil union says

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Mining

South Africa’s diamond polishers look to lockdown lovers to add shine

South Africa’s Gold Fields sees 300% profit rise on gold rally

Glencore ups expectations for trading, cuts coal guidance

Anglogold Ashanti CEO to step down on Sept. 1

Anglo American lowers dividend after 39% profit fall from lockdowns

Nigeria in $1.5 bln oil prepay deal with traders Vitol, Matrix

Kumba Iron Ore’s interim earnings fall on lower sales and lockdown

Amplats profit falls as COVID-19 shutdowns weigh, sees H2 output recovery

Gold surges to record high as dollar slips, Sino-U.S. row worsens

Amplats H1 earnings fall as pandemic and closure of processing facilities weigh

Petra Diamonds full-year revenues drop 36%, COVID-19 weighs

Nigeria hopes gold mining reforms can bring in $500 million a year

Zambia rejects Glencore copper mine’s suspension plan

Nigeria hopes gold mining reforms can bring in $500 mln a year

Amplats platinum output fell 41% in second quarter

Botswana expects smaller economic contraction in 2020

Nigeria’s NNPC fired 850 workers, many from refineries, oil union says

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