Brazil's Vale (NYSE:VALE), the world's largest iron ore and nickel miner, has officially closed the sale of its fertilizer business to US-based Mosaic Co. (NYSE:MOS), the No.1 producer of phosphate fertilizer, in a deal worth about $1.4 billion, considerably less than the $2.5bn originally estimated.The transaction, part of Vale's strategy to cut debt and focus on its core businesses, excludes the...Read More
Farmers shouldn't be too concerned yet that the recent Agrium, Potash Corp of Saskatchewan merger will cause an increase in the price of fertilizer, at least according to the president of one provincial producer group."(The merger is) a hard one to find a whole bunch of negatives or positives about it. A year from now it might be a different story," said Todd Lewis, president of the Agricultural P...Read More
A new report by BMI Research states that based on project pipelines, Chile and Argentina will lead lithium production in coming years, with the bulk of new capacity coming online in 2019."We have updated our lithium production forecasts for Chile and Argentina to reflect a relatively slower-moving project pipeline due to regulatory hurdles in the former and growing exploration efforts boosting lon...Read More
Brazil's Vale (NYSE:VALE), the world's largest iron ore and nickel miner, said in a securities filing on Tuesday that on January 8, 2018, it will conclude the sale of a fertilizer unit to US-based Mosaic Co. (NYSE:MOS) with adjustments. The changes will reduce the price tag of the sale by $1.35 billion. The South American miner revealed that it wants to retain control of the TIPLAM port terminal,...Read More
WASHINGTON/CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Potash Corp of Saskatchewan Inc (POT.TO) and Agrium Inc (AGU.TO) have received final regulatory clearance to merge, forming a new company to be known as Nutrien, the two firms said on Wednesday.The two Canadian fertilizer and chemical companies agreed to divest two of Agrium's U.S. production facilities to ensure merger approval from the U.S. Federal Trade C...Read More
Vancouver-based Millennial Lithium Corp. (TSX.V: ML) announced that it has entered into a final agreement with the Salta Provincial Energy and Mining Company for the acquisition of 2,492 hectares of claims known as the REMSA ground, in the Argentinian Pastos Grandes Salar.The property is contiguous to Millennial's current holdings in the area, which are located in the northwestern Salta province....Read More
Heading into 2018 the world's 50 largest listed firms are worth a collective $896 billion, adding $141 billion in combined market capitalization year-to-date, with the bulk of those gains recorded since July.Go back to the start of the mining industry's upswing around 18 months ago and $227 billion of wealth has been created for shareholders of the MINING.com Top 50.The top 10 make up more than ha...Read More
Tight global supplies that cannot be quickly increased and strong Chinese demand have risen sulphur prices to about $110 a tonne this quarter, $36 more than what the product cost last quarter, a report by Reuters reveals.But the upward trend is not recent and has created the steepest rise in the last two years. This means that fertilizer makers, such as No. 1 producer Mosaic Co.(NYSE:MOS) and the...Read More
Gold's looks like it's limping to the finish line with a $100 decline from it's 2017 high hit three months ago, but bullion bulls would probably feel happy about a second year of near double digit gains (provided the last fortnight of 2017 has no surprises in store).Silver's been a real disappointment this year with the precious metal failing to capitalize on the fact half of demand is from indust...Read More
SANTIAGO, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Potash Corp of Saskatchewan Chief Executive Officer Jochen Tilk met on Thursday with authorities in Chile as the Canadian fertilizer company tries to divest its minority stake in Chilean lithium miner SQM ahead of its proposed merger with rival Agrium Inc.Tilk met with Eduardo Bitran, head of Chilean government development agency Corfo, which has been embroiled in a leg...Read More
World's second largest miner Rio Tinto (ASX, LON, NYSE:RIO) ended Monday a nine-month search for a new chairman, announcing industry veteran Simon Thompson as the person who will assume the post in March.The appointment of Thompson (58), one of Rio Tinto's non-executive directors, who is a former investment banker and senior executive with Anglo American (LON:AAL), follows a flurry of speculation...Read More
Canada's Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (TSX, NYSE:POT), the world's largest producer of the fertilizer by capacity, confirmed Wednesday rumours pointing at Chinese firms hoping to buy the miner's stake in Chilean lithium producer SQM.SQM became a target of international firms after PotashCorp announced it would sell its 32% stake in it, worth about $4.5 billion at current market values. The move wa...Read More
Luxembourg seems to be in a rush to become Europe's hub for space mining, as it announced Wednesday yet another deal aimed at boosting boost the exploration and the commercial utilization of resources from near earth objects, such as asteroids.The fresh agreement, this time with Japan, is part of Luxembourg's SpaceResources.lu initiative launched last year to promote the mining of celestial bodies...Read More
Brazil's Senate has not approved a temporary decree issue by President Michel Temer in July changing some sections of the current mining code, aimed at making the country's industry more competitive and sustainable.Before opening Tuesday's session, Brazil's lower house of Congress removed from the agenda the discussion of the provisory measure No. 790, which modified the country's mining law.Among...Read More
Plans to name former Xstrata chief executive Mick Davis, the current leader of Britain's ruling Conservative Party, as chairman of Rio Tinto (ASX, LON:RIO) have been abandoned due to investors pressure.According to Sky News, Davis is "no longer in the running" to replace Jan du Plessis in the wake of a full-scale investor revolt led by the Investor Forum, a London-based body representing some of t...Read More
SANTIAGO, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Chilean lithium and fertilizer producer Sociedad Quimica Y Minera (SQM) said on Thursday its ongoing legal dispute with Chilean authorities over royalty payments may not be resolved until the end of 2018.Talks to resolve the arbitration between SQM and Chilean government development agency Corfo ended at an impasse in October, leaving the fate of the company's lease in...Read More
Mining companies operating in Brazil are warning the government the recent approval of a bill that hikes royalties for iron ore and gold may end costing the country much more than what it would potentially gain.In a vote Wednesday, Brazil's lower house of Congress passed a bill that would increase royalty rates on iron ore by 75% and by 50% for gold, while it would cut those for potassium.If it be...Read More
Canada's Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (NYSE:POT) (TSE:POT), the world's largest producer of the fertilizer by capacity,is expected to post $901.37 million in sales for the current quarter, according to a new report by Zacks Investment Research.Two analysts have provided estimates of POT's earnings, with the lowest sales estimate coming in at $901.23 million and the highest estimate coming in...Read More
Canada's Wealth Minerals (TSX-VE:WML) and Chinese private equity firm GSR Capital are said to be weighing an investment in Chile's Chemical and Mining Society (SQM), the world's largest lithium producer.The two firms, mentioned in a Reuters report, are just the latest names in a long list of companies said to be interested in grabbing a stake in the Santiago-based miner.Last week, world's second l...Read More
* Lansdowne Partners loses $100 million from short in 2017* Glencore stock up 29 percent so far this year* Viking, Discovery, Passport abandoned shorts in 2016 - filingsBy Maiya Keidan and Barbara LewisLONDON, Nov 17 (Reuters) - London hedge fund giant Lansdowne Partners lost $100 million from a long-term bet against Glencore this year after the spectacular recovery of the miner took some by surpr...Read More