SOUTH AFRICAN PLATINUM STRIKE DELAYED, BARRICK CLAIMS NEWMONT MERGER WILL UNLOCK $7-BILLION AND MORE TOP NEWS
What’s the latest in African mining? Here’s your weekly roundup of top news stories in the sector, curated by the Mining Indaba team.
South African Platinum producers win reprieve as strike delayed. The South African court has reserved judgment on whether to block a week-long industry strike by The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union that was scheduled to start Thursday night. Read more
Barrick claims that the merger with Newmont will unlock $7-billion+ for shareholders. Barrick calculates that there is potential to unlock more than $5-billion of real synergies from the Nevada mines alone and $7-billion overall. It contends that the synergies would, in turn, drive a 15% to 20% share price uplift for all shareholders prior to any rerating. Read more
Botswana offers Zimbabwe $600 million to support its diamond industry.The loan will consist of $500 million dollars for Zimbabwe's diamond industry and a further $100 million to help private companies, whose operations have been hamstrung by the dollar shortage, the state-owned Herald newspaper said. Read more
Rio Tinto investors recieve $4-billion special dividend after the company posted its highest annual earnings since 2014. The mining major reported a 2% increase in underlying profit, up to $8.8 billion, beating market forecasts of $8.5 billion on the back of rising revenue of $40.5 billion. The special dividend also came after a string of asset divestments, including Rio’s entire interest in Indonesia’s Grasberg mine for $3.9 billion. Read more
President Cyril Ramaphosa presides over official inauguration of Vedanta Zinc International’s (VZI’s) Gamsberg mine in the Northern Cape. The mine, which boasts one of the largest known and undeveloped zinc orebodies in the world, will contribute more than $1-billion of investment into the South African mining industry. Read more
Laudable operational and financial turnaround by Impala Platinum following boost to higher platinum group metals price. In the six months to end of December, Impala Platinum earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation rose 112% to R5.90-billion. The company, headed by CEO Nico Muller, has seen its share price rise by 57% since the start of the year. Read more
South African Platinum producers win reprieve as strike delayed. The South African court has reserved judgment on whether to block a week-long industry strike by The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union that was scheduled to start Thursday night. Read more
Barrick claims that the merger with Newmont will unlock $7-billion+ for shareholders. Barrick calculates that there is potential to unlock more than $5-billion of real synergies from the Nevada mines alone and $7-billion overall. It contends that the synergies would, in turn, drive a 15% to 20% share price uplift for all shareholders prior to any rerating. Read more
Botswana offers Zimbabwe $600 million to support its diamond industry.The loan will consist of $500 million dollars for Zimbabwe's diamond industry and a further $100 million to help private companies, whose operations have been hamstrung by the dollar shortage, the state-owned Herald newspaper said. Read more
Rio Tinto investors recieve $4-billion special dividend after the company posted its highest annual earnings since 2014. The mining major reported a 2% increase in underlying profit, up to $8.8 billion, beating market forecasts of $8.5 billion on the back of rising revenue of $40.5 billion. The special dividend also came after a string of asset divestments, including Rio’s entire interest in Indonesia’s Grasberg mine for $3.9 billion. Read more
President Cyril Ramaphosa presides over official inauguration of Vedanta Zinc International’s (VZI’s) Gamsberg mine in the Northern Cape. The mine, which boasts one of the largest known and undeveloped zinc orebodies in the world, will contribute more than $1-billion of investment into the South African mining industry. Read more
Laudable operational and financial turnaround by Impala Platinum following boost to higher platinum group metals price. In the six months to end of December, Impala Platinum earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation rose 112% to R5.90-billion. The company, headed by CEO Nico Muller, has seen its share price rise by 57% since the start of the year. Read more