South African diversified miner Sibanye Stillwater is discussing with lenders to temporarily lift limits on borrowings, it said on Friday, after weak platinum group metal (PGM) prices drove earnings 72% lower in the March quarter. Sibanye said average PGM prices were about 30% lower year-on-year, resulting in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) declining by 72% to 2.137 billion rand ($116 million) in the quarter to March 31, from 7.755 billion rand last year. Sibanye CEO Neal Froneman said in the update that declining earnings could impact the comp ..read more

The Philippines said on Friday it aimed to add three more processing plants in the effort to develop a downstream industry for its abundant nickel resources, after nations such as China and the United States expressed interest in the mining sector. The Southeast Asian nation is looking to follow neighbouring Indonesia, which lured major investment in processing plants for its huge deposits of nickel ore after banning unprocessed exports in 2020. Environment Minister Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga, whose agency also regulates mining, said the Philippines should boost its capacity to process nickel ..read more

Canada’s mining industry is pushing for an carveout to the federal government’s proposed increase to capital gains taxes, warning the hike will make it harder for junior miners to raise money to find new mineral deposits. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s new budget includes a measure to raise the capital gains tax inclusion rate to two-thirds from one-half. It applies to all gains made by corporations and trusts, and to individual taxpayers on gains over C$250,000 (about $183,000) in a year. For many investors, the tax hike would “significantly reduce” the value of a measure called the Min ..read more

Arca, a company that’s signed a deal with BHP (LSE: BHP; NYSE: BHP; ASX: BHP), is one of three Canadian technology firms in the running for the $100 million Xprize carbon removal competition. The Vancouver-based company is among several entries focusing on mining in the top 20 listed on Wednesday by Los Angeles-based Xprize, which organizes global technology challenges. The prize, funded by the Musk Foundation started by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, is to be awarded next year. It holds $50 million for the winner and lesser amounts for finalists. The contest began with 1,300 entrants in 2021 ..read more

Australia will spend A$566 million ($373 million) over the coming decade to map out resource deposits with a focus on reserves of critical minerals, which are vital for high-tech manufacturing and the green-energy transition. “The world needs more of these resources — and our government is going to help Australia find more,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a speech delivered on Wednesday in Western Australia. The funding will begin from July 1, and will be used by government agency Geoscience Australia to conduct surveys to identify potential deposits of critical minerals. It will also ..read more

Grid Metals (TSXV: GRDM) has raised the indicated tonnage by more than a third at its MM copper-nickel project in southeast Manitoba. The combined indicated open pit resources increased by 12.4 million tonnes or 37% to 46.2 million tonnes compared with an estimate of 33.8 million tonnes from 2014, the company said on Monday. The project, previously called Makwa Mayville and located about 180 km northeast of Winnipeg, holds contained metal of 317 million lb. copper, 263 million lb. nickel and 452,000 oz. combined palladium-platinum-gold, Grid said in a release. This increase is largely attribut ..read more

Nickel 28 Capital Corp. said it has fired its founders, including chief executive officer Anthony Milewski, after an investigation uncovered “serious misconduct” — claims the ousted management team says are untrue and part of a years-long battle for control at the Canadian mining firm. The nickel and cobalt producer removed Milewski, along with president Justin Cochrane and chief financial officer Conor Kearns, with immediate effect, it said Monday, after the board reviewed findings made by an independent special committee. The investigation found evidence the management team had breached thei ..read more

Despite its stranglehold on mining and processing, there’s one arena of critical minerals that China doesn’t control – underwater resources. No one does, as deep sea mining has yet to begin. But it’s not the sci-fi fantasy it once may have seemed. The International Seabed Authority (ISA), which next meets in July, is hashing out the world’s first underwater mining code. Deep sea mining could technically begin as soon as July, even in the absence of rules which the ISA aims to have in place by 2025. That’s because in 2021, ISA member Nauru triggered a two-year countdown for the body to either s ..read more

Zimbabwe’s only operating nickel mine was on Thursday placed under administration, according to a government notice, seven months after halting production due to equipment failure and low prices. Zimbabwe’s government owns 70% of Bindura Nickel Corporation’s Trojan nickel mine which employs about 1,100 people according to Bindura’s latest annual report. The reconstruction order was published on Thursday in the Government Gazette which also announced the appointment of an administrator. Trojan is Zimbabwe’s only primary nickel producer, though the country’s platinum miners also produce the meta ..read more

Japanese trading house Sumitomo Corp reported net profit for the fiscal year ended in March fell 31.7% from a year earlier to 386.4 billion yen ($2.5 billion), missing estimates, as it took a one-time loss on four businesses. A LSEG poll of analysts had forecast Sumitomo’s net profit for the fiscal year at 504.9 billion yen. Sumitomo booked a total of 150 billion yen one-off losses on four problematic operations, including the Ambatovy nickel project in Madagascar, which wiped off nearly a half, or 89 billion yen, from its bottom line. “We will consider all possible options to decide the best ..read more