JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South African gold miners are looking to cut debt and boost dividends as bullion hits record highs, with analysts and fund managers predicting a sectoral growth spurt over the next two years amid rising investor interest.



Shunned by investors due to mines that are old, deep, and difficult to extract, the country’s gold miners have traded at a discount to their global peers for years.



Higher prices, as spot gold roared past $2,000 an ounce for the first time, coupled with a weaker rand currency, comes as a lifeline.



Interviews with companies executives, analysts and fund managers show that higher gold prices could see some local miners bring their net debt to zero and pay healthy dividends over the next 18 to 24 months.



“Gold mining companies will spew a lot of cash in the next 12 months,” said Franco Lorenzani, an independent mining analyst.



&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sibanye Stillwater, which has battled high debt, said it achieved its leverage target in the first quarter, ahead of plan.



Its net debt, which stood at 20.964 billion rand ($1.2 billion) in 2019, dropped 40% year-on-year in the first quarter.



Higher prices have also made more marginal ounces profitable for Sibanye, spokesman James Wellsted told Reuters, adding the company was looking at other ways to benefit from favourable market conditions.



“Maybe mining secondary reefs &#8230; might be viable at these prices,” said Wellsted.



Pan African Resources is hoping to be net debt free by June 2021 and plans to increase its dividend payout to 5% from 1% last year, its head of investor relations Hethen Hira said. Its net debt dropped 49% to $62.5 million at end December.



Gold Fields has flagged hefty gains from the gold rally, with half-year profits seen up more than 300%.



Rene Heichreiter of Noah Capital said he was advising his clients to continue to invest in local gold miners, predicting a exponential jump in revenues in the coming months.



Some investors have already turned bullish.



Factsheets of fund managers seen by Reuters show South Africa’s Fairtree increased its exposure to Harmony Gold by 0.78% between March and June, while U.S.-based ASA Ltd, which invests in gold mining companies globally, increased its investments in South Africa to 10.7% in June from 9.9% in January.



But the operating environment remains risky.



While power cuts and regulatory uncertainty have always hung over operations, the mining sector is also battling rising COVID-19 cases in underground mines where social distancing is a challenge.



This could threaten output, as some analysts warn the frenzy over high prices could backfire as investments add to costs.



“Whenever the gold prices go up the costs tend to go up with it,” said Nedbank mining analyst Arnold Van Graan.



($1 = 17.5317 rand)

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Record bullion prices give South African gold miners a lifeline, risks remain

LONDON (Reuters) &#8211; Glencore said on Thursday it was scrapping its dividend to focus on lowering debt as the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to book a $3.2 billion impairment charge.



The miner and trader, which had expected to pay $2.6 billion in dividends, the economic outlook was too uncertain due to the coronavirus crisis to make the payout.



“The board has concluded that it would be inappropriate to make a distribution to shareholders in 2020, instead prioritising the acceleration of net debt reduction to within our target range,” Chief Executive Ivan Glasenberg said.



Glencore’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell 13% to $4.8 billion in the six months to June compared to a year ago, beating the $4.3 billion expected by 14 analysts compiled by Vuma.



The miner posted a net loss of $2.6 billion in the period versus earnings of $226 million a year ago.



Glencore’s trading or marketing arm saw a record adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of $2 billion in the first-half as it benefitted from extreme volatility in the oil market.

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Glencore scraps $2.6 billion dividend as first-half earnings fall

JOHANNESBURG/TORONTO (Reuters) &#8211; Mining companies need more skilled engineers if they are to meet strict new global safety standards for tailings dams aimed at preventing catastrophic failures like those in recent years that have killed hundreds of people and inundated nearby communities with mine waste.



“Most companies are realizing that there is a skills gap, because you have senior people moving out and not enough younger people moving in,” said mining engineering professor Priscilla Nelson, who is setting up a new tailings program at the Colorado School of Mines.



Experts said miners had not placed as much importance on tailings management, with little prestige attached to the unglamorous work of trekking to remote mine waste dams, where engineers analyze the consistency of the slurry and verify the integrity of the structure.



In Brazil, more than 250 people died in 2019 when the Vale SA’s (<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/VALE3.SA">VALE3.SA</a>) Brumadinho upstream tailings dam collapsed, flooding the nearby community with mine waste.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">RELATED COVERAGE</h4>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li><a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mining-tailings-skills-factbox/factbox-miners-get-new-safety-standards-to-avert-tailings-dam-disasters-idUSKCN2511MC">Factbox: Miners get new safety standards to avert tailings dam disasters</a></li></ul>



The disaster, which came not long after another fatal tailings dam collapse in Brazil, prompted a year-long effort by an industry, investor and U.N. panel, which launched the global tailings standard on Wednesday.



In June, Reuters exclusively reported details of the standard, which the International Council of Mining and Metals (ICMM) says its members will adhere to within three to five years depending on tailings dams’ risk classification. The standard is not binding but the panel expects that miners will adhere to it.



ICMM CEO Tom Butler said members that are “consistently non-compliant” with the new standard may face expulsion from the organisation.



“We want to see every company that has a tailings facility adopt the standard,” he said.



Bruno Oberle, chair of the tailings review panel, said the standard does not however apply to abandoned tailings dams with no owner.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">‘LIFTING THEIR GAME’</h3>



Tailings dams, some of which tower dozens of meters high and stretch for several kilometers, are the most common waste-disposal method for miners.



The industry will struggle to implement the new safety rules without new training and investment in tailings management and academic courses to feed a dwindling pipeline of new talent.



A submission published with the standard said deep technical know-how is concentrated among a “relatively small” group of tailings specialists globally. After that there is a “rapid fall-off” of expertise among management and other key players, like regulators.



“There is a lack of resources within the mining industry to manage tailings,” said John Howchin, secretary-general of the Council on Ethics of the Swedish National Pension Funds, which helped craft the standard.



Brumadinho showed how devastating a tailings failure could be. Brazilian state prosecutors have charged Vale’s former CEO with homicide over the disaster.



“Any more failures &#8211; no matter whose mine it is &#8211; will affect the whole industry. Everyone has to lift their game,” said Andy Fourie, director of a new tailings management training program at the University of Western Australia.



BHP and Rio Tinto each contributed 2 million Australian dollars ($1.43 million) to the program, which will offer training for free to their employees and, for a fee, to other mining companies.



Rio Tinto said the new global standard would likely increase demand for tailings expertise across the industry and said it would “prioritise our resources to the facilities with the highest consequence classifications.”Slideshow&nbsp;(4 Images)



More than a third of the world’s tailings dams are at high risk of causing catastrophic damage to nearby communities if they crumble, a Reuters analysis of company data found last year.



Adam Matthews, director of ethics and engagement at the Church of England pensions board, said on Wednesday companies that don’t take the standard up will present a “very clear risk” to investors.



Angelica Andrade, a Brumadinho community member, gave an emotional tribute to her sister who died in the disaster.



“I don’t care how much it’s going to cost to implement the standard,” she said. “It is time for the mining sector to stop being all about profits, and act with humanity.”



Environmental NGO Earthworks said the standard does not provide sufficient safeguards for communities as, among other things, it does not include a minimum recommended distance between dams and neighbouring communities

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Miners need more engineers to meet new tailings dam safety standard

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.

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.

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.

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.

Mining

Record bullion prices give South African gold miners a lifeline, risks remain

Glencore scraps $2.6 billion dividend as first-half earnings fall

Miners need more engineers to meet new tailings dam safety standard

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

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Mining

Record bullion prices give South African gold miners a lifeline, risks remain

Glencore scraps $2.6 billion dividend as first-half earnings fall

Miners need more engineers to meet new tailings dam safety standard

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

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