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Gold/Mining/Energy : Mining News of Note -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LoneClone who wrote (141392)	4/23/2020 7:00:48 PM
From: LoneClone	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 192929

Chromium: South African underground PGM mines to return to 50% capacity roskill.com Posted 23rd April 2020 in ?Industry news. By Nils Backeberg The South African government has amended its Disaster Management Act regulations, giving mining operations the go-ahead to operate under a reduced capacity of no more than 50% during the extended lockdown period. The capacity may be increased under direction of the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, if operations meet several conditions ofscreening, quarantine facilities and labour transport to help manage health and safety with respect to COVID-19. The amendment was focussed on deep underground mining of gold and platinum group metals (PGM), which pose a safety risk if left idled for too long. According to the Minerals Council South Africa, some mines are not expected to re-open after the COVID-19 lockdown period and country-wide mine production capacity could fall by 15% across all sectors, as a result of the lockdown being extended until the end of April. Roskill View Some less labour-intensive operations, such as tailings re-treatment, have already returned to partial operation during the lockdown, though logistics have remained constrained for export-oriented mining. With PGM mining operations being brought back on-line, fresh by-product chromite concentrates from the UG2 reef will start to resurface. UG2 chromite supply experienced double-digit growth in 2019 and, together with a weaker downstream market, has underpinned low prices for chromite ores and concentrates. Despite the lockdown of the world’s largest chromite producer, prices for ores and concentrates have remained supressed as Chinese ferrochrome furnaces work off inventories, with a wait-and-see approach being taken as the situation in South Africa unravels. Surplus supply has dogged the chromite market since 2018, underpinned by rapidly increasing cheaper supply ofUG2 chromite to Chinese furnaces. The return of PGM operations will see fresh UG2 supply return to the market, although at a reduced rate during the second half of April. Roskill’s NEW Chromium: Outlook to 2030, 16th Edition report will be released in June 2020 anddiscuss outlook over the next decade, with focus on the potential impacts of COVID-19 on chromium supply, demand and price trends. For more information or to subscribe click here. Contact the author This article was written by Nils Backeberg. Please get in touch below if you wish to discuss further: Contact the author