2024-11-29 00:12

Nov 29 (Reuters) - Australia's Resolute Mining (RSG.AX) , opens new tab said on Friday it paid a further $50 million to Mali as part of negotiations to settle a tax dispute for the release of its CEO and two other executives who were detained by the government earlier this month. Shares of the miner rose as much as 7.2% before paring some gains to trade at 5.4% higher, as of 0002 GMT. The miner's top boss Terence Holohan and two other employees were released by Mali government, the company had said in a statement on Nov. 21. The executives had gone to the capital city of Bamako to hold discussions with the mining and tax authorities regarding general activities related to the company's business practices in Mali. After negotiating with the West African nation's government, Resolute had agreed to pay $160 million to resolve the tax dispute, with $80 million being already paid, the company said in a statement on Nov. 18. The Perth-headquartered company expects to pay the remaining $30 million by the end of this year, it said. Resolute also said that operations at its Syama mine had not incurred any problems and continued as usual. Syama gold mine - one of the company's two operational mines - contributed nearly two-thirds of its annual sales of 329,061 ounces (9.33 metric tons) in 2023. Resolute owns an 80% stake in the project, while Mali's government holds the rest. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/resolute-mining-forks-out-further-50-million-mali-detained-employees-2024-11-29/

2024-11-28 23:48

MEXICO CITY, Nov 28 (Reuters) - A fire at a refinery belonging to Mexican state oil producer Pemex has been extinguished, the firm and authorities said on Thursday, noting that no one had been reported injured. Pemex did not immediately provide information on what had caused the incident at its Minatitlan refinery in eastern Veracruz state, which can process up to 285,000 barrels per day (bpd). "Firefighting teams from Pemex report that the fire inside the Minatitlan refinery has been extinguished, with no injuries reported so far," Veracruz civil protection said on X. Pemex said in a statement that the fire had not impacted its staff or the facilities. The firm, when contacted by Reuters, declined to say whether production at the refinery had been affected. A separate fire broke out at Pemex's Salina Cruz refinery in southwestern Oaxaca state this week, an installation which processes up to 330,000 bpd. Local civil protection reported no loss of life or damages to property. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/mexican-firefighters-extinguish-second-fire-one-week-pemex-refinery-2024-11-28/

2024-11-28 22:26

Deal is the latest in a string of US acquisitions Construction stocks have risen since Trump's victory Heidelberg Materials shares up more than 1% BERLIN, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Heidelberg Materials (HEIG.DE) , opens new tab said on Thursday it has struck a deal to buy Giant Cement Holding and its subsidiaries for $600 million, the latest acquisition by the German cement maker to expand its foothold in the U.S. Heidelberg Materials, the world's second-largest cement maker, and its larger peer, Holcim (HOLN.S) , opens new tab, have singled out the U.S. market as a place to grow aggressively, banking on what they say will be prolonged construction activity due to infrastructure projects and economic stimulus. Shares of European construction firms have risen on hopes that President-elect Donald Trump's administration could be positive for U.S. construction activity. "The acquisition ... will further strengthen our cement footprint in the growing Southeastern U.S. and New England markets," said Chris Ward, the CEO of Heidelberg Materials North America. The transaction, which will be completed in the first quarter of 2025, is expected to contribute around $60 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation in the first year of operation, "before significant additional synergies", the company said in a statement. The German company bought three U.S. companies in June for $380 million in total. "The valuation (10x forward EBITDA) is not cheap, but the U.S. market has an attractive structure and growth potential," Davy Research wrote in a note. Shares in Heidelberg Materials were up more than 1%. Heidelberg Materials scaled back its American presence three years ago when it sold cement factories in the western U.S. for $2.3 billion. Giant Cement Holding is owned by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim's Spanish cement and real estate unit Inmocemento (IMCO.MC) , opens new tab, which will book a capital gain of $145 million on the asset sale, the Spanish company said in a separate filing to the Spanish stock market regulator. Grupo Carso (GCARSOA1.MX) , opens new tab, another Slim holding based in Mexico, said in a filing the deal required the spin-off of Keystone Cement Company and some non-operating plots of land belonging to other units. Inmocemento was spun off from Slim's Spanish conglomerate FCC (FCC.MC) , opens new tab earlier this month. Inmocemento shares were up more than 6.5% at the close of trading on Thursday. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/heidelberg-materials-buys-us-firm-giant-cement-600-mln-2024-11-28/

2024-11-28 21:13

GENEVA, Nov 28 (Reuters) - A World Health Organization official on Thursday called for stronger surveillance in animals for evidence of infection with H5N1 bird flu in order to curb its spread. The official also urged stronger efforts to reduce the risk of transmission of the virus to new species of animals and to humans. "What we really need globally, in the U.S. and abroad, is much stronger surveillance in animals, in wild birds, in poultry, in animals that are known to be susceptible to infection," WHO epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove told an online press conference. The agency said it is in touch with partner agencies such as the World Organization for Animal Health and Food and Agriculture Organization to increase surveillance in animals. The U.S. Department of Agriculture last month confirmed the presence of H5N1 bird flu in a pig on a backyard farm in Oregon. Pigs represent a particular concern for the spread of bird flu because they can become co-infected with bird and human viruses, which could swap genes to form a new, more dangerous virus that can more easily infect humans. "For us at the WHO we are always in a constant state of readiness as it relates to influenza, because it isn't a matter of if, it's a matter of when," Kerkhove said, adding that the risk to the general population for avian influenza remains low globally. So far, 55 human cases of H5N1 bird flu, including in a child, have been reported in the United States this year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most of these cases were among farm workers who had contact with infected poultry or cows. There has been no person-to-person spread associated with any of the H5N1 bird flu cases, according to the CDC, but dairy and other farm workers are considered to be at higher risk of contracting the virus. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/who-calls-stronger-surveillance-h5n1-among-animals-2024-11-28/

2024-11-28 21:01

GEORGETOWN, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Guyana has received preliminary approval from the U.S. Export-Import Bank for a more than $500 million loan guarantee to support a natural-gas fired power project and gas processing facility, a government official said on Thursday. Construction of the about $2 billion gas-to-energy project is underway. A gas pipeline is installed, but the first phase of a 300-megawatt (MW) power plant has been delayed by late equipment deliveries and a contract dispute. Startup may not come before the fourth quarter of 2025, officials have said. The ExIm Bank loan guarantee would cover purchases of U.S. supplied equipment for the onshore facilities, Guyana's Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo said at a media briefing. The guarantee faces a 30-day notification process before U.S. Congress, and then goes for final approval before the ExIm board, he said. The project thus far has been funded by Guyana's Treasury. "If the loan is made available, it will cover financing that the government of Guyana had to make during the period since the project started," Jagdeo said. The gas-to-energy project includes a natural gas pipeline that has been built by an Exxon Mobil-led consortium responsible for the country's oil production, a gas processing facility and 300-megawatt natural-gas fired power plant. The project could reduce power supply costs by 50% when it is fully operating, officials have said. A second phase of the project would include additional power generation and help develop other industries, including a proposed fertilizer plant, according to the tender published by the office of the prime minister. A startup date has not been finalized. The government and power plant builder are in contract arbitration over the cost and completion deadline. The plant originally was expected to be completed this year. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/guyana-gas-to-energy-project-wins-initial-us-exim-bank-loan-guarantee-approval-2024-11-28/

2024-11-28 20:10

Iran pledged response to IAEA board resolution against it Report to member states details Iran's plans Machines to be installed, brought onstream at three plants Only enrichment level mentioned is relatively low 5% purity VIENNA, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Iran has informed the U.N. nuclear watchdog that it plans to install more than 6,000 extra uranium-enriching centrifuges at its enrichment plants and bring more of those already in place online, a confidential report by the watchdog said on Thursday. The International Atomic Energy Agency report seen by Reuters details what Iran meant when it said it would add thousands of centrifuges in response to a resolution against it that the IAEA's 35-nation Board of Governors passed last week at the request of Britain, France, Germany and the United States. More enrichment capacity means Iran can enrich uranium more quickly, potentially increasing the nuclear proliferation risk. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons but Western powers say there is no civil explanation for enriching uranium to up to 60% purity, close to the roughly 90% that is weapons grade, which no other country has done without producing a nuclear bomb. The only enrichment level specified for new centrifuges was 5% purity, far from the 60% Iran is already producing. The lower purity, particularly at its Fordow site, could be seen as a conciliatory move by Iran as it seeks common ground with European powers before the return of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, though enrichment levels can be changed easily later. Iran already has well over 10,000 centrifuges operating at two underground plants at Natanz and Fordow and an above-ground pilot plant at Natanz. The report outlined plans to install 32 more cascades, or clusters, of more than 160 machines each and a massive cascade of up to 1,152 advanced IR-6 machines. At the same time, the number of cascades Iran plans to install vastly outnumbers those that are already installed and that Iran said it would now bring online by feeding them with uranium feedstock, which the IAEA verified it had yet to do. "The Agency has determined and shared with Iran the changes required to the intensity of its inspection activities at FFEP (Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant) following the commissioning of the cascades," the report said, referring to Iran's plan to bring eight recently installed IR-6 cascades there online. Fordow is particularly closely watched because it is dug into a mountain and Iran is currently enriching to up to 60% there. The only other plant where it is doing that is the above-ground Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant at Natanz. REBUFFED Just before last week's quarterly meeting of the IAEA board, Iran offered to cap its stock of uranium enriched to up to 60%, but diplomats said it was conditional on the board not passing a resolution against Iran. Although the IAEA verified Iran was slowing enrichment at that highest level and called it "a concrete step in the right direction", the board passed the resolution regardless, repeating a call on Iran to improve cooperation with the IAEA. Thursday's report said Iran had finished installing the last two cascades of IR-2m centrifuges in a batch of 18 at its vast underground Fuel Enrichment Plant at Natanz, and that it planned to bring all 18 online, though the IAEA verified on Nov. 26 that no uranium had been fed into them. Iran also told the agency it intended to install 18 extra cascades of IR-4 centrifuges at that Natanz plant, each with 166 machines, the report said. At the above-ground pilot plant at Natanz, Iran informed the IAEA it planned to take various steps that suggested it would increase the number of full, rather than small or intermediate, cascades there, which could produce more enriched uranium. It also said it planned to install one cascade of up to 1,152 IR-6 centrifuges at that pilot plant, which could be the biggest cascade by far in Iran yet. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iran-plans-uranium-enrichment-expansion-natanz-fordow-iaea-report-says-2024-11-28/