Global Mining Firms Cope with COVID-19 Concerns

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Global mining firms continue to take steps to deal with COVID-19, ranging from encouraging employees and contractors to wash their hands regularly to placing operations on "care and maintenance" and reevaluating planned projects.

Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) (London, England) said Monday it would slow some of its operations as a result of actions by the premier of Quebec, Canada, and the president of South Africa, to contain the spread of the virus.

At its Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) operation in South Africa, Rio Tinto said it will curtail production in compliance with a government directive. All mining operations at RBM will be halted by midnight on Thursday, March 26, for 21 days. The company said it will put the furnaces at the site on care and maintenance in order to avoid damage to their continuous operations. The company added that it was too early to speculate on when operations would resume. Also, resumption of construction of the Zulti South project will be delayed.

Industrial Info is tracking nearly $25 billion in project activity by Rio Tinto. Click here for a list of projects.

In Canada, the premier of Quebec announced the closure of all non-essential businesses starting at midnight, March 24, to April 13. Rio Tinto said the Quebec government has designated industrial complexes including the aluminum sector and the mining industry as essential industries, but instructed that they must reduce their business activity to the minimum.

Vale SA (NYSE:VALE) (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) said it has ramped down its Voisey's Bay mining operation in Newfoundland and Labrador and placed it on care and maintenance for four weeks in order to protect the Nunatsiavut and Innu indigenous communities. The mining giant said its Long Harbour Processing Plant in Newfoundland and Labrador was continuing to operate, and nickel and cobalt production should not be affected, given the availability of stockpiled concentrates to feed the plant past the care and maintenance period, while copper concentrate production at site would be reduced Vale said its actions also would impact the Voisey's Bay Mine Expansion project underway to transition to underground operations.

Vale also said it was revisiting its plans for a halt of operations at its Mozambique coal-processing plants. The stoppage was previously expected to start in the second quarter of this year, and a new date was under consideration, the company said.

On Tuesday, Vale halted operations at its iron ore distribution center in Malaysia, the Teluk Rubiah Maritime Terminal, at least until March 31, due to COVID-19-related issues.

Industrial Info is tracking more than $18 billion in project activity by Vale. Click here for a list of projects. Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM) (Denver, Colorado) said on Monday it was putting some operations temporarily into care and maintenance, while others continue to operate at targeted production levels.

Operations placed into care and maintenance include Newmont's Musselwhite operation in Northern Ontario, Canada, the Eleonore operation in Quebec, Cerro Negro in Argentina and the Yanacocha mine in Peru.

Industrial Info is tracking more than $8 billion worth of Newmont projects. Click here for a list.

Freeport McMoRan Incorporated (NYSE:FCX) (Phoenix, Arizona) said it would suspend its quarterly cash dividend that had been planned for May 1, and was undertaking "an aggressive review of operating plans at each of its global copper and molybdenum operations to target reductions in all elements of costs and capital spending to achieve maximum cash flow under current market conditions." The company said its Cerro Verde mining operation in Peru temporarily moved into care-and-maintenance mode for a 15-day period beginning March 16. Freeport-McMoRan owns 53.56% of Cerro Verde, which produced 1.0 billion pounds of copper and 29 million pounds of molybdenum in 2019.

Industrial Info is tracking more than $12 billion in project activity by Freeport McMoRan. Click here for a list of projects.

Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:GOLD) (Toronto, Canada), said it was closely monitoring its Hemlo Gold Mine in Ontario, following safety and prevention guidance published by the World Health Organization and other agencies. Industrial Info is tracking more than $4 billion worth of projects by Barrick Gold. Click here for a list.

During a recent webinar, Joseph Govreau, Industrial Info's vice president of research for the Metals & Minerals Industry, said COVID-19 is only one of several headwinds facing the industry. For more information, see March 6, 2020, article - Coronavirus Threatens Project Spending in Metals & Minerals Industry.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.