Skillings December 2019

2019 DECEMBER IN REVIEW

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Vol:108.No:12

1912-2

019

THE OLDEST RUNNING COMPANIES IN METALS & MINING P 04

MACE TESTING LAB FOR UNDERGROUND MINE SAFETY P 12

INSIDE STATISTICS

DECEMBER 2019 VOL.108. NO.12

A

New Year, transnational mining and metallurgical company Rio Tinto, which was among the first to build its own "mine of the future", formally announced the launch of the planet's first AutoHaul autonomous long-distance railway network for the transport of iron t the very eve of the

ore into

the ports of the company in the Pilbara Region in Western Australia.

Advisors of Technavio forecast the increase of the robotics market in the mining sector by an average of 27.01percent by 2022, At the moment, the first robot dump truck has been constructed and passed along the route of the quarry in an offline mode, while the process of assembling and equipping the second dump truck, as well as constructing the infrastructure necessary for the functioning of autonomous machines has been completed. Mines, which will use only robots, which is controlled by bots, are not any longer a dream. In 2019, one of the earliest of such projects may be implemented. Hopefully, these changes mean putting the times of mining disasters behind us for good. A fiber-optic network will be generated through the mine, ensuring continuous contact of autonomous tractors, robot drillers, and ground-based control centers.

The growth of this use of robotic and automated technology in the mining industry is made possible by reducing the cost of innovative products. In Morocco, a TEREX-based mining truck with autonomous control created by the Russian company VIST Robotics (a part of Zyfra Group) has passed successful trials in a special test site.

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IN THIS ISSUE

ClevelandCliffs' lawsuit against Minnesota DNR dropped P 10

P 07

OBSERVATION: Expected Recovery in Copper reflected by Finances

ME Elecmetal’s products and service

- Grinding mill liners (castings, rubber and compo - Grinding media (SAG, ball and grinding rods) - Crusher wear parts - Smelter ladles and slag pots - 3D laser scanning for wear analysis - Reline simulation services - 2D/3D simulation services (DEM and FEM)

P4

OLDEST COMPANIES IN METALS & MINING ME Elecmetal

2019 ANNUAL INDEX OF

3901 University Avenue NE Minneapolis, MN 55421 MINING FINANCE 480-730-7500 www.me-elecmetal.com 5 Gold Mining ETFs Stocks leading in August.........14

SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW.....................................17

MINING SAFETY

COVERSTORY

5G technology project goes underground................11

The Oldest Running Companies in

Mace testing lab for underground

Metals & Mining...........................................................4

mine safety.................................................................12

COPPER

ME FIT Year SYSTEM | ME CRUSHING | GRINDING MILL LINER | GRINDING M Safest Ever forFIT Mines........................................16

OBSERVATION: Expected Recovery in

STEEL

Copper reflected by Finances......................................6

Homecoming Costs Lakshmi Mittal

IRON RANGE REGION

Fortunes in year of Legal drama...............................08

Cleveland-Cliffs' lawsuit against Minnesota

US Steel Stock Struck a

DNR dropped..............................................................10

New 1-Year Low at $10.16.........................................09

2019 ANNUAL INDEX

Statistics.............................................................. 22/23

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Mining People............................................................ 21

December 2019 SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW | 3

COVERSTORY

The Oldest Running Companies in

Metals & Mining Eight of the oldest running metals and mining companies are located in Europe, while two are based in the U.S. Based on the establishment date; Mining-technology lists the longest-running metals and mining companies.

Schuler AG – 1839 Schuler is a sheet metal forming company based in Germany, established in 1839 by Louis Schuler. It began operations with the construction of machine tools for sheet metal processing, followed with the introduction of drawing and eccentric presses.Schuler added tool and die manufacturing to its media building portfolio in 1947 and became a publicly-traded company in 1999.

It introduced several innovations, including the world press line with ServoDirect technology in 2009. The company later became a part of the ANDRITZ GROUP in 2013.Schuler provides its products to a wide range of industries, such as aerospace, appliances, minting, packaging, railway and automotive.

The portfolio of the company includes bending wheel rollers, bank loaders, decoilers, drawing and forging presses, hydraulic presses and coining presses.

Wieland-Werke AG – 1820 Wieland-Werke is a copper and alloys products manufacturer located in Germany.

The company was founded in 1820 and operated from 63 locations worldwide.

Wieland-Werke provides solutions for the power, refrigeration, electromobility, electrical and connectivity sectors. It supplies products like high-energy metals in the form of wires, sheets, rods and tubes. Additionally, it supplies roller apparatus and heat exchangers, slide bearings for railway points.

The portfolio of the company includes refrigerants, thermal solutions like heat performance tubes, aquaculture products, products services like electrical motors, and finishing products comprising tin-plated strips and hot media bars.

4 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW December 2019

La Farga Group – 1808 La Farga Group is a Spanish semi-finished copper materials producer. The firm initially produced bronze and copper goods like nails, pots, and bells.

It moved to the Royal Mint's production in 1844, which supplied the capital that was required to develop new industrial projects.

In 1913, the firm started producing copper rods for electrical and rail.

It faced monetary problems in 1981, which led to the introduction of a new firm named La Farga Lacambra and end of the Lacambra household ownership.

La Farga continued to produce copper-related products throughout the 1900s and also opened a new copper pipe mill in 1992. In 2003, the La Farga group of company was founded. The firm expanded its operations into the U.S., China and France in the 2000s.

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Revere Copper – 1800 Founded in 1800, Revere Copper is a US-based Copper products provider.

The company started its operations with copper sheets for naval vessels. Rolled copper became the primary product of the company together with the opening of a new copper mill in Boston.

Revere Copper currently operates one million square feet of manufacturing area in Rome, New York, making both copper and copper alloys in coils, strips, sheets, bars and plates.

U.S. Silica Holdings Inc. – 1800 U.S. Silica Holdings is a silica Sand and performance materials supplier based in America. The company provides proppants, silica in various formats, and aplite clay to different industries, such as oil and gas, chemicals, glass and construction.

Silica Holdings started its operations with sand mining and silica sand production near West Virginia and Berkeley Springs. The firm later merged with Ottawa Silica Company and Pennsylvania Glass Sand Corporation. U.S. Silica Holdings now works from 15 locations across the united states, offering more than 250 products.

Hoganas AB – 1797 Höganäs is a Swedish metal powder solutions provider created in 1797. It started its operations on a small scale with coal mining. It went on to form coal mining firm Höganäs Stenkolsverk in 1797 and started large-scale mining operations. By 1825, ceramics and brickworks created from clay, a byproduct from coal-mining, gained popularity and the company manufactured bricks and sewage pipes between 1890 and 1919.

In 1911, Höganäs shifted production to iron powder (sponge iron) using a

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patented method that used coke, lime and clay. The company's coal operations were stopped in 1961, and a new sponge iron plant was started in 1963.

Butting GmbH & Co K.G. – 1777 Established in 1777, H. Butting is specialized in the Processing of stainless steel into pipes, spools, vessels and tanks. It also specialized in forming, welding machining and materials engineering. Based in Germany, the firm started its operations as a coppersmith generating vats for breweries. In 1890, It transitioned into copper pipes production. Stainless steel replaced copper as the raw material in 1958 and the company manufactured its products from the raw materials. In 1987, it produced the first metallurgically clad pipes.

Butting obtained ISO 9002 certification in 1988 and developed its Bubi bimetallic pipes in 1994. And in 2009, it expanded its operations into China, Canada and Brazil from 2009.

Mennica Polska S.A. – 1766 Founded in 1766 when the reigning king ordered the creation of a new mint named Warsaw Mint in Warsaw and created a new monetary system in Poland. In 1868, the Warsaw Mint was closed and shifted to St Petersburg.

In 1924, Coinage manufacturing resumed with the Polish State Mint's establishment. In 1939, the Mint's buildings were destroyed during the German occupation. Operations resumed in 1945 and moved to Markowska St before being further transferred to Ceglana. The Mint continued to make coins until 1994 when it had been transformed into a joint-stock firm named Mennica Pastwowa, which was fully owned by the State Treasury. In 2005, the company was renamed to Mennica

Polska. Their current product portfolio is coins, medals, diamonds, electronic payments, gold and silver bars.

Nytva – 1756 Nytva was founded in 1756 in Russia as a Copper smelter and later converted into an iron-smelting plant in 1768. The product portfolio of the company continued to change over the years since its establishment. It started producing sheet metal, roofing iron and agricultural machines in 1932; consumer goods in 1938; and steel tape in 1945.

The firm increased its production by producing bimetallic tape to support the nation's ammunition factories. It also opened plants and powder metallurgy production facilities and later moved into cutlery production.

Currently, Nytva produces different products such as cutlery, galvanized steel tape, coin blanks, bimetal billets, as well as cold-rolled steel tape.

TAKRAF GmbH – 1725 TAKRAF is mining and material handling equipment, mineral processing, and engineering solutions provider for the mining and material handling market. Based in Germany, the firm manufactured and processed pig iron and was founded in 1725 as Lauchhammer. Trading company Lauchhammer-Rheinmetall was formed in 1926 for its distribution and supply of the company's overburden conveyor bridges, excavators and conveyor systems.

TAKRAF was formally founded in 1948 through a merger with Equipment of Mining and Heavy Industries.In 1990, the company was renamed as TAKRAF Schwermaschinenubau, TAKRAF Lauchhammer in 1992, and later to TAKRAF in 2006. It became a part of the Techint Group after a Takeover in 2007.

December 2019 SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW | 5

COPPER

OBSERVATION

Expected Recovery in Copper reflected

by Finances To get a concept of where mining executives are allocating their capital, we have combed through the past five years of reports from the eight major diversified miners that have a real choice of where they invest their cash — BHP Group, Rio Tinto Group, Vale S.A, Anglo American Plc, Glencore Plc, South32 Ltd., Vedanta Resources Plc and Teck Resources Ltd.

A

lt h o u g h m i n e r s ' ov e r a l l capital spending has shrunk, base metals copper, zinc, and

aluminum form a larger share of the budgets.

However, the enforced diet doesn't apply equally to all commodities. Copper is currently eating up an outsize share of budgets right now, with just shy of $8 billion invested by our group of companies over the 12 months through June.

The tendency underlying all this is the manner capital spending dropped following the boom in the early part of the decade and is yet to show strong signs of recovery. Mining executives continue to be ridding the sackclothand-ashes of "disciplined capital allocation," which they took up to atone to the vast amounts of wasted money throughout the market's last peak.

Ask mining companies that which of the mineral resources will see good long-term demand, and they

will naturally answer, "Everything."

However, a closer look at spending can give the lie to this outlook - and emphasize the times when they're putting their money where their mouths are.

Right now, "This Base" indicates that the recent gloomy prognosis for copper might not survive. Over a third of capital spending by large diversified miners is being dedicated to the metal at the moment, up from levels of 20 percent or less early in the decade.

That represents a substantial wager that forecast shortages for copper over the next decade will materialize. Zinc, aluminum, and platinum-group metals are currently running red-hot, also — but fertilizers, petroleum and iron ore seem to be fatally out of vogue.

The flip in zinc and aluminum is much more conspicuous. These two elements are running more or less the exact same degree in dollar terms, despite the fact that capex as a whole

6 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW December 2019

is about a third of what it had been in 2013, whereas spending on copper is still well down from five years ago.

Platinum-group alloys are in a similar scenario, suggesting that the recent record high for palladium is much more than just a one-off. For all Glencore's predictions about a rosy future for fossil fuels, its expansion capital spending in coal and petroleum has all but dried up.

Looking at capital spending is not a pure measure of miners' tastes. The leading spender of the industry, BHP, has an overstated effect on the general picture. The ebbing of its own vast expenditures on oil under pressure from shareholders such as Elliott Management Corp. accounts for the majority of the fall in that class, despite ongoing outlays by Teck and Vedanta.

Its escape from the potash fertilizer business, along with the Vale movement from crop nutrients, accounts for the majority of the spending decrease in that area. Also, the slowing of iron ore spending from a $21.3 billion yearly run-rate to $5.3 billion between December 2013 and June 2018 is almost entirely tied down to BHP, Vale and Rio Tinto, with a little assistance from Anglo American.

Investment Capital plans remains a useful corrective at those times when miners are attempting to sell you a story they do not really buy themselves.

Despite optimistic clamours made by several miners about nickel during its run-up to more than $15,000 a metric ton in June, no one is really spending money to grow more of it — with the exception of Glencore, whose Koniambo deposit has the virtue of being unusually high-quality, therefore able to survive periods of weak pricing.

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STEEL

Homecoming Costs Lakshmi Mittal Fortunes in year of Legal drama It has been a challenging year since India's fourth-richest guy has struggled to come back to his origin. When Lakshmi Mittal, 68, left India for a vacation through Asia over four decades ago, he did not intend to remain in Indonesia and lay the base for a steel empire that spans the world and creates $5 billion in profit this past year.

That is what he did exactly, even as a series of attempts to establish himself in India's steel marketplace failed- until now.

M

ittal's international giant

A rcelor M ittal

is finally

nearing the end of a

yearlong battle to break into India

$5.9 billion Steel India Ltd.

with the payment of purchase for

The Indian

Essar

been sued for acquiring a company," Aditya Mittal, Mittal's 43-year-old son along with the company's chief financial officer, stated in a BloombergQuint interview in January. "These are unique circumstances."

steelmakers were put on

the block after its lenders approached the court to recover about

$7 billion

in dues. The forced sale of the 10 million metric tons annually mill has hit a lot of roadblocks including rules that forced Mittal to shell out an additional $1 billion to clear the dues of two companies where he held some stake and to reportedly sell his holdings in one of them for 1 rupee a share.

Perhaps the biggest barrier premiered

by Essar Group's Ruia brothers, who lost control of the mill after a regulator pushed it into bankruptcy court.

Challenges from rival bidders, Essar Group plus a few lenders have seen ArcelorMittal make dozens of trips to court since an initial bid in February 2018 — dwarfing its five-month-long campaign for Arcelor in what was the industry's biggest merger. "We have acquired lots of organizations across the world. For the very first time, we have

The legal wrangling landed at the Supreme Court this past year, setting precedents for India's bankruptcy legislation. The play also sounded a warning to other founders, who, till recently, were accustomed to an ineffectual court system and to walking away from debts without serious consequences.

Mittal's first success abroad helped him determine that his future lay outside in India, he has said, and he also wanted to prevent conflicts around growth plans within the household.

Brothers Pramod and Vinod Mittal finally sold their debt-laden local steel company, while ArcelorMittal gained a foothold in India through a minority investment in processed steel manufacturer Uttam Galva Steels Ltd., which was ultimately sold.

Mittal also took a 49 percent stake in a local petroleum refinery. Essar Steel's capability will immediately make

8 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW December 2019

ArcelorMittal the fourth-biggest participant in a country where the government plans to spend trillions of rupees in infrastructure.

"India is extremely focused on creating its industrial backbone," Aditya Mittal said in February following ArcelorMittal's annual earnings. "The expansion that exists in India is not a growth that is available to imports, but mostly to domestic players." ArcelorMittal includes a stable market position globally in the auto industry, and its entry in India can provide more choices to national car types.

Without a doubt, India's insolvency process is reshaping its steel market.

Five firms from the industry were among 12 large debtors – the so-called dirty dozen – ordered into bankruptcy courtroom in 2017 by the regulator in clean-up of one of the world's worst piles of bad debt. Those cases are, in turn, impacting the law.

The offers and counteroffers fueled a prolonged legal battle between ArcelorMittal, Numetal, and the Ruias, prompting the Supreme Court to tighten deadlines mandated by the bankruptcy law and reiterate conditions for founders bidding for their delinquent assets. Five months after the regulator's order, the authorities intervened to prohibit what it called "habitually non-compliant" individuals from using the bankruptcy process to recover control of their delinquent companies with reduced debt burdens.

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US Steel Stock Struck a New 1-Year Low at $10.16

U

.S Steel Corporation manufactures and sells flat - rolled and tubular steel products

E urope . I t operates through three segments : North American Flat-Rolled, U.S. Steel Europe, and Tubular Products.

The Flat-Rolled segment offers slabs, strip mill plates, sheets, and tin mill products, in

N orth A merica

$10.57, with a volume of 1892150 shares traded. The stock had formerly closed at $10.34.

and

in addition to all iron

ore and coke.

United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X) struck a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as low as $10.16 and last traded at

Various brokerages have recently commented on X. Deutsche Bank lowered United States Steel from a "hold" rating to a "market" rating and set a $12.64 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th.

Bank of America reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $12.00 price target on shares of United States Steel in a report on Friday, May 31st. UBS Group lowered United States Steel from

a "neutral" rating to a "market" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $22.00 to $10.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. In another report on Monday, May 6th, BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of United States Steel. They noted that the move was a valuation call.

Lastly, ValuEngine reduced United States Steel from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday.

Six study analysts have rated the stock with a market rating; eight have assigned a hold rating while four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. United States Steel now has a consensus evaluation of "Hold," along with a consensus target price of $18.94.

World Gateway for Transloading & Storage of Bulk Commodities

H

allett Dock Company, located in the Duluth-Superior Harbor at the western end of Lake Superior, has been in the business of receiving, stockpiling, screening, and shipping bulk and liquid

commodities since 1961. • Whether transloading chrome ore from Montana to European customers, bentonite from Wyoming to iron ore plants in Quebec or bringing limestone from Michigan for Minnesota’s sugar beet industry—we stand ready to meet your needs.

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December 2019 SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW | 9

Cleveland-Cliffs' lawsuit against Minnesota DNR dropped Cleveland-Cliffs dropped its lawsuit against the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources this week, closing an eightmonth battle in which the Ohio mining giant claimed it — and not a competitor — should be given mining licenses to a controversial piece of the area in Nashwauk, Minn.

A

lawsuit was terminated by

C liffs

on

M onday

follow -

ing an appellate court ruled

against the company in a second, but related, the litigation it had filed

DNR and the competitor, Mesabi Metallics.

against the

Cliffs operated Hibbing Taconite, United Taconite and Northshore Mining on the Iron Range and bought a piece of land in Nashwauk after Mesabi failed to fulfill a financing deadline on it.

The property is adjacent to where the Essar Steel project is. A second suit was also filed against the DNR and Mesabi, demanding that water appropriation permits be reissued to Cliffs instead of Mesabi Metallics. That lawsuit accused Mesabi of trespassing on its land in

Nashwauk. The suit alleged that Cliffs had purchased or leased thousands of acres of land surrounding the Essar Steel Minnesota plant and that Cliffs thus deserved the right to mine the land. That court filing disregarded Cliffs' claim and stated the company suffered no actual harm. It also said that Mesabi rightly held the right to appropriate water and pump from the mining pits of the Nashwauk site.

The court ruling noted various actions Mesabi and the DNR took to ensure that its land was being accessed

by Mesabi without venturing onto Cliffs' property.

Monday's court order only dealt with Cliffs' water appropriations lawsuit

10 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW December 2019

permit problem rather than Cliffs' lawsuit demanding that the country issue it a permit to mine. However, following Monday's court ruling, Cliffs proceeded to dismiss its mining lawsuit against the DNR. "We were quite confident in the cornerstone of our decisions concerning both the water appropriations licenses along with the permitto-mine [issue] in denying Cleveland Cliffs' requests on all of those licenses," said Deputy DNR Commissioner Barb Naramore.

Cliffs will continue the case against Mesabi Metallics even though it dropped its mine permit lawsuit against the DNR. Cliffs "will continue to pursue the remainder of its legal action against Mesabi Metallics for trespassing and producing on ongoing nuisance on possessions on which [Cliffs] retains private pursuits," said company spokeswoman Patricia Persico in an email.

The trespassing issue emerged, Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves contended in public meetings, because Mesabi Metallics' entry point into the construction area was through Cliffs' land. He said he wants the trespassing to cease.

The future of the Nashwauk project is on an uncomfortable footing. Making matters more complicated is that Essar Global is demanding that it have a stake in the future of the project and bought $260 million of the debt of Mesabi in January.

The company says it needs to again participate in the Nashwauk project, although state officials have moved to bar Essar Global from doing business in the country. Essar Global is fighting the nation's debarment attempts.

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5G technology project goes underground

of strategy and innovation at Telia, says: "To ensure security in the mine, for instance; the network must operate even if communications to the outside world are interrupted. Reliable communication can now be secured with the network we have built."

An EU initiative has installed a 5G radio service in an underground mine in Sweden. This technology will help improve productivity and safety, with low carbon emissions.

D

igitalization and

Automation

are used in virtually every sector to boost efficacy.

a result of innovations like

As

X- ray

diffraction and electric vehicles, and rapid advances in artificial intelligence and robotics , the mining sector is also catching up with technological advancement.

According to a White Paper by the World Economic Forum and Accenture, digitalization could bring about over USD 425 billion of value for the mining sector, customers, society, and environment by 2025. It might also result in a decrease of 610 million of CO2 emissions, as well as a substantial improvement in safety, preventing injuries and saving lives. With the vision to have a sustainable and intelligent mining strategy, a group of experts has developed a 5G radio network under the SIMS project.

The future of Mining The news release highlights the benefits of 5G technology over other communications solutions for stronger and better connectivity in challenging environments like mining. "With characteristics like low response times and the option for local data management, 5G is the most suitable technology to meet the safety and efficiency requirements of the mine." Magnus Leonhardt, head

5G NR is the international standard for a broadcast interface that will deliver more responsive and significantly faster portable adventures and expand cellular technology to connect a range of new businesses. Air interface qualifies the radio frequency part of the circuit between the active base station and the mobile device. One example is the use of drones to explore tunnels with no risk to humans.

A news release on the project website says that project partners Boliden and Ericsson, together with Telia, have set up the 5G network using New Radio (NR) in Sweden's Boliden Kankberg mine. Peter Burman, program director at Boliden, says: "We work actively with robotization to improve productivity and safety in the mine which requires future proof communication solutions.

5G is a significant component enabling complex Automation and by that, a much safer and more sustainable mine."

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December 2019 SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW | 11

MINE SAFETY

the total thickness of the Greenbrier limestone, the presence of the underground safety research facility isn't expected to alter the flow pattern or volume of groundwater significantly."

Mace testing lab for underground mine safety Money has been allocated to purchase property for the underground test lab, but building funding is yet to be appropriated based on Tarr. The Mace property is situated in an area known for limestone caverns and sinkholes associated with karst terrain, and a few such features are known to exist beneath portions of their 460-acre tract. But no caves or sinkholes were located during a survey of the region where the underground test facility could be located, according to the draft EIS.

A

fter the public comment period ending on

EIS

A pril 5,

a final

will be completed , and

a decision will be made by the

CDC

on whether to build the new facility on the site.

Additional study is required to pinpoint all caves and sinkholes in the vicinity of the project site, they said, and the effects of building a large underground tunnel on groundwater resources should be thoroughly analyzed. When the final EIS turns up, there should be no significant obstacles to proceeding with construction, and if the Congress allocates construction

without significant delay, it would be possible for work to start on the new facility by the end of next year. Over 30 people attended a public scoping meeting held last summer in Pocahontas County for the proposed development. Among the various questions raised by those attending, was why no existing inactive coal mines were considered to be used as a test site.

"The width and height of the underground facility would be small in comparison to the overall depth of the limestone," according to the draft EIS. "Given the topography of the website, the depth of nearby colonies, and

12 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW December 2019

With a decision that no existing sites would fit the bill for handling the research schedule, NIOSH planned to maintain, NIOSH and the CDC planners chose a new site to create a new underground test center. The General Services Administration, which serves as the Federal Government's property procurement arm, among other functions, was asked to help locate a suitable property.

NIOSH and CDC personnel looked into relocating the Experimental Mine's testing program at sites to the remote White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico and testing grounds in Poland and South Africa.

Based on the draft EIS, NIOSH, and its parent company, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, conducted a nationwide search for a new test area in existing underground properties with sufficient buffer acreage to prevent noise and vibration issues with neighbors. The new NIOSH evaluation site is expected to continue Lake Lynn Experimental Mine's program of mine explosion study, underground fire-fighting training, mine seal testing, ventilation research, and mine rescue training.

Coal mines aren't really a choice.

In 2016, the GSA issued two separate requests for expressions of interest in identifying and selling prospective sites for the underground test center.

The first solicitation produced only

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one response from a site that seemed to meet agency criteria, but that site was soon determined not to be viable.

Another solicitation produced three potentially viable sites -- the Mace property, which exceeded NIOSH's minimum standards, and the sites in Kentucky and Missouri that did not.

The Mace website would replace the Lake Lynn Experimental Mine, located in a subterranean chamber in a limestone quarry near Fairchance, Pennsylvania, about 20 miles north of Morgantown. NIOSH operated that site from 1982 until 2012 when the landowner opted not to market or extend the lease for the property to the federal authorities. It's expected

to take about four years to carve out the underground test lab, construct the surface buildings, and build an 8-foot fence around the perimeter of the house.

West Virginia Central Railroad's right of way passes through the property.

The line is currently unused, but plans call for it to reopen within the next several years.

In addition to not being durable enough to contain repeated test explosions, coal mines could be vulnerable to coal seam fires sparked by pyrotechnics used in tests and experiments. The site is owned by the Consortium for Silver Creek Group.

Concerns over potential groundwater disturbances brought on by building and operating a new underground test center in the karst terrain known to exist at the Mace area were on the minds of more than 50 people who took part in Wednesday's open house in Slatyfork. On Wednesday, the NIOSH personnel hosted an open house at Slatyfork to acquaint the public with the results of a recently completed draft environmental impact statement for the proposed test center.

The Secretar y of State's office explains David L. Litsey of Snowshoe as the proprietor of the consortium. The northern part of the property boundaries U.S. 219 just north of Mace. The

Industrial General Contractor Specializing in Equipment Installation and Maintenance Millwrighting l

Piping l

Ironwork l

Concrete l

Boilermaking l

Building Construction l

Design/Build l

Offices Nationwide

crmeyer.com 800.236.6650

www.skillings.net

Offices: Byron, GA Escanaba, MI Muskegon, MI Coleraine, MN Tulsa, OK Chester, PA Oshkosh, WI Green Bay, WI Rhinelander, WI

December 2019 SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW | 13

5

GOLD

Gold Mining ETFs Stocks leading in August

Trade has played foul on Wall Street in August, sending the comprehensive indices into a tailspin, thereby convincing investors to switch to gold as a great store of value and hedge against market turmoil. The trade drama resulted for the worse as the world's two largest economies levied a titfor-tat increase in levy, although trade talks are expected to start soon.

T

h e e f f e c t s o f i n f l at i o n ,

Collapse in bond yields, global recession fears, political unrest in H ong K ong in addition to fall in A rgentina ' s , and stock markets boosted demand for gold. Moreover, r i s i n g h o p e s o f lo o s e m o n e ta ry policies globally added to the metal's strength. Lower rates will continue to

on the dollar against a basket of currencies, increasing gold attractiveness as it does not pay interest like fixed-income assets.

weigh

As both local and foreign markets are struggling, gold climbed six-year highs to above $1,500 per ounce with anticipation of additional Increase if uncertainty continues. Moreover, the central banks are major buyers of gold (read: Gold ETF Inflows Hits 6-Year High: How to Go Long.)

Acting as a leveraged play on metal prices, Metal miners often experience more profits than their bullion cousins in a rising metal market. Given that, we emphasize five gold mining ETFs and stocks that were at the forefront of the market in August. These could be outstanding plays for investors who believe that gold will continue to move higher, given the unsteady fundamentals.

Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited HMY: Upward 39.4percent It is engaged in the exploration, extraction, and processing of gold in Papua New Guinea and South Africa.

The stock has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and VGM rating of A. It has a market cap of $1.6 billion (read: 5 ETF Zones to Take Shelter From Trade War).

Yamana Gold, Inc. AUY: Upward 21.8percent It is involved in operating mines, development-stage projects, and exploration and mineral properties majorly in Canada, Brazil, Chile, and Argentina.

With a market cap of $3.4 billion, it has a Zacks Rank #2 and VGM Score of C.

Asanko Gold, Inc. AKG – Upward 20.3percent This company is engaged in the mining, development, and production of gold properties. It has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and VGM Score of B. The stock has a market cap of $210.2 million.

You can view the complete list of today's Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks there.

AngloGold Ashanti Limited A.U. – Upward 18.9% Based on Production, It is the third-largest gold mining company in

14 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW December 2019

the world. With a market cap of $9.4 billion, it has a Zacks Rank #1 and VGM Score of B

Kinross Gold Corporation KGC – Upward 17.1percent This company is involved in the acquisition, exploration, and development of gold properties in the USA, Russia, Brazil, Ghana, Chile, and Mauritania. The stock has a Zacks Rank #1 and VGM Score of B. It also has a market cap of $6.2 billion.

iShares MSCI Global Gold Miners ETF RING: Upward 11.8% This ETF gives exposure to companies that derive most of their revenues from gold mining. It follows the MSCI ACWI Select Gold Miners Investable Market Index and retains 35 securities in its portfolio. Canadian companies take half of their portfolio, while the United States, South Africa, and Australia round out the top four with double-digit exposure each. RING is the cheapest option in the gold mining market, charging only 39 bps in fees and expenses. The fund has been sufficient to handle assets worth $304.2 million and trades in good volume of 211,000 shares per day (read: 5 ETFs which are Up More Than 10 Percent in Volatile August).

www.skillings.net

U.S. Global GO GOLD & Precious Metal Miners ETF GOAU: Up 9.9% This fund provides investors with access to firms engaged in the production of valuable metals through active (mining or production) or passive (possessing royalties or production flows ) means. It monitors the U.S. Global Go Gold and Precious Metal Miners Index, having 29 stocks in its basket. The lion's share is taken by Canada at 56.8%, followed by South Africa (17.8 percent) and the United States (12.9percent). It has accumulated $26.6 million in assets and charges 60 bps in fees per year. Volume is light at almost 18,000 shares.

www.skillings.net

VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETX GDX: Upward 9.8% This is the most common and actively traded gold miner ETF with AUM of $11.7 billion and average daily volume of around 48 million shares. The fund follows the NYSE Arca Gold Miners Index, having 44 stocks in its basket.

Canadian companies account for half of the portfolio, while Australia (18.1percent) and the USA (17.2percent) round off the top three.

Sprott Gold Miners ETF SGDM: Upward 9.5percent This fund follows the Solactive Gold Miners Custom Factors Index, holding 31 stocks in its basket. Canada leads the market with 60%, followed by 20

percent in the United States and 17 percent in South Africa. The fund has accumulated $198.3 million in assets and trades in moderate volume of about 45,000 shares every day. Also, it charges 50 bps in annual fees from investors.

VanEck Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF GDXJ: Upward 6.6 % GDXJ monitors the MVIS Global Junior Gold Miners Index. Having 70 stocks in its basket, Canadian companies dominate the fund's portfolio at 46.5%, while Australia (25.3%) and South Africa (9.1percent) round up the top three. Also, it has AUM of $4.5 billion and charges 53 bps in yearly fees. It trades in heavy volume of more than 15.4 Million shares on average each day.

December 2019 SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW | 15

MINING SAFETY

Safest Year Ever for Mines

M

County Board and the Mine Department agreed with the report ' s that"progress continues to be embers of the

belief

made by numerous area operations toward the objective growth during the coming years" involving

PolyMet's N orth M et copper - nickel - precious metals mine project and Twin Metals that aims to construct a precious metals

mine near Ely.

Mine inspector Derek Harbin called it the"safest year ever for workers in terms of accidents to employees" from the county's history of coverage. In addition to the yearly safety upgrade, Austin's report said that mining activity"showed a robust and stable manufacturing program for both St. Louis and Itasca counties." Harbin, who grew up in Grand Rapids, was pursuing a degree in elementary education at the University of Minnesota in Duluth when he chose to turn into a heavy equipment operator in Magnetation. He shifted into the organization's safety department after climbing the ladder into a role. He would later take on a consultant role to get a Mountain Iron firm that specializes in security, health, and environmental function, prior to being hired as the assistant mine inspector in 2017 of the county.

that his reporting zero fatalities and a fall from 18 to 14 incidents of"missing time or serious accidents" in 2018 resulting from a"continued commitment to the security of those who work in the mining sector in our shared goal," based on his annual report. "These positive numbers mark two years of steady production and a substantial improvement in contrast to the two successive years of reduced mining and production-related job in the region documented in 2015 and 2016," Austin said in the report. "The mine inspector

NORTH AMERICAN MARKET (LTU) Company

According to Minnesota statutes, the county mine inspector is responsible for checking active mining possessions at least once every 90 days. Throughout his ceases, he conducts accident investigations as needed, in addition to inspects fencing around the 285 inactive mines at least.

IRON ORE PRICE REPORT

Ore Type

Pellets, FOB Michigan Mines Pellets, FOB Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. Minnesota Upper Lakes Port Source: CLEVELAND-CLIFFS INC. Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.

functions in tandem with all the mine organizations to make certain every one of us and our loved ones that step onto the possessions are secure," Jugovich clarified. "It has been 11 years since we have had a fatality in the mines on the scope," Jugovich advised the Hibbing Daily Tribune. "That's something we shoot for day-in and day-out. It's a great stretch of time, and the companies should be commended for the achievement."

Per Iron Unit

Per Gross Ton at 64%

Per Ton at 64% Reporting Date

$1.28

$81.92

12/31/17

$1.42

$90.88

12/31/17

Earlier this season, St. Louis County Safety and Risk Management Director Joe Austin declared a slight increase in the total production and quantity of occupations. But more noteworthy was

16 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW December 2019

www.skillings.net

2019 ANNUAL INDEX OF SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW PERUSING THROUGH OUR 100+ ANNUAL INDEX WILL GIVE THE READER A GOOD RETROSPECTIVE OF 2019. NEW HEADINGS REFLECT TRENDS UNIQUE TO WHAT HAS BEEN AN EXTREMELY INTERESTING YEAR. THERE IS AN INCREASING EMPHASIS ON SUSTAINABILITY - CLEAN TECHNOLOGIES, WASTE WATER MANAGEMENT, RE-VEGETATION AND ADHERENCE TO LEGISLATION.

COAL ARTICLE.................................................................... DATE 1. Coal Mining Careers Do-Over ............................March 2. The Demand For Steam Coal................................April 3. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Accepts Andy Barr's Invite To 'Go Underground,' Meet Coal Miners..... June 4. Coal Miners Are In DC Asking Lawmakers To Save Their Pensions..........................................July 5. Whitehaven Drives Coal Exploration Through Micromine Data System.........................................July

COMMENTARY ARTICLE.................................................................... DATE 14. "'Finally!'"...........................................................January 15. Market Commentary.......................................February 16. Commentary........................................................March 17. Trying for a Rare REACTion.................................. June

COPPER ARTICLE.................................................................... DATE

6. Anglo Approves Progression Of 'Technologically Advanced' Aquila Coal Mine..............................August

18. PolyMet's copper-nickel mine one big step closer........................................................January

7. America Demands For Coal Continues In 2019................................................................August

19. Expected Recovery in Copper reflected

by Finances.........................................................March

8. Sixteen Mines In The Powder River Basin Produce 43% Of U.s. Coal................................ October

20. Copper mining dangers- Bold leadership is needed from Walz............................................. June

9. Coal Mine Reclamation Green Project In Canada......................................................... October

21. Rep. Betty McCollum grills Trump official about copper mining in northeast Minnesota.......July

10. More Coal Companies Are Filing For Bankruptcy....................................................... October

22. U.s. Army Corps Of Engineers Approves Minnesota Copper Mine.........................................July

11. Coal Sector- Navajo Nation's Very Delicate Bet On Coal........................................ October

23. Twin Metals To Use Environmentally Safely Dry Stack Tailings In Copper-Nickel Mine Planned In Northern Minnesota........................August

12. As The Coal Industry Struggles, Lawmakers Facilitated Coal Marketing Program........... November 13. The feds attempted to make an example of a small Washington coal mine. It didn’t work...................................... November

www.skillings.net

COVER STORY ARTICLE.................................................................... DATE 24. What’s ahead for Iron Ore 2019 Part II..........February

December 2019 SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW | 17

ANNUAL INDEX

25. Allete Clean Energy’s demand for wind.........February 26. 2019 Comment period on mineral leases.........March 27. Company plans to revive mining on West Range........................................................August 28. Cleveland-Cliffs Year of Great Expectations.....March 29. Supreme Court Upholds Virginia’s Ban on Uranium Mining............................................August 30. Can Brazilian tailings dam disaster happen here?..........................................................April 31. Mining Professional_ all levels and skills.............April 32. Rio Tinto expects the iron-ore market to stay balanced through 2019................................ June 33. China Won’t Come to the Rescue in Global Iron Ore Supply Crisis................................April 34. Global Iron Ore price to rise.................................. June 35. Indiana Continues to Lead America’s Steel Production.............................................................. May 36. PolyMet Announces Commencement of the Rights Offering and Trading Dates..............July

47. Iced Out: Study Shows Loss of Over $1 Billion Due to Insufficient Icebreaking Capabilities on the Great Lakes........................August 48. Homecoming Costs Lakshmi Mittal Fortunes in year of Legal drama........................... May 49. Leaked memo raises new questions about PolyMet water permit..............................August 50. National Maritime Industry Creates Over 132,000 Jobs, $30 Billion in Economic Growth in Great Lake States.............................August 51. The oldest running metals and mining companies................................................... September 52. DNR issues decision on requests to revise PolyMet tailings basin permits............ October 53. Why Cleveland-Cliffs Lost Steam Following A Revenue Growth Of 50% Over The Last 2 Years.............................................. October 54. Glencore's risk appetite dwindles, fueling focus on safer regions................................. November

37. Market 2019 of Cleveland-Cliffs 2.0...............February

INDUSTRY INSIDER

38. Rio Tinto’s chief sees ‘lots of opportunities’ despite China’s slowing growth.............................July

ARTICLE.................................................................... DATE

39. Minnesota declines request to review PolyMet mine permit.................................. September 40. Northern Minnesota iron ore mining company invests in steel sector’s future................... September 41. Cleveland-Cliffs Promotes Its Contribution to Clean Steelproduction Through Its New Environmental Website................................... October 42. US Steel Companies: Is Buffett’s Prophesy happening?....................................................... October 43. 5G technology project goes underground..... November 44. Iron ore price slump by biggest monthly fall in eight years.......................................... November

55. Boundary Waters and Mining..........................January 56. Glencore Senior Executive Peter Freyberg promoted to PolyMet Board....................... September 57. Minnesota lawmakers call for the suspension of all state grants for PolyMet copper-nickel mine............................................August 58. ArcelorMittal USA takes more than longtime manager Cleveland-Cliffs......................................April 59. Newly released documents detail EPA's concerns over PolyMet...........................................July 60. Nippon Steel aims for output near 11 million tonnes...................................................April 61. Minnesota GOP Political Land Grab............... January

IN DEPTH

62. Iron ore is selling off again.....................................July

ARTICLE.................................................................... DATE

63. Cleveland-Cliffs Share Repurchase

45. Mining industry automation: Rise of the Robots.............................................................February

64. Tycoon Billion in Year of Actual Counsel.............. May

46. Mining Professionals and the Changing Workforce............................................................March

18 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW December 2019

Program...........................................................February 65. Minnesota Firm plans Mining in Black Hills.........April 66. IRR will take time on Radinovich's

www.skillings.net

Replacement......................................................... June 67. $9.9 million to deal with dredged...................February 68. Cliffs CEO call on Walz, DNR to revoke Nashwauk Leases.................................................. May 69. Minnesota group ramps up court challenge to Trump rulings on Twin Metals mining leases..... June 70. Tale of medical devices and mining company...........................................................January 71. Add Cleveland Cliffs to your Wishlist................... June 72. Vale Iron Ore Quality.......................................February 73. Mining committee bill a good move for state..............................................................August 74. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Sarah Strommen.............................................February

90. A Chilean mining company lays claim to Minnesota’s water...................................................................... June 91. PolyMet critics say firm depends on engineer connected to the mine dam failure in Brazil........................................................ September 92. Hibbing Taconite new Managing Partner: ArcelorMittal USA...........................................February 93. Minnesota Supreme Court disagree with the recent challenge of PolyMet Mine proposal............................................................ October 94. State’s largest newspaper urges Tim Walz to halt work on Twin Metals................... October 95. Sudbury company inspecting greener mining equipment........................................ November

75. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz...........................March

96. Fond du Lac band issued legal proceedings regarding PolyMet permits.... November

76. Northeastern Minnesota Taconite plants had a rock solid season......................................March

97. Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. sets two October dividends for investors................................ November

77. U.S. Steel sued in effort to prolong the life of Hibbing Taconite.............................. September

IRON RANGE REGION

78. Vale iron ore beneficiation technology..............March

ARTICLE.................................................................... DATE

79. First Laker of the 2019 Shipping Season is Out.. May

98. Iron Women of the Range................................January

80. Mining Equipment- Caterpillar in North America Seeks Gains............................January

99. IRRR Board approves rebates and infrastructure grants......................................February

81. Cleveland-Cliffs nears Northshore Mining expansion milestone..............................................July

100. Essar Steel History of Trouble, Trouble, and More.............................................March

82. Runaway BHP train travels 92km with no driver............................................................January

101. Essar sues over state's plans to ban company..............................................................April

83. Major win for PolyMet as court upholds Minnesota’s nonferrous mining regulations.................................................. September

102. Weir Group wins 'record' £100m mining order for Australia magnetite iron ore project........................................................ November

84. PolyMet_s NorthMet mine gets last needed permit from Army Corps of Engineers.................. May

103. Cleveland-Cliffs' lawsuit against Minnesota DNR dropped.................................... June

85. Deadline critical: missed by Essar.....................March

104. PolyMet and Twin Metals in continous fight mode............................................................April

86. Court hears argument for supplemental impact statement................................................. June 87. Twin Metals aims to prevent tailings dam worries about dry stacking strategy.................August 88. Cleveland-Cliffs Lourenco Goncalves_ take them out of Nashwauk, enough is enough..........April 89. Twin Metals quietly relocates its waste storage closer to the Boundary Waters............August

www.skillings.net

105. Iron Range agency hiring complaint prompt Walz to change policy........................... June 106. ArcelorMittal takes Hibbing Taconite site from longtime manager Cleveland-Cliffs.... May 107. Twin Metals says it will use union labor to build mine......................................... October 108. A full cabinet -The commissioner

December 2019 SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW | 19

ANNUAL INDEX

behind the Walz.................................................. June 109. United Taconite to pay $500,000 for air pollution on Minnesota's Iron Range................. June 110. Plans for a mine to the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area have made continuous progress........................................... May

126. Federal judge lifts hold on lawsuits against PolyMet mine.........................................April 127. DNR penalizes Minnesota taconite Company over creek stream...........................August 128. U.S. Steel to Expand under Tariffs.....................April 129. $9.9 million to deal with dredged................February

111. Eye On Mining: A look back at the Iron Range labor union struggle............... November

130. Eye On Mining: A look at the beginning of gold exploration..........................................August

112. Vale to cut production and lose $1.4bn in profit following dam disaster...............................July

131. Canadian Mining Industry Loses Ground to International Competition................. May

MINING FINANCE

132. Nonferrous Metallic Minerals Leases Plan...............................................................February

ARTICLE.................................................................... DATE 113. $32M To Aging Poe Lock On The Great Lakes..........

January 114. Investment dollars flowing into Canada for mineral exploration..................................January 115. Polymet Mining Corp decrease in short interest leads to increased investments............ May

133. Tata Steel recruits women in mines......... November 134. U.S. Steel files countersuit over leases that could extend hibbing taconite’s mine life...................................................... November 135. 5 Gold Mining ETFs & Stocks leading in August.................................................... November

116. Polymet Mining Corp Short Interest Up 5.8% in February.................................................. May

SAFETY

117. US Steel Stocks Rise, China Tariffs Delayed..................................................... September

136. Mace testing laboratory for underground mine safety..........................................................April

118. PolyMet releases pre-mining financial reports for second quarter of the year......... October

137. Canada’s Newest Coal Mine Piles on Safety Warnings.................................................. May

119. US STEEL; Troubles compound amid Market downturn...................................... September

138. Safest year ever’ for mines................................ JULY

ARTICLE.................................................................... DATE

120. Polymet Mining Stock Price, News, Analysis....April

139. Our views: glencore disaster reveals why mining should be done here...........................August

121. China iron ore picks-up, but set for its first monthly decline in nine......................... October

140. Study: Mining, oil and gas employees at risk of hearing loss................................ November

122. United States Steel Stock Struck a New 1-Year Low at $10.16............................ October 123. North American Palladium Gains a 51% Interest in the Sunday Lake PGM Project.............................................. September

MINING INDUSTRY NEWS

We thrive on challenges

ARTICLE.................................................................... DATE 124. A new memory of an older thought.............. January 125. Mining industry blacklist of contractors that cave.................................................... November

20 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW December 2019

golder.com

www.skillings.net

ADVERTISING INDEX

MINING INDUSTRY PEOPLE GoldMining Inc. announced the appointment of Dr. Ken Wang to its advisory board.

Dr. Wang is a former Managing Director and the Head of Natural Resources for both Royal Bank of Canada's Asia Investment Banking and Bank of China's Global Investment Banking operations based out of Hong Kong and Beijing. Over the past 20 years, he has been at the forefront of the global mining industry, intimately involved in the successful completion of more than $100 billion of investment banking transactions in mining and other sectors.

Azcon .........................................19 Barr Engineering...........................9 CR Meyer....................................11 Global Minerals Engineering.....19 Golder Associates........................9

Titan Mining Corporation announced the closing of a senior secured credit facility with the Bank of Nova Scotia, and the appointment of Naomi Johnson as Vice President, Community Relations. Naomi Johnson joined Titan in April 2018 and is a global community relations executive, international development specialist and lawyer with 15 years of management experience in leadership positions across the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. Ms. Johnson brings a broad perspective to the development of sustainable and leading-edge approaches to stakeholder impact and risk management at Titan.

ing Officer and Andrew Cheatle as Vice President. Mr. Campbell is a Professional Certified Mining Engineer with over 30 years of extensive exploration and mining project experience across Africa. Mr. Cheatle is a mining industry executive and professional geoscientist with over 25 years of domestic and international experience

www.skillings.net

Lake Superior Chapter ISEE.......19 Malton Electric Company..........21 walcot water...............................22 ME Elecmetal.............................09

African Gold Group Inc. appointed Malcolm Campbell as President and Chief Operat-

encompassing both the senior and junior mining sectors. ď Ž

Hallett Dock................................05

Mielke Electric Works.................13 Naylor Pipe.................................24 Neo Solutions.............................21 Northern Engine & Supply.........21

December 2019 SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW | 21

STATISTICS

October 2019 crude steel production

COUNTRY

200

30

150

20

100

10

50

0

Growth (% y-on-y)

Production (Mt)

Crude steel production

-10

M

ay -1 Ju 8 n18 Ju l1 Au 8 g1 Se 8 p18 O ct -1 8 N ov -1 8 D ec -1 Ja 9 n1 Fe 9 b19 M ar -1 Ap 9 rM 19 ay -1 Ju 9 n19 Ju l1 Au 9 g1 Se 9 p19 O ct -1 9

0

World

ROW

China

World (%)

ROW (%)

China (%) worldsteel.org

W

64 W orld S teel Association (worldsteel) was 151.5 million tonnes (Mt) in October 2019, a 2.8% decrease compared to October 2018. China’s crude steel production for October 2019 was 81.5 Mt, a decrease of 0.6% compared to October 2018. India produced 9.1 Mt of crude steel orld crude steel production for the countries reporting to the

in October 2019, down 3.4% on October 2018.

Japan produced 8.2 Mt of crude steel in October 2019, down 4.9% on October 2018. South Korea’s crude steel production was 6.0 Mt in October 2019, a decrease of 3.5% on October 2018. In the EU, Germany produced 3.3 Mt of crude steel in October 2019, down by 6.8% on October 2018. Italy produced 2.2 Mt of crude steel in October 2019, down by 3.7% on October 2018. France produced 1.2 Mt of crude steel in October 2019, a 10.6% decrease compared to October 2018.

Spain produced 1.2 Mt of crude steel in October 2019, down by 7.6% on October 2018. The US produced 7.4 Mt of crude steel in October 2019, a decrease of 2.0% compared to October 2018. Brazil’s crude steel production for October 2019 was 2.6 Mt, down by 19.4% on October 2018. Turkey’s crude steel production for October 2019 was 2.7 Mt, down by 15.0% on October 2018. Crude steel production in Ukraine was 1.6 Mt this month, down 12.7% on October 2018.

Statistics based on World Steel Association Report released on 26 November 2019 

22 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW December 2019

1000 TONNES

World 1 729 823 China 870 855 Japan 104 661 India 101 455 United States 81 612 Russia 71 491 South Korea 71 030 Germany 43 297 Turkey 37 524 Brazil 34 494 Italy 24 068 Taiwan, China 22 438 Ukraine 21 417 Iran 21 236 Mexico 19 955 France 15 505 Spain 14 441 Canada 13 614 Viet Nam 11 473 Poland 10 332 Austria 8 135 Belgium 7 842 United Kingdom 7 491 Egypt 6 870 Netherlands 6 781 South Africa 6 301 Australia 5 328 Indonesia 5 195 Slovak Republic 4 974 Pakistan 4 966 Sweden 4 926 Saudi Arabia 4 831 Argentina 4 624 Czech Republic 4 550 Thailand 4 471 Kazakhstan 4 450 Finland 4 003 Romania 3 361 United Arab Emirates 3 309 Malaysia 3 215 Qatar 2 644 Byelorussia 2 343 Luxembourg 2 172 Portugal 2 076

1000 TONNES

COUNTRY Oman Hungary Serbia Switzerland Philippines Greece Colombia D.P.R. Korea Peru Chile Bosnia & Herzegovina Uzbekistan New Zealand Bulgaria Slovenia Norway Singapore Ecuador Morocco Moldova Venezuela Libya Algeria Israel Guatemala Macedonia Cuba Azerbaijan Jordan Montenegro Others Bangladesh Nigeria El Salvador Uruguay Tunisia Myanmar Sri Lanka Ghana Paraguay Kenya Syria Croatia Trinidad and Tobago

2 000 1 901 1 477 1 450 1 378 1 359 1 253 1 250 1 207 1 158 756 680 657 652 648 603 596 561 550 455 444 422 415 300 294 273 221 180 150 120 115 100 100 96 58 50 35 30 25 24 20 5 0 0

www.skillings.net

CRUDE STEEL PRODUCTION, OCTOBER 2019. Source – World Steel Association COUNTRY

OCT 2019

OCT % CHANGE 2018 OCT-19/18

2019

% CHANGE

COUNTRY

OCT 2019

735

-17,0

6 342

13,7

Mexico

Belgium

620 e

738

-16,0

6 542

-3,6

United States 7 407 7 557 -2,0 73 539

2,5

Bulgaria

45 e

54

-17,1

482

-13,5

North America 10 092 10 320 -2,2 100 722

0,0

Argentina

5e

19

-73,9

64

-37,3

271

375

-28,0

3 852

-7,0

Finland

316

352

-10,3

3 030

-13,2

France

1 170

1 309

-10,6

12 413

-3,9

Germany

3 323

3 565

-6,8

33 875

-4,6

Greece

135 e

137

-1,5

1 154

Hungary

141

178

-20,7

2 225

2 310

Luxembourg

178

Netherlands

-3,6

15 727

% CHANGE

610 e

Croatia

1 572

2019

Austria

Czech Republic

1 515 e

OCT % CHANGE 2018 OCT-19/18

-7,8

382

446

-14,4

3 961

-8,9

Brazil

2 597

3 224

-19,4

27 216

-8,6

Chile

95 e

109

-13,0

826

-12,6

Colombia

115 e

108

6,9

974

-3,6

-7,7

Ecuador

55 e

45

23,0

520

6,8

1 443

-13,3

Paraguay

2e

3

-35,9

16

-13,5

-3,7

19 845

-3,8

Peru

105 e

104

1,0

1 026

1,2

195

-8,7

1 844

-2,8

Uruguay

5e

5

-3,7

49

1,4

574

585

-1,9

5 591

-1,4

Venezuela 10 e 5 100,0

74

-38,7

690 e

830

-16,9

7 657

-9,3

53

52

2,3

538

-4,2

South America 3 366 4 049 -16,9 34 661

-8,3

1 225

1 326

-7,6

11 751

-2,6

Egypt

515 e

729

-29,4

6 045

-6,5

Sweden

330

394

-16,2

4 036

3,0

Libya

68

28

143,2

478

62,5

United Kingdom

621

470

32,2

6 137

-1,8

8 867

-2,9

Iran

European Union (28) 13 336 14 602 -8,7 135 460

-3,6

Bosnia-Herzegovina

55

83

-33,6

662

23,1

Macedonia

25

19

29,6

199

-8,9

Norway

63

57

10,3

528

11,2

Serbia

160

189

-15,5

1 618

-1,7

China

81 521

82 014

Turkey 2 687 3 162 -15,0 27 973

-10,6

India

9 089

Other Europe 2 989 3 510 -14,8 30 980

-9,3

Japan

Byelorussia

240 e

223

7,6

2 230

10,3

Kazakhstan

325 e

389

-16,5

3 370

-10,5

40 e

35

14,3

331

-24,3

Taiwan, China

Russia

5 950 e

5 810

2,4

59 341

-0,1

Thailand

Ukraine

1 561

1 788

-12,7

17 963

2,3

Vietnam 1 680 1 342 25,1 17 084

49,6

Asia 108 864 110 309 -1,3 1 108 619

5,5

Australia

-4,6

Italy

Poland Slovenia Spain

Other E.U. (28) (e) 805 e 977 -17,6

Moldova

Uzbekistan 60 e 49 22,4

543

-0,5

C.I.S. (6) 8 176 8 294 -1,4 83 778

0,1

Canada

1 115

1 138

-2,0

10 936

-4,1

Cuba

20 e

19

3,2

184

1,2

El Salvador

10 e

8

21,4

88

7,3

Guatemala

25 e

26

-2,0

249

0,4

South Africa 502 e 543 -7,6

5 015

-6,7

Africa 1 085 1 301 -16,6 11 537

-4,9

2 200 e

2 047

7,5

21 518

6,2

Qatar

228

205

11,3

2 198

0,0

Saudi Arabia (1)

331

407

-18,6

4 284

-1,2

UAE 285

299

-4,8

2 741

3,2

Middle East 3 044 2 958 2,9

30 741

4,4

-0,6 829 215

7,4

9 408

-3,4

93 306

2,8

8 157

8 578

-4,9

83 791

-3,9

South Korea

5 983

6 198

-3,5

60 121

-0,4

Pakistan

275 e

320

-14,1

2 793

-32,1

1 825 e

2 023

-9,8

18 763

-2,5

335 e

426

-21,4

3 547

-35,3

488

441

10,8

4 596

New Zealand 51 50 2,7

551

2,0

Oceania 540 491 10,0

5 146

-4,0

Total 64 countries (2) 151 494 155 833 -2,8 1 541 644

3,2

(1) HADEED only. (2) - the 64 countries included in this table accounted for approximately 99% of total world crude steel production in 2018.. e – estimate | r – revised

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December 2019 SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW | 23