Top Stories for Feb. 21, 2024:
Nucor Corporation’s board has given the nod to an $860-million investment to erect its most extensive rebar micro mill in the Pacific Northwest, projected to churn out 650,000 tons annually, a groundbreaking leap from their North Carolina undertaking.
The location is under scrutiny, and greenlighting and regulatory approvals in place, the construction is estimated to span two years.
The President and Chief Executive Officer, Leon Topalian, affirmed, “The rebar we produce at our Nucor micro mills is made from nearly 100 percent recycled scrap, making it some of the cleanest steel made anywhere in the world…. This new rebar micro mill in the Pacific Northwest will help Nucor maintain its leadership in the steel bar market and further execute our strategy to better serve our customers west of the Rocky Mountains, which also includes the addition of a melt shop at our Arizona bar mill.”
Gatos Silver unfolded its financial results for Q4 and the complete year of 2023.
In 2023, the Cerro Los Gatos mine broadened its existence until the closure of 2030, yielding a 46% surge in silver production. Despite processing more material, costs jacked up only 4%, while substantial cash from operations and free cash flow kept an adjusted all-in-sustaining cost (AISC) per silver ounce at a low.
LGJV Q4 2023 against Q4 2022 presented a 21% dip in revenue to $73.5 million, a cutback in net income by 16% to $24.9 million, and an uptick of 10% in cost of sales to $28 million. A reduction of 40% in sustaining capital, down to $11.7 million, and a fall of 8% in by-product AISC per ounce of payable silver to $11.12, meant free cash flow soared 19% to $22.3 million.
Gatos Silver, throughout 2023, disclosed a net income of $12.9 million ($0.18 per diluted share) and received $59.5 million of capital distribution from LGJV, finishing the year with $55.5 million in cash and no debt.
In Q4 2023 against Q4 2022, they recorded a 160% hike in net income to $12.3 million, a 157% upsurge in earnings per share ($0.18), and a 116% rise in EBITDA to $11.8 million. Even though there was a shift from operating cash inflow to a slight cash use in operations, free cash flow increased by 277% to $22 million.
Dakota Gold Corp. announced promising assays discovered from 12 drill holes at the Richmond Hill Gold Project in South Dakota, unraveling enlarged mineralization in new zones and corroborating substantial mineral blocks in the north Richmond Hill Breccia Pipe and MW3 Zone, including a high-grade zone near the surface.
Drilling at Richmond Hill Gold Project’s Breccia Pipe Zone and MW3 Zone demonstrated propitious enlargements of mineralization. Drill holes in the Breccia Pipe Zone revealed potential high-grade extensions with significant gold intervals.
At the MW3 Zone, thick, higher-grade intervals hinted at the amplification of the known mineral zone. These findings, post-cut-off for the approaching maiden resource estimate, indicated potential future resource expansion.
Vice President of Exploration, James Berry, noted, “These exploration results are very positive.… The shallow mineralization is open, and we are finding better grades in zones internal and external to the global resource area, which will improve the ultimate economics of the project. Once we finish the initial Richmond Hill maiden S-K 1300 resource estimate in Q1 2024, work will begin to expand it using the great results reported here today.”
Piedmont Lithium has confirmed the sale of 1,152.2 million shares of Sayona Mining for A$0.052, resulting in gross proceeds of about A$59.9 million ($39.4 million).
Piedmont does not retain any shares of Sayona Mining, and this sale leaves no dent on the company’s joint venture or off-take position with Sayona Quebec.
President and CEO, Keith Phillips, remarked, “We acquired our initial Sayona shares as part of our strategic investment in the Sayona Quebec joint venture and will realize a meaningful gain on the investment. We remain fully committed to our joint venture with Sayona, with a particular focus on the ongoing ramp up of North American Lithium, the largest lithium operation in North America. Our 25% joint venture interest and associated off-take agreement are core assets of Piedmont, and we look forward to continuing to work closely with our partners at Sayona to supply IRA-qualified lithium resources critical to the U.S. electric vehicle supply chain.”
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