Goldfields gains Centaur ground

Australian-based Goldfields has bought the Mt. Pleasant properties of insolvent gold and nickel producer Centaur Mining & Exploration from the company’s receivers.

The A$42.6-million purchase consolidates a large land package in the area immediately north and west of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, held by Centaur, Goldfields and Delta Gold. Delta announced its intention to merge with Goldfields in mid-September.

The Centaur properties include the Mt. Pleasant mill, its adjoining underground and open-pit mines, and two satellite pits. Production in fiscal 1999-2000 was 145,000 oz., and the properties have a total resource of 40 million tonnes grading 3.8 grams gold per tonne.

A bid by U.S. aluminum producer Alcoa (AA-N) for WMC‘s (WMC-N) minority interest in Alcoa World Alumina & Chemicals has re-ignited takeover talk surrounding the Australian base metal miner.

At presstime, WMC shares had risen to A$9.46 from a 52-week low of A$6.45 on Sept. 22. The company announced it was “in discussions with a number of parties including Alcoa” on a possible takeover offer or a “restructuring” of WMC.

Speculation has centred on the possibility that Alcoa would buy out WMC’s interest for cash, and that a large international mining group such as BHP Billiton (BHP-N), Anglo American (AAUK-Q) or Rio Tinto (RTP-N) would follow with a bid for the company in order to obtain its nickel, copper and uranium assets.

Currency hedges hurt Western Metals

Australian zinc producer Western Metals is in negotiations to reschedule debt repayments following large losses on currency hedges.

The company is seeking approval from the holders of a US$75-million note and is also looking at a large rights issue and ultimately a 20-for-1 consolidation of its share capital. It reported an A$78-million loss on foreign-currency hedges for the year ended June 30.

Western Metals owns the Lennard Shelf zinc-lead operation in Western Australia and the Mt. Gordon copper mine in Queensland, both of which are low-cost producers. It posted a loss of A$1.8 million on revenue of A$336 million in fiscal 2000-2001. Lennard Shelf produced 183,000 tonnes zinc and 77,000 tonnes lead in concentrate over the fiscal year and Mt. Gordon produced 46,000 tonnes copper.

Syndicates bid for Free State mines

Two syndicates are bidding for the Free State gold properties held by South African house AngloGold (au-n).

One consortium, led by black empowerment group Khumo Bathong Holdings (which operates the East Rand Proprietary mine), includes JCI Gold and black empowerment group Mvelaphanda Holdings. The group announced its bid in reply to Harmony Gold (hgmcy-q) and African Rainbow Minerals, which has put in an all-cash bid of US$225 million for AngloGold’s Bambanani and Tshepong mines.

The second group’s bid covers four mines in the Free State area: Bambanani and Tshepong, plus H.J. Joel and Matjhabeng.

Norsk Hydro axes magnesium plant

Faced with increasing competition from Chinese exports, Norsk Hydro (nhy-n) is closing its main European primary magnesium plant in Porsgrunn, Norway. About 600 jobs will be lost.

The closure comes as a relief for the magnesium and aluminum producer’s other main plant, at Becancour, Que., where rumours of a shutdown had circulated for more than a year.

Becancour will be nudged up to a 48,000-tonne-per-year capacity, but only through increased plant efficiencies. No expansion is planned.

Norsk Hydro’s magnesium remelt plant in Germany will remain open, and another is being built in Xian, China.