US markets edge lower, Sept. 3-7

The U.S. Bureau of Statistics released its job report showing that the unemployment rate remained unchanged in August at 3.9%. Base metals were down during the trading week while spot gold fell US$3.80 to US$1,196.20 per oz. gold. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.18% to finish at 25,916.54, and the S&P 500 Index fell 1.03% to 2,871.68.

Shares of Cleveland-Cliffs were up US65¢ to US$10.70, on news it will redeem its outstanding 5.90% senior notes due in March 2020 and 4.80% senior notes due in October 2020. Chairman and CEO Lourenco Goncalves said the company will use cash-on-hand to redeem both tranches of unsecured notes, and said the decision brings it “one step closer to being in a position to return capital to shareholders.” The company supplies iron ore pellets to North America’s steel industry from mines and pellet plants in Michigan and Minnesota. By 2020, it expects to produce hot-briquetted iron in the Great Lakes region after completing its first plant in Ohio.

Sibanye-Stillwater’s shares rose US16¢ to US$2.52. The company is launching a tender process to repurchase part of its corporate bonds and convertible bonds. The company will fund the repurchase from its cash resources, including the US$500 million in proceeds from its recent streaming deal with Wheaton Precious Metals. The US$400-million tender offer will help it repurchase and retire 31% of its long-term debt financing instruments and lower annual interest costs by US$26 million.

Goldcorp reported progress on key permitting and project milestones that management says will help it achieve its five-year plan of boosting gold production and reserves by 20% and decreasing all-in sustaining costs per ounce by 20%. At Borden in Ontario, it began extracting a bulk sample in August, two months ahead of schedule, and says it’s on track to reach commercial production in the second half of 2019. Its Century prefeasibility study is on time for completion in the fourth quarter, and at its Coffee project, it finished the adequacy review phase of the permitting process with the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board in August, and has entered a 30- to 60-day public comment period. It expects production at Coffee will start in 2021. Goldcorp’s shares fell US57¢ to US$10.27.