China's lithium carbonate output likely to rise 24% in 2019

[SMM PGM Flash] Sibanye-Stillwater announced on 30 September that workers at its East Boulder platinum and palladium mine in Montana had ratified a collective agreement with the United Steelworkers. The deal runs retroactively from 1 August 2026 to 31 July 2029, with a 4.5% wage increase in year one, the greater of 3.5% or CPI in year two and the greater of 3.0% or CPI in year three. Strike action at the separate Stillwater East mine and Columbus metallurgical facility continues, the company said. The East Boulder settlement fixes part of the labour-cost path for Sibanye’s US PGM business and supports its planned shift towards more mechanised mining and team-based incentives. It does not resolve the other strike or demonstrate a recovery in output; the company disclosed no revised production guidance in this release.

[SMM Gold Flash] Ariana Resources said on 30 September that three of 12 planned water boreholes had been completed north of its Dokwe gold project in Zimbabwe. The third hole, about 10 km from the deposit, encountered what the company described as strong flows of good-quality water; it did not disclose a sustained pumping yield. Ariana also reported completion of six geotechnical holes totalling 1,251 metres at Dokwe Central. Laboratory testing and an independent mineral resource estimate remain in progress. A dependable water source and geotechnical data are needed to design the proposed processing plant and open pit. The results advance the feasibility work but do not establish mine water supply capacity or a final reserve. Ariana plans further sterilisation drilling and surveys; those programmes had not begun in this announcement, and Dokwe is not producing gold.