Ferroglobe Enters Supply Agreement With LONGi; MP Materials and Cleveland-Cliffs Announce Offerings And More: Monday's Top Mining Stories

Top Stories for Mar. 4, 2024:
1. The silicon metal and ferro alloys producer Ferroglobe PLC GSM and the solar technology company LONGi announced a long-term silicon supply agreement which took effect on Jan. 1, 2024.

Under the three-year agreement, Ferroglobe will provide LONGi with high-quality quartzite and metallurgical grade silicon to support LONGi's strategy of increasing purchases from top Western silicon suppliers.

2. MP Materials Corp. MP plans to offer $500 million in Convertible Senior Notes due in 2030 to qualified institutional buyers, with an option to purchase up to an additional $75 million in notes.

The notes are senior unsecured obligations, will pay interest semi-annually and are set to mature on March 1, 2030, unless they are converted, redeemed or repurchased earlier.

The notes can also be converted into cash, MP Materials' common stock or a combination thereof, at the company's discretion.

The net proceeds from the offering are intended for funding capped call transactions, repurchasing up to $300 million of the company’s common stock, repurchasing a portion of its 0.25% green convertible senior notes due in 2026 and for general corporate purposes.

3. Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. CLF announced plans to offer $750 million in senior unsecured guaranteed notes due in 2032, exempt from the Securities Act's registration requirements.

The notes will be guaranteed on a senior unsecured basis by its major wholly-owned domestic subsidiaries, with certain exclusions.

The proceeds and the company’s current available liquidity are intended to fully repurchase or redeem the company's outstanding 6.750% Senior Secured Notes due in 2026.

Cleveland-Cliffs’ Senior Vice President of Finance Paul R. Finan said this is a standard refinancing, replacing its 2026 secured notes with 2032 unsecured notes due to a favorable decrease in the call price and healthy high-yield market conditions.

The move eliminates $3.7 billion in secured debt, improves financial flexibility, maintains leverage and keeps interest expenses unchanged.

4. BHP Group Limited BHP signed non-binding agreements for all potash production in both phases of the mine it is building in Jansen, Saskatchewan.

The company will convert the agreements to firm offtakes within 12 to18 months.

BHP CEO Ragnar Udd also said the company is not looking to acquire the idle Cobre Panama copper mine from First Quantum Minerals FQVLF.

5. Newmont Corporation NEM and its wholly owned subsidiary, Newcrest Finance Pty Limited, initiated a private offering of their notes due in 2026 and 2034, guaranteed by Newmont USA Limited.

The proceeds from this offering will primarily be used to repay all outstanding borrowings under Newmont's revolving credit facility, with any remaining funds allocated for general corporate purposes.

This effort follows Newmont’s use of its revolving credit facility and cash on hand to repay around $1.9 billion of bilateral credit debt incurred from acquiring Newcrest Mining Limited.

The offering is restricted to qualified institutional buyers and certain non-U.S. persons, as the notes will not be registered under the Securities Act or any state securities laws and cannot be sold in the U.S. without registration or an exemption.

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