CAIRO (Reuters) – Yields on Egypt’s three- and nine-month Treasury bills fell at an auction on Sunday, data from the central bank showed.

Yields on the 91-day bill dropped to an average of 17.744 percent from 18.028 percent the last time similar bills were sold.

Yields on the 266-day bill declined to an average of 17.610 percent from 18.715 percent at the last similar auction.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch recommended in a recent report that investors buy 6-month Egyptian T-bills without hedging them.

(Reporting by Asma Alsharif, Editing by Lin Noueihed)

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DOHA (Reuters) – OPEC member countries have proposed Iran cap its oil output at 3.92 million barrels per day (bpd) under a production-limiting deal for the whole group, a source familiar with the proposal told Reuters.

The figure means OPEC members may be coming nearer to a consensus on how much Iran should produce. Iran has previously sent mixed signals, saying it would accept a freeze at between 4.0 and 4.2 million bpd.

The source said Tehran had yet to respond to the proposal.

(Reporting by Rania El Gamal; Writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Dale Hudson)

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By Mitra Taj and Susan Taylor

LIMA/TORONTO (Reuters) – Freeport-McMoRan Inc said on Wednesday it had wrapped up the $2.65 billion sale of its stake in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Tenke mine, and the company’s chief executive said he hopes negotiations will ease objections of Congo’s state miner to the deal.

The CEO, Richard Adkerson, told Reuters in an interview that the surprise victory of Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election had triggered “fund buying” of copper, bringing the metal’s price closer to fundamentals in a market that he said was now “essentially balanced.”

Last week, benchmark copper prices recorded their biggest weekly gain since 2011, fueled largely by Trump’s promises of infrastructure spending. Copper is used in everything from wiring to construction.

Adkerson called the rally a “pleasant surprise” that could help the Arizona-based company – the world’s largest publicly listed copper producer – pay off its bloated debt sooner. A 10-cent rise in the price of copper in 2017 would translate into $300 million to $350 million in extra cash, he said.

“It’s too early, way too early” to consider any new expansions, Adkerson said, speaking in Freeport’s Lima offices ahead of a trade summit that Peru is hosting this week.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty about this near-term movement and where things are going,” Adkerson said.

It was also too early to say what Trump would mean for mining companies after taking office, Adkerson said.

“We’re going to be very interested in who the secretary of state is,” Adkerson said. “We’re going to be working with them to help support our business in places…around the world.”

LEGAL DISPUTE STILL LOOMS

As part of its efforts to lower its debt, Freeport announced in May that it was selling its 56 percent stake in Tenke to China Molybdenum.

But state miner Gecamines, which owns 20 percent of the mine, has opposed the sale, saying it was not informed beforehand of the plans and had the right to make the first offer on any sale.

Freeport’s deal had been delayed for months by minority mine owner Lundin Mining Corp, which had the right to supplant China Molybdenum’s offer, sell its stake, or do nothing.

That barrier was eliminated Tuesday when Lundin said it would sell its 24 percent stake to Chinese private equity firm BHR Partners for about $1.14 billion in cash.

Freeport was working with Gecamines to resolve their dispute and would prevail in arbitration if talks fail, Adkerson said.

Adkerson also said he was confident Indonesia would modify its planned ban on unfinished metals exports.

“They’re working on something,” Adkerson said. “I wouldn’t want to predict exactly how they do it, I’ll just say I’m confident that they’ll find a way for us to continue exports of copper concentrate.”

(Reporting by Mitra Taj in Lima and Susan Taylor in Toronto; Editing by Alistair Bell and Leslie Adler)

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JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s Chamber of Mines said on Thursday it was concerned about a revised draft for a new mining charter, which seeks to establish a new regulatory agency and impose social development targets on the industry based on revenues.

Originally launched in 2002 to redress racial imbalances that still define the economy two decades after apartheid’s demise, the charter was revised in 2010 and the government has signaled its intention to redraw the targets again.

Industry concerns this time round include the fact that the chamber was only invited on two occasions to consult on the latest draft, while in the past, companies, the government and labour negotiated the terms of the charter.

The chamber, which groups several mining companies in Africa’s most industrialized country, said in a statement that in its current form, the draft was ill-considered and would have “dire consequences for the mining industry and the entire South African economy.”

The department of mineral resources has not yet published the draft but some of the details were presented to parliament on Wednesday, the chamber said.

The spokesman for the department did not answer phone calls or respond to an email seeking comment.

Current targets in the charter include 26 percent black ownership as well as commitments to provide housing and other amenities in mining communities, many of which are mired in poverty and neglect.

The chamber also said it was worried about revenue-based targets possibly being used for community development programmes instead of basing such initiatives on profit and what the companies could reasonably afford.

The chamber said it had proposed that 2 percent of net profit to be used for community development and wanted the government to use the existing royalties for that purpose.

It also expressed concern about the purpose and running costs of the proposed Mining Transformation and Development Agency, which it said was contained in the new draft.

South Africa is the world’s top platinum producer and its mining industry has been battered by depressed prices, rising costs, policy uncertainty and periodic bouts of often violent labour unrest.

(Reporting by Ed Stoddard; Editing by James Macharia)

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By Aaron Ross

KINSHASA (Reuters) – Congo state miner Gecamines signed over its royalty rights at one of the country’s largest copper mines in January last year to an offshore company owned by Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler, according to a copy of the contract obtained by Global Witness and reviewed by Reuters.

The London-based advocacy group said in a statement on Tuesday that the lost royalties from the Kamoto Copper Co (KCC) project could cost heavily indebted Gecamines up to $880 million by 2030, about a fifth of Congo’s annual budget.

“It’s troubling that the state miner Gecamines has signed away rights to potentially huge flows of cash that should go towards building Congo’s future,” Global Witness said.

Gertler’s Fleurette Group, which holds a minority stake in KCC alongside its majority shareholder, Glencore, and Gecamines, confirmed in a statement that Africa Horizons Investment Ltd (AHIL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Fleurette, bought the rights from Gecamines but did not say for how much.

However, its statement called Global Witness’s report “damaging and defamatory”, saying Fleurette stands to lose money from the transaction owing to a fall in copper prices and KCC’s suspension of production in September 2015, both unforeseen events that occurred after the deal was signed in January.

“Global Witness is showing either a total lack of understanding of even the most basic business and valuation principles, or a brazen attempt to manipulate data to suit a pre-determined narrative,” a Fleurette spokesman said.

The Fleurette spokesman said the royalty rights acquired by AHIL expire in early 2019 – not in 2030, as Global Witness assumes in its calculation – pointing to a provision in the original 2008 accord between KCC, Gecamines and a Glencore subsidiary under which KCC’s payments of the royalties owed to Gecamines could stop in March 2019.

Global Witness said Fleurette “has not been able to show that the agreement will definitely end by 2019,” and called on it to publish the full terms of the deal with Gecamines.

Gecamines’ chairman and interim director-general, who both signed the deal, did not respond to requests for comment.

In a statement on the AHIL transaction, Glencore said: “KCC acted in accordance with the instructions it received from Gecamines and was not involved in the discussions between AHIL and Gecamines.”

Campaign groups have repeatedly accused Gertler of exploiting his friendship with Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila to acquire mining assets at bargain rates before selling them at a mark-up – charges he denies.

Reuters was unable to determine if Gertler’s friendship with Kabila has played a role in his ability to procure mining rights in Congo. The minister of mines said only that he was unaware of the Global Witness report.

The Congolese government has repeatedly denied that their relationship gives Gertler privileged access.

CONTROVERSIAL DEALS

It was not clear in the contract whether Gecamines received any compensation for ceding the royalty rights to AHIL, whose address in the contract is listed in the Cayman Islands, although Fleurette said it did pay an unspecified amount.

Glencore suspended production at KCC, the third-largest copper mine in Africa’s largest producer of the metal, in response to a global downturn in prices. It says it expects to resume production in early 2018.

As a result, Fleurette said, it expects to lose a significant amount of money on the deal.

Global Witness stood by its calculation of the value of the deal, saying it was based on information on the website of the Toronto Stock Exchange, where KCC is listed.

“This shows projected potential royalty payments for the life of the mine as totalling $1.596bn. Royalties are paid to the state at a rate of 2 per cent and to Gecamines at a rate of 2.5 per cent. Gecamines’ share of the total royalties amounts to approximately 55.6 per cent of $1.596bn, or $887m,” it said.

Gertler has been at the centre of several controversial Gecamines sales before. According to the Africa Progress Panel, headed by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Congo lost out on $1.36 billion in potential revenue between 2010 and 2012 in five mining deals involving Gertler.

He denied any wrongdoing in those deals.

U.S. authorities, which reached a $412 million settlement in September with the hedge fund Och-Ziff Capital Management LLC for its role in bribing African officials, said in the case that “an infamous Israeli businessman with close ties to government officials” paid over $100 million in bribes to Congolese officials from 2005 to 2012. A source close to the case at the time identified him as Gertler.

Fleurette group declined to comment on the case.

Gertler has long denied paying bribes and says his investments have contributed to Congo’s economic development.

(Editing by Tim Cocks/Ruth Pitchford)

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By Zeba Siddiqui

MUMBAI (Reuters) – Welspun India said it had acted to address concerns over the quality of its Egyptian cotton as the departure of two major U.S. customers over the issue led to a quarterly loss.

The bedding and towel maker also warned on Tuesday of muted revenue growth next year after Target Corp and the world’s largest retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc said they would stop buying its Egyptian cotton products.

Target alleged in August that Welspun had passed off cheap sheets as premium Egyptian cotton. Egyptian cotton uses high-end fibre, and hence sells at a premium to regular cotton.

Chairman B.K. Goenka said that while the contribution of Egyptian cotton had fallen to 3 percent of Welspun’s total revenue, nearly half of last year, as a result of the quality issue, the firm has no plans to exit the business.

Goenka said the fault with the cotton products supplied to Target was due to “a complex supply chain” that Welspun is now working on simplifying by bringing it in-house rather than outsourcing.

“The outsourcing has helped us meet our volume requirement … however, the increasing complexity of our supply chain has presented a challenge toward tracking and traceability,” Goenka said.

He said consultancy EY had completed an audit and Welspun is implementing suggested remedial measures to its supply chain.

“This is opportunity for us to improve our processes across our products,” Managing Director Rajesh Mandawewala said.

LAWSUIT PROVISION

Welspun said it had been in touch with all its clients about the Egyptian cotton quality issue.

With the exception of Target, which said in August that it had severed all ties with Welspun, the rest of its clients planned to continue working with the company, Goenka said.

Those include the U.S. retailers JC Penney and Bed Bath & Beyond, which conducted their own audits of Welspun.

Welspun reported a consolidated net loss of 1.48 billion rupees ($21.87 million) for July-Sept, as against a profit of 1.79 billion rupees a year earlier.

It also took a provision of about 5 billion rupees to cover costs related to the Egyptian cotton issue, and any costs that may result from U.S. lawsuits.

Wal-Mart was sued last week on behalf of consumers who alleged the retailer sold products falsely labelled “100% Egyptian Cotton” from Welspun for many years after it first became suspicious about the quality of their fibre.

Welspun’s stock price is down 42 percent since August, and closed down 4.47 percent on Tuesday, after falling as much as 10 percent earlier in the day.

($1 = 67.6829 Indian rupees)

(Additional reporting by Promit Mukherjee; Editing by Sunil Nair and Alexander Smith)

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JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s Chamber of Mines said on Tuesday that a Labour Court decision overturning a government-imposed safety stoppage at an AngloGold Ashanti mine placed limits on the power of state inspectors.

The industry in the world’s top platinum producer has for years complained that government inspectors have been imposing arbitrary work stoppages over safety, costing billions of rand in lost output and putting mines and jobs on the line.

The ruling concerned a Section 54 safety stoppage – named for the regulation they fall under – at AngloGold’s Kopanang mine last month.

The judge found that the blanket stoppage of the entire mine because of infractions related to tramming and the storage of explosives in one section – Level 44 – was disproportionate and should have been applied to just that area of the operation.

“We believe that the Labour Court has, in this case, clarified the limits on the powers of the inspectorate,” The Chamber of Mines said in a statement.

The industry has in the past sought to persuade the Department of Mineral Resources to avoid what it calls “unjustified stoppages” that are compounding industry losses in a sector struggling with a commodities price slump.

The department of mineral resources did not immediately respond to emails and phone calls for its response to the court ruling, which was made on Friday.

The mines ministry has justified the blanket stoppages, saying on several occasions that they are needed to save lives.

With an unforgiving geology, South Africa is home to the world’s deepest mines where workers labour up to 4 km (2-1/2 miles) beneath the surface.

Nevertheless, the industry had been making great safety strides, with mining deaths falling for eight straight years – until this year, with a spike in deaths that has raised red flags.

(Reporting by Ed Stoddard; Editing by James Macharia)

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