Concerted global economic growth could hit 4% and top commodities consumer China is set to expand at a 6.6% clip this year according to the IMF and others.Factories around the world are buzzing - the global JP Morgan manufacturing PMI entered the year at its highest since February 2011.The LME index of base metals has climbed to the highest since 2014. Given its widespread use copper is considered...Read More
SANTIAGO, Feb 1 (Reuters) - The powerful union at BHP's Escondida copper mine, the world's largest, on Wednesday cast doubt on chances of starting talks on a new labor agreement with the company before formal negotiations scheduled for June.The 2,500-member Union 1, which held a strike for 43 days last year and cost BHP Billiton an estimated $1 billion, also questioned in a letter to members the l...Read More
JOHANNESBURG, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Glencore on Thursday said copper output in 2018 should rise to nearly 1.5 million tonnes as its Katanga mine in Democratic Republic of Congo ramps up to add roughly 150,000 tonnes, as well as 11,600 tonnes of cobalt.During the commodities crash in 2015, Glencore reduced output of commodities including zinc and copper and shut its Katanga operation in Congo for an up...Read More
Acacia Mining (LON:ACA), Tanzania's No.1 gold producer, said Thursday it had bought $2 million worth of options that protect it against lower gold prices in a fresh effort to offset the impact of a government ban on concentrate exports.The company, majority owned by Barrick Gold (TSX, NYSE:ABX), acquired 20,000 ounce of gold put options at a price of $1,320 an ounce. The contracts will expire...Read More
Cecilia Jamasmie, MINING.com editor will be a moderator.CRU's 17th World Copper Conference is the world premier copper conference and attracts over 500 delegates. Together with CESCO Week the event constitutes one of the most important gatherings in the mining industry. This CEO-level meeting boasts an impressive delegation of industry decision-makers and is the best opportunity to hear from coppe...Read More
SHANGHAI, Feb 1 (SMM) - Copper: The US dollar is unlikely to fall further in the short term as the Federal Reserve Board implied an interest rate increase in March. Physical market stayed weak as buyers were cautious ahead of Chinese New Year. We expect SHFE copper to trade at 52,500-53,000 yuan/mt today with spot discounts at 140-90 yuan/mt.Aluminium: We see SHFE aluminium trade lower at 14,...Read More
Unlike the recovery from most bear markets, today's commodity prices are a reflection of the industry being both supply constrained and restrained - not enough quality projects are coming through at the same time as projects are taking longer to move into development. The damage was done several years ago when, in the face of falling commodity prices, miners and the investors backing th...Read More
"The downturn hit us hard and we are about two years behind schedule," said IR manager, Igor Dutina.Atico spent recent years upgrading and expanding its plant to about 800 tonnes per day, upgrading the mine through the installation of a new decline, and exploring for new ore at the mine, such as the Zeus orebody that is now in production that hosts grades up to 6% copper and 6g/t gold.Its 2017 pro...Read More
Shares in Canada's Ivanhoe Mines fell sharply on Wednesday after lawmakers in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where Ivanhoe is advancing two major projects, voted in favour of new mining laws that immediately lifts a provision which exempted licence holders from compliance with the new code for 10 years.Ivanhoe Mines, headed by billionaire mining financier Robert Friedland, ended down 11.3% on t...Read More
Miners and explorers knew that the Democratic Republic of Congo would be raising taxes and royalties, but were blindsided on Wednesday when lawmakers of the country voted in favour of an immediate lifting of a provision exempting licence holders of compliance with the new code for 10 years.That means mines and projects run by companies including Glencore, Randgold Resources, China Molybdenum, Eura...Read More
MOSCOW, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Norilsk Nickel (Nornickel), the world's largest palladium producer, said on Wednesday its production of palladium could decline in 2018, while the output of nickel from Russian raw material would remain flat. Nornickel, part-owned by Russian tycoon Vladimir Potanin and aluminium giant Rusal, previously said its production of nickel and platinum group metals would be unch...Read More
Rio Tinto (ASX, LON, NYSE: RIO), the world's second largest mining company, denied Wednesday a report released by a Dutch non-profit organization claiming it had dodged $700 million in taxes to Mongolian and Canadian authorities relating to its Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine.According to the Dutch Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO), Rio and its Canadian subsidiary Turquoise...Read More
Egypt-focused gold miner Centamin (TSX:CEE) (LON:CEY) delivered good news to its shareholders on Wednesdays, announcing it would pay a final dividend of 10 US cents per share, or a total of $144 million, as it vowed to return all of its excess cash to investors.The payment, on top of 2.5 cents given at the half-year, follows an $111 million compensation to Egypt in 2017, the first year of Centami...Read More
To thrive in the mining industry's historical boom and bust cycle and capitalize on new opportunities, companies must rethink the traditional mining model. (Image: PlusONE| Shutterstock.)In the last 10 years, the mining industry has been on a roller-coaster, with commodity prices reaching both historic highs and lows, as well as operational realities shifting irrevocably in the face of a digital...Read More
U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw federal protections from millions of acres of Utah wilderness will reopen much of the iconic terrain to gold, silver, copper, and uranium land claims under a Wild West-era mining law, according to federal officials.Starting at 6 a.m. on Feb. 2 - the moment Trump's proclamation reducing the size of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante Natio...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jan 31 (SMM) - China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for January stood at 51.3 points, marking the 18th consecutive month it has been above the 50-point level that separates expansion from contraction. The reading, however, was lower than December’s manufacturing PMI and market expectation at 51.6 points. For editorial queries, please...Read More
Cobalt prices have been one of the main beneficiaries of the scramble for battery materials by auto manufacturers.The metal quoted on the LME recently topped $80,000 a tonne, a gain of 140% since the beginning of last year. Measured from its record low hit in February 2016, the metal is more than $50,000 more expensive.Negotiating a price for a streaming deal could be complicated by the limited si...Read More
Shares in Vanadiumcorp Resource Inc (CVE:VRB) slumped Tuesday after the company announced the preliminary economic assessment for its flagship Lac Dor?(C) project in Quebec is being reviewed by regulators.During lunchtime trade the Vancouver-based junior was exchanging hands for $0.14, down just shy of 10 % on the TSX Venture Exchange, in higher than usual volumes. The microcap is now worth $32.5...Read More
Mining giant Rio Tinto's (ASX, LON, NYSE: RIO) driverless trucks fleet has achieved a major milestone as it moved its one-billionth tonne of material in Western Australia's Pilbara region last month, the company said.The figure corresponds to roughly 25% of both ore and waste material hauled last year across the company's five sites in the Pilbara region, including the newly commissioned Silvergra...Read More
If a week is a long time in politics, six months is an age in a public company. And as 2017 Full Year Production Results & 2018 Guidance is published today, ordinary shareholders at Petropavlovsk (LSE: POG) may be beginning to question if the intentions behind last year's messy coup were entirely honest.To recap: after an astonishing 20-year run at Petropavlovsk, in which veteran gold-bug Pe...Read More