Gold has big year in 2020 and outlook for this year robust. Learn about monetary expansion and gold future prices.Read More
The gold futures price reached US$1,767/ounce this week before retreating, which was the second time it has surpassed US$1,760 in the past two months, marking some of gold's highest levels in several years.Read More
Glencore Plc tightened its grip on Katanga Mining Ltd. by appointing new executives and entering a management services contract to run its troubled Congo copper and cobalt unit.The head of the commodity trader's African copper business, Danny Callow, has been made chief executive officer of Katanga, while Glencore's head of strategy Paul Smith was appointed chief financial officer of the unit.Key...Read More
Jiangxi Copper Co, one of China's top copper producers, on Friday named provincial government official Zheng Gaoqing as its new general manager.The appointment, confirmed at a board meeting during the day, marks the end of a six-month void in Jiangxi Copper's management team following the departure of company veteran Wu Yuneng in July last year.Zheng, in his early 50s, joins Jiangxi Copper from th...Read More
Oyu Tolgoi is expected to produce 125,000 to 155,000 tonnes of copper and 180,000 to 220,000 ounces of gold in concentrates this year, Turquoise Hill Resources (TSX: TRQ; NYSE: TRQ) reports.Last year the Mongolian copper-gold mine produced 159,100 tonnes of copper, up 1.1% from 2017, and 285,000 ounces of gold, up 150% from 2017.The government of Mongolia owns 34 percent of Oyu Tolgoi with the r...Read More
China Molybdenum, which bought the giant Tenke Fungurume copper and cobalt mine from Freeport-McMoRan in 2016, is buying a holding company for $1.14 billion that will give it an 80%-stake in Democratic Republic of Congo's operation.The Chinese miner, which has spent almost $5 billion in the past two years on an acquisition rampage, said it had agreed to buy BHR Newwood DRC Holdings Ltd, a holdin...Read More
Following a mapping and prospecting campaign in conjunction with a grid-based soil sampling program and follow-up rock channel sampling, Carube Copper (TSXV: CUC) reported the discovery of high-grade copper-silver mineralization at its Main Ridge Project in Jamaica.Known for its initials MR, the project covers 30 square kilometres of the island country's south-central region, an area where the Spa...Read More
Markets went into a tailspin in the second half of 2018. File image.Private capital tracker Preqin says in an update that contrary to expectations, 2018 was another bumper year for the industry, particularly for natural resources investments.Fundraising by unlisted funds for investment in natural resources - oil and gas, timberland, farmland, water and mines - set a fresh record in 2018 and is lik...Read More
The pricing outlook for stainless steel in Europe remained negative despite recent good demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday January 18.One distributor has sold the tonnages it forecast so far in January, but that amount of demand was looking surprisingly positive.But this was in the context of recent better months. Compared with earlier, more economically buoyant times, demand is underwhelm...Read More
Pig iron buyers in the United States have resumed their purchases of material but at lower prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday January 18.Fastmarkets' import price assessment for pig iron in the US fell to $345-350 per tonne cfr on Friday, from $350-360 per tonne cfr a week earlier.Ukraine-origin pig iron was bought at $345-350 per tonne cfr. That was a drop from $365 per tonne cfr, the pri...Read More
China Molybdenum has raised its stake in the Tenke copper-cobalt mine in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) despite the policy uncertainties arising from the recent political turmoil.Already the major owner of Tenke, the Chinese miner has agreed to purchase a 24% stake at $1.1 billion in Tenke from BHR, according to its regulatory filing on Friday January 18. Upon completion, China Molybdenum...Read More
Pressure is mounting in the non-ferrous auto shred (twitch) market in the United States, with suppliers and consumers in strong negotiations for material next month.Fastmarkets AMM's assessment of twitch remained unchanged at 53-55 cents per lb delivered to the Midwest on Thursday January 17, but sources in negotiations suggested that prices could bump upward in the coming weeks.Cur...Read More
Alrosa (MCX:ALRS), the world's No.1 diamond producer by output, made $463 million only at the international auctions it held in five countries in 2018.Following the publication of its overall sale results for the year, with rough and polished diamonds generating $4.5 billion, the Russian miner issued a press release highlighting the importance of the competitive sales it held abroad, especially th...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
Canadian zinc miner Trevali is set for broad leadership changes after Mark Cruise stepped down as president and chief executive officer, it said on Thursday January 17. Chairman and director Mike Hoffman will also stand down from the board of directors, with both continuing in their roles until their successors are appointed. The company has rapidly expanded its zinc interests since acquiring a ma...Read More
The Comex copper price continued to move higher on Friday January 18 ahead of the US public holiday amid a short-covering rally. There is a public holiday in the United States for Martin Luther King Jr day on Monday. The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 1.60 cents to $2.6960 per lb on Friday. "A short-covering rally in LME copper se...Read More
Jiangxi Copper has appointed Zheng Gaoqing as its new general manager after the key leadership position had been left vacant for six months, the major Chinese copper producer said on Friday January 18. Zheng is also the deputy director with Jiangxi province's state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission and senior management of several provincial electronics companies. He has no pr...Read More
United States-based Alcoa, the world's eighth-largest aluminium producer, has forecast a surplus of alumina in 2019 while it increases aluminium metal shipments.There was a 600,000-tonne deficit of alumina at the end of 2018, the company said, rounding off a year of record market tightness.Fastmarkets' alumina index rocketed upward to $707.75 per tonne on April 24, 2018, the highest since the inde...Read More
Export prices for Brazil-origin steel slab declined this past week, with sellers willing to accept lower bids in order to secure deals.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment of Brazilian export slab was $410-460 per tonne fob on Friday January 18, down by $5 from $415-465 per tonne fob a week earlier."[Slab] prices continue to slide and we don't see [them reaching]...Read More
Prices for cold-rolled coil and hot-dipped galvanized material in the United States have moved into correction territory, falling to levels last seen before the Section 232 tariffs were implemented.The continued declines result from short mill lead times and come amid a debate about whether prices have bottomed or might fall further.Cold-rolled coilFastmarkets AMM's price assessment for cold-...Read More
Prices of imports of commercial-grade hot-rolled coil (HRC) into India in the week ended Friday Jaunary 18 widened after large shipments were booked from Iran and South Korea.Importers have confirmed bookings of commercial-grade HRC of Iranian origin at $450-455 per tonne cfr Mumbai for shipment in February, while South Korea-origin HRC priced at $520-525 per tonne cfr Chennai port was also booked...Read More
Markets went into a tailspin in the second half of 2018. File image.Private capital tracker Preqin says in an update that contrary to expectations, 2018 was another bumper year for the industry, particularly for natural resources investments.Fundraising by unlisted funds for investment in natural resources - oil and gas, timberland, farmland, water and mines - set a fresh record in 2018 and is lik...Read More