The past year was a difficult one overall for the metals, with the main standouts to the upside being a geopolitical risk-driven gain in gold, a China-driven rise in iron ore and a surge in uranium on broadening global support for nuclear power (Figure 1). A jump in global interest rates to near two-decade highs saw recession fears persist all year, and while one still did not actually eru...Read More

This year the post-global health crisis boom was brought to an end by a surge in inflation to forty-year highs, a major rise in global interest rates in an attempt to curb the rising prices and surging geopolitical risk after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. While precious metals held up reasonably well as markets turned to them as a risk hedge, by Q2/22 the higher interest rates put an end t...Read More

Chile is the world leader in copper production, at 28.5% of the total in 2020, and this looks set to continue, with the country having the largest global reserves, at 23.0% of total. It is also the global leader for molybdenum, which is often found along with copper, and is a major lithium player, holding 51.1% of global reserves. Read More

Newfoundland has become a gold exploration hotspot over the past few years, with the sector seeing some of its strongest activity ever. While the province remains a small contributor to Canadian gold production, it has a substantial mineral industry well supported by the government, focused on iron ore, copper and nickel, and the surge in exploration suggests that gold output from the...Read More

Nevada is the core of the U.S. gold output, accounting for by far the majority, at 75.4% on average for the past year. The state looks set to remain a dominant player in U.S. gold, as it accounts for 49% of total U.S. reserves, with Alaska slightly ahead with 51% of reserves, but just 8.6% of current production. The U.S. accounts for 6.1% of global gold output, making Nevada one of the largest gol...Read More

The Golden Triangle in northwestern British Columbia has historically been a major site of Canadian gold production, beginning as early as the mid 1800s. There was a wave of production in the 1990s which cooled as the gold price declined, but larger scale production resumed in 2017, and the area has seen surging exploration interest over the past year, given that the region has some of the largest...Read More

In this report we outline the Quebec gold mining industry, including its major producers, and a survey of many of the junior miners focused on the province. Quebec accounts for 34% of Canadian gold production (second to Ontario, with 44%) and remains a major focus for both producers and junior miners.Read More

Red Lake has been one of the most prolific gold mining districts in Canada and the world, with exploration having started in the 1920s, and production, which began in the 1930s, continuing to the present day. The district is known for the high grade of its gold, its infrastructure, and strong institutional support, given the long history of mining in the area.Read More

World-class insights firm, Deloitte, recently released a report on the mining industry trends of 2016. In addition to highlighting the emerging trends, this report and other reports from leading organizations within the industry - such as the International Council on Mining & Metals (ICMM) - note some significant issues mining companies are facing. Leading issues include the volatility of the comm...Read More

Canada's Barrick Gold (NYSE, TSX:ABX), the world's largest producer of the precious metal by output, may be announcing Tuesday a significant shift of business focus towards shareholder returns, as former fund manager and current business performance chief, Catherine Raw, assumes as the firm's new chief financial officer.Most shareholders hope that Catherine Raw persuades management to stop prizing...Read More

2016 Campaign's Populist Tone Rankles America's CEOs ... Chief executives at big American companies are increasingly frustrated by the populist tone of the presidential campaign, and concerns are mounting in boardrooms and corner offices that anti-business rhetoric may solidify even after the November election. – Wall Street JournalThis Wall Street Journal article makes the point that Trum...Read More

Washington Launches Its Attack Against BRICS ... Washington is now disposing of the reformist President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff ... In Brazil, Washington has used corruption insinuations to get President Rousseff impeached by the lower house. Evidence is not necessary, just allegations. It is no different from "Iranian nukes," Saddam Hussein's "weapons of mass destruction," Assad's "use of che...Read More

2016 Campaign's Populist Tone Rankles America's CEOs ... Chief executives at big American companies are increasingly frustrated by the populist tone of the presidential campaign, and concerns are mounting in boardrooms and corner offices that anti-business rhetoric may solidify even after the November election. – Wall Street JournalThis Wall Street Journal article makes the point that Trum...Read More

Washington Launches Its Attack Against BRICS ... Washington is now disposing of the reformist President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff ... In Brazil, Washington has used corruption insinuations to get President Rousseff impeached by the lower house. Evidence is not necessary, just allegations. It is no different from "Iranian nukes," Saddam Hussein's "weapons of mass destruction," Assad's "use of che...Read More

Freeport McMoRan Inc. is considering selling a minority stake in its portfolio of copper mines, sources familiar with the matter said, one of the options on the table as the company scrambles to slash its $20-billion (U.S.) debt load.Continue reading at The Globe and Mail Image of Freeport McMoRan's Grasberg mine in Indonesia, viewed from space. Courtesy of NASA via Wikimedia Commons.Read More

With sales and operations at the ends of the earth, few companies are in a better position to take the pulse of the global economy and the resource sector in particular than Caterpillar.The world's number one heavy equipment manufacturer has been hit hard by the decline in mining and construction - sales are down more than $20 billion from its 2012 peak.On Friday the Peoria, Illinois-based giant h...Read More

NEW REPORT SHOWS THAT OVER HALF (52%) OF ALL CANADIAN-LISTED MINING COMPANIES ARE ZOMBIESThe Chart of the Week is a weekly Visual Capitalist feature on Fridays.Canada has a reputation worldwide as the epicenter for mining exploration, and over the years the country's junior-listed companies have created billions of dollars in wealth through new mineral discoveries.However, these days, Canada is ho...Read More

US-based Mosaic Co, the world's top producer of phosphate fertilizer, Switzerland's Eurochem and iron ore and nickel giant Vale SA together with private equity firm Apollo Global have been picked to make final bids for Anglo American's niobium and phosphate business in Brazil reports Bloomberg.The Brazilian operations could fetch as much as $1.5 billion according to the report. BHP Billiton spin...Read More

The Panama Papers are going to be made into a movie as Western anti-privacy propaganda grinds on.The Panama Papers comprise 11.5 million emails hacked from the computers of Mossack Fonseca, a provider of corporations, trusts, shell companies and other legal structures that enhance privacy and anonymity.While those whose names appear in the 11.5 million emails have come under suspicion of criminal...Read More

The Panama Papers are going to be made into a movie as Western anti-privacy propaganda grinds on.The Panama Papers comprise 11.5 million emails hacked from the computers of Mossack Fonseca, a provider of corporations, trusts, shell companies and other legal structures that enhance privacy and anonymity.While those whose names appear in the 11.5 million emails have come under suspicion of criminal...Read More

SNL Metals & Mining tallied the value of planned capital spending announced by mining companies in November.The industry research firm based in Charlottesville, Virginia did the same thing again April 7.Outlays on new mines, sustaining capital, expansions and projects like mine life extensions had surged by nearly $50 billion to $108 billion over the duration of just five months.Of course, some...Read More

Anglo American (LON:AAL) shareholders have rejected the miner's pay policies in the last of several objections to hefty rewards for UK executives.A trio of investor advisory groups had urged Anglo's investors to reject chief executive Mark Cutifani's pay at the annual meeting Thursday. Anglo's boss was awarded a $4.9 million ( ?3.4m) pay package last year, when the firm was among UK's worst-perfor...Read More

Newmont Mining Corp's (NYSE:NEM), the world's 2nd largest gold miner, is reviewing its compliance with US foreign bribery law.Reporting its first-quarter earnings, the Colorado-based company said it had engaged outside counsel as part of a review of its compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which bars the use of bribes to foreign officials.The gold and copper miner didn't specified w...Read More

China’s Economic Recovery Masking Financial Risks, Fitch Says ... Are We Heading Back Into China Markets Turmoil? ... -BloombergChina is run by a communist party but its policies are increasingly mercantilist and reminiscent of European and US strategies.Whether the world is run out of Washington or Beijing, the economic, political and military approach is increasingly similar.China is i...Read More

China’s Economic Recovery Masking Financial Risks, Fitch Says ... Are We Heading Back Into China Markets Turmoil? ... -BloombergChina is run by a communist party but its policies are increasingly mercantilist and reminiscent of European and US strategies.Whether the world is run out of Washington or Beijing, the economic, political and military approach is increasingly similar.China is i...Read More

Sibanye Gold (JSE:SGL) (NYSE:SBGL), the biggest producer of the precious metal in South Africa, said Wednesday it plans to spend $250 million (R3.9 billion) this year boosting infrastructure at most of its assets.Speaking at the European Gold Forum in Zurich, CEO Neal Froneman said the firm will allocate $115 million (R1.6 billion) underground projects at the Kloof and Driefontein gold mines on th...Read More

As Myanmar makes history by electing its first civilian president Htin Kyaw, after 50 years of military rule, we examine a story that helped shape Myanmar's relationship with its neighbours and the world. "A New Dawn" is an unprecedented film that comes at a historic time in Myanmar's history.Myanmar Wanbao was forced to stop construction in 2012 due to local opposition to the copper project...Read More

EU Has Meddled Too Much, Admits Boss Juncker ... More The European Union meddles too much in people’s lives, according to its most senior official. In a significant admission, Jean-Claude Juncker said a lot of the laws made in Brussels should have been left to national governments. As a result the EU has lost popularity with ordinary people because they feel it over-regulates, the Euro...Read More