Mid-tier Canadian miner B2Gold (TSX:BTO)(NYSE: BTG) will invest $50 million into expanding its 80%-owned Fekola mine in southwestern Mali, which would allow the operation to churn out 5 million ounces of gold over the new mine life of 12 years.Average annual gold output would increase to more than 550,000 ounces from 2020 - 2024, and to over 400,000 ounces during the remaining seven years.The p...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices softened on Monday May 13 amid weaker steel markets and an appreciation of the United States dollar against the Chinese yuan.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $96.10 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $1.14 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $94.78 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $1.14 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $99.92 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.58 per...Read More
Gold has been stuck in neutral despite a plethora of geopolitical developments that would typically push the precious metal higher.Apparently, it will take an actual "event" to impact gold sentiment, though any objective investor would agree the odds of such an event have risen dramatically over the past few weeks.I continue to recommend American investors have a small to medium position...Read More
SD Outlook: The near-term sure does look bearish for gold & silver heading into the week, which is exactly the reason it's called an "upside surprise"... The dog-n-pony show that is the trade war will need to share the stage this week.With what?The Fed playing make-believe with the "markets":Monday and Tuesday are just the warm-ups.In preparation for the Kashkari Soliloquy, followed by the Friday...Read More
Markets Gold Oil Markets back in the red as tariffs increased European markets are mostly lower at the start of the week and the US is expected to open even deeper in the red after talks between the US and China broke down and tariffs were increased. The talks appeared to be going quite smoothly until a week ago when the cracks started to appear, since when markets have given up a chunk of...Read More
About 50,000 people rallied this week in the Colombian city of Bucaramanga to express their opposition to the Soto Norte gold project.The $1.2-billion project, proposed by Sociedad Minera de Santander or Minesa, is located in the north-central Santander department, just outside the P??ramo de Santurb??n, an area of the Andes mountains covered with subalpine forests above the continuous tree line b...Read More
Fastmarkets reporters present 12 key things we learned at LME Asia Week 2019 in Hong Kong during May 6-9. 1. LME is in talks with Guangdong local authority to establish warehouses in China Charles Li, chief executive officer of Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing (HKEX), said the London Metals Exchange is in talks with the Guangdong government to pilot establishing LME warehouses in mainland China. Li...Read More
The price of copper dropped to a 15-week low on Monday after China fired back in the mounting trade war with the US. In afternoon trade, copper for delivery in July touched $2.709 a pound ($5,972 a tonne), down 2.4% from Friday's settlement.China will match 25% tariffs on $60 billion of goods imported from the US including precious stones like diamonds, rubies and emeralds, iron ore, and nickel,...Read More
It has been said there is a massive paradigm shift going on in the world - a shift that is only slightly perceptible to some - but one that is already revolutionizing the mining industry. Picture an image of a city block at the turn of the 20th century. Horse-drawn carriages fueled by grass and hay were the main method of transportation on dirt roads during the agricultural era. Fast for...Read More
BERLIN - Volkswagen will invest almost 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) in battery cell production at a facility in western Germany and is seeking to simplify the group by spinning off or selling units, the automaker said on Monday.Volkswagen said in a statement after a supervisory board meeting it would set up the battery facility in Lower Saxony under a partnership and would also begin talks on a...Read More
British Columbia's top mining companies have been on a roller-coaster ride over the past five years, according to data compiled for Business in Vancouver's Biggest Mining Companies in B.C. list.In 2015, Teck Resources Ltd. (TSX:TECK.B) (No.1 on BIV's list) and Goldcorp Inc. (TSX:G) (No. 2) suffered massive declines in net income.Teck's net income fell by $2.87 billion to $2.48 billion in the red...Read More
Japan's JX Nippon Mining & Metals, a mining and smelting unit of JXTG Holdings Inc, said on Monday that Seiichi Murayama, senior executive officer, will become its new president on June 26, replacing the current president Shigeru Oi.Under a long-term vision through 2040 announced on Monday, JX Nippon Mining aims to transform itself into a company focusing on advanced materials from a company cente...Read More
SailingStone Capital, the second largest shareholder in Rio Tinto- controlled Turquoise Hill (TSE, NSYE: TRQ), is expected to vote against the re-election of the Canadian miner's board members this week, during the company's annual meeting.The San Francisco-based investor claims the four independent directors were handpicked by Rio and are not representing the interest of all investors.SailingSto...Read More
Turkish steel producers continued to book deep-sea scrap cargoes with the help of falling prices, sources said on Monday May 13.A steel producer in the Izmir region booked a Baltic Sea cargo, comprising 10,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $286 per tonne, 12,000 tonnes of shredded at $291 per tonne and 3,000 tonnes of bonus at $296 per...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday May 13 that are worth another look.China will implement import tariffs on more than 5,000 types of goods from the United States starting June 1, 2019, marking an escalation in the trade war between the two countries, the government announced on Monday May 13. Fastmarkets reporters present 12 key things le...Read More
The International Copper Study Group (ICSG) has estimated that the global balance between output and consumption of refined copper will widen to a deficit of 190,000 tonnes in 2019.This forecast figure was up from an earlier forecast deficit of 65,000 tonnes, published by ICSG in October 2018, as a result of global trade uncertainty, economic weakness and static levels of mine production.The group...Read More
The global alumina market may tighten in the coming month after around 1.7 million tonnes of Chinese alumina production was suspended on environmental infringements this month, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday May 13. Xinfa Group has closed two production lines out of four at its Jiaokou alumina plant, removing 1.3 million tonnes per year of alumina output after the local authorities launched a...Read More
Alba Minerals (TSX-V:AA) announced that it entered into an agreement with Journey Exploration to acquire all of its issued and outstanding share capital.The logic behind the buyout is that Journey holds a 100% interest in five prospective vanadium and uranium properties in Colorado and Utah.Yellow Circle mine workings. Photo by Alba Minerals.According to Alba, the projects are in and adjacent to t...Read More
The International Wrought Copper Council (IWCC) has elected Dr Erwin Mayr, chief executive officer of the Wieland Group, to serve as chairman of the group, which is the international association for the copper and copper-alloy fabricating industry.Mayr succeeds Stefan Boel, formerly of Aurubis, who was the longest serving chairman in...Read More
Copper concentrates treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) in the Asia-Pacific region continued to fall last week, attributed to copper smelters rushing to make spot purchases during LME Asia Week in a tight global concentrate market and amid a number of major refined production expansions. Fastmarkets' Asia-Pacific TC/RC index dropped to $59.60 per tonne/5.96 cents per lb on Friday May 10,...Read More