Vale, the world's largest producer of iron ore and nickel, believes that its base metals division will be completely different by 2020, senior executives said on Thursday October 25 during a third-quarter earnings call.One of the principal objectives, they said, was to improve nickel operations by reducing costs and improving productivity.VNC is the company's nickel operation in the Melanesian cou...Read More
Amerigo MVC plant ramp-up on courseSPONSOREDamerigo resourcesKAZ produced 77,200 tonnes of copper in the quarter, up 2.5% year-on-year. For the first nine months of the year, output totaled 216,800t, climbing 12.2% on the year and keeping it on track to m...Read More
Amerigo MVC plant ramp-up on courseSPONSOREDamerigo resources Nevsun also disclosed Wednesday that Zijin had met the first of three Chinese regulatory requirements needed for the deal to close.With the National Development and Reform Commission approval in hand, Zijin is still awaiting approval from the Ministry of Commerce. The two permits are required for Zijin to apply for final approval...Read More
Grupo Mexico, the largest Mexican miner, expects a surge in its production next year, mainly led by copper and zinc. The company is undertaking a huge expansion program that will raise its output of copper by almost 80% by 2025, to 1.8 million tonnes per year.The conglomerate owns assets in Mexico, Peru, Spain and the United States, and it produced 254,219 tonnes of copper in the third quarter of...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed during morning trading on Thursday October 25, with bearish third-quarter earnings reports prompting sharp sell-offs in the Asian and European equity markets, while global trade tensions deter commodity investment. Edging lower over the morning, the three-month copper price is trading below $6,200 per tonne, while total available LME stock...Read More
Apparent steel consumption in the EU is expected to grow in 2018-19, but "trade frictions with the US and cooling global demand" increase the uncertainty in the market and might lead to weaker prospects for European steel users, regional steel association Eurofer said on Thursday October 25.European apparent steel consumption will increase by 2.2% year-on-year to 163 million tonnes in the full yea...Read More
Gold futures are trading marginally higher on the day, with the most active December Comex contract currently fixed at $1,234.50 after adding today's gain of $3.40. These gains are occurring in tandem with a higher dollar. The U.S. dollar index is currently up by 2/10% and fixed at 93.37 after the addition of today's 19-point gain. This rally began precisely two weeks ago today on Thursday, Octobe...Read More
(Kitco News) - The Mines & Money Conference in Toronto happened during a tumultuous time for the markets. The theme of discussion inevitably revolved around the nosedive that equities took the week before the conference, when the S&P 500 plummeted 7% between October 3rd and 11th and gold reacted by rallying 4% from October 9th to the 16th. Gold has since stayed near the $1,220 to $1,230 an...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold prices are slightly higher in early-afternoon U.S. trading Thursday. Some mild safe-haven buying is being offset by solid gains in U.S. stock indexes at midday. However, nobody knows what late-session twists and turns the stock market will make. December gold futures were last up $1.40 an ounce at $1,232.40. December Comex silver was last down $0.041 at $14.635 an ounce. A high...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold and silver markets could be two of the few commodities to survive an impending global economic slowdown in the next few years, according to one U.K. research firm.Although analysts at Capital Economics have little hope for gold prices this year, as the yellow metal continues to fight against rising U.S. interest rates, the firm reiterated its long-term forecast as it sees pric...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for steel billet, slab and bloom. Latest transactions: billetBilletCIS, export, billet, traded at $480-490...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were for the most part under pressure during morning trading on Thursday October 25, with the complex down by an average of 0.2%. Poor US new home sales data on Wednesday and weakness in equity markets are weighing on market sentiment. Copper leads the weakness with a decline of 0.8% as at 07:39am London time, with aluminium, zinc an...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Thursday October 25.Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed during morning trading on Thursday October 25, with bearish third-quarter earnings reports prompting sharp sell-offs in the Asian and European equity markets, while global trade tensions are deterring commodity investment.Edging lower over...Read More
(Kitco News) - European Central Bank President Mario Draghi cautioned markets following the central bank’s rate announcement, promising that even if the asset purchase programme (APP) ends at the end of the year, the monetary policy will still remain “very accommodative.”The ECB left interest rates unchanged on Thursday, noting that it was still planning to end its monthly asset...Read More
Iranian export billet and slab prices continued to decline in the week ended Wednesday October 24, but customers showed little interest in the material.Some customers refrained from booking Iranian materiel due to the United States sanctions."Customers [in the UAE] were signing documents confirming they will not buy anymore sanctioned material," a UAE-based trading source told Fastmarkets."Buyers...Read More
(Kitco News) - Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE: NEM) Thursday reported a modest decline from a year ago in third-quarter adjusted net income due to lower metals prices and output.The company listed adjusted income of $175 million, or 33 cents per share, compared to $184 million, or 34 cents, in the same period a year ago. This beat forecasts centered around 19 cents a share, according to news reports.O...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-dipped galvanized (HDG) coil have fallen in Southern Europe over the past week due to slow trading, sources told Fastmarkets MB. Buyers have been mainly holding back from making purchases in anticipation of a clearer market trend. Mills are expected to negotiate their next long-term contracts with big buyers in the automotive sector by the end of this month, and spot buyers...Read More
OceanaGold Corp. (TSX, ASX: OGC) reported a net profit for the third quarter of $21.7 million, or 4 cents a share, which was the same as in the third quarter of 2017. The company lists production of 138,034 ounces of gold, up from around 136,000 in the year-ago period. All-in sustaining costs were $761 an ounce. The average gold price fell to $1,202 from $1,276. OceanaGold also produced 4,310 tonn...Read More
Import prices for steel billet in Southeast Asia edged down on Thursday October 25 amid lower offers and lackluster domestic sales for finished steel.Fastmarkets' daily price assessment for billet imported into Southeast Asia was $505-510 per tonne cfr Manila on Thursday, narrowing downward by $5 per tonne from $505-515 per tonne cfr on Wednesday.The assessment range declined from $510-515 per ton...Read More
All markets go through the same phases from consolidation to blow off; the metals are no different. For months, gold languished in the consolidation pattern churning between $1,180-$1,220. Three weeks ago today, it broke out right to blow off. Since its blow off, gold settled and resolved the blow-off pattern by consolidating once again but at much higher levels. The phase that gold missed was the...Read More