Barrick Gold announces that it has made a proposal to the Newmont Mining to merge in an all-share transaction.Barrick CEO Mark Bristow says the merger would unlock more than $7 billion net present value of real synergies.The merger, if approved, would come after years of stagnant gold prices, with futures trapped between $1,000 and $1,400 per ounce over the last several years.Thomas Franck | Tom D...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were predominantly higher at the close of trading on Monday February 25, with investor attention diverted amid a more than 2% tumble in oil futures over the afternoon, while US-China trade talks continue to act as a strong tailwind for prices. Leading the complex higher over the afternoon, the three-month tin price increased by more than 1% over the...Read More
A flurry of fresh cancellations in LME copper this month has left market participants questioning the metal's depleting exchange inventories.Declining London Metal Exchange stocks have seen copper's three-month price surge above $6,500 per tonne this morning, its highest level since July 2018. Stock movements have predominantly taken place across US locations in February, allowing t...Read More
Fitch Solutions' industry trends analysts have revised Canada's 2019 gold mine production growth forecast up to 6% from 2% predicting production to grow robustly as new projects come online over the coming quarters.Canada's dominance in attracting exploration investment has resulted in a strong gold project pipeline set to come online in 2019. Over the past decade, Canada has been able to attract...Read More
Seaborne coking coal spot prices held steady on Monday February 25 amid thin trading."The market is taking a breather for now but the short-term trend is still up due to tight seaborne supply," an Indian trading source said.While there are at least 12 cargoes of premium hard coking coal and four shipments of second-tier materials - all of which are scheduled for loading in February-April - in the...Read More
SRSrocco says, "while it has been a long and frustrating road for precious metals investors, I can assure you; we will have the last laugh". Here's an update...by Steve St Angelo of SRSrocco ReportSales of Silver Eagles continue to be strong as demand for the official coins surged in February. Moreover, as the Authorized purchases of Silver Eagles jumped by 775,000 oz this past Thursday, the U.S...Read More
Mining stocks are facing an opportunity they haven't seen many times in the past 8-years!This 2-pack looks at the Gold Bugs Index (HUI) and the Gold & Silver Miners (XAU) Index over the past 12-years. Since the highs in 2011, both have created a series of lower highs and lower lows along each (1) line. The counter-trend rally the past couple of months has each mining index facing long-term fallin...Read More
Vancouver-based Copper Mountain Mining Corp. has published a new integrated mine plan that increases both copper and gold production, extends mine life, and lowers cash costs.The new plan includes a modest expansion of the existing Copper Mountain mill to 45,000 t/d and integrates production from the New Ingerbelle deposit.The company has only good things to say about the proposed changes. Mineral...Read More
Newcrest Mining Ltd Chief Executive Sandeep Biswas said on Monday his company would pursue a potential acquisition only if it were the right value for investors, adding that he would prefer to buy assets rather than whole companies."We are happy to do M&A if it's the right value for shareholders," Biswas said at the BMO Global Metals & Mining Conference. "The entire focus in not on the size of oun...Read More
Freeport-McMoRan Inc Chief Executive Richard Adkerson said on Monday his company has been investing heavily to mitigate any danger from tailings dams and is "comfortable" with engineering designs in place at existing dams.Adkerson's comments come a month after a Brazilian tailings dam controlled by rival Vale collapsed, killing more than 300.Phoenix-based Freeport controls 19 active tailings dams...Read More
The Chinese domestic ferro-silicon price fell in line with weaker demand in the week ended Friday February 22, while the European price has stabilized in February after a run of losses, with suppliers holding their offer prices. China market pares gains as supply outweighs demand Europe flat, suppliers hold offers US prices slip in sluggish spot market Domestic prices dropped last wee...Read More
A flurry of fresh cancellations in LME copper this month has left market participants questioning the metal's depleting exchange inventories.Declining London Metal Exchange stocks have seen copper's three-month price surge above $6,500 per tonne this morning, its highest level since July 2018. Stock movements have predominantly taken place across US locations in February, allowing t...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday February 25 that are worth another look.US President Donald Trump has postponed his administration's plans to increase the current import duties on $200-billion worth of Chinese goods, de-escalating the trade tensions between the two countries. A flurry of fresh cancellations in London Metal Exchange copper this month has&nb...Read More
Nyrstar's non-executive director Jes??s Fernandez has resigned his post in order to represent its major shareholder Trafigura in restructuring talks, the company said today February 25.Fernandez, who is Trafigura's head of mergers and acquisitions has been a board member since April 2016."Fernandez and Trafigura have agreed with Nyrstar that it would promote clarity around that process...Read More
European aluminium ingot prices fell to their lowest level since December 7, 2018 on February 22, due to dampened demand exerting downward pressure on the price.Fastmarkets assessed the price of European aluminium pressure die-casting ingot DIN226/A380, at ?,?1,470-1,530 ($1,666-1,734) per tonne this week, on a delivered consumer works basis.This is down ?,?50 from ?,?1,520-1,580 per tonne last we...Read More
MMG has delayed shipments of its copper concentrates output from Las Bambas copper mine in Peru due to a road blockade initiated by the local community, the Australian-Chinese miner said on Monday February 25. Las Bambas copper mine is one of the world's largest copper mines and produced 385,299 tonnes of copper in copper concentrates in 2018. Outbound transport from Las Bambas mine has been disru...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were collectively higher during morning trading on Monday February 25, with copper and nickel futures rallying past nearby resistance levels, while progress in US-Chinese trade talks continue to buoy commodity investment. Copper's three-month price is now trading above $6,500 per tonne for the first time since July 2018, pushing higher over the morni...Read More
Export prices for steel slab from the Black Sea basin have jumped by $15-20 per tonne over the past week, supported by tight availability of the material in the region, Fastmarkets heard on Monday February 25.Necessary repairs at some production units were behind the reduced availability, market sources said.In particular, merchant slab output from Ukrainian steelmaker Metinvest in December-Februa...Read More
The Turkish steel industry managed to increase its export volumes in 2018 despite the creation of international trade barriers that had a huge effect on the market, the Turkish Steel Exporters' Assn (??IB) told Fastmarkets on Friday February 22.Turkey increased its steel exports by 20.80% year-on-year to 21.40 million tonnes in the full year of 2018, while the value of those exports rose by 36.10%...Read More
RAPAPORT... Profit at Sarine Technologies plunged sharply in the fourthquarter, amid weaker industry sentiment that impacted consumer spending, theequipment maker said Sunday. Profit dropped 85% year on year to $93,000 for the threemonths ending December 31, as uncertainties in China and tightening bank creditto India's manufacturing sector resulted in lower capital-equipment sales andreduced...Read More