B.C.'s biggest mining mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in 2018 doubled in value to $9.5 billion compared with $4.6 billion in 2017, which was the second-lowest-valued year for M&As since 2013.Despite the impressive growth in 2018, the annual value of B.C.'s mining M&As still has a long way to go to reach the 2015 high of $10.4 billion. In recent years, the average mining M&A deal value has grown fa...Read More

On March 14 the Mining Association of Canada released the latest edition of its annual Facts & Figures report that provides a comprehensive overview of the trends affecting Canada's mining sector. It contains the unwanted truth that this country's competitiveness continues to erode.Canada is losing its ability to seize new opportunities for growth and it is essential the federal and provincial gov...Read More

Miner Anglo American on Thursday completed the installation of a floating island of solar panels in a tailings pond associated with its flagship Los Bronces copper mine outside the Chilean capital of Santiago, a bid to boost efficiency at the deposit.The 256 panels, tethered to the bottom of the artificial lagoon to ensure proper orientation even in strong winds and changing water levels, have the...Read More

Southern Copper Corp, one of the world's biggest copper producers, is considering an investment in a lithium project in Mexico that has also attracted interest from a Chinese firm, the company's chief executive told Reuters on Wednesday.Oscar Gonzalez said company officials visited the lithium project in the state of Sonora, Mexico, although he could not recall the name of the Canadian miner he sa...Read More

Backers of Freepoint Commodities have given the merchant trader approval to make further long-term investments in copper assets, the firm's commodities strategist, David Wilson, said at the International Copper conference in Amsterdam on Wednesday March 13. "Internally I can see that there is more appetite for us to invest in copper assets as well as trading. There's definitely a change in sentime...Read More

Russia's RDIF sovereign wealth fund said on Thursday it had completed a joint deal with the Russia-China Investment fund and a Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund to acquire a 9.53 stake in Russian mining company Intergeo.Intergeo, a part of Onexim Group, which manages the assets of Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, is developing its Kingash deposit in Russia's Krasnoyarsk region and Ak-Sug...Read More

Turkish steel producers have continued their bookings of deep-sea scrap cargoes with prices remaining stable, sources said on Thursday March 14.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a European cargo, comprising 25,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (75:25) at $317 per tonne and 5,000 tonnes of bonus at $331 per tonne cfr.The same mill...Read More

Gold futures scored a second straight gain on Wednesday, with a climb above $1,300 an ounce sending prices to their highest settlement month to date. U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit plan faces a fresh vote late in the session after a revised deal was rejected on Tuesday. Fears of a disorderly exit by the U.K. from the European Union before the March 29 deadline to formally leave Europe's...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday March 14 that are worth another look.Metal trading funds and the metal commodities industry in general are increasingly focused on trading copper spreads and staying away from bets on outright price, panelists at the International Copper Conference said on Wednesday March 13. At Fastmarkets' 20th Asian Ferro-alloys confere...Read More

Metal trading funds and the metal commodities industry in general are increasingly focused on trading copper spreads and staying away from bets on outright price, panelists at the International Copper Conference said on Wednesday March 13.This shift has been helped by diminishing volatility in copper's outright price, and better visibility over market fundamentals ahead of a macroeconomic environm...Read More

Price-spread backwardations for copper on the London Metal Exchange, with nearby dates, have reduced after 34,950 tonnes of material were delivered into the exchange's warehouses on Thursday March 14, doubling the on-warrant inventory.At 17:18 London time on Thursday, 50 lots of LME cash-March spreads traded in a $2.50 per tonne contango on the exchange's Select platform, after starting the day in...Read More

Gold revisits month-start levels by nearing $1306 ahead of London open on Wednesday. Brexit and trade developments can act as near-term catalysts. $1302 and $1308 are likely immediate levels to watch. Gold trades near the highest level in two weeks, around $1306, on early Wednesday. The yellow metal crossed 50-day simple moving average (SMA) for the first time since November 2018 as latest commu...Read More

American Battery Metals (CSE: ABC) announced that later this month it will start an exploration program at its Temple Mountain vanadium property in Emery County, Utah.With $1.5 million in funding, the campaign will be comprised of radon geophysical surveying, trenching and sampling, and reverse circulation drilling of 10 holes for 3,000 feet.According to American Battery Metals, the geophysical su...Read More

The United States copper market failed to hold onto previous gains during morning trading on Thursday March 14, with weaker-than-expected Chinese data capping the base metals space.The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 4.30 cents to $2.8925 per lb. Data released by China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) at around 10am Shangha...Read More

Turkish billet prices have continued to rise due to improved demand in the export and domestic markets in addition to the latest growth in imported scrap costs, sources said on Thursday March 14.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic billet was $460-470 per tonne ex-works on March 14, up from the $450-460 per tonne of last week.Long steel producer Kardemir opened its local billet sales...Read More

Prices in the local market for Turkish rebar and wire rod have continued to increase, influenced by the weakening of the value of the country's lira and rising costs for imported scrap raw material, sources said on Thursday March 14.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic rebar was TRY3,180-3,215 ($582-589) per tonne ex-works on March 14, including 18% VAT, up from last week's TRY3,100-3...Read More

Turkish rebar and wire rod prices have increased over the past week in line with the latest uptick in the cost of imported scrap, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday March 14.Demand for rebar was still sluggish in the country's export markets, however, although the wire rod market was comparatively better due to demand from the machinery industry.Turkish steel producers were trying to keep their...Read More

Steel billet import prices in Egypt have increased over the past seven days with higher offers being heard, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday March 14.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel billet imported into Egypt was $475-480 per tonne cfr on Thursday, rising from $470-475 per tonne cfr last week.CIS-origin billet was offered to the country at $480 per tonne cfr, but no major bookin...Read More

Market sentiment weak, with select categoriesseeing demand. Diamonds between 0.70 ct. and 1.99 ct. moving well, but largestones slow. Sluggish demand for goods under 0.50 ct., with manufacturersreducing production of that size. Rough market subdued. Alrosa Jan.-Feb. sales-40% to $627M. Belgium Feb. rough imports -28% to $621M, polished exports -3%to $1.2B. Gem Diamonds 2018 revenue +25% to $267M,...Read More

China's domestic rebar prices were flat amid lower trading activity on Thursday March 14, though bullish sentiment propped up the export market slightly.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,810-3,850 yuan ($568-574) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing): 3,790-3,830 yuan per tonne, unchangedRebar futures were lower than Wednesday's settlement price of 3,817 yuan per tonne during most of the...Read More