Financing for global mining and exploration lost momentum in 2018 with equity markets in particular shunning the metals and minerals sector according to a report released on the eve of mining's biggest annual gathering in Toronto, Canada.State of Mining Finance 2019, produced by the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) and junior financing tracker Oreninc, paints a grim picture of...Read More
Consolidation among smaller gold miners is expected to be top of mind as much of the industry meets in Toronto this week, with dealmakers cautiously optimistic a fresh wave of buyouts is imminent once major pending transactions are settled.Barrick Gold Corp's $18 billion hostile bid for rival Newmont Mining Corp last week came shortly after the former's acquisition of Randgold Resources and the la...Read More
Fastmarkets proposes to increase the frequency of publication of its copper concentrates treatment charges and refining charges (TC/RC) Asia Pacific index and make small adjustments to the index' specifications.Under the proposals, Fastmarkets will publish the index weekly instead of twice-monthly. The chemical specification of what Fastmarkets considers to be clean standard-grade concentrates wou...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday March 4 that are worth another look.The Indonesia Commodities & Derivatives Exchange (ICDX) has ended the suspension of key smelter inspector PT Surveyor Indonesia in connection with the launch of its new physical tin contract, which is set to transfer tin exports to bonded warehouses for the first time in the exchange's his...Read More
Volumes of duty-unpaid P1020 aluminium in-warehouse Rotterdam contracts traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange soared year on year in January and February 2019 after macro sentiment improved and bullish attitudes resurfaced. Duty-unpaid aluminium volumes for the period totaled an aggregate 5,285 tonnes, up by 2,735 tonnes from the 2,550 tonnes traded in January and February 2018. The increase i...Read More
The Indonesia Commodities & Derivatives Exchange (ICDX) has ended the suspension of key smelter inspector PT Surveyor Indonesia in connection with the launch of its new physical tin contract, which is set to transfer tin exports to bonded warehouses for the first time in the exchange's history, ICDX chief executive officer Lamon Rutten said on Monday March 4. PT Surveyor was ordered to suspend ope...Read More
The US copper market began the week on weak footing on Monday March 4 despite progress between the United States and China on the trade dispute. The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped by 1.05 cents to $2.9215 per lb. In trade talks, discussions between the US and China could be indicating resolution on the two countries' continued trade...Read More
Canada's mining ministers, with the exception of those from Ontario and Saskatchewan, made public on Sunday the Canadian Minerals and Metals Plan or CMMP, which is expected to guide priority areas for the sector in the coming years.Among those key themes are raising Canadians' awareness of the importance of the minerals and metals sector, responding to ongoing and emerging challenges, and helping...Read More
Canadian multi-metal producer Rathdowny Resources has appointed the former Farallon Mining president Dick Whittington to his new role, as announced in a press release from March 1.Whittington has over 40 years' experience in the mining sector and has worked on global projects across Canada, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Australia and Mexico.It was in Mexico that he founded and chaired the Canadian Min...Read More
Jiangxi Copper plans to buy a controlling stake in major copper, silver and lead smelter Yantai Humon Group, the Chinese copper giant said in a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) on Monday March 4. If finalized, the purchase will see Jiangxi Copper regain its top position as the Chinese largest copper producer in terms of capacity - approximately 1.73 million tonnes of annual copper...Read More
SASKATCHEWAN - Canada's ALX Uranium signed a non-binding letter of intent this week with Orano Canada, a subsidiary of France's Orano Group.The letter refers to the possible acquisition by ALX of a 51% participating interest in the Close Lake uranium project located in the eastern Athabasca Basin area of northern Saskatchewan. This is the same province that hosts the Hook-Carter project, where the...Read More
The price for steel plate in the United States has slipped to the lowest point in eight months due to weak service center demand and fears that Section 232 tariffs could be removed against Canada and Mexico, market participants said.Fastmarkets AMM assessed cut-to-length plate at $47 per hundredweight ($940 per ton) on Friday March 1, down by 1.1% from $47.50 per cwt previously and off 5.1% from $...Read More
UK steel industry body UK Steel and steelmaker British Steel have both welcomed a recent government announcement that the UK will formally adopt many of the existing EU trade protection measures for the steel sector once the country leaves the trading bloc.The UK government's secretary of state for international trade, Liam Fox, announced in the House of Commons on February 25 that the UK will ado...Read More
Buying activity in the CIS export billet market was rather limited at the beginning of March amid a mismatch between producers' offers and customers' bids.CIS producers were insisting on offering at $450-460 per tonne fob Black Sea, customers in North Africa and Turkey were looking for $440 per tonne fob Black Sea and below, while customers in Southeast Asia and the Middle East were ready to pay $...Read More
European long-steel buyers resisted higher offers throughout February while demand levels continue to dawdle behind higher raw material prices that pushed some producers to raise offers across the long steel slate.Prices in March will depend on any shift in the balance of power between the high producer offers and the sluggish end-user demand. Producers were unable to affect any of Fastmarkets' Eu...Read More
Turkey's flat steel export volumes rose by 55.37% year-on-year in January, according to the latest data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK). The main reason for the increase was that the local demand was weak in the country in the last quarter of 2018, when orders to be...Read More
As competition in the global steel markets remains fierce, Fastmarkets provides an update on the new, progressing and closed trade cases around the world in February 2019.The case list below includes only updates. For other continuing cases, see the update for January 2019.1. EU: 26 steel...Read More
RAPAPORT... Star Diamond Corporation has noted a large quantity of high-valueand large rough stones at its two exploration sites in Canada, sending itsstock price shooting upward. Nearly 27% of diamonds at its Star project are type IIa, acategory that represents less than 2% of all rough diamonds mined fromkimberlites, the company reported Monday. The proportion of that category at its OrionSouth...Read More
RAPAPORT... Polished-diamond imports to Hong Kong were flat in 2018,according to data from the Diamond Federation of Hong Kong, China. The averageprice rose 3%, offsetting lower volumes. Polishedimports from China increased 10%, while shipmentsfrom the US dropped 5%, and supply from the United Arab Emirates slumped 31%. Imports from India slipped 1%.Hong Kong Diamond Trade Data for Full Year...Read More
RAPAPORT... Israeli-Belgian diamantaire Ehud Laniado died Saturday at65, following a heart attack during surgery at a Paris clinic, local media reported. Laniado, the founder of Mercury Diamond, a diamond-pricing consultancy firm, was undergoing an electiveprocedure, according to French magazine Le Point. Emergencypersonnel were unable to revive him. The industry veteran began his career as...Read More