Iron ore prices advanced on Monday December 2 amid news of less stringent restrictions on steelmakers in China's steel hub of Tangshan.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $88.45 per tonne, up $0.99 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $87.54 per tonne, up $0.99 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $88.32 per tonne, up $1.46 per tonne.58%...Read More

The import pig iron market in the United States became steadily more quiet during the week ended Friday November 29 as buyers completed restocking ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US was at $325-326 per tonne on Friday, narrowing downward from $325-327 per tonne a week before. ...Read More

Galena provides a leading lightSPONSOREDgalena miningAriana will focus on Venus' 9.5 million tonne copper-gold-zinc Magellan project, which consists of two deposits at Klirou and Kokkinoyia which could be developed for open pit mining.Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices moved up on Monday December 2, as spot trading activity remained robust. Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $137.95 per tonne, up $3.29 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $146.63 per tonne, down $0.67Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $120.70 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $130.25 per tonne, unchanged ....Read More

The demand outlook for the metals has improved now that two of China’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ indices (PMI) showed manufacturing was in expansion mode. The state PMI moved back above 50 for the first time in seven months in November. It climbed to 50.2, and was expected to come in at 49.5. The Caixin manufacturing PMI climbed to 51.8 from 51.7 and has now...Read More

Fastmarkets has changed the publication day for its weekly Shanxi-origin, Tangshan-delivered domestic China coking coal price from every Friday to every Monday.The change follows market consultations that started on November 11.The specifications of the price remain unchanged:Price: Hard coking coal domestic China spot market, Shanxi-origin, delivered Tangshan, yuan/tonne Quality: Volatile ma...Read More

Seaborne iron ore concentrate and pellet prices continued to rise last week, with Chinese steelmakers still favoring higher grade materials given extending profitability.ConcentrateFastmarkets' weekly index for iron ore 66% Fe concentrate, cfr Qingdao rose by $3.56 per tonne to $104.11 per tonne on Friday November 29.The daily Fastmarkets index for iron ore 65% Fe Brazil-origin fines, cfr Qin...Read More

U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 2 points in pre-opening trade. Wells Fargo slipped $0.11 to $54.35 after Raymond James downgraded the stock to Underperform from Market PerformApple gained $0.92 to $268.17 after JP Morgan raised its target price to $296 from $290.Autozone (AZO $1,177.92) is expected to open higher after Wells Fargo and Credit Suisse r...Read More

Dear Rich Lifer,In many parts of the USA, dealing with winter weather is no joke!Whether you're in Ohio or Oregon, the snow, freezing cold, and weeks without seeing the sun can really drag you down.Social occasions also become fewer and farther between because no one wants to go outside in dreadful weather.Not only that, it's a major inconvenience to get around, and living costs, like food, car in...Read More

Dear Reader,I usually prefer focus on investments most people have never heard of. I do this with a strategy I like to call "backdoor" investing.A "backdoor" investment is a publicly traded company that capitalizes on a "big idea" or trend sweeping Silicon Valley. At any given moment, the venture world is filled with thousands of companies at work in almost every sector of business.For instance, w...Read More

Dear Rich Lifer,I love talking about investments that can make you lots of money. But you know what I love even more? Simple strategies that can SAVE you lots of money with very little effort.After all, even the safest investments carry risk. Meanwhile, some money-saving strategies can end up putting a lot more cash in your pockets with absolutely ZERO risk!Take insurance. Two weeks ago I answered...Read More

Fastmarkets will increase the frequency of its benchmark price assessments for standard and alloy-grade cobalt, in-whs Rotterdam, to daily from Monday February 3, 2020.From February 3, Fastmarkets will assess prices for the following two markets on a daily basis: Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb The decision to increase frequency follows an e...Read More

Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia and Europe in the week ended Friday November 30.China  The Chinese silicon 5-5-3 export price increased from previous week even though the market was quiet - the rise reflects tight domestic supply caused by a seasonal production suspension in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces and low operating rates at smelters in Xinjiang province.Chinese producers have...Read More

Dear Rich Lifer,Black Friday is the single biggest shopping day of the year and with more people than ever shopping online, security can be a major concern for shoppers.It wasn’t too long ago that we experienced the largest security breach in the history of the Internet.In October 2017, Yahoo! confirmed that 3 billion of its user accounts were hacked.Names, email addresses, telephone numbers...Read More

Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia and Europe in the week ended Friday November 30.China The price of antimony, MMTA standard grade II, ddp China continued lower for the fourth consecutive week in the week on November 29 in response to a few suppliers lowering their offers again to entice buying interest for the sake of cash generation.Several antimony suppliers cut their offers again last...Read More

Dear Rich Lifer,Some people love the hustle and bustle of the first big day of the holiday shopping season. They love to wake up early, pour a stiff cup of joe, grab their warmest jacket and head out before the crack of dawn to line up, camp out, and get the best deals and doorbusters on Black Friday.Some people, though, are more inclined to sleep in, stay cozy, watch the big football game and enj...Read More

Belgian battery-materials manufacturer Umicore has completed its purchase of cobalt refining and cathode precursor activities in Kokkola, Finland, from Freeport Cobalt for $203 million. The purchase is on a debt and cash-free basis and includes about $50 million of net working capital. It is anticipated that the acquisition will be earnings accretive from 2020 and value accretive from 2021, Umicor...Read More

Dear Rich Lifer,There are many wonderful things to be thankful for this holiday season: family, friends, our homes and jobs, the delicious food...but what about our health?Did you know that the average American gains up to five pounds in the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas? While there are many factors that can lead to this weight gain, overeating is easily a key factor.Throughout the ho...Read More

Aspiring precious metals developer Velocity Minerals (TSXV: VLC) recently tabled engineering study results and the latest drill assays from its 70%-owned Rozino gold deposit in southeastern Bulgaria.Rozino, the most advanced of Velocity's four Bulgarian gold projects, is advancing to the prefeasibility study (PFS) level.A 2018 preliminary economic assessment (PEA) modelled an open-pit operation wi...Read More

In the latest megadeal sweeping the gold sector, Zijin Mining Group is buying Continental Gold (TSX: CNL; US-OTC: CGOOF) for $1.4 billion in cash.The Chinese gold miner is on an acquisition spree. In early November, it said it would buy copper-gold assets in Serbia from Freeport McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) for up to US$390 million, and it bought Nevsun Resources for US$1.86 billion just over a year ago.Th...Read More