Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday October 17 that are worth another look.Alcoa has launched a multi-year review of its aluminium portfolio, placing roughly half of its global smelting capacity under scrutiny for potential curtailment or closure, the company said in an earnings call with investors on Wednesday October 16.Stronger demand from the energy sector an...Read More
Access our research platformsSign-in to our platforms to access our extensive research, our latest insight, data and analytics and to connect to our industry experts.There has been an uneasy tension around hard coking coal (HCC) prices for some time. Few would argue that US$200/t prices for seaborne HCCs were sustainable. But at the same time, the market had become accustomed to sky-high prices, k...Read More
An investment firm backed by Jiangxi Copper increased its stake in First Quantum Minerals Ltd, which is in discussions on a possible investment by the Chinese producer in its Zambian assets.The increase in shareholding was made on Wednesday October 16 via Pangaea Investment Management Ltd (PIM), which raised its stake in Canada's First Quantum to 10.827% from 9.956%. PIM has the rig...Read More
Golden Mile goes back to the futureSPONSOREDgolden mile resourcesMMG has met with officials from the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC) regarding the evaluation of pre-investment studies for a concentrate pipeline, a railroad or a combination of both, according to VP corporate affairs Domingo Drago.The mine's trucking operation hasd been blockaded for several weeks at various points of...Read More
Anglo-Australian miner BHP has recorded production declines in all base metals for the third quarter of 2019, with nickel and zinc outputs down by 25% and 33% quarter-on quarter respectively while copper production slipped by only 3% in the same comparison.BHP produced just 22,000 tonnes of refined nickel in the third quarter of the year, down by 25% from the previous quarter, with the decrease at...Read More
Golden Mile goes back to the futureSPONSOREDgolden mile resourcesThe pair signed a two-year, US$2 million exploration financing agreement over the Laramide copper belt in May and completed their first quarterly technical committee meeting last month."We are encouraged by the collaboration with BHP to-date and our technical team continues to progress on new prospect generation in north-eastern Sono...Read More
Aim-listed BlueRock Diamonds achieved record production of 92 500 t in the third quarter, compared with the 63 600 t produced in the third quarter of last year.This was 45% higher year-on-year, notwithstanding the suspension of operations for 19 days in July owing to crushing circuit works.AdvertisementThe company, which owns and operates the Kareevlei diamond mine, in Kimberley, achieve...Read More
A further 10 diamond holes for 12,441m, drilled between February and June, returned "encouraging" results. Intersections included a standout 205m at 2.04% copper and 0.Read More
Mining company Firestone Diamonds has placed an order to hire diesel generator units to run the processing plant at its Liqhobong mine, in Lesotho, as the operation continues to struggle without sufficient power from the grid.The units are scheduled to arrive on site by the end of the month and to be fully operational in early November, Firestone said on Tuesday.AdvertisementThe generators would b...Read More
Mining corporation Barrick is eyeing potential alternative processors for concentrates produced at its Lumwana copper mine in Zambia while it waits for a third-party smelter to resume operations after a major refurbishment.The refurbishment was to one of the third-party smelters that processes a portion of the copper concentrate produced at Lumwana. It was expected to be completed by the end of th...Read More
Oriole's deepening footprint in West Africa is paying offSPONSOREDoriole resourcesPoster South Africa mine regeneration on trackSPONSOREDorion mineralsSilver Mines times Bowdens to perfectionSPONSOREDsilver mines limitedAfrica's rising resource nationalism ups stakes for minersSPONSOREDverisk maplecroftHaving failed to win a referendum to amend the constitution in 2016, he turned to the co...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month nickel price shed 1% from the previous day's close to trade at around $16,285 per tonne during the morning session on Thursday October 17, with the weakness coming despite further drawdowns leaving LME nickel stocks at 88,302 tonnes - the lowest since December 2012. "Nickel has started to fall, on the one hand reflecting the lack of buyers in the physical mark...Read More
LSE-listed Petra Diamonds’ total payments to governments for the financial year ended June 30, amounted to $23.1-million.This is lower than the $25.6-million paid to governments in the 2018 financial year.AdvertisementPetra paid the South African government about $15.41-million in taxes and royalties for the year under review.The company owns and operates the Cullinan, Finsch and Koffiefonte...Read More
Golden Mile goes back to the futureSPONSOREDgolden mile resourcesSince mid-year, the miner has been facing a local government blockade of the access roads, and after a while critical supplies were choked, and with no consumables coming in the company had to suspendRead More
The London Metal Exchange's cash-settled alumina futures contract, which is settled against a basket of prices that includes Fastmarkets' index, traded for the first time on Thursday October 17. Ten lots traded at $284 per tonne for November 2019. There were also two separate trades on the January 2020 contract at $294 per tonne for 10 lots each. The trades concluded between 8:18 and 8:23am London...Read More
China's top copper smelters have agreed to raise the price floor for fourth-quarter treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) by 20% from the prior quarter, sources familiar with the matter told Fastmarkets on Thursday October 17.The fourth-quarter price floor was set at $66 per tonne/6.6 cents per lb, up from $55/5.5 cents in the third quarter. The increase follows six consecutive weeks of rises in...Read More
De Beers Group Auctions, a subsidiary of diamond miner De Beers, on Tuesday launched its new digital auction portal, which is aimed at enhancing customers' bidding experience.“At De Beers Group Auctions, our raison d’etre is to provide our customers a smart and seamless way to source natural diamonds. We plan to do that through continuous improvement of our industry-leading auction...Read More
The price for imported steel reinforcing bar in the United States nosedived following confirmed offers and deals heard for European-origin material, while the price for US domestic rebar narrowed downward, Fastmarkets has learned. Fastmarkets' assessment for steel rebar, import, cfr Houston was at $517-535 per short ton on Wednesday October 16, down by 9.7% from $575-590 per short ton two weeks ea...Read More
LIMA, Peru (miningweekly.com) – The planned introduction of an autonomous fleet at the Quellaveco copper mine in Peru will not impact jobs, Anglo American Peru CEO Tom McCulley told a visiting international media contingent on Monday.Quellevaco has a north and south pit and the automation will begin with seven trucks at the south pit and in the over two years to October 2022 include the nort...Read More
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