Two more steel producers in Italy have stopped operations following the recent nationwide extension of the country's coronavirus-related quarantine area, and more stoppages were expected, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday March 12.On March 11, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte signed a decree tightening the Italian lockdown from the conditions set out in a previous decree on March 9. While...Read More

Brazilian miner Vale has said it may have to implement contingency measures or eventually suspend operations due to the global spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) pandemic around the world.The miner made it clear, however, that "as of today, we have not suffered any material impact to our operations, logistics, sales or financial position, nor [have] any of our employees tested p...Read More

If global financial markets had been operating under a pervading sense of uncertainty due to the impact of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), they now appear to be veering on panic.Oil prices have suffered their biggest one-day collapse since the 1991 Gulf War following Saudi Arabia's declaration of a price war on Russia through a shock move to hike oil production. S&P Dow Jones Indices was forced...Read More

The novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is set to accelerate what the trade wars started: the diversification of global supply chains. Both events have demonstrated just how interconnected the global economy is and have provided a wake-up call to businesses worldwide that it might be time to reduce their reliance on China as the workshop of the world. Of course, that's easier said than done. China is th...Read More

Trade disputes and geopolitical uncertainties had already made the prospects for global economic growth uncertain. A coronavirus has now added to the challenges facing financial markets.The epicenter of the virus is Wuhan, an important commercial hub in China that is home to 11.9 million people, including the country's largest student population. It is also a manufacturing hub, with around 500 fac...Read More

Copper has attempted to rebound since early September following a marked sell-off in the summer months where macro and fundamental forces have been prevalent.On the macro front, copper has benefited from a slight easing in US-China trade tensions and more monetary policy easing across the globe - including China, where copper consumption is the most exposed - that has shored up investor sentiment....Read More

The increasing consumption of scrap and a potential shift toward the electric-arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking route from the basic oxygen furnace (BOF) route in China are medium- to long-term threats to demand for steelmaking raw materials, while in the near team coking coal import volumes will continue to be affected by iron ore procurement strategies.This was the basis of Fastmarkets research team...Read More

With the spread of the Global Contagion, the demand for physical precious metals has increased significantly...by Steve St Angelo of SRSrocco ReportWith the spread of the Global Contagion, the demand for physical precious metals has increased significantly. According to the U.S. Mint's newest update, another million Silver Eagles were sold over the past two days. This brings to total Silver Ea...Read More

Greenlane Renewables Inc. is a pioneer in the rapidly emerging renewable natural gas (RNG) market.Read full newsRead More

Gold prices fell sharply, a worrisome development for some analysts who are concerned that investors are being forced to sell many assets to raise cash.Read full newsRead More

Scientists used Myanmar as a case study. They say legitimization is the key.Read full newsRead More

The ruthless quest for gold in eastern Cameroon has left the landscape peppered with deadly open pitsRead full newsRead More

After slipping as low as US$1,556 an ounce, gold began to trend higher today but was still on track for its worst week in nearly three years. Read full newsRead More

"Iron-oxide-copper-gold (IOCG) deposits rank alongside porphyry deposits as some of the world's largest deposits and most consistent in grade, making for highly profitable mines https://t.co/lCpzkI1wcj @macdonaldmines #exploration #mining #basemetals #gold"Read full newsRead More

As markets have been growing with volatility the last couple of weeks, many investors are wondering what they can do to protect their capital. Gold is always known as a safe-haven asset, but a number of gold miners have been sold off as well. Not to mention, the price of the precious metal has been flat to down in the past three weeks of intense volatility.Gold being down as markets are crashing a...Read More

Exploration in Kitsault, northern British Columbia. (Reference image from the British Columbia Geological Survey annual program review 2019-2020). Following two years of continued growth, exploration activities in British Columbia remained steady through 2019, with expenditures down less than a percentage point from 2018.This, according to the British Columbia Mineral and Coal Exploration Survey...Read More

Electric vehicle. (Reference image in the public domain from Pxfuel). Researchers from Korea's Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology and the University of Pennsylvania in the US produced a new catalyst that could boost the performance of metal-air batteries, known as MABs. These batteries use oxygen from ambient air to store and convert energy. In general, they have large storage cap...Read More

The Santa Cruz operation is located in Zacatecas' Vetagrande municipality, pictured here. (Image by Ereenegee, Wikimedia Commons). Impulsora Minera Santa Cruz, a mining company that operates its namesake silver-lead-zinc mine in Mexico's Zacatecas state, decided to shut down operations for six months due to an environmental investigation that is being carried out by the Federal Attorney for Envir...Read More

Reference image of IAMGOLD's booth at the PDAC conference in Toronto. (Image courtesy of IAMGOLD). Canada's IAMGOLD Corp. (TSX IMG) (NYSE: IAG) is closing its Toronto office for one week after one of its employees tested positive for Covid-19.In a media statement, the miner said that the employee was last in the Toronto office on March 6, 2020, and is now in self-quarantine at home and in stable...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday March 13 that are worth another look.Brazilian miner Vale has said it may have to implement contingency measures or eventually suspend operations due to the global spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) pandemic around the world.Most mill-grade aluminium scrap prices fell in the United States this past week, encouraged by weake...Read More