Governments' massive efforts to support economies have provided some relief to markets and sentiment, but with the novel coronavirus (nCoV 2019) pandemic still spreading rapidly throughout Europe, the United States and elsewhere, there is still just too much uncertainty for markets to settle down.In line with this, the countertrend move of recent days is showing signs of running out of steam this...Read More
Governments’ massive efforts to support economies have provided some relief to markets and sentiment, but with the novel coronavirus (nCoV 2019) pandemic still spreading rapidly throughout Europe, the United States and elsewhere, there is still just too much uncertainty for markets to settle down.In line with this, the countertrend move of recent days is showing signs of running out of steam...Read More
The spread of the Covid-19 virus is forcing shutdowns and a reassessment of consumers' cobalt requirements. Prices of cobalt - metal, intermediates and salts - have so far taken a hit amid concerns of a general, global economic slowdown caused by the virus; a slower uptake in electric vehicle usage; and disrupted demand from the aerospace sector. But lockdowns aimed at limiting the spread of the v...Read More
Canada-based ferro-titanium producer Metalliage is urging local authorities to allow the company to return to production, arguing the alloy maker provides an essential service, after the provincial government of Quebec ordered non-essential services to shutdown for three weeks effective midnight March 24.The move follows international efforts to limit the spread and impact of the coronavirus (2019...Read More
The Ambatovy Nickel Project (Ambatovy) will temporarily stop operations due to national restrictions imposed to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in Madagascar. "In Bolivia and Madagascar, all-day or night curfews have been imposed and public transportation has been suspended. Considering the impact of these measures, including difficulties of securing access to the operation...Read More
The price of antimony in China's domestic market fell for a fourth consecutive week on Wednesday March 25, with suppliers lowering their offer prices amid weakening market sentiment in response to a significant reduction in overseas demand.Fastmarkets' price assessment for antimony, MMTA standard grade II, ddp China was 37,000-38,000 yuan ($5,214-5,355) per tonne on Wednesday, down by 1,000 yuan p...Read More
The 21-day lockdown in South Africa and resulting disruption to shipping cobalt raw materials from Durban to Chinese ports have managed to slow the cobalt sulfate price downturn in China, with producers who were eager to destock pausing midweek, sources said.Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt sulfate 20.5% Co base is, exw China was 45,000-47,000 yuan ($6,341- 6,623) per tonne on Wednesday Ma...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 43 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures recovered slightly following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus for Weekly Jobless Claims was a jump to 1,500,000 from 281,000 last week. Actual was 3,283,000. Consensus for third estimate of fourth quarter GDP was unchanged from the third quarter at an annu...Read More
Stainless steel prices in China fell over the past week amid lower raw material costs and a worsening novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) pandemic. A slump in the London Metal Exchange's nickel price was a major factor that led steelmakers to reduce their asking prices, sources said. The three-month nickel contract on the LME ended Wednesday March 25's trading session at $11,251 per tonne, down by $254-...Read More
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China's electric-arc furnace (EAF) mills have gradually raised their production rates in the past three weeks following stronger demand for steel products.But this higher output is unlikely to lower billet imports into the country, according to market sources. They expect this trade flow to persist as long as the arbitrage window stays open.Production rates for EAFs - which largely produce long st...Read More
The hot metal cost for blast furnace-based steel production in Asia reached almost $320 per tonne in February, supported by high iron ore and coking coal prices despite the onset of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) pandemic in China.The high raw materials costs caused hot metal-steel spreads to reach a low of $137.98 per tonne and $110.39 per tonne for hot-rolled coil and rebar respectively even...Read More
As the science continues to evolve around the transmission of the deadly coronavirus, the 23,000 people who attended the Prospectors & Developers' Association of Canada (PDAC) convention in Toronto on March 1-4 can only watch and wait.PDAC confirmed the first case of infection on March 11, stating that an attendee had tested positive for the virus after returning to his home in Sudbury. The conven...Read More
Barrick Gold (TSE: ABX; NYSE: GOLD) has unveiled a 10-year gold production plan in which it aims to maintain production levels of approximately 5 million oz. gold per year between 2020 and 2029. The plan is based on its current operating asset portfolio, sustaining projects in progress, and implementing exploration and mineral resource management initiatives. It does not include additional asset o...Read More
On a global scale, work is grinding to a halt and operations at mines are being temporarily suspended as majors and minors move to enact measures to protect against the spread of COVID-19.With governments from Africa to Latin America issuing lockdown orders, disruptions to operations and supply chains are affecting the outlook for industrial and precious metals. Most of the majors have now announc...Read More
The coronavirus pandemic "has morphed into a credit crisis and economic recession," Bank of America (B of A) outlined in its World at a Glance report released Thursday, noting that "the current sudden stop of the real economy on a global scale is unprecedented and the risk is that this crisis may end up even worse than the 2008-09 crisis," making "the market very challenging to forecast."B of A fo...Read More
DynaCERT (TSX: DYA), a Toronto-based company, has developed a technology called HydraGEN that could significantly reduce emissions by improving the performance and fuel efficiency of diesel engines used in mining machinery and equipment.The HydraGEN technology is about the size of a suitcase for use in trucks, with larger models for use in more significant mining machinery and equipment, and the c...Read More
The following is an edited report from the World Gold Council, release on March 19, 2020. For the full report visit www.gold.org.Like most asset classes, gold is being affected by the unprecedented economic and financial market conditions in play around the globe. We believe that recent volatility in the gold price has been driven by massive liquidations across all assets, and likely magnified by...Read More
Cardinal heading down familiar gold roadSPONSOREDcardinal resourcesSarama right in the middle of big exploration, corporate build-upSPONSOREDsarama resources Exore excels in Cote d'IvoireSPONSOREDexore resourcesThe convenience of one provider with pay-as-you-need flexibilitySPONSOREDmicromineWithin barely a few weeks, even some hitherto fervent small-government adherents have turned full circl...Read More
Unlike many other mines in Canada and around the world that have been put on care and maintenance in the last week because of the global COVID-19 pandemic, De Beers' (51%-owned) and Mountain Province Diamonds' (TSX: MPVD; US-OTC: MPVD) (49%-owned) Gahcho Ku?(C) mine in the Northwest Territories is so far continuing to operate. However, Mountain Province has been forced to indefinitely postpone dia...Read More