Price variations between the cobalt markets in China and internationally reached all-time highs in 2018 when China reacted to rising volumes of cobalt supply from which the overseas metal markets were somewhat protected.At times, wide differentials created appealing theoretical arbitrage opportunities for Chinese exporters, but it was the sentiment and outlook of overseas buyers that ultimate...Read More
Ningxia Tianyuan, the world's largest manganese flake producer, is still not operating at its full 800,000 tonne per year capacity, sources told Fastmarkets MB. The company was expected to resume full production in December, following seven months of lower output. The company is currently operating at a reduced capacity of 1,600 tonnes per day, sources at the company said. Their full daily...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed this morning, Thursday January 3, with zinc, aluminium and lead up by between 0.4% and 0.7%, copper up by 0.1% at $5,880 per tonne, and nickel and tin lower by 0.8% and 0.2% respectively.Volume across the complex has been high with 11,375 lots traded as at 06.58am London time.Wednesday's trading saw three-month LME base metals...Read More
Trade log for cobalt sulfate in China including transactions, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets MB. Unless otherwise stated, all prices are yuan per tonne on an ex-works basis.The cobalt sulfate, Co 20.5% min, China ex-works, adjustment to the low-grade cobalt low-end price at Co 20.5% basis is on a $ per lb basis. Fastmarkets MB prices Click here for Fastmarket MB's price assessment for cob...Read More
China's domestic stainless steel prices held steady over the past week amid growing pessimism about the market in January.Fastmarkets MB's price assessment for benchmark 304 stainless cold-rolled coil in the major market of Wuxi was 14,200-14,800 yuan ($2,068-2,156) per tonne including value-added tax for the week ended Wednesday January 2, unchanged from a week earlier.Transactions were sparse ov...Read More
Import prices for stainless steel in East Asia were little changed over the past week, with trading activity yet to pick up following the year-end holiday season.Fastmarkets MB's import price assessment for 304 stainless 2mm trimmed cold-rolled coil in East Asia was $1,890-1,950 per tonne cif for the week ended Wednesday January 2, down $10 per tonne from a week earlier.Fastmarkets MB's import pri...Read More
Almaden Minerals (TSX: AMM; NYSE: AAU) has tabled a feasibility study for its Ixtaca gold-silver project in Puebla State, Mexico, that reduces the mine plan's footprint by shifting to dry stack tailings and improves milling grade through ore sorting.The company originally used a conventional tailings dam in its 2017 prefeasibility study. Since then, it's studied mixing waste and tailings to elimin...Read More
Key data from the Wednesday January 2 pricing session in Asia. Key drivers The price of aluminium ADC 12 alloy exported to major Japanese ports (MJP) was unchanged due to market inactivity during the New Year holiday in Japan between December 29 and January...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday January 2 that are worth another look.The aluminium import arbitrage between the United States and Asia narrowed slightly in December due to the lower ocean-freight rates only partly offsetting the lower Midwest aluminium premiums.There will be a massive influx of copper scrap to China in the first half of this year, with mark...Read More
As the new year begins, gold continues to gain respect as the ultimate investment asset. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the U.S. dollar.Most investors tend to view the dollar as a "safe haven", but the big bank FOREX traders that really move the currency market view the dollar as a risk-on asset class.They view gold and the Japanese yen as the main risk-off assets. So, when the d...Read More
When investors think of acquiring mining stocks, they usually look to larger miners with mature, stable operations. While senior and intermediate miners offer greater stability and come with lower risk, junior miners and explorers offer the potential to obtain outsized returns. One junior miner that stands out, offering an exciting opportunity for investors to gain exposure to high-quality preciou...Read More
As the new year begins, gold continues to gain respect as the ultimate investment asset. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the U.S. dollar.Most investors tend to view the dollar as a "safe haven", but the big bank FOREX traders that really move the currency market view the dollar as a risk-on asset class.They view gold and the Japanese yen as the main risk-off assets. So, when the d...Read More
Silver is up 12.4% since November 11th, gold is up 9.3% since August 15th. But the GDX mining stock ETF is up 21.4 % since September 11th. GDX is actually up 71% since mid- January 2016. By comparison, the SPX is up just 34% over the same time period (Jan 19th, 2016).There's a quiet bull market unfolding in the precious metals sector. But don't expect to hear about it on CNBC, Bloomberg TV...Read More
Gold and gold stocks, It is "high noon" at $1300About four years ago I wrote that a very knowledgeable gold mining person who has been an excellent source of information told me that there was a private meeting in a "large east coast North American city." Those attending the confidential meeting were representatives of central banks and large c...Read More
Indicators for China's economic strength have been weak and central bank efforts to boost spending are getting less effective, analyst Christopher LaFemina said, and metals demand will fall as a result."Broad credit growth in China has been on a declining trend since 2017 … credit growth tends to lead economic activity by 3-6 months, and credit growth is unlikely to accelerate until more ag...Read More
BMO analyst Colin Hamilton said in a note there were many questions in the metals market raised by the trend in China of positive fiscal spending statements, but weak consumer-led data points, whichRead More
Yamana Gold's Cerro Moro gold-silver mine is southern Argentina, which has one of Sandstorm's many streaming agreements. Source: Sandstorm Gold Ltd.Sandstorm Gold Ltd. [SSL-TSX; SAND-NYSE American] said Friday January 4 that it sold approximately 57,600 attributable gold equivalent ounces in 2018, the highest yearly total in the company's history. That number includes approximately 14,150 attribut...Read More
SolGold tables updated estimate for Alpala DepositSolGold Plc [SOLG-TSX, LSE; SLGGF-OTC] shares were active Friday January 4 after the Brisbane-based company released a NI 43-101-compliant technical report containing an updated resource estimate for the Alpala Deposit, located on the company's Cascabel Project in northern Ecuador.According to the technical report, the Alpala mineral resource now s...Read More