SHANGHAI, Feb 5 (SMM) – Copper scrap spot prices fell 100 yuan/mt on Monday February 5 as demand remained sluggish ahead of Chinese New Year.The 1# bare bright copper in Guangdong province traded at 46,400-46,700 yuan/mt, down from 46,500-46,800 yuan/mt last Wednesday, SMM learned. Some sellers had to let go of their cargoes at lower prices due to cashflow requirements before Chinese New Yea...Read More

QUESTION: Mr. Armstrong; I use to listen to the Goldbug analysts but they never change. Now the pitch is you have to protect your wealth from stock and bond market crash. They say that with the current equity bull market among the longest on record and the beginning of a bond bear market, once again they say you have to buy only gold. Being the skeptic that they have made me, is there any histori...Read More

A Colorado School of Mines professor has received a $1.5 million National Science Foundation grant to develop an online gateway that will allow researchers around the world to run quick quantum-computing simulations with the click of a button and without having to invest millions of dollars before building their experimental platform.Lincoln Carr, professor of physics and head of the Carr Theoreti...Read More

Base metals traded on the London Metal Exchange are off to a slightly negative start this week, posting an average loss of 0.4% this morning, Monday February 2. Nickel (-0.8%) is down the most, while tin (+0.3%) is the only base metal showing a gain.Volume has been fairly low with 4,947 lots traded as of 05.01 am London time.The downward pressure across the complex seems to be driven by a further...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly higher at the 5pm close on Monday February 5 although lead again bucked the trend.The three-month copper price rallied to a high of $7,220 per tonne earlier, hitting a fresh three-week peak. Despite retreating slightly this afternoon, the metal still closed $125 per tonne higher than Friday's close. "A previously strong flow of material i...Read More

Comex copper prices diverged from equity markets and returned to positive territory on Monday February 5, with the global environment remaining solid for the base metals group. Copper for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 3.75 cents or 1.2% to $3.2250 per lb. The red metal dipped to a one-week low on Friday following a heavy selloff in equity markets...Read More

Physical iron ore was traded at higher prices on Monday February 5 in line with further increases in China's steel and futures markets.Key driversChinese ferrous futures advanced across the board during the day, with the benchmark contract for iron ore rising 2.5% from the settlement price last Friday, while those for coke and coking coal posted more-impressive gains of 4.2-4.7%.The general uptren...Read More

Peter KrauthGold prices spent the last week consolidating lower. Despite the pullback, I remain bullish on gold prices in 2018 and will show you my price target for March in just a moment.Gold's biggest nemesis last week was an overbought condition rather than the dollar, since the greenback is back to nearly the same levels.What has changed is sentiment. Quite simply, gold was overbought, and the...Read More

The downward trend in the CIS export steel billet market slowed down in the week ended Monday February 5 with deal prices remaining largely unchanged week-on-week.Metal Bulletin's weekly export CIS Billet Index was stable at $492 per tonne fob Black Sea on February 5.Ukrainian steelmaker Metinvest offered billet at $490 per tonne fob Black Sea late last week, sources told Metal Bulletin.Market par...Read More

State-owned Steel Authority of India (Sail) will increase its steel production capacity 2.8 million tonnes per year after the commissioning of blast furnace No.8 in Bhilai, central India, the company said. Once the new furnace starts producing, the Bhilai site will have an overall liquid steel production capacity of 7.5 million tpy, Sail said on Saturday February 3. Just the same as compatriot ste...Read More

Peru's largest copper producer, Cerro Verde, reported a surge in fourth-quarter 2017 net profits, with higher copper prices offsetting a decline in sales volumes.The mine, operated by Freeport-McMoRan, recorded a net profit of $217.6 million in the last three months of 2017, up by 89.4% from $114.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2016, the company said.This was attributed mostly to high...Read More

The majority shareholder of Vedanta Resources intends to remain an investor in Anglo American and backs the mining company's continued presence in Africa, according to Vedanta chairman Anil Agarwal. The Agarwal family trust, Volcan Investments Ltd, acquired a 21% stake in Anglo in two stages last year, but Agarwal has always been quick to stress the investment was made in a personal capacity and i...Read More

South Africa urgently needs to get investment back on the agenda, according to the deputy chairman of Anglo American South Africa. Speaking during the annual Mining Indaba in Cape Town, Norman Mbazima said that while South Africa may have one of the world's most endowed mining jurisdictions, it has not been able to bring this endowment to account. "We need to attract capital for South Africa's min...Read More

TSX VENTURE: JGwww.japangold.com Mr. John Proust reports:VANCOUVER, Feb. 5, 2018 /CNW/ - Japan Gold Corp. (TSX-V: JG) (OTCQB: JGLDF) ("Japan Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to report results from its first scout drill holes completed in late December 2017 on the Akebono prospect at its Ikutahara Project in Hokkaido, Northern Japan.The following intersections downhole were returned from the targ...Read More

Peru's zinc production rose up by 10.2% in 2017, boosted by a strong increase in Antamina mine's output, according to the country's energy and mines ministry, MEM. Production totaled 1.47 million tonnes in the full year of 2017, from 1.34 million tonnes in 2016, the ministry said on its website on Sunday February 4. The increase was driven by a strong performance from Antamina mine, the country's....Read More

Peruvian copper production increased by 3.9% in 2017, with higher volumes from MMG's Las Bambas and Chinalco's Toromocho offsetting the small declines at other major mines. The country produced a total of 2.45 million tonnes of copper last year, compared with 2.35 million tonnes in 2016, Peru's energy and mines ministry, MEM, said its website on Sunday February 4. Meanwhile, the average coppe...Read More

TSX VENTURE: FCCwww.firstcobalt.com Mr. Trent Mell reports:TORONTO, Feb. 5, 2018 /CNW/ - First Cobalt Corp. (TSX-V: FCC, ASX: FCC, OTCQB: FTSSF) (the "Company") is pleased to announce positive drill results from its 2017 drill program, intersecting over 30 metres of disseminated cobalt mineralization in the southern part of the Canadian Cobalt Camp. Multiple drill intercepts in this area demonstra...Read More

Comex copper prices diverged from equity markets and returned to positive territory on Monday February 5, with the global environment remaining solid for the base metals group. Copper for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 3.75 cents or 1.2% to $3.2250 per lb. The red metal dipped to a one-week low on Friday following a heavy selloff in equity markets...Read More

TSX: FFwww.firstmininggold.com Mr. Keith Neumeyer reports:VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 05, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First Mining Gold Corp. ("First Mining" or the "Company") (TSX:FF) (OTCQX:FFMGF) (Frankfurt:FMG) is pleased to announce the drilling results of the four drill holes from its deep diamond drill exploration program within Zone 7 (see Tables 1 and 2) at First Mining's 100...Read More

European apparent steel consumption is forecast to increase by 1.90% year-on-year in 2018 and by 1.40% year-on-year in 2019, European steel association Eurofer said at a seminar held in Brussels, Belgium, on Monday February 5.European steelmakers gained EU market share over the course of 2017, with import volumes falling in the second half of 2017. Steel imports held a 21% share of apparent steel...Read More