Chile's Escondida, the world's largest copper-producing mine. (Image courtesy of BHP Billiton)More than 18,600 km from Beijing, in copper-rich northern Chile, beleaguered miners are barely coping with the impact of China's economic slowdown.The situation is worse than many think, according to the country's mining industry group Consejo Regional Minero de Coquimbo (Corminco), which represents some...Read More
What percent of Canada's minerals are produced in Manitoba? How much mineral potential does the province have?Learn about this, as well as mining's contributions to Manitoba in wealth and safety.Courtesy of: Visual CapitalistPresented by: Mining Association of ManitobaMining in Manitoba had humble beginnings. Settlers of the province needed non-metallic raw materials, and began to extract salt fro...Read More
Large scale futures investors like hedge funds or so-called managed money have entered an unprecedented bearish position towards commodities markets.According to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's weekly Commitment of Traders data, five weeks of selling has seen 13 of the 24 commodities tracked pushed into net short positions.Those include the major commodities like crude oil, gasoline, go...Read More
The expansion of the definition of indigenous communities' benefited Quechua-speaking highland groups.A recent decision by Peru's government to require mining companies to carry out prior consultation with indigenous communities is set to further complicate the investment climate at a time when the sector is struggling as a result of low prices and a slowdown in investment. On 12 November, Deputy...Read More
Immersive Technologies has been providing analytics and reporting to identify operator training needs tied directly to Los Bronces site objectives. This in turn provided focus for simulator based training activities which precisely targeted and closed performance gaps. The site has had early reports of 25% reduction in body up ground speeds, 60% reduction in overspeeds and 62% reduction in service...Read More
After five trying years, RAB Capital Founder and President Philip Richards sees the light at the end of the tunnel. In this interview with The Gold Report, he argues that a continued zero-interest-rate policy from the Fed will be good for gold and silver, while continued quantitative easing will be good for base metals. Many fine mining companies now trade at deep discounts relative to their NPVs,...Read More
Doctor copper, can no longer be viewed as a leading indicator, in fact, a name change might be in order. A change of name from Dr Copper to deadbeat copper might in order, given its dismal record over the years. After the financial crisis of 2008-2009, the economy, the stock markets and copper parted ways; while the markets and the economy trended higher, copper plunged into an abyss, and it is...Read More
Aerial view of the Batu Hijau copper and gold mine.Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM) were barred from exporting copper and gold concentrate from its operations in Indonesia in September, but the company is now free to resume exports again.The export licence forDenver-based Newmont's local unit, PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara, was suspended because the company failed to meet government stipulations for d...Read More
Image from archives.While commodities are mired in the worst slump in a generation and all the market wants to hear is that the worst is already over, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) warns prices may fall even further.Unless demand picks up or more miners cut output, prices for raw materials are set to stay low for years, or worse, continue to drop, it said in a note on Thursday, FT.com reports (subs. req...Read More
Brazil's Vale (NYSE:VALE) on Thursday announced it will shutter its nickel smelting and refining operations in Canada's Manitoba province in 2018.The operations were originally set to end this year, but the government stepped in to extend work for at least another three years reports Reuters.Mining and milling at the Thompson mine will continue and the Rio de Janeiro-based company said it will fin...Read More
Chart by Preqin.Year to date the mining sector has raised a miserable $400 million down from a high of $4.6 billion just three year ago, according to data compiled by Preqin released today.The research firm looked at private equity-style funds targeting assets in energy (including oil and gas); agriculture and farmland; metals and mining; and timberland and water.The decline in mine financing fro...Read More
The once obscure Baltic Dry Shipping Index came to prominence at the start of the Chinese-led commodity supercycle around a decade ago.The London-based Baltic Exchange tracks the cost of moving commodities along more than 50 routes around the world.With China's emergence as the dominant trading economy in the world the index became one of the go-to barometers.China now controls the global trade in...Read More
The biggest declines in sales were in construction in Latin America (-41%) and in the resources industry in Asia (-37%).Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT), the world's No.1 heavy machinery maker, put another nail in the mining industry's coffin after reporting that its sales declined again in October, marking the 35th straight month of sustained drops.The Peoria-based firm's performance is often seen as a gau...Read More
Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold's Grasberg mine is the world's largest gold mine and third largest copper mine.Indonesia has began investigating claims that senior officials demanded to be granted a 20% stake in Freeport-McMoRan Indonesia in return for an extension of the parent company's rights to operate in the country.According to Jakarta Globe, the minister of energy and mineral resources, S...Read More
Most of the low-cost gold producers are fairly valued, says Michael Curran, managing director and mining analyst with Beacon Securities, so he's heading down-market to the advanced development opportunities and early-stage explorers that he thinks could become low-cost producers. Sure there is risk, as Curran explains in this interview with The Gold Report, but the reward could come via either a t...Read More
ChuquicamataIt's been a brutal November on copper markets with a only one up day of trading since the start of the month. Just over the last week the price has fallen more than 7%.In New York on Wednesday the copper price dropped to a low of $2.0670 or $4,560 a tonne, the lowest since March 2009 and down 27% so far this year.Copper traded below today's level for seven months at the height of the g...Read More
Work at Carmen de Andacollo copper mine, located in Chile's north-central region of Coquimbo. (Image from archives)Canadian mining giant Teck Resources (TSX:TCK.A, TCK.B), (NYSE: TCK) has decided to cut 1,000 jobs, or around about 9% of its global workforce, through a combination of layoffs and attrition as part of a plan to reduce spending next year by $650 million.The Vancouver-based company, t...Read More
Today's chart is all about perspective.See all YTD asset prices together in one place, and get perspective on the true collapse that has occurred in commodities this yearCourtesy of: Visual CapitalistThis chart from Macquarie puts the year in perspective for commodity investors. It covers various asset classes including equities, FX markets, bonds, and commodity prices, and charts them YTD in ter...Read More
Since May, the metal has lost around 25% of its value, due to the increasing strength of the US dollar and weaning demand in China.Copper prices extended losses on Tuesday, hitting a fresh six-year low as the terror attacks in Paris added to concerns about the global economy that have caused a month-long selloff.On Tuesday morning, the red metal dropped to below $4,600 per tonne on the London Meta...Read More
The next time a mining company decides against dry-stacking as a too-costly alternative to tailings ponds, its directors and shareholders may want to consider what a tailings pond breach could cost companies like Imperial Metals Corp. (TSX:III) or BHP Billiton Ltd. (NYSE:BHP).Up until November 5, the August 4, 2014, tailings pond failure at Imperial's Mount Polley copper mine had been the worst su...Read More