The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has placed the inactive Gold King Mine, source of a major waste spill in Colorado last year, among nearly a dozen sites added to its newly created Superfund National Priorities List.The move, announced late Wednesday, paves the way for a multimillion-dollar clean-up of the area known as the Bonita Peak Mining District, provided US legislators approve t...Read More
In European trade on Tuesday copper for delivery in December consolidated at a two-week high after strong year-to-date imports from top consumer China remained broadly in line.Copper futures exchanged hands for $2.1025 per pound ($4,635 a tonne), less than a penny above yesterday's closing which was the highest since August 23. While other industrial metals and steelmaking raw...Read More
Financing mining projects in Africa continues to be difficult - but after years of decline it is slowly starting to evolve.Addressing today the second day of the three day Paydirt 2016 Africa Down Under mining conference in Perth Speaking on day two, Northcott Capital Managing Director, Mr Nick Martin, said to be successful in obtaining finance a company must adhere to three crucial platforms.Comp...Read More
Goldcorp Inc. (G:TSX; GG:NYSE 16.02) has had a tough year.After reporting a year-end loss of $4.1 billion due to writing off and down various projects-a supposed clearing of the decks for the new CEO David Garofalo-the recent results were not so positive. Production was down year-on-year, due to shortfalls and problems at its two largest mines, Pe??asquito and Cerro Negro.There are some positives,...Read More
China's infrastructure investments have been a net negative due to high cost over runs that have overwhelmed returns and the added debt has made the country more exposed to financial shocks, says lead author Atif Ansar in a study published this July in Oxford Review of Economic Policy.The authors looked at various infrastructure projects, such as rail and road, and assessed the return on invest...Read More
Top publicly-held copper producer Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE:FCX) in May announced the sale of its largest African copper mine to China Molybdenum (CMOC) for up to $2.65 billion.On Wednesday Reuters reported that the Democratic Republic of Congo's state-owned Gecamines has submitted its own bid for Freeport's 56% stake in the high-grade Tenke Fungurume mine.Gecamines already owns 20% of...Read More
Canada's Eldorado Gold (TSX:ELD) (NYSE:EGO) said Tuesday has completed the sale of its 82% stake in the Chinese Jinfeng mine to a wholly-owned subsidiary of China National Gold Group for US$300 million in cash.Jinfeng mine is expected to generate 95,000-105,000 ounces of gold this year, as the operation transitions fully into the underground.The move marks the Vancouver-based miner exit from Ch...Read More
Zinc is the best performing base metal so far this year and measured from its six-year low struck mid-January today's $2,336 a tonne zinc prize is up 58%.Zinc's prospects brightened considerably after the shutdown of two major mines last year - Australia's Century and the Lisheen mine in Ireland. The two mines had a combined output of more than 630,000.The shuttering of top zinc producer Glencor...Read More
Chile's Codelco, the world's No.1 copper producer, said a strike over contract terms initiated Monday by members of Union No. 2 of its Salvador mine, threatens the division's feasibility.Salvador, which is the state-owned firm's smallest operation and produced 49,000 tonnes of copper last year, has been battling to turn a profit after dwindling ore grades pushed up production costs, affecting a p...Read More
The premier of Tasmania Will Hodgman, during a trade mission to India announced government backing for a restart of a copper mine on the island that was Australia's oldest continually operating mine until its mothballing two years ago.Hodgman told NDTV that the operation, now owned by India's Vedanta, could reopen as early as next year with state support:"It is a sizable operation and at its peak...Read More
The Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines-Investment Holdings (ZCCM-IH) has embarked on a major diversification programme which will enhance its investment both in the country and abroad, according to sources Monday.However the Zambian holding company is still beset with a lot of problems including a running debt with the government. At least the more than US$400 million it owes the state has been conv...Read More
BHP Billiton has launched Prospects, a blog series, to provide insights on global trends relevant to our business and our stakeholders.The blogs will offer views on economics, commodities outlook and individual markets, and broader issues such as policy, governance and our social contribution.Prospects provides an avenue to contribute to debates that are important to BHP Billiton. It will also fea...Read More
The recent Sprott Natural Resource Symposium in Vancouver assembled some of the most accomplished builders & explorers in the natural resource space.Following the conference, Rick Rule, President of Sprott US Holdings, was kind enough to share comments on investment opportunities offered up by the conference, as well as reflect on the experience, with Sprott's Thoughts readers.[Editor's Note-If...Read More
Hedge funds and other large speculators held a net-short position, or bets on price declines, of 4,991 U.S. copper futures and options contracts in the week ended Aug. 23, according to Commodity Futures Trading Commission data released three days later. They switched from a net-long position, or wagers on a rally, of 2,237 a week earlier.Read moreRead More
Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT), the world's No.1 heavy machinery maker, revealed Friday that it may close its plant in Gosselies, Belgium, leaving more than 2,000 people out of work, as part of a streamlining and cost-savings plan announced last year.The news triggered immediate reactions, with a group of about 60 employees seizing bulldozers and attempting to block the entrance to the plant, Belgium's st...Read More
An increase in industrial action is usually bad news, but copper producers worldwide should be cheering the souring relationship between Chilean mine workers and pit bosses.Employees at Los Bronces, the world's 10th-biggest deposit, rebuffed a final pay offer this week from owners Anglo American, while one of the key unions at Codelco's Salvador mine voted against a pay proposal from the gove...Read More
Exploration at Hot Chili Ltd.'s Productora copper project, located in Chile, has uncovered a gold resource at Sierra Zapallo, prompting analyst Trent Barnett of Hartleys to upgrade the company to a Speculative Buy.Though Hot Chili Ltd.'s (HCH:ASX) Productora is a copper project-Hot Chili lists resources at the site at more than 1 million tonnes copper-exploration at Sierra Zapallo has "revealed ve...Read More
Anglo American's largest shareholder, South Africa's Public Investment Corporation (PIC), has stepped up pressure on the miner's plan to exit coal and iron ore to focus only on copper, diamonds and platinum by reportedly calling for a shareholder vote.The South African assets Anglo plans to sell include Kumba Iron Ore Ltd., coal mines that supply state-owned power producer Eskom Holdings, and mang...Read More
Canada's Barrick Gold (TSX, NYSE:ABX), the world's most valuable producer of the precious metal, has appointed a new executive to lead the Argentine side of its mothballed Pascua-Lama project in South America, in a fresh sign that the miner is aiming to restart the mothballed $8.5 billion gold, silver and copper mine.George Bee will assume as vice president of the Argentine side of the project -...Read More
Papua New Guinea and the Autonomous Region of Bougainville (ABG) have locked horns over who should own the copper and gold mine that Rio Tinto donated to both last month.According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, PNG's Prime Minister wants to give islanders a minority stake in Bougainville Copper Limited (ASX:BOC), the former Rio Tinto's subsidiary.But such move would prevent ABG from...Read More