Access our research platformsSign-in to our platforms to access our extensive research, our latest insight, data and analytics and to connect to our industry experts.Are we in a new oil cycle? Or a different kind of cycle, or perhaps there's no longer a cycle at all? The advent of tight oil has already changed the supply side of oil markets; the threat to demand from climate change policy and tech...Read More
Gold's slide may be hurting sentiment and uranium and potash prices seem to be plumbing new depts every week, but 2016 is still a banner year for mining and metals.Gold is just hanging onto bull market status with a 20.1% improvement since the start of the year, but recent weakness has seen platinum and palladium drop 8.5% and 7.4% from highs reached in August. With a 47% or $220 an ounce gain f...Read More
Chile's Codelco, the world's top copper miner, has once again made drastic changes to its ambitious five-year investment plan as falling copper prices continue to dry up the company's earnings.The state-owned miner, which faces what its chief executive Nelson Pizarro recently called its "worst crisis ever" since created in 1976, has decided to reduce its investment budget by $2.25 billion, local n...Read More
Base metals have also enjoyed a stand-out 2016 with across the board gains year-to-date. Measured from recent lows which mostly occurred at the end of 2015 and in January and February this year the recovery in prices this year is even more impressive.While bellwether copper has also been lacklustre adding only 1.5% in 2016, zinc is the top performer for the year with a 49% gain since January and t...Read More
World's No. 1 mining company BHP Billiton (ASX, NYSE:BHP) (LON:BLT) is going all out for its petroleum business, planning to invest as much as $5 billion in that unit as well as mulling potential acquisitions thanks recovering oil prices and the firm's efforts to lower costs.The company has renewed expansion plans for its oil business as a recovery in crude prices and reduction in costs makes...Read More
Canada's Barrick Gold (TSX, NYSE:ABX) said Tuesday that operations have resumed at its Veladero mine in the San Juan province of Argentina after local authorities gave the company the green light.Mining at the site was suspended on Sept. 15, a week after falling ice damaged a pipe carrying process solution in the leach pad area, causing some material to leave the leach pad.The leak, said Barrick...Read More
Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM), the world's No.2 gold producer by output, has begun production at its newest mine, Merian, located in Suriname, South America, on time and almost 20% below budget.Newmont's initial projections estimated Merian to cost between $900 million and $1 billion, but the company said the mine was completed more than $150 million below that initial forecast.The Denver-based miner...Read More
The Ubika Mining 20 Index (UM20) fell 2.8% over the past month, slipping more than the TSX Venture composite, which was down by 0.7%. The TSX Mining Index, meanwhile, rose 3.1% over the same period. However, this month's performance is just a blip on the radar, as the UM20 is blowing past both benchmarks on a 52-week basis, gaining 74%, relative to the 52% and 38% gains for the TSX Venture Index...Read More
On 3 October 2016 the Board of Directors of KGHM International Ltd. appointed Robert J. MacDonald, current Chief Financial Officer of the company, to the position of Acting President and Chief Executive Officer till the President and Chief Executive Officer is appointed by the Board of Directors of KGHM International Ltd.KGHM International Ltd. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of KGHM Polska Mied?? S....Read More
Close to 1,000 workers at Freeport-McMoRan's (NYSE:FCX) giant Grasberg open pit copper and gold mine in the Indonesian province of Papua have gone on strike over bonus payments, disrupting operations.The strike has not yet affected output of copper and gold concentrate, according to Freeport.The strife, involving mostly truck operators, began last Wednesday and while it has hit Grasberg's open-pi...Read More
Investment in Chile's energy industry is expected to jump over the next five years to as much as $3 billion, which could add about 2.5% to the country's potential GDP growth, US-based Trade Commissioner Rodrigo Mladini?? said.Speaking at a media briefing during MINExpo 2016 this week, Rodrigo Mladini?? said that projects, many of them in the renewables sector, are expected to also boost machinery...Read More
Two unrelated thefts and four people charged. In the past couple of weeks, Saskatchewan police saw increased interest in copper wire.Since September 14, a compound in the Colonsay area has seen its copper wires stolen twice, first by two men, one from Grandora and the other from Saskatoon, who were charged with break, enter and theft, possession of stolen property and possession of break-in tools....Read More
The world's biggest commodity trader, Glencore, told Bloomberg in an email statement that it is reviewing allegations by U.S. prosecutors that a key business partner in the Democratic Republic of Congo spent a decade bribing government officials.The partner is Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler, whose Fleurette Group owns 31% of the $1.8 billion Mutanda copper and cobalt mine in the DRC, while Glenco...Read More
Image by Sam Valadi | Flickr | Creative Commons.Despite some ups and down, 2016 has been a good year for commodities. By June, prices of most metals and minerals were very close to enter into bull market territory (defined by a 20% increase from previous lows), rebounding from their lowest in at least 25 years.And while some raw materials have lost some of those gains since the Brexit vote, analys...Read More
Hedge fund Och-Ziff has to be cough up $412 million after the US Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission found the New York-based firm violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.Two executives, Daniel Och and CFO Joel Frank, also agreed to a financial settlement with founder Och ordered to pay a fine of nearly $2.2 million to settle SEC case.According to Global Witness, a...Read More
Capital considerations dominate the top three business risks in the mining and metals sector, according to EY's Top 10 business risks facing mining and metals 2016-2017 report."Much like our global counterparts, Canadian mining and metals companies are facing challenges amid prolonged volatility in the sector," says Bruce Sprague, EY's Canadian Mining & Metals Leader. "Companies who proactively m...Read More
Companies had no choice but to cut back on new developments, re-focus on profitable production rather than maximum production and to save costs.2016 marked another challenging year for SA's mining industry in the wake of subdued commodity prices, an increase in short-term volatility, increased pressure on operating models and regulatory uncertainty.These are some of the highlights from PwC's (www....Read More
A massive blackout in South Australia forced the world's largest miner BHP Billiton to suspend production at its Olympic Dam copper mine. The power outage was the product of strong winds and heavy rain caused by what has been called "the most extreme weather system" that has hit the area in decades.Given this situation, BHP decided it was best to stop activities at the country's biggest undergroun...Read More
A new report by BMI Research, a Fitch company, forecasts subdued growth for the mining industry in Africa through 2020.BMI says Sub-Saharan Africa's mining sector growth will remain slow as a muted recovery of mineral prices will continue to put pressure on profit margins of metal producers.The authors of the report "expect some growth bright spots, the region will continue to face both significa...Read More
Blue River Resources' Mazama Copper Project in Washington's Methow Valley is facing yet another challenge. This time, the U.S. Forest Service is taking a central role in supporting the Methow Headwaters campaign, which is run by a coalition of 2,000 residents, 130 local businesses, and other organizations and aims at fighting the possibility of future copper mining in the upper Methow Valley.Testi...Read More