BHP Billiton and a security firm that guards major government buildings are among hundreds of Australian names linked to a Panama law firm that helps the rich hide money.The ABC's Four Corners program revealed the links involving the mining giant and Wilson Security as part of an investigation into a massive leak of 11.5 million documents from Mossack Fonseca.A Gold Coast businessman and a Hong Ko...Read More
In the final part of our probe into the curious case of Khan Resources, and the reallocation of its uranium mine to Russian control, we review events leading to the seizure of the company's Mongolian assets and its chairman's unusual death in an Ulaanbaatar hotel.In April 2015, a 59-year-old Canadian named James Doak travelled to Ulaanbaatar to negotiate with Mongolia's government.His company, Kha...Read More
By Gwen PrestonIt's been a bad few years for copper.Prices have been falling for five years. By last year the situation had deteriorated enough to prompt a slew mine cutbacks, totaling several hundred thousand tonnes.For several years now copper miners have been doing their all to make money despite the weak copper price. It's a process that starts with efficiency, with high-grading, with all the...Read More
In the second installment of the curious case of Khan Resources, we explore Khan's turbulent history in Mongolia and document a deal with Russia's leadership to swap Khan's uranium mines for hundreds of millions of dollars in aid and debt forgiveness.Even before Mongolia awarded itself the right to Khan's uranium deposits, the writing was on the wall.Speculation was rife that Russia was yearning f...Read More
Against expectations and in some instances seemingly in defiance of fundamentals, commodities managed to climb a wall of worry during the first quarter of 2016.While nervousness returned to the sector with a vengeance this week, many metals and minerals have clung to year-to-date gains.It's down sharply from an insane 19% jump in a single day to above $60 a tonne, but iron ore remains th...Read More
This week saw the S&P 500 rally to its highest levels of the year, but the most revealing signals about the state of the current global economy -- and where stock markets are headed -- can be found elsewhere: in the dollar and copper. Shown below is the five-year chart of the PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish (UUP) , an exchange-traded fund that tracks the value of the dollar against a ba...Read More
A new internet scam in Sudbury is preying on people in the mining industry who are looking for work.At first glance, the website for Red Maple Mining seems real.It features photos, a company biography, and a list of job descriptions the company is supposedly hiring for in Sudbury. Positions include underground labourers, mining engineers, field technicians, and supervisors.Continue reading...Read More
McKinsey and Co's March survey of nearly 2,800 executives shows the mood of those in charge of global corporations taking a decidedly dark turn in the new year.Compared with the previous survey in December, when opinions were buoyant, respondents are now "more likely to report negative than positive views on both global and domestic economic conditions" says the management consultancy.The notion...Read More
A rare public protest in Mongolia's capital on Wednesday drew thousands of demonstrators who criticized foreign mining concessions and demanded action to prop up the tottering economy.More than 2,000 demonstrators in Ulaanbaatar's Freedom Square also called for parliament to be dissolved and a new government formed over alleged corruption and the economic crisis battering the vast, landlocked nati...Read More
On Wednesday, Lockheed Martin signed the first customer for the LMH-1, the giant defense contractor's hybrid airship. The LMH-1 is a unique new aircraft which is part helium dirigible, part cargo helicopter, part passenger airliner and part hovercraft.UK-based Straightline Aviation signed a letter of intent with Hybrid Enterprises, the exclusive reseller of the hybrid airship, to purchase up to...Read More
Despite falling to a one-month low on Monday after three straight weeks of declines, year to date gold is holding onto a 15% gain, silver and platinum are up 10% while copper's trading more than 15% higher than its January lows.Industrial metals have all advanced in 2016 led by zinc which has jumped by more than 20% in three months. Volatile iron ore at $55.20 on Monday is the best performer with...Read More
China is stashing away copper from London warehouses at a breakneck pace, which may put downward pressure on the price.While copper has rebounded 15 percent since mid-January, copper investors may be lulled into a false sense of security. That's because there is mounting evidence that the industrial metal is really just being stockpiled rather than imported to satisfy increasing demand for coppe...Read More
State-owned Zijin Mining, China's largest listed gold producer, said Friday net profit for 2015 dropped by almost 30% to $261 million (1.7 billion yuan) from the previous year's $353m (2.3 billion yuan) as a result of weak metal prices.The firm, which also mines copper, zinc and lead, said it aims to increase gold production this year by 15% to 42.5 tonnes this year. It also expects to hike copper...Read More
Canada's Barrick Gold (TSX, NYSE:ABX), the world' largest producer of the precious metal, has decided to shrink its chairman salary by almost US$10 million, or 76% its current pay, in response to relentless criticism from investors over the firm's compensation packages.John Thornton, 62, will receive $3.4 million for his work in 2015, including compensations and pension, a significant reduction fr...Read More
Chile's Codelco, the world's No.1 copper producer, posted Thursday (in Spanish) a net loss of $ 1.4 billion for 2015 related to asset impairments and a sharp fall of prices for the red metal.The company, which produces nearly 11% of the total global copper supply, booked $2.4 billion in write-downs, and said the results were its worst bottom-line figures since it began issuing earnings reports in...Read More
Vancouver, B.C. - March 23, 2016 - The Association for Mineral Exploration British Columbia (AME BC) welcomes incentives announced in the Government of Canada's 2016 budget that assist mineral explorers and developers in British Columbia (BC).The federal budget extends the Mineral Exploration Tax Credit (METC) through March 2017. In a BC context, the federal 15 per cent METC for investors i...Read More
Pascua-Lama has been shut since 2013. (Image courtesy of Barrick Gold)Canada's Barrick Gold (TSX, NYSE:ABX) will have to face a U.S. class-action lawsuit that accuses the world's largest gold producer of distorting facts related to its now halted $8.5 billion Pascua-Lama project, straddling the border of Chile and Argentina.U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin in Manhattan ruled Wednesday that sha...Read More
Commodities giant Mitsubishi Corp became Thursday the second Japanese trading house this week to report huge write-downs and a likely first annual loss ever, echoing Mitsui & Co's warning on the effect of weak commodity prices.Japan's biggest trader said it expected to book an impairment charge of $3.8 billion (430 billion yen) mainly on its metals and energy businesses, which will lead to a net l...Read More
On Wednesday investors curbed their enthusiasm for commodities, sending everything from copper and gold to oil and iron ore sharply lower.But despite nervousness returning to metals and mining markets this week, 2016 is still looking decidedly better for the sector. Year to date gold is holding onto 15% gains, silver and platinum are up 10% while bellwether copper's trading nearly 15% higher than...Read More
Donald Trump claims that America keeps "losing" at trade with China.While the number he cites is exaggerated, it's also not far off. Today's animation shows the last 30 years of history of trade between the USA and China.The U.S. trade deficit with China reached record proportions in 2015.With a difference of $365.7 billion between imports and exports, it is not only the largest trade deficit with...Read More