Copper production in Zambia, a mineral-rich Southern African country may not reach the projected two million metric tons at the close of this year after all because of a number of factors, not least the continuing drop in prices of the red metal on the international market, according to sources Tuesday.However the Institute of International Finances (IIF) predicts that copper output will reach 740...Read More
Insufficient power at First Quantum Minerals (FQM) mine in the North-Western Province of Zambia, a mineral-rich Southern African country has resulted in reduced copper production, according to sources Thursday.Dependent upon diesel-driven power plants which supply almost 200MW of electricity to the FQM mining operation at Kalumbila, almost 120 kilometers west of Solwezi the provincial capital nee...Read More
Mongolia's prime minister is urging mining giant Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) and its Canadian subsidiary Turquoise Hill (TSE:TRQ) to speed up work on a $5.3 billion expansion of their massive Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine.Reuters reports PM Jargaltulga Erdenebat sent a message to Rio Tinto's copper chief Arnaud Soirat in an official statement on the Mongolian government website urging the company to "c...Read More
The average retiring worker takes with him 37 years of labour force experience, a loss the industry must offset, says the report. (Image from archives)With commodity prices rebounding from their lowest in at least 25 years, miners are stepping up spending and considering the reactivation of projects placed in the back burner, but there is a new looming risk they don't seem ready to deal with - the...Read More
When Newmont Mining Corp. began exploring for gold in Indonesia in the 1980s, the country's wealth of untapped resources was seen as the Colorado-based miner's ticket to the big leagues.The Batu Hijau copper and gold mine in eastern Indonesia was one of the largest undeveloped deposits in the world, and Newmont's billion-dollar investment put it on the path to becoming the world's No. 2 gold miner...Read More
The Australian Financial Review reported on Monday that the US Securities and Exchange Commission paid an unnamed whistleblower at BHP Billiton $3.75 million relating to a bribery investigation at the world's top mining company going back more than eight years."Citing legal sources, the newspaper report said it was the first time an employee of an Australian company had received a U.S. whistlebl...Read More
Shares in Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN) were soaring Monday morning after the Canadian miner revealed it would seek "strategic advice" after receiving "unsolicited interest" in the company and its projects.Mining veteran Robert Friedland, the Vancouver-based miner chief executive, said the firm would likely hire an investment bank to advise the board on all strategic options for Ivanhoe.The company sto...Read More
Kinross Gold (TSE:K) (NYSE:KGC), the world's fifth largest miner of the precious metal by output, has suspended operations at its main mine in Chile earlier than planned after a court upheld the country's regulator (SMA) decision to shut down the water system linked to the operation over environmental concerns.The Canadian miner, which disputes the regulator's accusations of alleged environmental...Read More
As expected, the prices of gold and copper are down ahead of the US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's much anticipated annual speech on the direction of monetary policy.Source: Allianz Global Investors, Bloomberg, Datastream, BofA Merrill Lynch. Global equities, Emerging Market equities and global government bond returns in local currencyThe consensus seems to have shifted in favour of earlier...Read More
Mining scene newcomer and BHP spin-off South32 (ASX, LON, JSE:S32) said Thursday it would pay a maiden dividend despite posting a net loss of $1.6bn for its first full fiscal year due to weak commodity prices and asset write-downs.Underlying earnings, excluding non-cash impairments and foreign exchange movements for the Perth-based miner, fell sharply - 76% to $138 million. Revenue for the year...Read More
Shares in Glencore (LON: GLEN) were down 5.2% at noon in London after the miner and commodity trader reported a significant drop in underlying earnings and revealed it has taken a $400 million hit related to an accounting mismatch over coal derivatives.Glencore posted a $369 million net loss in the period compared with a $676 million net loss in the same period last year.Despite a rebound in comm...Read More
Erdene Resource Development Corp. (TSX:ERD) ("Erdene" or "Company"), is pleased to provide an update on its 100%-owned Bayan Khundii Gold Project ("Bayan Khundii") and Altan Nar Gold-Polymetallic Project ("Altan Nar"). In advance of the resumption of drilling in September 2016, the Company has been carrying out extensive technical studies on the styles and controls of gold mineralization at both B...Read More
Eldorado Gold Corporation, ("Eldorado" or "the Company") is pleased to announce plans at four new exploration projects.The large Bolcana porphyry copper-gold system in Romania, recently acquired through public auction, provides a new opportunity contiguous with the Company's growing land package in the highly prospective Apuseni mining district in Romania.The Borborema and Nazareno gold projects i...Read More
In New York trade on Monday copper for delivery in September suffered another down day as new supply coming on stream coupled with fewer than usual mining disruptions upset the fundamentals for the metal.Copper dipped almost 2% to $2.1270 per pound ($4,690 a tonne), a six week low. While other industrial metals and steelmaking raw materials have jumped in value this year, industry bellwether copp...Read More
Canada's mineral exploration and mining industry is asking Energy and Mines Ministers, currently in Winnipeg for their 73rd annual conference, to work on tackling several challenges that have resulted in Canada dropping to second place behind Australia as the most desirable mining destination in the world.Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) President Bob Schafer said that as the...Read More
Stephen Nano, CEO of Mirasol Resources sits down with Maurice Jackson of Proven & Probable (http://www.provenandprobable.com/) to discuss the virtues of Prospect Generation, the most recent press release regarding the Claudia Gold-Silver Project' ., and some of the unique features that makes Mirasol Resources one of the hand-picked exhibitors for the Sprott Natural Resource Symposium in Vancouve...Read More
Scott Close of Eurasian Minerals sits down with Maurice Jackson of Proven and Probable to discuss the virtues of partnering and owning shares in one of the industry's premier Prospect Generators. Specifically, Mr. Close outlines the business model for Eurasian Minerals and how they have earned the distinction of being identified as a Royalty Generator. In addition, value investors will learn about...Read More
Moody's Investors Service has injected some fresh optimism into the global mining industry by changing its outlook for base metals to stable from negative, which basically means it believes prices for aluminum, copper, nickel and zinc have already bottomed out."We view prices for base metals as having likely bottomed following the sharp decline beginning late last year, and consequently we have re...Read More
Credit ratings agency Moody's warned at the beginning of the year that the current downturn in raw materials was like no other and that defaults among mining and metals companies could reach levels last seen during the height of the financial crisis.As a result, Moody's embarked on a sector-wide review of the 87 global mining majors that it covers. The review started off with a bang in January whe...Read More
Signs of resurgence in platinum, a stronger gold price and growing coal exports to India should be triggers for South Africa's mining leadership to grasp the opportunities that it missed in the last commodity boom, according to consulting engineers and scientists SRK Consulting (South Africa)."It is time for the mining sector to get some traction from the National Development Plan, Mining Operatio...Read More