* Dollar weakens broadly after Fed forecast 2 more hikes in 2018* Fed upbeat on economy; notch up 2019, 2020 forecast* Oil at 6-week high on U.S. inventory, Iran nuke deal worriesBy Hideyuki SanoTOKYO, March 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar slipped on Thursday after the Federal Reserve did not signal a faster pace of rate hikes this year while worries about a coming announcement on tariffs from U.S....Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 23 (SMM) – Base metals fell across the board as trade tensions intensified. SHFE nickel led a slump of 3%, tin lost close to 2% and copper fell 1.7%. Lead and aluminium slid over 1%, while zinc dipped.The ferrous complex tumbled as rebar declined over 7%, iron ore fell 6% and hot-rolled coil lost 5%. Coke dropped close to 6%, while coking coal slid over 4%.Copper: SHFE copper s...Read More
It has made Gilles Dessureau vice president of exploration and Neil MacRae investor relations manager.Dessureau will lead the exploration team at Macmillan Pass, bringing his exploration and development experience in the Western Cordillera, including Yukon and British Columbia, to Fireweed.He has previously worked on the Wolverine polymetallic project, which started commerical production in 2010,...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 23 (SMM) – Demand for nonferrous metals will surge as new energy vehicles are booming in China, said Lei Hongjun, chief engineer of the Yangtse Automobile Group. This is because new energy cars will utilise more metals, especially copper and aluminium, than traditional cars, he explained.Rising sales and output of electric cars is the biggest boost in demand for nonfe...Read More
A drier than-normal spring and summer in 2017 in British Columbia resulted in the company ceasing milling operations at the end of December.Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 23 (SMM) – China’s market for air conditioners is likely to maintain its upward momentum given potential demand, stable exports and leadership in manufacturing, said He Jinming, vice Chief Manager at ChinaIOL and chief manager at the Appliance Department.The market for air conditioner has seen robust growth in the last few years. Sales in China exceeded 80...Read More
Speaking at the Global Iron Ore & Steel Forecast Conference, Roy Hill CEO Barry Fitzgerald said while the mine had briefly hit an annualised run-rate of 55 million tonnes per annum, the past few months had seen shipments dip."There's no doubt that January and February were not our greatest moments," he said.The mine was hit by wet weather and "breakdowns that cost us tonnes".Fitzgerald believe...Read More
The non-brokered private placement will include up to 15 million units at a price of $0.14 each. Each unit will contain one common share and one warrant, with the latter exercisable into one common share at a price of $0.20 each for a period of 24 months from closing.The funds raised will also be used to evaluate new projects in the battery metals space and for general purposes.Voltaic is creating...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 23 (SMM) – Prices of copper scrap are likely to rise as China’s ban on scrap import will shrink supplies in the market, said Li Shilong, vice president at the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, Secondary Metals Branch and director at the China Technology Innovation Strategic Alliance for Resources Recycling Industry (CIAR).Effective from the end of 2018, t...Read More
South America-focused Metminco announced a trading halt earlier this week saying the initial terms for the planned $5.1 million raising had been revised. The seven-for-two rights issue at $0.01 per share, plus an additional $190,000 share placement, was part of a plan to "refinance, restructure and relaunch" the company. The company has now emerged from that halt saying it will ra...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 23 (SMM) – The growth rate of global copper ore output is expected to rise back to 3.3% in 2018, said SMM senior analyst Ye Jianhua. Given copper ore supplies in 2017 and price increases, the supply of copper ore in unlikely to be significantly affected in 2018, even as some 40 salary negotiations would occur at overseas miners this year.China's demand for overseas ore...Read More
It said the new name, Desert Mountain Energy, that of its full-owned US subsidiary, was more suited to its current geographical focus and future direction. The company is no longer active in Africa.African Queen recently acquired helium and oil and gas properties acquisitions in Arizona and Oklahoma. It also owns the Yellowjacket gold project in British Columbia. CEO Irwin Olian said it...Read More
De Luca joined the company less than two months ago after previously serving as Newcrest Mining's (AU:NCM) Asia Pacific regional exploration manager.As a result, she didn't know that much about conglomerate-hosted gold and she'd taken a "crash course" over the past three weeks."You really don't get a feel for the challenges this nuggetty gold presents until you're standing on the ground," De Luca...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 23 (SMM) – LME copper prices are set to trade in the range of $6,400-7,800/mt in 2018 while SHFE copper at 49,000-60,000 yuan/mt, according to SMM senior analyst Ye Jianhua. Prices are also expected to stay in an upward trend this year, he told delegates at the SMM Copper Aluminium Summit in Shanghai on Friday March 23. For editorial queries, please contact Daisy Ts...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 23 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.Last nightAs trade tensions between the US and China intensified overnight, the US dollar fell and hovered at 89.7.Most base metals closed lower given the simmering trade war. SHFE nickel slipped over 2%, copper dropped 1%. LME nickel slumped 2.6%, and copper, lead, zi...Read More
That's according to Martin Place Securities head of resources Barry Dawes, who noted that the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold Index bottomed in 2014, well before the rest of the global resources space.Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 23 (SMM) –Copper: As prospects of a trade war loomed, prices for copper are likely to edge down in the near future with pressure from short bets. We see LME copper trading at $6,630-6,700/mt, and SHFE copper at 50,000-50,400 yuan/mt today. Spot discounts are seen at 200-120 yuan/mt as consumers are eager to restock.Aluminium: Increasing US trade protectionism dragged alumi...Read More
Pacific Energy (ASX: PEA) went into a trading halt Thursday and subsequently announced the deal to buy Leon Hodges' CPG. The two power-set providers had been "healthy competitors for over two decades", Pacific managing director James Cullen said.Read More
Crises can take numerous forms for miners, from earthquakes and social unrest to disease outbreaks and the breakdown of infrastructure such as dams or power circuits, to name just a few.When mining companies lack a disciplined approach for managing crises, the consequences can prove devastating. Workers' safety and lives may be threatened. A company can lose its licence to operate at a particular...Read More