World's largest miner BHP Billiton (ASX, NYSE:BHP) (LON:BLT) is getting close to finishing key heap leach testing trials to pave the way for a significant copper output increase at its Olympic Dam, Australia's biggest underground mine.While plans for a $30 billion redevelopment of the mine were shelved in 2012, promising results from current trials indicate copper output could increase 40% over t...Read More
New data shows the first six months of 2016 were tough for Chilean copper producers.According to the number one copper producing country's central bank, the value of Chile's copper exports fell 16.1% in the first half, compared to H1 2015, on par with the financial crisis of 2009. Chile exported $13.4 billion worth of copper in H1, including $6.356 billion worth of copper cathodes and $5.805 bill...Read More
SOME of the first geological images of one of the world's last unexplored mineral frontiers have glimpsed the mining potential of Australia's vast Nullarbor Plain.The images of the Earth's crust to a depth of 60 kilometres spanning a 484km stretch follow Australia's transcontinental rail line between Cook in South Australia to Haig in Western Australia.The new images, released this month, have ide...Read More
The $149-billion (U.S.) pipeline to expand the world's copper supply is running into trouble.Producers are counting on expansions and the development of new operations to meet supply shortages they forecast arriving toward the end of the decade.Read moreRead More
China's state-backed Silk Road Fund, a $40 billion venture that invests along the nation's ancient trade routes with Central Asia, is said to be weighing a joint bid with China National Gold for Glencore' gold mine in Kazakhstan.According to sources familiar with the matter, quoted by Bloomberg, the group could pay up to $2 billion for the Vasilkovskoye mine, which is Glencore's largest gold opera...Read More
Courtesy of: Visual CapitalistBut it's not just precious metals that are back in vogue.Energy had an impressive comeback in Q2, with natural gas and oil being the best performing commodities of the quarter. Base metals were up, and even the TSX Venture, a Canadian index tracking many of the world's junior mining and energy stocks, was the best performing benchmark. This is meaningful, because it w...Read More
BHP Billiton (ASX:BHP), the world's biggest mining company, has committed to spend just less than $200 million to get more copper out of its 57.5%-owned Escondida operation in Chile, the world's largest copper-producing mine.The expansion of the Los Colorados concentrator will help offset declining grades at the mine and add incremental copper production to reach an average production of 1.2 mill...Read More
International regulations have failed to prevent foreign firms and armed groups from profiting from illegal gold mining in mineral-rich eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a new report by Global Witness shows.Illegally acquired and exported gold from the mineral-rich eastern Congo keeps filling the pockets of some foreign companies as well as armed groups.According to the UK-based organization,...Read More
Rio Tinto (ASX, LON:RIO) is selling its interest in Blair Athol coal mine to a small Australian miner for just US$0.75 (A$1), as part of the world's second largest miner's strategy to offload unprofitable assets and focus mostly on copper, a plan being carried out by the firm's brand-new CEO, Jean-S?(C)bastien Jacques.Buyer TerraCom (ASX: TER) said that as part of the deal it would also receive...Read More
The global mining equipment market is expected to garner $156 billion by 2022, increasing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.9% during 2016 - 2022, a new report published by Allied Market Research shows.According to the study, titled "World Mining Equipment Market - Opportunities and Forecasts, 2015 - 2022", the Asia-Pacific region accounted for the highest revenue of over $50 billion...Read More
Output at Chile's Escondida, the world's largest copper mine, fell in the first three months of 2016 causing profits to sink 47% to $265 million compared to the same period last year, among weak prices for the industrial metal.The mine, co-owned by BHP Billiton (57.5%) and rival Rio Tinto (30%), produced 265,597 tonnes in the period, or 23% less than the 347.125 tonnes it generated in Q1 2015, C...Read More
Mining giant Rio Tinto (LON, ASX:RIO) has given away a 54% stake in a Papua New Guinean copper and gold mine, which has reserves estimated to be worth $51 billion.The decision to hand back the shares in its subsidiary Bougainville Copper Limited (ASX:BOC) to an independent trustee, follows a company review of the asset that was triggered by the Bouganville government's pressure to restart mining...Read More
Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) said Thursday is selling its 48.5% stake in PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara, the operator of its Batu Hijau copper and gold mine in Indonesia, for $1.3 billion to PT Amman Mineral Internasional.The amount, said the Denver-based miner, is comprised of cash proceeds of $920 million expected to be paid at closing and contingent payments of up to $403 million.Newmont has been see...Read More
Base metals have enjoyed a solid 2016 so far with only lead (-3%) in negative territory for the year. While the likes of zinc (+28%) and tin (+16%) have rallied and steelmaking raw materials iron ore (+24%) and coking coal (+12%) have come back strongly, nickel remains stuck in the doldrums.On the LME nickel jumped back above $9,000 on Wednesday, but hasn't been in five-digit territory for near...Read More
Canada's Kinross (TSX:G) (NYSE:KGC), the world's fifth largest gold producer, believes it can increase reserves at its Bald Mountain and Round Mountain mines, which it acquired from Barrick Gold (TSX, NYSE:ABX) late last year.The company, which is looking to strengthen its portfolio in North America, has increased its exploration budget for the year by 50% to $9 million as "promising results" at...Read More
More environmentalists were murdered in Latin America in 2015 than anywhere else in the world, with anti-mining causes costing the most lives, a report by Global Witness shows.According to the UK-based organization, which campaigns against natural resource-related conflict and corruption, the region recorded the highest number of conservationist murders -122 out of a total of 185.Brazil took the l...Read More
He's only been on the job as Tintina Resources CEO for two weeks, but John Shanahan brings a wealth of experience in Montana mining that spans operations and development.The mining veteran was brought onboard to take Tintina and its high-grade Black Butte Copper Project through the home stretch of permitting and development. He replaces Bruce Hooper, who is returning to Australia's Sandfire Resour...Read More
Copper prices soared to a seven-week high on Tuesday morning in London driven by growing expectations of monetary stimulus, a weakening US dollar and slightly more steady global markets.Britain's decision to leave the European Union won't have major long-term implications on the copper market, say analysts, unless it triggers a complete fall apart of the EU.The London Metal Exchange's three-mo...Read More
World's No. 1 mining company BHP Billiton (ASX, NYSE:BHP) (LON:BLT) will raise its annual exploration spending by 29%, allocating nearly all its $900 million budget to finding new copper and oil deposits, which the miner has singled out as the key resources that will bolster its future growth.The budget increase comes despite the Melbourne-based mining giant's decision to cut overall capital expe...Read More
Vancouver - June 23, 2016 | Imperial Metals Corporation ("Imperial" or "Company") (III-TSX) reports that the Ministry of Energy and Mines and the Ministry of Environment have issued the necessary authorizations to allow Mount Polley Mine ("Mount Polley") to return to normal operations making use of its repaired and buttressed Tailings Storage Facility ("TSF").Over the past two years the management...Read More