Phil North was no fan of the proposed Pebble Mine, so when he was asked in 2010 to offer feedback on a draft petition urging the Environmental Protection Agency to kill the project, he pitched in with suggested language and edits.Given that Mr. North was then a staff scientist with the EPA working on the Pebble Mine, however, his collaboration with outside advocates, which he discussed in a dep...Read More
In New York trade on Thursday copper for delivery in July continued to drift lower as top producer Chile painted a mixed picture for the metal.July copper futures were lasting trading at $2.27 per pound, just holding onto the psychologically important $5,000 a tonne level. The price of copper is up solid 17.2% from a seven-year low hit mid-January.The Chilean Copper Commission cut its prediction f...Read More
Thirty-eight members of the Women's Mining Coalition (WMC) from 16 states traveled to Washington D.C. for the 24th annual Fly-In meetings on Capitol Hill during the week of April 18, 2016. The women work in the hardrock, coal and industrial minerals industries, and for companies that provide goods and services to mining companies. Since its inception in 1993, WMC has made annual trips to Washingto...Read More
Beleaguered Anglo American (LON:ALL) said Thursday it has reached a deal to sell its niobium and phosphates businesses in Brazil to China Molybdenum Co. Ltd for $1.5 billion in cash, as part of its ongoing drive to offload noncore assets to reduce debt.The niobium and phosphates division, which consists of mines, plants, processing facilities, chemical complexes and deposits, was considered one o...Read More
Canada's Barrick Gold (TSX, NYSE:ABX), the world's largest producer of the precious metal by output, is claiming victory in its turnaround effort."Barrick is back," executive chairman John Thornton said during the company's annual general meeting, held TuesdayBarrick Gold has reduced its debt load, reshuffle management and sold several assets.Known for his flamboyant statements, he added: "We wil...Read More
On Sunday, Reservoir Minerals announced it has agreed to be acquired by Nevsun Resources. Adrian Day shares his initial thoughts on the deal.Reservoir Minerals Inc. (RMC:TSX.V, 6.96) announced it has agreed to be acquired by Nevsun Resources Ltd. (NSU:TSX; NSU:NYSE.MKT), which operates the high-grade copper-zinc Bisha mine in Eritrea. Nevsun has a cash balance of US$438 million. Under the terms of...Read More
Environmentalists are up in arms against Nova Scotia's - Canada's biggest Atlantic province - new Mineral Resources Act as they say the legislation won't do enough to prevent mining on privately protected lands, or address concerns about quarries.The act, also known as Bill 149, is the first overhaul of the current rules since 1990 and it was written to support responsible mineral resource m...Read More
Freeport McMoRan (NYSE:FCX), the No. 1 listed copper miner, is cutting its oil and gas workforce by 25% as it struggles to reduce its over $20 billion debt.The US miner loss in the first three months of the year - Freeport's sixth straight quarterly loss - nearly doubled due to limited demand for some of its main commodities, including copper.Freeport expects to post a charge of about $40 million...Read More
Teck Resources (TSX:TCK.B)(NYSE:TCK) reported Tuesday better-than- expected first quarter results, as Canada's largest diversified miner cut costs to offset the impact of weak steelmaking coal, copper and zinc prices.The Vancouver-based company, the No.1 producer of steel-making coal in North America, said overall profit increased 38% to Cdn$94 million (about $74 million), or 16 cents a share, in...Read More
* Copper loses more ground on China worries, market cautious* Rising inventories in Asia pressure copper prices (Adds comment, detail)By Naveen ThukralSINGAPORE, April 26 London copper slid for asecond session on Tuesday, easing further from last week'sfive-week peak amid doubts about demand in top user China andconcerns over rising Asian inventories.Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange...Read More
Canada's Barrick Gold (TSX, NYSE:ABX), the world's largest producer of the precious metal by output, swung to a loss in the first three months of the year, as asset sales impacted production and realized gold prices fell.The Toronto-based miner, however, reported quite a progress in terms of cutting its debt and reducing costs, trimmed debt by US$842 million since January. The figure puts Barrick...Read More
Canada's Eldorado Gold (TSX:ELD) (NYSE:EGO) has signed an agreement to sell its 82% stake in the Jinfeng mine in China to a wholly-owned subsidiary of China National Gold Group for US$300 million in cash.The Jinfeng mine is expected to generate 95,000-105,000 ounces of gold this year, as the operation transitions fully into the underground.The company's president and CEO Paul Wright said China N...Read More
Nevsun Resources Ltd. (TSX:NSU) has acquired Reservoir Minerals Inc. in a deal worth US$365 million, the companies announced April 24.The consolidation of the two Vancouver-based companies has created a 100% ownership in the upper zone of the Timok Copper Project in Serbia, which had previously been owned by Reservoir and Freeport McMoRan Inc. As well, the combined company will fully own the cash-...Read More
European stocks ended trade in the red on Monday, amid weak sentiment across the globe, as a sharp decline in mining stocks weighed on the wider benchmarks.Miners slumpSymbolNamePrice Change%ChangeVolumeFTSE---DAX---CAC---IBEX 35--- The pan-European STOXX 600 closed some 0.5 percent down provisionally, with most sectors closing in negative territory. London's FTSE 100 slipped some 0.8 percent, w...Read More
World-class insights firm, Deloitte, recently released a report on the mining industry trends of 2016. In addition to highlighting the emerging trends, this report and other reports from leading organizations within the industry - such as the International Council on Mining & Metals (ICMM) - note some significant issues mining companies are facing. Leading issues include the volatility of the comm...Read More
Base metals were in negative territory on Monday morning on the LME, mostly consolidating after last week's rally. Investors were in a cautious mood ahead of key data releases and central bank meetings this week, traders said.Base metals surged to multi-week and multi-month highs last week but the rallies reflected interest from funds and CTAs and not a fundamental shift in markets, they added."Th...Read More
Canada's Barrick Gold (NYSE, TSX:ABX), the world's largest producer of the precious metal by output, may be announcing Tuesday a significant shift of business focus towards shareholder returns, as former fund manager and current business performance chief, Catherine Raw, assumes as the firm's new chief financial officer.Most shareholders hope that Catherine Raw persuades management to stop prizing...Read More
Freeport McMoRan Inc. is considering selling a minority stake in its portfolio of copper mines, sources familiar with the matter said, one of the options on the table as the company scrambles to slash its $20-billion (U.S.) debt load.Continue reading at The Globe and Mail Image of Freeport McMoRan's Grasberg mine in Indonesia, viewed from space. Courtesy of NASA via Wikimedia Commons.Read More
With sales and operations at the ends of the earth, few companies are in a better position to take the pulse of the global economy and the resource sector in particular than Caterpillar.The world's number one heavy equipment manufacturer has been hit hard by the decline in mining and construction - sales are down more than $20 billion from its 2012 peak.On Friday the Peoria, Illinois-based giant h...Read More
NEW REPORT SHOWS THAT OVER HALF (52%) OF ALL CANADIAN-LISTED MINING COMPANIES ARE ZOMBIESThe Chart of the Week is a weekly Visual Capitalist feature on Fridays.Canada has a reputation worldwide as the epicenter for mining exploration, and over the years the country's junior-listed companies have created billions of dollars in wealth through new mineral discoveries.However, these days, Canada is ho...Read More