The recent surge in prices of gold, oil and other commodities has come prematurely, says the bank, arguing that lower prices are needed for markets to rebalance.Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), one of the most influential banks in commodity markets, poured cold water on the growing belief that metals and oil prices have "bottomed out," and warned the current rally is "not sustainable."In a series of repor...Read More
Two workers died and five are missing at Glencore's (LON:GLEN) Katanga Mining operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo after a pit wall collapsed on Tuesday.The "geotechnical failure" - or a landslide - occurred on the north wall of the KOV open pit mine, Glencore-owned Katanga said in a statement. It added that all relevant authorities had been informed and that all activity on site had al...Read More
According to a recent EY report, financial distress among mining and metals companies is expected to shape merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the sector in 2016, with divestments picking-up pace on the back of volatility and uncertainty on the timing of a recovery."The value and volume of Canadian deals was at a 10 year low in 2015," says Bruce Sprague, EY's Canadian Mining & Metals Leader....Read More
Escondida, the world's largest copper-producing mine. Image courtesy of BHP BillitonCopper mining companies operating in Chile, the world's top producer of the industrial metal, have begun bringing contractors in-house and bracing for salary hikes ahead of a pro-worker reform bill, which on track to be approved this month.Miners are not happy about the upcoming legislation because they believe it...Read More
Ontario Recognizing Milestone for Key Research InstitutionThe Ontario Geological Survey is celebrating 125 years of documenting the geology of Ontario and providing modern, independent and credible geoscience data and knowledge to the public.Since its establishment, the Ontario Geological Survey has contributed significantly to fostering investment in Ontario, protecting public health and safety,...Read More
Groundbreaking report from AME BC highlights need to clarify land access and use policiesToronto - This week, the Association for Mineral Exploration British Columbia (AME BC) is highlighting how restrictive land access and use regulations and policies are putting the future mineral exploration and development industry at risk. The AME BC report, Framing the Future of Mineral Exploration in Brit...Read More
The latest World Exploration Trends report from SNL Metals & Mining reveals that the global exploration sector continues to struggle against strong market headwinds. The analysis showed a 19% decline in worldwide nonferrous metals exploration budgets in 2015 compared with the previous year, as well as the lowering of the sector's aggregate market capitalization to levels not seen since early 2009....Read More
Minnesota is on its way to developing its first copper-nickel mine, with the state's Department of Natural Resources deciding last week to approve a complex environmental analysis of the project.In its final environmental impact statement on the proposed copper, nickel and cobalt mine, the agency called the 3,000-plus page environmental impact statement "adequate", thus concluding the state's envi...Read More
Frenzied investors piled into the metals and mining sector on Friday as a rally on commodity markets led many to believe the market has reached a bottom after more than three years of declines.On the Comex market in New York copper for delivery in May climbed as much 4.3% to $2.3040 a pound or some $5,078 a tonne before paring some of those gains. Up 7% on the week it's copper's best weekly perfo...Read More
Peru's economy expanded at the fastest pace in almost two years in the fourth quarter of 2015, and it is expected to keep growing this year, driven by surging mining output that is set to offset sluggish investment.According to a new study published this week by BMI Research, the South American nation will see real GDP growth accelerate in 2016, as its extractive sector will remain among the stron...Read More
Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) is selling its stake in the copper and gold Timok project in Serbia to Canadian Lundin Mining (TSX:LUN), for as much as $263 million.The largest listed copper miner is the current project operator and holds a 55% interest on it, while Lundin holds the remaining 45%.The transaction adds to Lundin's $1.8 billion acquisition in 2014 of a controlling stake in Freeport's C...Read More
Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation is eliminating at least 1,300 jobs at two companies it controls in Democratic Republic of Congo as a result of extremely low copper prices.The job cuts, which may increase to 1,800 if the metal prices don't recover, will affect its Boss Mining unit and subcontracting firm Congo Cobalt, Bloomberg reported.The layoffs may increase to 1,800 if copper prices don...Read More
Chilean state-owned copper miner Codelco, the world's top producer of the industrial metal, said Wednesday oversupply is likely to last through this year and next, bringing prices down again to around $2 to $2.10 a pound.After that, chairman Oscar Landerretche expects the market to swing to a deficit of 50,000 to 100,000 metric tons in 2018, with the shortfall expanding to 300,000 to 400,000 tons...Read More
Pascua-Lama has been shut since 2013. (Image courtesy of Barrick Gold)Canada's Barrick Gold (TSX, NYSE:ABX), which recently regained its status as the world's most valuable producer of the precious metal, has began a "drastic revision" of its mothballed Pascua-Lama project in South America.According to Chilean news outlet El Pulso (in Spanish), the company's President Kelvin Dushnisky revealed tha...Read More
Already high bankruptcy and default rates in mining & metals and oil & gas will only accelerate this year as the prolonged downturn in commodities begin to spill over into other sectors.Overall, global speculative-grade corporate defaults will increase by more than 30% in 2016 and reach the highest level since 2009, says Moody's Investors Service in a new report.And 2015 already saw close to a do...Read More
Vancouver, British Columbia - Sandstorm Gold Ltd. ("Sandstorm" or the "Company") (NYSE MKT: SAND, TSX: SSL) has amended its metal credit purchase agreement with Entr?(C)e Gold Inc. ("Entr?(C)e"). In exchange for US$5.5 million in cash and 5.1 million common shares in the capital of Entr?(C)e (the "Consideration"), Sandstorm has agreed to reduce, by 17%, the amount of metal credits that the Compa...Read More
Beleaguered miner and commodity trader Glencore (LON:GLEN) unveiled Tuesday the extend of the damaged caused by the current mining downturn, logging an annual loss of $8 billion and $5.8 billion of charges.The company, the second-worst performer in the FTSE 100 last year, reported a net loss of $4.96 billion compared with net profit of $2.3 billion in 2014, as the price of its key commodities - in...Read More
The Canadian province of Saskatchewan has been chosen the most attractive jurisdiction for mining investment in the country, and the second best worldwide, a new study published Tuesday shows.According to the latest annual global survey of mining executives by the Fraser Institute, the potash and uranium-rich province leads the way for the second consecutive year. The jurisdiction is perceived a...Read More
Agnico Eagle's Meadowbank open-pit gold mine in the Nunavut Territory of Canada Image Jason Pineau In 2015, preliminary estimated gold production by the top publicly-traded and non state-owned gold mining companies amounted to 30.78 Moz, a 1% increase compared to 2014 totals (30.39 Moz).Five out of the 10 miners suffered a decline in their attributable gold output while another five of them ach...Read More
Copper had a fourth decline in five sessions on speculation that China's efforts to stimulate its economy will fail to rekindle demand growth in the world's biggest metals consumer.China's central bank cut the reserve ratio amid plunging stock prices and a weakening currency. Global equities headed for a fourth monthly decline amid mounting concerns about slowing world growth. Copper has lost more...Read More