Over to you, Draghi and Yellen.This month, like many other months recently it's the intentions of central bankers that are dominating the markets. It's widely expected that the ECB and US Fed will drift even further apart in their basic policy stances this month. I'm pretty sure that view will turn out to be correct though as always the devil will be in the details. Increasing certainty ab...Read More
Image by DmyTo | Shutterstock.comMining and commodities giant Glencore (LON:GLEN) said Monday it is cutting production and 80% of the remaining staff at its Collinsville mine in Australia's north Queensland as a result of collapsing coal prices.The cuts would affect around 180 of the 230 people employed at the mine, with most of the layoffs materializing next year, the Swiss company in an e-maile...Read More
If only someone could bottle the experience of finding an overlooked company, investing for pennies a share and cashing in for 10, 20 or 30 times what you paid. Priceless, right? But how to find those companies? Small caps aren't covered by the mainstream press and analysts the way blue chips are, and determining value of an early-stage company before profit and loss statements take on real meanin...Read More
Amid a tempestuous year for the U.S. dollar gold price, gold has quietly moved up about 6% in Canadian dollar terms, squarely placing the focus on gold producers with Canadian operations that generate cash flow, says Ryan Hanley, mining analyst with Mackie Research Capital. In this interview with The Gold Report, Hanley lists his storm-tested top picks, shines light on names with M&A potential, an...Read More
Since the beginning of 2014, the World Bank's Metals and Minerals index has fallen 29% and the Precious Metals index 11%. South Africa's weighted average basket of commodities has also dropped 12% in rand terms despite its significant depreciation. The response has been carnage - Anglo American, for instance, announced its plans to shut 18 shafts, which will result in up to 50 000 job losses. Ad...Read More
The new Argentinian government is promising to end a series of capital controls that have been propping up the peso - a move that would benefit mining.Reuters reported on Sunday that president-elect Mauricio Macri will lift the clamp-down on dollar purchases by out-going president Cristina Fern??ndez, as early as December 14.Fern??ndez restricted imports and repatriated export revenue since she wa...Read More
Earlier this year, Anglo announced a $3.5bn write-down related to the value of its flagship Minas-Rio iron ore project in Brazil. (Image courtesy of Anglo American)Global miner Anglo American (LON:AAL) will likely announce next week that it's cutting its annual dividend since a worsening commodities rout has left management little choice but to focus on balance-sheet preservation in order to navig...Read More
Facing Reality in Five Uneasy StagesSupercycle meets Kubler-RossDenial & Acceptance and Everything In Between+ The marketplace is finally realising that the Commodities Supercycle is dead+ Mining though will rebound just in a different form to that which prevailed from 2001-2011+ The travails of some commodities (oil for example) are good for the rest of the mining sectorIt has taken the...Read More
Mine pit. Aerial | Wikimedia Commons.The Peruvian city of Cerro de Pasco, perched high up in the Andes, is about to sink into the deeps of a half-century-old, open-pit zinc and lead mine that has been belching streamers of dust and polluting its surroundings for years.The locals, National Geographic reports, were submitted to a series of health tests in 1996 when the effects of contamination bec...Read More
The deposit was first discovered in the 1930s and Freeport McMoRan has been mining copper, silver and gold at Grasberg in remote Indonesia since the 1970s. In terms of reserves, Grasberg is still the richest deposit on the planetShares in copper and gold giant Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) were trending lower on Thursday after reports that Indonesia is likely to delay a decision on extending the lic...Read More
A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle.Kahlil GibranWhen it comes to investing, the first rule thing you need to learn is effective management of your emotions. It is impossible to eliminate the impulse to act when euphoria or panic are in the air. While you cannot eliminate the emotion that pushes to you react, you can control your reaction. You c...Read More
Data from 2016 Hays Compensation, Benefits, Recruitment and Retention GuideGeneral managers are the top paid engineers at mines according to a year end study, 2016 Hays Compensation, Benefits, Recruitment and Retention Guide.The salaries of engineers largely stayed the same as last year.While there is a downturn with more layoffs planned in 2016, miners still worry about a skills shortage. Three-...Read More
Some experts are calling it the next "Cold War" (likely that pun is intended.)Russia, Canada, Norway, Denmark and the United States are posturing for Arctic supremacy. At stake? Oil, natural gas, minerals, shipping passages, and much more.Note: see full-sized infographic for more legibility.Courtesy of: Visual CapitalistIn the year 1776, James Cook was dispatched from Great Britain on an important...Read More
Argentina last week voted in a new pro-business President, Mauricio Macri. This major change in government signifies an end to the leftist populism and starts the engines for a new economic focus designed to restore Argentina to the economic powerhouse it once was.This is the first government party change in 12 years and is considered extremely positive for the future of Argentina and in particula...Read More
Recent weakness in precious metals prices is being confirmed by weakness in base metals prices. Last week, zinc prices fell to new lows for the year, while copper fell to its lowest level since 2009.Copper has historically played a minor role in the monetary system. Its primary use has been in pennies.Until 1982, the penny consisted of 95% copper. Today, the penny is 97.5% zinc (with just 2.5% cop...Read More
September quarter national accounts confirm the mining sector's continued strong contribution to economic growth in Australia.Despite tougher market conditions, Australian miners have continued to drive record export volumes.ABS figures show that mining was the largest industry contributor to Australia's economic growth in the September quarter, accounting for almost half (0.4 percentage points) o...Read More
Data from The 2016 Hays Compensation, Benefits, Recruitment and Retention GuideSalaries for the top jobs at mining companies have stayed the same from a year ago, according an end of year salary survey by Hays.The recruiting company released its wage tally today.It said wage trends in the mining industry matched trends in the broader economy as a whole, and any wage increases next year will be...Read More
More than half (55%) of mining employers cut staff in 2015 and an additional 40% expect to cut in 2016, according to an industry survey by the recruiting firm Hays.Under-staffed businesses are resulting in burnout and low morale, and current employees are "feeling pressure more than ever", says Hays.While companies cut, employers in the resource and mining industry have expressed concern over gr...Read More
Zald?-var copper mine is located about 1,400 km north of Chile's capital Santiago. (Image courtesy of Barrick Gold)Top gold miner Barrick Gold (TSX, NYSE:ABX) announced Tuesday it has completed the sale of a 50% stake in its Zald?-var copper mine in Northern Chile to London-listed Antofagasta Plc (LON:ANTO) for a shade over $1 billion in cash."The sale of 50 percent of Zald?-var has strengthened o...Read More
A tailings pond for the Mount Polley mine burst in August 2014 and spilled millions of cubic metres of waste water into Polley Lake - BIV ArchivesThe provincial government has granted Imperial Metals' (TSX:III) Mount Polley mine a short-term permit to release treated water from a tailings dam.The volume of water behind the dam has been rising and concerns had been raised in recent weeks about what...Read More