The company plans to further cut copper and molybdenum output, including a potential shutdown of its Sierrita mine (pictured) in Arizona. (Image courtesy of Freeport-McMoran)U.S. copper miner Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) was the second company to announce Thursday it has swung to a third-quarter loss after a massive write-down tied to the firm's ailing oil and gas operations.The Phoenix, Ariz.-ba...Read More
Teck, the largest producer of steel-making coal in North America, said the write-downs reflect lower expectations for commodity prices.Canadian mining giant Teck Resources (TSX:TCK.A, TCK.B), (NYSE: TCK) swung to a loss in the third quarter of the year due to a $1.7 billion (Cdn$2.2 billion) asset impairment charge in its steel-making coal and other businesses.The Vancouver-based company, the lar...Read More
Australia's Clean TeQ Holdings Limited, a long-time industry leader in environmental remediation, has recently partnered with China's largest power generator to treat waste water with its unique continuous-ion technology. This technology also allows Clean TeQ to extract metals from minerals and industrial waste, but as Clean TeQ Chairman Sam Riggall explains in this interview with The Gold Report,...Read More
A recent survey of over 100 decision-makers at Latin American mines by Timetric's Mining Intelligence Centre (MIC) has found a higher share of respondents plan to invest in remote control equipment and machine automation technologies in the next two years, compared with any other technology.Respondents were asked to outline their attitudes and plans towards investing in a range of mine-site tech...Read More
Ivanhoe Mines' Kamoa project in the DRC is thought to hold the world's largest untouched high-grade copper discovery. (Image courtesy of Ivanhoe Mines)Canada's Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN) expects to begin mining copper from its giant Kamoa project in the Democratic Republic of Congo in late 2018, as the company foresees a looming deficit in the market and rising global demand.The Vancouver-based mi...Read More
Escondida mine in Chile. Source: NasaIn its operational performance report BHP Billiton (ASX:BHP, NYSE:BHP) announced on Tuesday its first quarter iron ore production rose 7% to 61.3 million tonnes compared to last year and on track to meet full-year guidance of 247 million tonnes.The increased output was thanks to ramp-up of the Jimblebar mining hub at in Western Australia during its 2015 financ...Read More
The Boston Consulting Group, in conjunction with the World Economic Forum, released the Mining & Metals in a Sustainable World 2050 report last month.The report contained a table that neatly summarized the mining and metals value chain which totals nearly $2 trillion a year. For reasons not stated, the table contained in the report omitted silver.Using data from the Silver Institute for 2014 and a...Read More
Barrick Gold (TSE:ABX) announced on Monday that it's shutting down production at the Porgera mine in Papua New Guinea due to drought in the region brought about by the El-Nino weather effect.Output at the mine which was expected to produce between 400,000 - 500,000ounces of gold this year, had been halted due to low levels of water in the main reservoir. Barrick, the world's top producer of the pr...Read More
The miner will finish the expansion of Caraj??s, the world's largest iron-ore complex, next year. (2009 NASA satellite photo via Wikimedia Commons)Brazil's Vale (NYSE:VALE), the world's biggest iron ore producer, posted Monday a new record-high in seaborne production, with 88.2 million metric tons mined in the third quarter, which beat analyst estimates.But the Rio de Janeiro-based miner also sai...Read More
BHP's Olympic Dam copper, uranium and gold mine in South Australia, state which holds more than 80% of the country's total uranium resources. (Image courtesy of BHP Billiton)Australia's mining industry could enjoy a job and export growth boom given the right -policy settings in the uranium sector, according to a new report.The study, commissioned by the Minerals Council of Australia, found that...Read More
Paul Harris, editor and publisher of Colombia Gold Letter, knows Colombia well and realizes that the country requires more investor patience than many are willing to give. Harris says that the next 12-24 months will largely determine Colombia's long-term perception as a mining jurisdiction, but is quick to add that some current stories are already panning out. In this interview with The Gold Repor...Read More
Investors in a relatively small Australian copper miner were rewarded on Friday when the stock added close to a third more value on a takeover offer.Aditya Birla Minerals (ASX:ABY), headquartered in India, closed up 30.56% Friday on close to triple average volumes, after an $86 million takeout attempt by Australia's Metals X Limited (ASX:MLX). Metals X is offering one of its shares for every five...Read More
With the ongoing spending cuts global miners may be paving the way for a major supply shortage, says Wood Mackenzie.While miners are holding off on new projects and looking to slow the completion of ones in the works as they face the worst commodity price collapse since 2008, research house Wood Mackenzie warns the industry could be paving the way for a major supply shortage.In a presentation pr...Read More
Although investment bank permabears haven't stopped issuing dire warnings on the outlook for the sector, the mining industry's big players are themselves slowly beginning to change tack.After 18 months of careful consideration Mick Davis appears to be close to pulling the trigger on a maiden investment for his $5.6 billion X2 fund.And that it's in probably the most depressed corner of the com...Read More
Aerial view of Codelco's Andina (left) and Anglo American's Los Bronces (front) copper mines in Chile. (Image from archives)Only a month after Anglo American (LON:AAL) completed the $300 million sale of its 100%-owned Mantos Blancos and Mantoverde copper mines in northern Chile, analysts are calling into question the firm's chance to unload two other assets.While the company's El Soldado mine has...Read More
The United States has had the world's largest economy for about 140 years. However, recently China has overtaken the US in terms of GDP based on purchasing power parity (PPP) according to IMF.Today's infographic contrasts everything about the two economies. While they are both comparable in size, they are both very different...Courtesy of: Visual CapitalistThe United States has had the world's lar...Read More
A recent survey by Timetric's Mining Intelligence Center (MIC) has shown more mines throughout Latin America prefer to outsource their after-sales equipment support work than any other mining region globally.Timetric's MIC recently surveyed over 100 key decision-makers at operating mines throughout Latin America and asked respondents their current practices and preferences towards maintenance and...Read More
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / October 14, 2015 / U.S. Precious Metals, Inc. (USPR.OTCQB) announces its final drilling results from the 2015 drill program on its Solidaridad property, Michoac??n, Mexico. The 2015 program consisted of 4,303 meters of diamond drilling resulting in 27 holes. The drill program provided infill drilling on the "Main Zone," confirmation drilling of older RC drill results an...Read More
The mood at the metals world's number one annual gathering - LME Week - appears to be one of cautious optimism.A survey of 400 metals and mining investors polled by Macquarie at the London summit returned a moderately bullish view of the next 12 months for base metals.Platts quotes Macquarie's head of commodity research Colin Hamilton as saying "despite the ongoing and conspicuous issues for funda...Read More
In New York trade on Wednesday copper for delivery in December failed to capitalize on customs data from top consumer China showing a huge jump in imports of the red metal.Copper changed hands for $2.3895 per pound or around $5,297 a tonne in lunchtime trade on Tuesday, down some 1% from yesterday's close with the positive news out of China being offset by an announcement by top exporter Chile tha...Read More