With safety issues increasing the likelihood of a work stoppage at Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold Inc.’s Grasberg project in Indonesia, coupled with a strike set to begin Nov. 10 at the Antamina mine in Peru, the probability of a deficit in the copper market has significantly risen.Estimates suggest that these two labour disruptions could remove 84,000 tonnes of mined copper supply throu...Read More

China's ferrous futures largely trended downward during morning trading on Wednesday June 27 on weaker sentiment, dampening trading activity in the spot market. Uncertainty over China's monetary policy adjustments and a brewing global trade war were among the factors weighing on sentiment.Futures closing prices - morning session Shanghai Futures Exchange October rebar: 3,699 yuan ($563) per tonne,...Read More

U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 2 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures recovered about 10 points after concerns about an imminent trade war with China related to using U.S. technology will be re-examined.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus for May Durable Goods Orders was a drop o...Read More

First Quantum Minerals Ltd. and Lundin Mining Corp. have enough nickel exposure to provide investors with an opportunity to benefit from higher prices, but there are plenty of ways they differ.Neither company faces the risks associated with excessive nickel exposure since the primary focus of both companies is copper, but Tom Meyer, a mining analyst at CIBC World Markets, noted First Quantum&rsquo...Read More

Base metal stocks have been battered in recent months as commodity prices declined, regardless of their quality. Buying them after a sell-off is a risky proposition, so Raymond James analyst Alex Terentiew waded through the muck to determine which ones have been punished unfairly.He evaluated the stocks from a number of angles, including a sensitivity test to see how they would withstand a prolong...Read More

Copper already accounts for about 25% of overall revenue at Teck Resources Ltd., but the base metal’s role in the company’s portfolio should become even greater after 2014.Deutsche Bank’s Jorge Beristain, who was part of a group of analysts that recently toured two of Teck’s copper assets in Latin America, noted that ongoing expansion in the region points to approximately 2...Read More

It goes without saying that beating guidance is a good way to earn favour from investors. The market has been simply brutal to mining companies that failed to meet their own expectations — or those of analysts — in the last 12 months (just ask Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd).So which companies do a good job of meeting guidance, and which don’t? Canaccord Genuity base metal analysts Gary...Read More

China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices widened on Wednesday June 27 after trading activity picked up in the latter half of the day in response to lower offers, a situation that traders went on to capitalize on.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,220-4,250 yuan ($642-647) per tonne, widening by 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 4,120-4,160 yuan per tonne, widening upward by 20 yuan per to...Read More

The underperformance of Canadian equities versus their U.S. counterparts may be coming to an end.With investor sentiment towards U.S. stocks suggesting excessive optimism and recent comments from the Fed and ECB signaling a less dovish near-term stance, David Doyle of Macquarie Capital Markets thinks global equities may be entering a consolidation phase.The strategist believes this could bring abo...Read More

Base metals on the London Metal Exchange continued to drift lower during morning trading on Wednesday June 27, with ongoing trade uncertainties, a firm dollar and broad inventory drawdowns putting pressure on the complex. Copper prices fell by 0.6% during morning trading, drifting to a low of $6,667 per tonne, the lowest point since April 4. Volatile stock movements continue to unsettle the market...Read More

The arbitrage for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel imported into China on Wednesday June 27*Copper -$132.72 (-877.22 yuan) Aluminium -$534.07 (-3,529.97 yuan) Zinc $29.45 (194.62 yuan) Nickel -$163.06 (-1,077.74 yuan) *Metal Bulletin calculates the physical arbitrage for import into...Read More

As metal prices plunged on the eve of the financial crisis in September 2008, Peru’s billionaire Brescia family paid about $400 million to buy the world’s largest tin deposit in the Amazon jungle.Now their mining company Minsur SA sits alone among mostly Asian rivals as the only major producer in 2014 that can raise output of a metal increasingly in demand because it’s mixed into...Read More

The World Gold Council today launched its ‘Gold and climate change’ report, aiming to provide investors with greater clarity around gold’s impacts on climate change. Marking one year since the recommendations from the Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosure (TCFD), the report is an initial step to build understanding of the gold industry’s greenhouse gas emis...Read More

An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More

Global miner Rio Tinto surprised investors with a 15 percent dividend hike after reporting a huge jump in second-half profit on Thursday, putting it in a strong position for a big capital return in 2015.Rio’s result will set the pace for other mega miners, who have shelved projects, axed costs, sold assets and cut debt over the past 18 months to satisfy shareholders wanting a bigger share of...Read More

Slowing growth and credit concerns in China have taken an enormous toll on base metal prices. The related mining stocks have been hammered as well in recent weeks, and according to analysts at Dundee Capital Markets, there could be worse to come.“The bottom line is that with stimulus being tapered, China’s slowing fundamentals will likely reassert themselves and we believe miners will...Read More

I couldn’t breathe... There were bursts of light in my field of vision... And it was all I could do to keep from puking.My high school coach was in my face yelling at the top of his lungs.“Zach, I have you in the game to play DEFENSE!” he bellowed.“If you can’t get back to your position and keep them from scoring, I’ll find someone who WILL!”His words stun...Read More

Thursday was such a dreadful day for global markets (and especially for precious metals) that investors and media took little notice of base metals, which also took a tumble. Copper is now trading just above US$3.00 a pound, way down from a high of more than US$4.50 in 2011.Jessica Fung, a commodity strategist at BMO Capital Markets, noted that a slight bounce back is possible in the short term. B...Read More

By Veronica Brown and Melanie BurtonLONDON — Copper fell to its lowest in a month on Tuesday after disappointing U.S. employment data on Friday raised concerns about slowing growth, while a slight fall in China’s copper imports did little to shore up sentiment.Losses were limited, however, by the view that China’s economic slowdown was not drastic, with off-take for copper seen k...Read More

While global markets have not been kind to stocks in recent days, it’s mining stocks that have taken the biggest beating — and are now at levels not seen since mid-2010.“Energy, base metals and gold stocks remain more than 20% off their cyclical peaks of a year ago,” said Ste??fane Marion, chief economist and strategist with National Bank.Mining stocks have not been this lo...Read More