The effects of gold mining on forest health are long lasting. According to new research, gold mining stunts the regrowth of Amazon forests, limiting their ability to store carbon.Read full newsRead More
Income investors who rely on stable and steady dividends in retirement haven’t had much to cheer about recently. Dividends stocks have been highly volatile, and investors are rightfully nervous. However, there is some good news. For the first time since the pandemic began, dividends are stabilizing. This means that we are seeing fewer dividend cuts and more dividend raises. In fact, Jun...Read More
Dhanbad mine complex in the eastern Jharkhand state. (Image by Nitin Kirloskar, Flickr). India's Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi said that just a few days into the auction process of coal blocks to commercial mining operators, 1,140 parties have shown interest in taking part in this new chapter in the country's mining history.In mid-June 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi India announced that his adm...Read More
Tenguel river after the tailings dam breach. (Screenshot from video by Diario El Mercurio). The Ecuadorian Ministry of Energy and Nonrenewable Natural Resources informed that a small tailings dam breached in the southern Azuay province, releasing about 50 tonnes of pollutants into the Tenguel river.The accident was caused by the collapse of a retaining wall at the Armijos tailings station, locate...Read More
Diver Christophe Le Maillot documents the rock-crowding activity at La Mina. (Image by Sam Meacham, courtesy of CINDAQ). Archaeologists and cave divers found in Mexico what they believe is the oldest known mine in the American continent.In a paper published in the journal Science Advances, the explorers explain that a flooded cave in the southeastern state of Quintana Roo hosts irrefutable eviden...Read More
Raised geopolitical tensions over the COVID-19 blame game ahead of the US November presidential election and unprecedented government stimulus were among factors to be bullish for gold, according to Saxo Market's head of commodity strategy Ole S. Hansen."There are several reasons to believe that gold will make a move to at least $1,800/oz in 2020, followed by a fresh record high in the coming year...Read More
"What COVID has done for us is really focus us as a sector in so far as this pandemic can never be resolved, we can never find the answer to it and respond to it, without jointly working together toRead More
Tata Steel has reached an agreement with trade union FNV Metaal over its Dutch assets, bringing an end to 25 days of industrial action, the company said on Friday July 3.There will be no redundancies at Tata Steel at IJmuiden and the parent company will invest in site's upgrade, FNV said.In addition, an employment pact for the company's Dutch workers has been extended by five years until Octo...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday July 2 that are worth another look.European importers of long steel and hot-rolled coil have claimed that this week's definitive decision in the EU steel imports safeguard case review ignored the interests of independent buyers and focused protection only on steelmakers, market sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 1.Chilean...Read More
Gold just closed the month and quarter and itsperformance on the final day of both was very encouraging for the bulls. What’sgoing on and what changed?Let’s start with the big picture. Gold just moved to the November 2011 high and intoday’s pre-market trading it even moved above it. The volume on which goldmoved up last month was relatively small, which doesn’t support the...Read More
Some gold bulls have bought in heavily to the argument that gold price suppression has been an ongoing activity for years, even decades. Supposedly, trading in the gold market is manipulated in ways that depress the market price for gold.Assertions are made that the manipulation takes place in a shroud of secrecy; and the unexpected lower prices for gold, or prices that don’t meet wildly bul...Read More
Most Turkish flat steel prices hit a monthly peak on June 12, following feedstock prices, before edging back down when buyers concluded their procurement activity, market participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday July 2. Turkish flat steel producers are fully booked until mid-September. Feedstock scrap prices fluctuated in June. Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), U...Read More
The mining industry does a huge amount of good for local communities, to say nothing of its essential contribution to society through the materials it produces. Unfortunately, it all too often manages to give itself a bad name, worsening negative perceptions of the sector through accidents, spills and a failure to act as a steward of the environments in which it operates. In the past month alone,...Read More
The threat of Section 232 tariffs on aluminium imports from Canada into the United States has, like the great white shark following the Brody family in the universally panned film, 'Jaws: The Revenge,' returned - akin to a truly awful horror movie franchise. And that's how Neil Herrington, senior vice president for the Americas, US Chamber of Commerce, views reports that the US administration is c...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Aluminium: Capped by oversupplyA lack of a meaningful supply adjustment to the Covid-19 demand hit is keeping the aluminium physical market oversupplied and weighing on prices, limiting the success of more buoyant macro and technical forces on prices. Our premium forecasts are under review in light of threats from the U...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Aluminium: Poised for a technical breakoutFears over a second wave of Covid-19 continue to grow, forcing prices of aluminium and the other base metals to take a pause. Our base-case scenario is that countries will respond more efficiently to contain the virus spread, so economic activity and metal demand should continue to r...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Aluminium: Demand outlook revisedWe are not surprised to see aluminium prices retreat from last week's high after flagging up in recent reports that they had become overbought. 'Sell-the-rally' traders will be targeting the April high now, down at $1,534 per tonne. This week we have reviewed our aluminium demand forecasts fo...Read More