Aluminium
Copper higher in New York, London
by Elaine Frei
Base metals prices were mostly higher on Friday.
Copper added 5 cents to $3.40 per pound in New York after new data showed that wages, consumer spending, and factor orders were all up in the United States in July, while three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was 0.8 percent higher to $7,460 per tonne.
These gains, [...]
Gold adds $8 in New York to end week
by Elaine Frei
Prices for precious metals were higher on Friday on hopes that rallying equities markets will support demand.
In New York, December gold added $8.00 to $681.90 per troy ounce for a gain of 0.6 percent over the week after the US dollar weakened versus the euro, falling to a three-week low before rebounding in relation to [...]
CAMEC loses DRC Katanga licences
by Gill Montia
CAMEC, the copper and cobalt miner with a presence in five African countries, has encountered serious difficulties in its proposed acquisition of Katanga Mining, which operates a copper-cobalt mine complex near Kolwezi, in the Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The DRC Government has announced that it is revoking CAMEC’s licences for mining [...]
Tin prices up on supplies, output prediction
by Elaine Frei
Base metals prices were mixed Thursday.
Tin, meanwhile, added 3 percent on the LME to trade at $15,300 per tonne on tight supplies in Indonesia and after a producer there said that output in the second half will be 40 percent below first half output.
Indonesian tin producers have also said they have been thinking about putting [...]
Gold drops $1.50 per ounce
by Elaine Frei
Precious metals prices were lower in New York on Thursday as the US dollar saw advances on the session.
December gold was $1.50 lower to $673.90 per troy ounce, a gain of 0.2 percent on the session for a total gain of 5.6 percent so far this year.
Silver was down 5 cents to $11.96 per troy [...]
Gold stock and bullion prices disappoint
by Gill Montia
Rising interest rates and the recent turbulence in the debt markets, resulting from the US sub-prime mortgage crisis, have increasingly put pressure of the price of gold bullion.
Recent market events have triggered a significant sell off in stocks, reducing the breadth of assets attractive to investors.
As a result, both commodity and metals stocks have fallen [...]
Base metals mixed on session
by Elaine Frei
Among base metals, December copper added 3 cents to $3.34 in New York, while in London copper added 1.2 percent in late trade to $7,385 per tonne.
The gains came on equities market gains that eased investor worries about the global economy and despite London Metal Exchange stockpiles that added 3,025 tonnes during the session.
In China, [...]
Precious metals gain alongside equities
by Elaine Frei
Precious metals prices were higher in New York Wednesday on the possibility that a cut in US interest rates could weaken the dollar and boost demand as investors look for a safer place to put their money.
December gold was $1.90 higher to $675.40 per troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile [...]
Harmony faces critical six months
by Gill Montia
Harmony Gold Mining has sold its remaining 2% interest in Gold Fields, at a loss of R450 million.
The transaction raised R1.35 billion for the company and the money has been used to repay its entire R1.3 billion long-term debt to Rand Merchant Bank.
In recent weeks both Harmony’s chief executive officer and finance director have resigned, [...]
Southerwestern sues former CEO
by Gill Montia
Southwestern Resources, the Vancouver-based exploration company, has filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, against its former chief executive officer.
The action, which centres on alleged errors in assay data from the company’s Boka gold project in China, also incorporates “certain affiliated companies”.
Southwestern has issued a press release confirming that the lawsuit contains [...]
Platinum gains on demand hopes
by Elaine Frei
Platinum saw gains on Tuesday on the possibility that demand for use in automobile pollution control devices after Toyota Motor (TYT: 7201.T; NYSE: TM; LSE: TYT) and Honda Motor (TYO: 7267; NYSE: HMC) both said production was up in July.
The price of October platinum added $8.30 in New York to $1,260.60 per troy ounce in [...]
Yukon Zinc secures Barclays’ funding
by Gill Montia
Yukon Zinc Corp, the Vancouver-based metals exploration company, has secured US$140 million in funding from Barclays Capital, the investment banking division of Barclays Bank.
The loan, which has a term of seven-and-a-half years, will be used for the development of Yukon’s Wolverine zinc and copper project in southeast Yukon, Canada.
According to Harlan Meade, the company’s [...]
Metals prices mixed in slow trade
by Elaine Frei
Metals prices were mixed Monday in New York.
December gold was $1.30 lower to $676.20 per troy ounce on the possibility that the US dollar will hold its own against the euro.
Some analysts say gold could still rally, however, if the US Federal Reserve cuts interest rates before the end of the year, pulling some support [...]
Economic news boosts base metals
by Elaine Frei
Base metals prices ended the week higher on reports that US factory orders for durable goods and new home sales were both higher in July.
Durable goods orders were up 5.9 percent in July, the most in 10 months, while new home sales gained 2.8 percent during the month after a decline of 4 percent in [...]
Precious metals gain in New York
by Elaine Frei
Precious metals were higher in New York trade on Friday.
December gold was $9.10 higher to $677.60 per troy ounce in late trade as the US dollar again declined in relation to the euro.
Meanwhile, December silver added 30 cents to $12.10 per troy ounce and October platinum gained $1.90 to $1,247 per troy ounce.
Metorex looks to copper
by Gill Montia
Metorex, the South African based mining company, is turning its attention to copper, having identified the commodity as its most important path to growth.
The company is currently expanding its Chibuluma and Ruashi II projects and is in the process of acquiring Copper Resources Corporation (CRC), after which it aims to increase copper production to 100,000 [...]
Copper prices up on consumption data
by Elaine Frei
Metals prices were mixed on Thursday, with base metals trending higher while precious metals were mixed.
December copper was 5 cents higher to $3.28 per pound in New York and added 1.4 percent to $7,241 per tonne, or $3.29 per pound, in London as investors became more confident that demand will remain high.
According to the World [...]
Harmony finances in disarray
by Gill Montia
Harmony Gold, the South African based gold mining company, has reported that its financial director has resigned with immediate effect.
The company, which saw the resignation of its Chief Executive Officer earlier this month, has appointed an interim finance director, whilst the managing director of the group’s Australasian operations has been appointed as acting CEO.
Harmony is [...]
China copper demand skyrockets in July
by Elaine Frei
Base metals prices were mostly higher Wednesday after BHP Billiton (LSE: BLT; NYSE: BHP; ASX: BHP) said that while it expects metals prices to remain volatile it also anticipates them remaining high on continuing demand.
December copper added 6 cents to $3.22 per pound in New York, while copper on the London Metal Exchange gained 2 [...]
Gold, silver climb in New York
by Elaine Frei
Gold and silver prices gained ground on Wednesday on the possibility that the US dollar will weaken further.
Some analysts warned, however, that gold’s gains especially could be limited if investors decide to look to US Treasury bonds instead of metals as a safe place to put their money.
December gold added $2.50 to end the session [...]