Aluminium
New York gold drops 2 percent on session
by Elaine Frei
Metals prices were lower in New York on Thursday.
December gold dropped $13.50, or 2 percent, to $672.80 per troy ounce, its biggest percent decline in two months.
Some are selling gold to cover losses brought on by the subprime crisis, while at least one analyst ventured the opinion that some central banks might be selling some [...]
Industrial action closes Mexican copper mine
by Gill Montia
Cananea, Mexico’s biggest copper mine, is to remain closed following a court ruling granting a provisional injunction in support of the 3,000 striking miners employed by Grupo Mexico.
The Court will go on to consider whether the action is legal and whether the miners can be sacked.
The miners at Cananea and two smaller Grupo Mexico mines [...]
Copper prices drop on inventories, economic worries
by Elaine Frei
Metals prices were mixed on Wednesday.
Among base metals, September copper was 6.75 cents lower in New York to $3.43 per pound and three-month copper dropped $165 to $7,580 per tonne in London as inventories in London Metal Exchange warehouses were higher.
LME stockpiles of the metal used most often in construction in the form of pipes [...]
Harmony issues profit warning
by Gill Montia
Harmony Gold, the world’s fifth largest gold producer, has issued a warning that its quarterly financial results will come in far below expectations.
The news will surprise some, as it comes amid a booming commodities market.
However, Harmony’s gold production has been adversely affected by the unavoidable issues of cost inflation, higher wage demands, safety incidents, and [...]
Gold lower in New York before Fed decision
by Elaine Frei
Metals prices were mixed on Tuesday.
December gold was down at the end of floor trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange, dropping $1 to $682.30 per troy ounce, although it rose some in electronic trading after the US Federal Reserve announced that it was leaving interest rates on hold for the time being.
At one point [...]
Newmont chief bullish on gold price
by Gill Montia
The vice-chairman of Newmont Mining Corp, which is one of the world’s largest gold producers, expects the price of gold to pass the $US1,000 mark.
Mr Lassonde, who is also chairman of the World Gold Council and known to be optimistic on gold prices, holds the view that the boom in global resources still has someway [...]
Lead drops 8.7 percent in London
by Elaine Frei
Copper prices were at a five-week low in New York on Monday as September contracts for the metal dropped just under a cent to $3.47 per pound on Monday afternoon and was down as low as $3.43 per pound earlier in the session, its lowest level since the end of June.
The declines came on worries [...]
Gold prices decline, inventories fall
by Elaine Frei
Precious metals prices were mixed on Monday.
Gold closed the session in New York with a decline of $1.10 to $683.30 per troy ounce as crude oil prices dropped and the dollar was unsettled ahead of this week’s decision on interest rates from the US Federal Reserve.
Inventories of gold were down 398 troy ounces to 7.15 [...]
Multi-nationals seek Mongolian opportunities
by Gill Montia
Multi-national mining companies are increasingly taking an interest in Mongolia, a country endowed with substantial, untapped mineral wealth.
The Mongolian economy is growing at 7.5% a year, partly as a result of the strong global activity in the resources sector.
Investment from mining companies is bringing challenges to the country’s leadership, which is addressing the complexities of [...]
Mincor nickel explorations show strong potential
by Gill Montia
Mincor Resources, the nickel sulphide producer operating in the Kambalda region of Australia, has published the latest results from exploration drilling programmes at three of its mines.
The results highlight the significance of the Mariners NO9 discovery, which could possibly be the most significant new ore body yet discovered by Mincor in the Kambalda region.
The NO9 [...]
Copper gains on higher LME inventories
by Elaine Frei
Base metals prices were mostly lower as the week ended.
Copper dropped 9 cents on the session to $3.48 per pound in New York while it was 0.7 percent lower in London over the week to $7,710 per tonne as London Metal Exchange inventories grew to 106,650 tonnes, its highest level since the first week in [...]
Platinum down $1 in New York
by Elaine Frei
Precious metals prices were mixed on Friday.
December Gold added $7.80 in New York to trade at $684.40 per troy ounce for a gain of 1.2 percent on the day and 1.8 percent on the week and 7.3 so far this year.
The gain came as the US dollar weakened again on the prospect that interest rates [...]
Xstrata expands Chilean copper mine
by Gill Montia
Xstrata Copper is planning a major expansion of the Collahuasi mine in Chile, which currently produces 440,000 tonnes of copper in concentrate and cathodes, per year.
The company expects output at the mine to double by 2014, to one million tonnes a year, making it the world’s second-largest copper mine.
Collahuasi will come second only to [...]
Palladium declines by $2
by Elaine Frei
Precious metals prices were higher in New York on Thursday.
December gold added 70 cents to $676 per troy ounce in early afternoon trade on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, bringing its price gain to 6 percent so far this year.
September silver was also higher, gaining 4 cents to $13 per troy [...]
Gold Fields’ profits decreases as industrial action looms
by Gill Montia
Gold Fields Ltd, the world’s fourth-largest gold producer, has recorded an 18% decrease in its fourth-quarter net profit, as costs increased and production remained almost static.
The group’s earnings for the three months to the end of June 2007 fell to US$74 million, compared with US$101 million for same period in 2006.
Taking the year as a [...]
Gold drops with equities markets
by Elaine Frei
Precious metals prices were mostly lower in New York on Wednesday, with December gold down $3.40 to $675.90 per troy ounce in early afternoon trade.
The decline came on worries that the falling equities markets could mean less demand for gold.
September silver was also lower, dropping 6 cents to $12.96 per troy ounce.
October platinum was substantially [...]
Norilsk increase profit and pollution
by Gill Montia
Norilsk Nickel, the Russian group that is the world’s largest producer of palladium and nickel, has reported a steep rise in half-year profit, which can be attributed in part to higher prices on metals.
According to Russian Accounting Standards, the group’s profit climbed 31-fold, to RUR77.747 billion (USD3.06billion), in the six months to the end of [...]