Editorial: Lowell and Rebagliati urge free thinking
The Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada kicked off its annual convention in Toronto with a panel discussion on what makes a successful mineral explorer.
Commodities Markets
Copper prices to ease but “not massively so,” Wood Mackenzie says
Wood Mackenzie is forecasting global demand growth for copper this year of 3.6%, a copper deficit of about 100,000 tonnes and LME cash prices averaging US$8,700 per tonne or US$3.95 per lb., down from an average of US$8,800 per tonne or US$4.00…
China’s commodity super-cycle is over, Credit Suisse economist says
The golden age of China’s infrastructure investment, housing boom, exports and policy stimulus is behind us, Dong Tao, head of non-Japan Asia Economics argues in a March 5 report to clients.
Commentary: The United States of Withdrawal
Benjamin Franklin wrote that, in this life, nothing is certain but death and taxes. Well, if you are in the business of developing mineral or energy projects in America, there is one more certainty to add to the list: lawsuits!
Editorial: All eyes on gold
Volatility returned with a vengeance to the gold markets as February drew to a close. The spot gold price tumbled US$92.10, or 5%, in a matter of hours to US$1,691.80 per oz. at presstime, resulting in the biggest one-day loss since…
Copper market more balanced in 2013-2014
Copper could see above-trend production increases in 2012, Bank of America Merrill Lynch asserts in a Jan. 24 report on base metals. The bank’s global commodity research team forecasts a more balanced market by 2013, “which could…
Editorial: Invasion of the robominers!
In a sign of the times that would make any union leader do a double take, Rio Tinto has announced that it and a minority partner will spend US$518 million on robotrains to haul its iron ore in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.
Commentary: Mining execs’ pay jumps as industry rebounds
This is one of those “good problems” you hear about from time to time in business. After weathering the punishing collapse in demand for commodities that began in 2008 and dragged on for more than two years, the mining industry has…
Editorial: Eager beavers and nuclear pandas
Canada’s uranium began a whole new chapter in its history in early February with the landmark agreement to open wide the country’s uranium production and nuclear technology to customers in China, undoing decades of Cold War-ish…
Odds ‘n’ sods: Listening to Old Pete’s stories
During my forty years in the mining business I have listened to hundreds of stories about lost mineral showings, rich gold deposits just over this hill or that, odd-looking rock types that elude scientific description and even fur trappers…
Editorial: Another death at Vale’s Sudbury mines
The month of January closed out with Vale having temporarily halted all underground mining at its five nickel mines in Sudbury, Ont., following the death of a miner at the Coleman mine on Jan. 29.
Commentary: Integrating geophysics and geology
There always has been, and still is, a problem integrating geophysics into geology.