Alcoa trims more workers
The biggest news of the week was Alcoa’s announcement it will cut production and staff at three smelters, in Rockdale, Tex., Massena, N.Y., and Ferndale, Wash.After cutting 10,000 jobs in 2002, the co…
Ashanti Goldfields Company Limited
Obituary: Paul Grieco
Paul Grieco, the gregarious entrepreneur who launched PR Engineering in Oshawa, Ont., has died. He was 92.Grieco was general manager of the mining division of Scarborough, Ont.-based John Inglis Co. w…
US golds take hit as price falls
A steep dip in the price of gold pushed U.S. gold producers lower over the April 2-8 report period. The yellow metal was fixed at US$324.10 per oz. on the morning of April 9, for a loss of $6.15 on th…
Mitsui buys into CVRD
The biggest global mining story of the report period was the complex deal involving Brazilian iron ore giant Cia Vale do Rio Doce’s (CVRD) and Japan’s no. 2 trading house, Mitsui.Mitsui winds up spend…
Miners passed by in broad advance
The five trading days March 19-25 saw a modest advance by the U.S. stock markets, but gold and base metal equities were left out. Both major indices rose about 1%; the Dow Jones Industrial Average add…
Coeur sets records
Last year was a banner one for Coeur d’Alene Mines, as the company set records for silver and gold production. Silver output rose 36% to 14.8 million ounces, produced at a cash cost of $2.89 per oz., …
Week-long dive on US markets
Things started badly on U.S. stock markets in the trading period March 5-11, and got steadily worse. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 180.81 points to 7,524.06, a loss of 2.3%, while the Standard…
Exploration heats up again in Mali
Gold prices are back up and explorers are back to work, and it need be no surprise that southwestern Mali, with three gold producers pouring plenty of low-cost ounces, has returned to favour among jun…
Tanzania: a miner’s elephant country
Better known for red-cloaked Masai tribesmen and big game safaris, the United Republic of Tanzania is actually a phenomenally mineral-rich land.Formerly known as British East Africa, and German East A…
Barron’s mugs Royal Gold
An exceedingly negative story about Royal Gold in the March 1 edition of Barron’s knocked a painful $6 off the gold royalty company’s shares, which dipped below US$14 before recovering to US$15.46 at …
Golds slip in bouncy trading
U.S. markets had a bouncy week, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average covering a 150-point spread in the report period Feb. 19-25, before settling at 7,909.50. The golds were down and the base metal p…
Diamonds among best bets for ’03
The Northern Miner asked several followers of the junior mining sector for their recommendations and predictions for 2003. Last week we heard from John Kaiser and Donald Poirier. This week, James Must…