Category: Metals & Mining
The analysis published under this category are as follows.
Monday, January 16, 2023
Copper and Gold miners are leading the Q4-Q1 rally in broad asset markets / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Gary_Tanashian
Back in October we began to plan the prospect of a relief rally that would be fueled by over-bearish sentiment (contrary bullish), ‘Fed hawk’ relief as we anticipated inflation signals to ease, and a post (mid-term) election seasonal pattern that is bullish for stocks. This public article had a lot to say about that on November 10th:
For the purposes of this week’s public article, we’ll leave aside the mad science (macro indicators) that NFTRH subscribers were subjected to in support of the bull thesis along the way and also leave aside the individual equities and portfolio strategy shaped by the indicators. But the macro stuff is going to be ever more important going forward. These indicators are, shall we say, absolutely fascinating in their guidance for the balance of 2023.
Here we simplify and just look at two broad market leaders. Copper and gold, copper miners and gold miners. While I am bullish on gold and by extension very bullish on the gold miners, which will fundamentally leverage the 2023 macro, to this point the Q1, 2023 rally is as expected and it literally includes the world.
Read full article... Read full article...
Sunday, July 31, 2022
Aluminum, Copper, Zinc: The 3 Horsemen of the Upcoming "Econocalypse" / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: EWI
This suggests "a burgeoning slowdown in economic activity"
It may seem strange to bring up deflation when surveys show that inflation is the public's number one worry.
But who would have thought that inflation would become a big issue, say, just two years ago?
Right -- a relatively small percentage of people. The point is: Things can unexpectedly change -- fast.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, February 18, 2022
2 Ways To Play The Commodity Boom In 2022 / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: OilPrice_Com
...
Thursday, February 17, 2022
This Rare Gas Is Now Worth 100X More Than Natural Gas / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: OilPrice_Com
...
Wednesday, February 16, 2022
Helium Prices Are Set To Soar As Supply Shortage Looms / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: OilPrice_Com
...
Monday, February 14, 2022
How To Play The Coming Helium Boom / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: OilPrice_Com
...
Monday, September 06, 2021
Energy Metals Build Momentum; Silver & Platinum May Follow / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: MoneyMetals
Will this September be one to remember in the markets? It is often characterized by rising volatility heading into the fall. September also often ushers in a period of seasonal strength for precious metals markets.
U.S. stocks opened the month heading back up to record levels. Meanwhile, gold and silver traded with little fanfare. Prices bounced around quietly ahead of Friday’s big jobs report.
Despite lackluster performance in the precious metals sector of late, some other metals are taking off. Energy metals in particular are a hot commodity right now. Uranium – the fuel for nuclear reactors – has suddenly gained strength on supply concerns. And metals used in electric vehicles, including lithium and rare earth elements, are surging along with demand for electric vehicles.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, April 15, 2021
Stocks Bull Market Progression Now Shows Base Metal Strength / Stock-Markets / Metals & Mining
By: Donald_W_Dony
Sector performance within the present bull market has largely replicated an historical pattern. Over the past 12 years, the rise and eventual outperformance over the benchmark indexes (i.e. TSX and S&P 500), of specific industry groups has developed starting with technology and consumer discretionary sectors in 2009 and carrying through to the current sector of base metals.
The normal progression of performance in industry groups, beginning with a bear market low, through a gradual recovery and into a full bull market and then with a final cresting high, is illustrated in Chart 1.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, April 07, 2021
The US has Metals Problem - Lithium, Graphite, Copper, Nickel Supplies / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Richard_Mills
Years of neglecting its critical metal supplies is catching up with the United States, as demand for the raw materials needed to build a new green economy that rejects fossil fuels gears up.
US President Joe Biden just announced a $2.3 trillion infrastructure spending package aimed partially at shifting the US transportation system from gas and diesel-based to battery-powered, and more support for renewable energies such as wind and solar over carbon-based sources like natural gas.
The plan is big on promises and appears to benefit many sectors, but details are scant on how the country will source the metals needed for repairing and replacing traditional “blacktop” infrastructure, and minerals that will feed a brand new “mine to battery” supply chain.
This article takes a deep dive into the US metals problem and how it might work with its northern neighbor to address it.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, February 16, 2021
Major Optimism for Platinum, Silver, and Copper / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: MoneyMetals
Attention in the metals markets shifted this week from silver to copper and platinum. While big moves in silver and gold prices may be coming down the road, the monetary metals are currently taking a back seat to electrical and automotive metals.
A massive push by the Biden administration to replace gasoline vehicles with electric vehicles is helping to crank up demand for copper. Anything involving electricity involves copper – and lots of it.
Electric vehicles and their massive batteries contain an average of 180 pounds of the metal. That’s six times the copper that’s used in gasoline cars. Even larger quantities of copper are required for EV charging stations and necessary upgrades to electrical grid infrastructure.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, February 12, 2021
Energy Metals Lead the Charge / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: MoneyMetals
Gold and silver aren’t the only viable plays in the metals space – and they aren’t currently the leaders.
On Wednesday, both copper and platinum rallied up to multi-year highs. Rhodium, meanwhile, currently commands $21,000 per ounce – yes, per ounce – making it one of the most valuable elements on the planet.
What’s driving these “energy” metals? Besides ongoing currency depreciation and the risks of higher inflation, which will help boost all hard assets over time, rising demand for electricity in general and electric vehicles in particular.
President Joe Biden recently decreed that the federal government must transition its entire fleet of cars, vans, and trucks to electric motors.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, November 16, 2020
You May Have Overlooked These “Sleeper” Precious Metals / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: MoneyMetals
Precious metals markets got off to a rocky start this week as Wall Street celebrated promising developments on the vaccine front.
On Monday, stocks surged while gold and silver sold off hard. That selling didn’t bring downside follow through, however. The metals held trading range support levels and pared some of their earlier losses heading into this Friday the 13th.
A metal we don’t often talk about traded up to an amazing record high earlier this week. The noble metal rhodium made palladium look dirt cheap by comparison – commanding as much as $15,000 per ounce.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, October 30, 2020
Why a Biden Win will Keep Metals Prices Rocking / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Richard_Mills
Joe Biden’s performance in Thursday night’s presidential debate was solid. The former vice president was combative against Donald Trump and frequently had the billionaire US President on the defensive. Post-debate analysis centered around the question of whether Trump, who is behind in the polls, did enough to convince voters that taking a chance on Biden would not be in their best interests. The consensus was he had not.
At AOTH we want to know what is coming for the world economy, and just as importantly, what is in store for the metals we are invested in. If Biden wins the election, I am extremely bullish on industrial metals and precious metals, in particular gold, silver, copper, zinc, and nickel sulfides.
Why?
The Democrats winning the White House and both Houses of Congress would throw markets into a tizzy, causing investors to clamber for safe havens. Gold is the world’s oldest flight to safety and the logical response to market fear.
Installing a Democrat in the White House would also be good for gold (and silver) because of Biden’s propensity to add to the debt.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, September 16, 2020
Slow Economic Recovery from CoronaVirus Unlikely to Impede Strong Demand for Metals / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Richard_Mills
Daily coronavirus cases may be down in the United States, but that is no reason to be complacent, especially given that cold and flu season is only a few weeks away, says the nation’s top doctor.
In a roundtable discussion Thursday at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Anthony Fauci warned that “we need to hunker down and get through this fall and winter, because it’s not going to be easy.” He compared the pandemic to the early days of HIV in terms of how quickly it escalated, and how it might continue to escalate, if current trends of low mask-wearing and social distancing continue. “We've been through this before,” he said. “Don't ever, ever underestimate the potential of the pandemic. And don't try and look at the rosy side of things.”
On Friday Dr. Fauci went against President Trump, who in a White House news briefing Thursday told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell, “I really do believe we’re rounding the corner,” referring to new cases having declined substantially since July.
According to data from John Hopkins University, over the past seven days the country has reported an average 35,200 cases per day, which is 12% lower than a week ago, and around half compared to 70,000 cases per day peak in late July.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, April 20, 2020
Supply, Demand, and Depreciation: Key Drivers for Copper, Gold and Silver as the Economy Reopens / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: MoneyMetals
The metals markets are being pulled in multiple directions simultaneously like never before. The global virus-triggered economic freeze has caused industrial demand for all commodities to crater.
At the same time, mining output is also crashing as virus fears force many mines around the world to suspend operations.
What is the “right” equilibrium price for copper, silver, gold, and other metals in an environment of such extreme and unstable supply and demand stresses? The verdict of the market changes – often dramatically – day by day.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, January 06, 2020
Will 2020 be Junior Mining Stock’s Year? / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Richard_Mills
Another year of covering commodities and select junior mining stocks is all but done and dusted.
We’ve seen palladium prices more than double those of platinum, its sister metal, on tight supply and high demand for catalytic converters in gas-powered vehicles, as smog-belching diesel cars and trucks get phased out to meet tighter air emissions standards particularly in Europe and China.
Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, November 30, 2019
Growing Inequality Unrest Threatens Mining Industry / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Richard_Mills
In the 1986 classic ‘Platoon’, Charlie Sheen’s character Chris Taylor tells everyone that he dropped out of college to serve in the Vietnam War. This sets him apart from the other grunts and makes Taylor seem noble and patriotic, giving up school to go fight in a war. But his credo is soon shot down by a black soldier nick-named King, played by Keith David, who tells him:
“You got to be rich in the first place to think like that. Everybody know, the poor are always being f&$#8! over by the rich. Always have, always will.”
Thirty-five years later, King’s world-weary cynicism is just as relevant. The rich are getting richer, inequality is on the rise, and the middle class, which since the 1950s has been the backbone of the US economy, is shrinking.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, November 01, 2019
‘Power to the People’ and Mining Metals and Minerals / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Richard_Mills
The 1960s and 70s were decades of incredible social upheaval.
Fed up with wars, governments out of touch with their ideals, authority figures who didn’t get them, the “flower children” of the '60s took to the streets to demand equal rights for women, civil liberties for black Americans, an end to President Johnson and Nixon’s Vietnam quagmire - all fueled by a powerful new popular culture that called for peace and celebrated the freedom of the individual to do as he/ she pleased.
Fifty years on, the world has changed in ways the “hippy generation” could scarcely imagine.
Protests today tend to be in developing countries, places where greed, graft and corruption mix with inequality in a toxic brew that frequently boils over into the streets, and is just as often violently suppressed. I’m alluding here to the Arab Spring that demanded the reform of oppressed societies, but has for the most part failed to deliver - just look at Lebanon, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
In the West it’s not so much regime change people are after, as a change in the way governments conduct themselves. Consider the mass demonstrations in Hong Kong directed at the former British colony’s Chinese overlords, or global climate change protests. In the US, bad memories of the 1960s race riots were stirred up when racists and anti-racists confronted one another in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, August 06, 2019
Automakers Flash Warning over Supplies of Critical Metals / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: MoneyMetals
While motorists continue to enjoy the benefits of a longstanding supply glut in crude oil, car manufacturers are becoming increasingly worried about shortages. Not in liquid fuels, but in metals.
The automotive industry requires certain strategic, rare, and precious metals. Without them, batteries for electric cars wouldn’t function and catalytic converters for gasoline engines wouldn’t work.
Many of the metals that play a critical role in both conventional and electric vehicles now face potential supply shortfalls.
Electric vehicle maker Tesla warned recently of “looming challenges for the metal components used to make EV batteries.” Specifically, supplies of lithium, cobalt, copper, and nickel are failing to keep pace with exponential demand growth for batteries used in cars, solar power systems, and handheld devices.
Read full article... Read full article...
Sunday, May 05, 2019
US $2 Trillion Infrastructure Plan Will Require Mega Metals / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Richard_Mills
The White House and Congress finally agreed to put their significant differences aside and work together on something constructive, no pun intended.
On Wednesday it was announced that President Trump and Democratic congressional leaders plan to spend $2 trillion on US roads, bridges, power grids, water and broadband infrastructure - bricks and mortar priorities that are sorely underfunded in both the United States and Canada.
For more on this, read our The global infrastructure deficit: the road not yet taken
“We just had a very productive meeting with the president of the United States,” House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Polosi said during a press scrum, adding: “We did come to one agreement: That the agreement would be big and bold.”
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, February 15, 2019
Plunging Inventories have Zinc Bulls Ready to Run / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Richard_Mills
On Tuesday zinc inventories in London Metal Exchange (LME) warehouses sunk into territory that one metal analyst believes could signal a major price kick for the base metal, used mostly for galvanizing steel to prevent corrosion.
The one-year chart below shows LME inventories falling steadily, touching the 108,425-tonne mark as of Feb. 11 - a 52-week low. It’s a long way from the annual high of 256,175 tonnes reached in August.
Cormark Securities mining analyst Stefan Ioannou said last fall that if zinc supply drops 2,000 to 3,000 tonnes a day it would be a very bullish price signal, especially if inventories go as low as 100,000 tonnes. The one-week chart shows zinc inventories dropping from 112,750 tonnes on Feb. 5 to 108,500t on Feb 11 - a fall of 4,250 tonnes, and within only 8,000 tonnes of Ioannou’s100,000t target zone.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, October 15, 2018
2019’s Hottest Commodity Is About To Explode / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: OilPrice_Com
It’s the most critical economic resource you’ve never heard of.
Element “V”.
Without this unknown commodity, you can’t build as strong a bridge, factory or skyscraper. It’s used extensively in planes, trains and supertankers.
It could soon form the backbone of America’s $386 billion electrical grid.
Forget oil or gold. Wars could even be fought over this unusual metal.
The scary part? None of it is produced in the United States. China, Russia and South Africa control almost all of the global production, and we’re locked in the middle of a trade war.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, August 22, 2018
Just Take The Metals Out Back And Shoot Them! / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Avi_Gilburt
So, does my title appropriately capture the sentiment about metals right now?
While the title may seem a bit extreme to some of you, many are leaving the metals for dead, and others have already written their obituaries.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, August 10, 2018
Getting Dangerous To Be A Bear In Metals / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Avi_Gilburt
First published Sat Aug 4 for members of ElliottWaveTrader.net: As the world-wide population has grown, much concern has been building regarding how we will be able to continually feed this ever-growing population. Since there are only so many resources available, many scientists question our ability to produce enough food to be able to sustain our population.
I think we are getting to the same point regarding the bears in the metals market. What invariably occurs within markets is that the more entrenched a trend becomes, the greater the number of believers in that trend grow. So, as a bull market hits its highs, with the great majority believing the rally will go on forever, there is no one left to continue to buy to push it even higher. That is why bull markets do not end because of selling, but, rather, a lack of buying. There are no more buyers to bring to the market since everyone has been converted into a buyer and those buyers simply run out of money.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, January 22, 2018
This Could Be The Hottest Mining Stock Of 2018 / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: OilPrice_Com
...
Thursday, January 04, 2018
Chartology of the Canadian Venture Composite Index $CDNX / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Rambus_Chartology
Tonight I would like to start out by looking at the $CDNX, Canadian Venture Composite Index, which blasted higher last week and is following through this week. The reason this index is so important is because it not only has many junior precious metals stocks, but also many small cap energy related stocks as well as other speculative venture capital stocks from other sectors. This is a very good sign for the overall stock markets and commodities in general, as it shows risk capital is finding a home in which to park. This is another important clue that there is no top in the stock markets yet, because the risk on trade is still healthy.
Friday, December 01, 2017
Why Have You Been So Quiet About Metals? / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Avi_Gilburt
The question in the title is one of the most frequent comments I have been getting of late. And, the answer is quite simple: They are not doing anything right now. In fact, if you look at the charts, we have been in the same general region for several months.
But, you see, many of you really don’t want an update to know what I really think about the complex. Rather, many of you want an update to either soothe your emotions about the market, or to provide some confirmation bias for you. It has become purely emotional for you, so you feel the need to constantly deal with your emotions.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, October 26, 2017
XME Miners/Metals ETF Pushing Towards Significant Breakout / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Mike_Paulenoff
The SPDR S&P Metals and Mining ETF (XME) could be on the verge of a surprising, very powerful upside breakout after completing a 6-month corrective accumulation period.
After Trump was elected last November, the XME climbed from just under 25 to a February 2017 high at 35.21, or a whopping 41%, in anticipation of the enactment of the Trump agenda, concurrent with lower taxes, stronger economic growth, and upward pressure on inflation.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, October 24, 2017
Vanadium: The Metal We Can’t Do Without And Don’t Produce / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Richard_Mills
From swords to jet engines
One of the world’s least known metals is also of great importance, and likely to become more so as renewable energies catch up with and possibly eclipse fossil fuels. Yet vanadium’s primary use as a steel alloy is set to keep prices buoyant and North American explorers racing to find a domestic source of the metal that was once used to make swords so strong and sharp the mere sight of them struck fear into the hearts of their enemies.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, September 14, 2017
The $10 Trillion Resource North Korea Can't Tap / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: OilPrice_Com
North Korea may not have proved petroleum reserves, but it’s estimated that the secluded belligerent nation sits on reserves of more than 200 minerals—including rare earth minerals—worth an estimated up to US$10 trillion.
Of course, there are no official reports on how much North Korea’s mineral wealth really is, but according to rough estimates from earlier this decade, Pyongyang’s deposits of coal, iron ore, zinc, copper, graphite, gold, silver, magnesite, molybdenite, and many others, are worth between US$6 trillion and US$10 trillion, as per South Korean projections reported by Quartz.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, July 20, 2017
Basic Materials and Commodities Analysis and Trend Forecasts / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Rambus_Chartology
Since the Basic Materials sector is breaking out I would like to take an in-depth look at some of the stocks that make up the Basic Materials sector along with some commodities in general. Most commodities have had a tough go of it since they topped out in 2011, but there are some signs that they may be bottoming, which could lead to a substantial rally over the intermediate to the long term. As you will see some of the bottoming formations are very symmetrical while others are pretty ugly, but as long as they can make a higher high and higher low an uptrend is in place.
Lets start with the CRB index which built out a one year bearish rising wedge formation that broke to the downside in March of this year. The price action has been chopping to the downside and has gotten a bounce to the upside in late June. Normally the price objective of a rising wedge is down to the first reversal point where the pattern started to build out.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, June 14, 2017
Hell Freezes Over: CFTC Finds Trader Guilty of Metals Price Rigging / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: MoneyMetals
It must have been painfully awkward for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Last year, Deutsche Bank settled a civil suit involving blatant market rigging and turned over reams of information, including chat logs and voice recordings. The trove contained plenty of damning evidence which had gone overlooked by the CFTC.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, May 29, 2017
How Investors Can Profit From The Coming Resource Wars / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: OilPrice_Com
...
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
The No.1 Commodity Play In The World Today / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: OilPrice_Com
...
Tuesday, May 23, 2017
The Only Metal Trump Wants More Than Gold / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: OilPrice_Com
...
Sunday, March 26, 2017
Major Supply Shortage: Critical Minerals Igniting Cobalt Bull Market Mania / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Metals_Report
Collapsing oil prices are only the beginning as fossil fuels are turning into a historic relic, says Kenneth Ameduri, chief editor of Crush the Street. He discusses two commodities whose demand he expects to skyrocket as the world shifts to cleaner energy.
Elon Musk is at the forefront of this movement with his innovations that are turning fossil fuels into a historic relic. Some say oil's true price per barrel with the "supply glut" that exists and the innovations in the battery space is $20 per barrel.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, March 20, 2017
Physical Metals Demand Plus Manipulation Suits Will Break Paper Market / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: MoneyMetals
Mike Gleason: It is my privilege now to welcome in Craig Hemke of the TF Metals Report. Craig runs one of the most highly respected and well known blogs in the industry and has been covering the precious metals for close to a decade now, and he puts out some of the best analysis on banking schemes, the flaws of Keynesian economics and evidence of manipulation in the gold and silver markets.
Craig, it's great to have you back and thanks for joining us again today and, how are you?
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, February 06, 2017
How Investors Can Profit From Trumps Military Ambitions / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: OilPrice_Com
Tesla just activated its battery gigafactory, and China is moving to hoard the world’s cobalt supplies at the same time that Trump promises a military build-up that can only happen with the precious metal. This all means supply panic for everything from the electric car break-out to the military industrial complex.
Right in the middle of this we have small-cap North American explorers—our new potential barons-in-the-making—in whose hands our energy revolution now lies.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, January 30, 2017
Manganese Is Energy Critical / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Richard_Mills
In 1917 the War Industries Board (WIB) noted that the United States was deficient in certain minerals of great importance to war making and self defense. A pre-World War II list of materials contained a total of 29 materials: 14 were strategic materials that ‘must be based entirely or in substantial part on sources outside the United States.' There were 15 critical materials that would be easier to source, perhaps even domestically, than the strategic materials.
The 1939 Strategic Materials Act authorized US$100 million to purchase strategic raw materials for a stockpile of 42 strategic and critical materials needed for wartime production.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, January 30, 2017
The No.1 Mining Stock For 2017 / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: OilPrice_Com
On January 4, 2017, the biggest manufacturing development since Henry Ford’s Model T assembly line was powered on...
And investors should pay careful attention...
Because, with this quiet flip of a switch, the energy markets have now been transformed.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, February 19, 2016
Trump Candidacy Is Sign of a Falling Empire and a Rising Resource Market / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
Dramatic daily moves in the U.S. dollar, gold prices and the larger markets are pointing to a global banking collapse that will send resource prices higher in 2016, according to 321gold.com founder Bob Moriarty. In this interview with The Gold Report, he shares his insights on how mining equities will react and five names he is watching.
Thursday, October 08, 2015
Glencore Rout Blamed on Short Sellers Playing With CDS / Companies / Metals & Mining
By: Bloomberg
John Mack, director at Glencore and former CEO of Morgan Stanley, joined hosts Stephanie Ruhle and David Westin on Bloomberg TV's new flagship morning program, Bloomberg <GO>. He spoke about the stability of Glencore amid the global selloff in commodities. He also discussed why he is bullish on China, 2008 and responsibility for malfeasance at financial firms, and Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.
Mack said fund managers shorting shares of Glencore and playing with credit-default swaps were responsible for recent volatility: “You have fund managers who short the stock, play with the CDS; that’s exactly what happened during the crisis. I mean, that’s fine for them to do that. That creates a lot of volatility."
Friday, October 02, 2015
Survival Secrets from Colorado Resource Investing Front Lines / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
Top experts and select companies traveled to Colorado last week for a pair of conferences focused on the survivors in the natural resource mining sector. The Gold Report reached out to some of the discerning voices there and asked whether the barrage of headlines from the Federal Reserve and China impacted the mood, and what companies they would be following up on when they returned to their offices. While the Precious Metals Summit was geared toward development-stage companies and the Denver Gold Forum was mostly populated by large, producing mining companies, everyone seemed fixated on survival. For those of us watching from home, experts we talked to were kind enough to name some of the standout companies they saw in boothland.
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Thinking Outside the Commodity Box: Benchmark's Investment Primer for Lithium, Cobalt and Graphite / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
It's often difficult to understand the global markets for critical minerals so The Gold Report narrowed it to three—lithium, cobalt and graphite—and brought in Simon Moores, managing director of London-based Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, and the firm's analyst, Andrew Miller, to provide insight into minerals that they say need to shed their labels as traditional commodities and embrace their future as niche, raw-material solutions for a growing list of technology manufacturers. As Benchmark prepares to embark on its World Tour, Moores and Miller discuss supply chain visibility and the impact of disruptive technologies on these markets, as well as companies seeking to leverage lithium, cobalt and graphite into investable business models that will lure investors with a long-term outlook.
Sunday, April 26, 2015
This Industrial Metal Is Leaving Gold in the Dust / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Investment_U
Sean Brodrick writes: Precious metals are stuck in low gear (though the miners are starting to look much better). Many Oxford Club Members have asked how they should fulfill the metals portion of their portfolios.
I believe one outperformer this year will be zinc. It’s already up 12.9% since March 17. That’s much better than gold. And the good news is zinc is poised to go higher yet.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, April 08, 2015
Cautioning Resources Investors About the Real Potential of Deflation / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Metals_Report
Where can investors turn when global quantitative easing and the Energizer Bunny of dollars is crushing commodity prices to within an inch of the junior miners' lives? In this interview with The Mining Report, Disruptive Discoveries Journal writer Chris Berry suggests dedicating yourself to understanding the technologies and paradigm shifts that can lower costs, and participating in the growing electric car and energy storage battery markets. He names some of the innovative companies that are finding new ways to separate the most valuable resources and enter the supply chain before it is too late.
Thursday, April 02, 2015
Buy, Hold Large Caps Until Commodity Cycle Rebounds / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Metals_Report
The fundamental difference between mining companies and investors is that they have very different realities in which they make investment decisions, says BMO Capital Markets Commodities Analyst Jessica Fung. She joined BMO Managing Director and Co-Head of Global Mining Research Tony Robson in a candid discussion with The Mining Report about the near- and medium-term prognosis for mining markets, as well as the outlook for copper, nickel and iron. While both Fung and Robson recommend waiting for the inevitable upturn in the commodities cycle, Robson says that in the meantime investors would do well to park their cash with some of the large, dividend-paying diversified miners until commodity prices recover, and he discusses three large caps and a couple of smaller names.
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
The Secret of Success in Mineral Exploration / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Casey_Research
By Louis James, Chief Metals & Mining Investment Strategist
As an investor, I want to bet on the jockeys who win the most races, not just the best-looking horses. So, while I’m no Tom Peters or Stephen Covey, I’ve made a study of success over the last decade. The critical question for a metals investor: what does it takes to be a serially successful mine-finder?
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Mining Stocks Investing - How to Get Struck by Lightning / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Casey_Research
By Louis James, Chief Metals & Mining Investment Strategist
Two M&A deals have already delivered paydays for investors in junior mining stocks this year: Goldcorp’s half-billion-dollar purchase of Probe Mines in Canada, and Tahoe Resources’ billion-dollar acquisition of Rio Alto Mining, a Peruvian gold producer.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, February 04, 2015
Bottom-Fishing Opportunities in Base Metals, Especially Zinc / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Metals_Report
Copper is off to a rough start in 2015 and while other base metals have also shown price weakness, zinc could finish 2015 strong, says Stefan Ioannou, mining analyst with Haywood Securities. He estimates that over the previous two years about 12% of global zinc production ceased and more will end soon, ultimately leading to a run in the zinc price in late 2015 and into 2016. In this interview with The Mining Report, Ioannou discusses his top zinc pick and some high-grade, low-cost copper producers with zinc production profiles.
The Mining Report: Copper has fallen about 12% in 2015 and other base metals are seeing significantly weaker support after the World Bank said it expects the global economy to slow by as much as 1% this year. Is the bull market for commodities over or is this a pause in an otherwise bullish cycle?
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Commodity Companies with the Disruptive Advantage / Companies / Metals & Mining
By: Metals_Report
Globetrotting Chris Berry, founder of House Mountain Partners, finds most retail and institutional investors sitting on the sidelines waiting to see where the energy sector is headed before jumping back into the game. Game-changing disruptive technologies or sustainable end-user agreements are what companies need to succeed and he shares some likely names in the cobalt, lithium, nickel, graphite—even uranium—spaces in this interview with The Mining Report.
The Mining Report: Chris, on your travels, what are you seeing in Europe and Asia regarding supply and demand in the commodity markets?
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Copper, Nickel and Zinc Won't Be Cheap for Long / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Metals_Report
The all-powerful U.S. dollar is currently hammering base metals and base metal equities. Haywood Securities Mining Analyst Stefan Ioannou says that increasing demand and near-term supply shortages make base metals a bargain that won't last. In this interview with The Mining Report, Ioannou argues that juniors with good deposits and low costs are in a unique position to benefit, and lists several companies that look to do just that.
The Mining Report: What effect is the strong U.S. dollar having on base metal prices and base metal equities?
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, October 06, 2014
Long-term Forecast for Commodity Prices and Mining Industry Funding / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Dr_Volkmar_G_Hable
Rising global scarcity of resources – metals, minerals and energy – that an ever-increasing human population uses every day to sustain its unsustainable lifestyle, has been the most important topic since the burst of the dotcom bubble in 2000. The reason is simple: we live on a planet with a distinctly finite resource base and a rapidly growing population.For over the last twelve years supply has struggled to keep pace with demand. Yet we experience a collective breakdown among junior miners of epic historical proportions. Confused investors have been questioning their portfolio strategies and have withdrawn their money from “value in the ground” to re-invest it into scarily overvalued internet companies with questionable earnings and even more precarious business models built on promises of more bites and bytes. Today’s situation displays eerie similarities to the business and economic developments leading up to year 2000 and the events we remember all too well. I am considering a new article with the title “50 shades of investor insanity”.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, September 03, 2014
Preparing for a Financial Crisis Worse than 2008? / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Metals_Report
Trillions of dollars of debt, a bond bubble on the verge of bursting and economic distortions that make it difficult for investors to know what is going on behind the curtain have created what author Doug Casey calls a crisis economy. But he is not one to be beaten down. He is planning to make the most of this coming financial disaster by buying equities with real value—silver, gold, uranium, even coal. And, in this interview with The Mining Report, he shares his formula for determining which of the 1,500 "so-called mining stocks" on the TSX actually have value.
Wednesday, July 02, 2014
Rising Demand and Falling Supply Equals Higher Metals Prices / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Metals_Report
Juniors can't fund their projects, which means that the majors' reserves will continue to shrink. Rick Mills argues that this process can have but one result: higher metals prices across the board. In this interview with The Mining Report, the owner and host of Ahead of the Herd.com highlights a half-dozen gold, silver, copper and nickel companies that will leverage these high prices, and introduces us to a Canadian company's unique cobalt project in Russia.
The Mining Report: Last month, the price of gold rose over 3% in one day. Can we ascribe this to the conflicts in Ukraine and Iraq or the unraveling of Chinese commodity financing deals?
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Nickel, Palladium and Platinum Metals Outperforming in 2014 / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Jeb_Handwerger
Summary
- Platinum, Palladium and Nickel are outperforming the S&P 500 by a wide margin in 2014.
- The relative strength is fundamentally due to declining supply from key regions such as South Africa, Russia and Indonesia.
- Growth for Platinum, Palladium and Nickel is very strong especially in growing economies in Asia which need catalytic converters and stainless steel.
- China has hardly any domestic PGM or nickel production. They must import.
- Focus on advanced PGM/Nickel development projects in stable jurisdictions in North America.
Wednesday, April 02, 2014
The Rise of a Euro-Chino-Russian Superpower / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
Stephan Bogner, mining analyst with Rockstone Research and CEO of Elementum International, views the crisis in Crimea as the beginning of a larger global power shift east of the Atlantic. In this interview with The Mining Report, Bogner details what these shifting power dynamics will mean for the commodities market. And take heed—gold and silver may continue to make gains, but uranium, potash and rare earths are the true wave of the future.
The Mining Report: In his recent interview with The Gold Report, Robert Cohen said that now that Crimea has joined Russia, the crisis in Ukraine has run its course, which is why the price of gold has dropped. As a European mining analyst, do you agree with Cohen's assertion?
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
China Economy Isn't Slowing Down, It's Buying Up Resources / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Metals_Report
Headlines about a Chinese economic slowdown may get good web traffic, but the real story is that China is buying up uranium and other resources around the world, says Gold Stock Trades writer Jeb Handwerger. Meanwhile, tensions in Russia highlight the massive country's resource dominance in natural gas, oil, uranium, platinum group metals, rare earths and nickel. Handwerger tells The Mining Report that North America is already acting to develop resources that can meet both domestic and international demand—and this global geopolitical uncertainty is an investment opportunity.
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Zinc, the "Workhorse" Metal Is Ready for a Price Breakout / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Money_Morning
Peter Krauth writes: It's not surprising that precious metals get the most attention.
They're considered "precious" thanks to their scarcity, beauty, and history as a store of value.
That's all true. But industrial metals do the really hard work.
There's one base metal used worldwide to produce rustproof steel, in a variety of alloys, and even as a health supplement. It's not often spoken of as a great addition to your investment portfolio.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
A Dozen Gold, Copper, Phosphate and Uranium Stocks / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Metals_Report
Amanda Van Dyke of Palisade Capital is confident that China's reforms will ensure that the commodity supercycle will continue for some time to come. In this interview with The Mining Report, Van Dyke argues that investors should worry less about the right balance of specific commodities and more about the right mix of early-stage, development-stage and producing companies. She expands on a dozen she believes have the right stuff to succeed.
The Mining Report: In December Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke announced a $10 million ($10M) cut in monthly quantitative easing (QE). He also said that interest rates would remain at zero for the foreseeable future. What effects will these decisions have on the economy and on precious metals?
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Metals Market Manipulation - What Big Banks Are Hiding from You Now / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Money_Morning
Remember the outrage last July when we found out owners of giant metal storage warehouses, folks like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, were delaying delivery of stocks of aluminum so that they could collect more rent on them?
We learned that, since Goldman took over some industrial warehouses in Detroit, the delivery time for aluminum went from six weeks to 16 months.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, December 30, 2013
Basic Materials Sector Stocks Investor Opportunities / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Rambus_Chartology
Rambus Chartology has been focusing on the Precious Metals for the most part as that is where the most compelling Chartolgy has been.
But tonite I would like to switch gears and visit a different sector which is looking very interesting to say the least.
About every two or three months or so I do a post on the Basic Materials sector just too keep an eye one what is happening there. It has been somewhat mixed for the most part but it now seems to be gaining some momentum. As you know I've taken a couple of position related to the area recently. I tried the shippers a month or so ago but got stopped out on a hard backtest but I could see the potential starting to build for this undervalued area. The latest bout of strength still hasn't shown up in the CCI commodities index as it has been flat lining on top of a long term support and resistance rail that goes all the way back to 2007. So far the CCI has corrected 50% of the move off the 2008 low which it has been holding for some time now.
Monday, November 25, 2013
Platinum and Palladium - Hitch a Ride on the Supply Crunch / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Jeff_Clark
Can you name a commodity that's currently in a supply deficit—in other words, production and scrap material can't keep up with demand? How about two?
If you find that difficult to answer, it's because there aren't very many.
When you do find one, you might be on to a good investment—after all, if demand persists for that commodity, there's only one way for the price to go.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, November 05, 2013
This Forgotten Metal Could Double in Price / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Money_Morning
Peter Krauth writes: We looked at aluminum last time, where the profit potential remains unusually high. But now it's time to look at the other "forgotten" metal.
This one, as you'll see, is already the most-used metal in the world.
And shares of its best producer could double...
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, October 21, 2013
U.S. Dollar Diamond Top Pattern Implications for Gold and Silver and Mining Stocks / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Rambus_Chartology
In this Weekend Report I would like to show you some charts as to why I have made an abrupt short term move out of our short positions in the precious metals complex. I know some of you think I have lost my mind but I can assure you that isn't the case. Regardless if I'm bullish or bearish I'm always looking at both sides of the market looking for clues for either direction. This week we got a major clue when the US dollar finally finished its third backtest to the bottom rail of the 11 point diamond top. It's possible that gold and US dollar can trade in the same direction for awhile but I don't think that will be the case longer term. So lets look at some charts for the US dollar first as that's where the biggest clues lie.
Wednesday, October 02, 2013
Greenland Is the Final Frontier for Lower-Cost Mining / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Metals_Report
Industrial minerals like copper and nickel are essential to global economic expansion. But everywhere you look, grades are getting lower, and costs are getting much, much higher. Is there a way out? Rick Mills says mining companies need to look to Greenland. In this interview with The Metals Report, the owner and host of Ahead of the Herd.com lauds the world's largest island for its vast resources, its one-stop regulatory system and its year-round access to ocean transportation.
The Metals Report: You never really believed that there was anything resembling an economic recovery in the United States, correct?
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, June 07, 2013
China Pollution Crisis Potential for Exponential Clean Energy Metals Demand / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Jeb_Handwerger
The U.S. equity markets such as the S&P500 (SPY) and Dow (DIA) are breaking into new 15 year highs, after an unprecedented move by Bernanke to stimulate the economy over the past five years.
Increasingly, investors may look to cheaper, out of favor sectors such as the uranium and rare earth sector which is critical for clean-carbon free energy. These sectors are crucial for the clean carbon reducing future of emerging nations such as China and India which are dealing with dangerously high levels of air pollution from dirty coal producing plants. Take a look at this picture of Beijing. Air pollution is a major health crisis that is killing people.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, June 05, 2013
The War over Conflict Metals / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Metals_Report
Much has been said of the massive scope of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and Lisa Reisman, managing editor of MetalMiner.com, sees opportunity in the controversial provisions governing conflict minerals. In this interview with The Metals Report, Reisman discusses how companies are dealing with the new requirements and names companies closest to production in the crucial tantalum, tungsten and tin space.
The Metals Report: Lisa, how will the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act affect industrial users of metals like tantalum, tin and tungsten?
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
How Investors Should Diversify Beyond Gold / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
Last month's landslide at Utah's Bingham Canyon, one of the world's largest copper mines, triggered significant discussion on possible copper shortages. Brent Cook, veteran geologist and publisher of Exploration Insights, puts the landslide into perspective in this interview with The Metals Report. And for investors who want to dig out profit potential beyond the yellow metal, Cook gives us a byproduct primer and suggests base metals are a great way to diversify.
The Metals Report: In April, a landslide shut down operations at one of the largest copper mines in the world, Rio Tinto Plc's (RIO:NYSE; RIO:ASX; RIO:LSE; RTPPF:OTCPK) Bingham Canyon mine. Thankfully, no one was injured. Are landslides always a threat at large, open-pit mines? Will this change the standards for how mines are built and their size?
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Gold Price Will Fall, Time to Switch to Specialty Metals? / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
The U.S. and Europe may have been skirting the edge of financial peril for years, but Christopher Ecclestone, who is the principal and mining strategist of London-based Hallgarten & Co., told The Metals Report that the gold price should drop this year as investors realize that there's no more cause for panic. However, the frank and expressive Ecclestone has plenty of other suggestions for what's "sexy" this year (zinc, copper and specialty metals), even as he rips into "business as usual" gold majors and chastises any management team with the nerve to offer a 0.5% dividend.
The Metals Report: Christopher, you believe that the market will recover in 2013. Why?
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, February 01, 2013
Stock Market Rally Should Boost Discounted Rare Earth and Uranium Miners / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Jeb_Handwerger
I notice with interest that the popular media is ignoring the World Trade Organization case against China for restricting exports of critical materials (REMX). This reduction of supply of the critical metals has a significant impact on the global economy.
These critical metals are not only crucial for your iPads and smartphones, but for our top secret, most advanced weaponry. Looking for substitutes for rare earths has proven to be a poor return on investment. For 50 years, they have been trying to find alternatives, only to find out that the chemical characteristics of rare earths are inimitable.
Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Greenland Future Resources Boom / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Richard_Mills
Greenland is located in the North Atlantic Ocean adjacent to the Canadian arctic archipelago. About 80 per cent of Greenland is ice cap that can be up to 3kms thick. Approximately one-twentieth of the world's ice and one-quarter of the earth's surface ice is found in Greenland – the ice-free zone around the ice cap is up to 300 kms wide and covers an area of 410,000 km² (area of Germany is 357,000 km).
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Australia’s Metal Miners hitch a Ride to China’s Economy / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Gary_Dorsch
Navigating a metals mining company through the treacherous seas of the global economy is no easy task. There are many headwinds that can capsize a mining company or steer it far off course, if the captain of the ship doesn’t read the signals of the marketplace correctly. And it’s not only shareholders that can get hurt from calamitous decisions, but also CEO’s, such as Rio Tinto’s boss, who was sacked last week, because of a string of $34-billion of write downs, stemming from ill-timed and over priced acquisitions of aluminum and coal mines.
Thursday, January 03, 2013
Are You a Base Metal Growth Bull or a Gold Gloom-and-Doomer 2013? / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
Gold bugs say the global economy could collapse any day now. But what about investors who see continued growth in emerging economies and a steady, if slow, U.S. recovery? Look to base metals, recommends Haywood Analyst Stefan Ioannou. He expects price runs for 2013–2015, especially for zinc, which is facing a serious supply squeeze. Do your homework now to get positioned as soon as the uptick begins. Ioannou shares his favorites in this Gold Report interview.
The Gold Report: Stefan, what is your 2013 outlook for copper?
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
The Great Graphite Supply Shakeup / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Critical_Metals_Repo
Investors who remember the lithium boom (and bust) a few years ago may be twice shy to enter a space with big upside potential tied to electric vehicles. But the parallels between graphite and lithium are superficial, insists Simon Moores, analyst with Industrial Minerals. Graphite, unlike lithium, supplies layers of demand, with reliable end-users in the steel industry. Meanwhile, China's production lull is making way for market entrants. In this exclusive interview with The Critical Metals Report, Moores profiles graphite miners around the world competing for the market's attention.
Thursday, July 05, 2012
Russia & Brazil’s Strategic Alliance Continue / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Anthony_David
Russia and Brazil, both major commodity nations, make a strategic pair with Russia ranking among the world’s top producers in the energy and metals sectors while Brazil is a strong exporter of agricultural products, cars, machinery and iron ore. Trade between the two countries grew five-fold in the period from 2002-2008. In 2010 Brazil and Russia entered into an agreement to boost trade between their countries and enter into strategic partnerships in the areas of energy, infrastructure and space exploration.
Thursday, July 05, 2012
India Profits from Downturn in World Steel Production / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Anthony_David
The EU crisis and global recessionary trends have dampened steel production. With lowered prices and falling demand, steel producers are looking to cut costs by shutting down unprofitable plants. According to researcher World Steel Dynamics, prices for hot rolled steel have fallen by 12% since February 2012 and a further drop in price is expected. Capacity utilization is also down to 76% from 80%. To keep prices stable in the current global environment, steel production needs to slow down. Germany’s ThyssenKrupp AG is trying to sell its loss-making sheet-metal plant in Alabama, while Arcelor-Mittal has closed a Belgian plant and is idling some of its other plants.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Everything You Need to Know About Junior Mining Stocks / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Money_Morning
Peter Krauth writes:
Let's make something clear up front: junior mining stocks are not for the faint of heart.
Legendary investor Doug Casey calls them "the most volatile stocks on earth."
They can and do regularly undergo massive swings, both positive and negative.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, June 11, 2012
Why Warren Buffett is Loading Up on Tungsten / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Money_Morning
Don Miller writes:
Warren Buffett is at it again.
Although he says he doesn't want to own gold, the world's most famous investor has taken a shine to what may be the most precious metal of the 21st century - tungsten.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, June 07, 2012
China Gives Birth to Rare Earth Giants / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Anthony_David
China, the largest producer of rare earths in the world, has been restricting the export of its rare earth minerals through a quota system for some years now. Reduced rare earth exports from China have forced many global companies to setup production facilities in China to ensure access to a steady supply of raw materials.
Wednesday, June 06, 2012
Beware of Rare Earth Metals False Claims / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Critical_Metals_Repo
Bob Wolf, Alliance LLC vice president, doesn't believe everything he reads. Manufacturers claim they can swap out rare earth elements for cheaper, more accessible materials, while some miners insist they can fill every gap in the rare earth supply chain. In this exclusive interview with The Critical Metals Report, Wolf explains why rare earth elements are irreplaceable in many applications and outlines the patenting and permitting hurdles that producers must overcome to realize mine-to-magnet production.
Tuesday, June 05, 2012
Mining Stocks Booms, Busts and Bargains / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Submissions
David Dittman writes: The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index comprises a wide range of commodity-related manufacturing industries, including companies that manufacture chemicals, construction materials, glass, paper, forest products and related packaging products as well as metals, minerals and mining companies. It forms the basis of the basic materials stocks in my coverage universe.Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Mining Stocks: How Long Will the Downturn Last? / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Money_Morning
Martin Hutchinson writes:
Over the last twelve months mining stocks have substantially underperformed the market.
In fact, the Standard and Poor's Metals and Mining select industry index (INDEXSP: SPSIMM) is off 35% in the past year, while the overall market is up 2.5%.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, May 04, 2012
Crisis in Mining / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Richard_Mills
A combination of mass retirements and increasing natural resource demand from emerging economies has created a crisis in the resource extraction sector - one which is definitely not on investor’s radar screens.
Currently there is a “massive talent gap” that is going to get worse because the global mining industry is experiencing the biggest wave of workforce retirements in 70 years - the oldest baby boomers turned 65 years old in 2011.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, May 03, 2012
Manganese Production Gearing Up Worldwide / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Anthony_David
Manganese may be the fourth most used metal in the world but last year ended on a relatively weak note for manganese products. While Chinese ports had large stockpiles of manganese ore, the weak demand for steel long products was reflected in a weak demand for manganese. The economic uncertainty and low business confidence in Europe and the USA were key reasons for the lack of interest in manganese. The recovery of the construction industry in these regions would certainly be a big boost to the manganese market and prices would firm up by 2013.
Thursday, May 03, 2012
Rare Earths Industry Expanding Outside China’s Borders / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Anthony_David
Colorado based Molycorp Inc. is one of the few non-Chinese mining companies develop-ing rare earth metal mines. The company’s shares shot up by over 7% when it announced that its Mountain Pass rare earth mine in California contained at least 36% more proven or probable reserves than earlier estimated. The deposit is now estimated to contain about 2.94 billion pounds of rare earth oxide equivalent, an amount that is about 11 times the existing annual global demand of 120,000 tons. The number could rise further with progress in drilling.
Tuesday, May 01, 2012
BHP Billiton Boost From Resumption of Production in Key Operations Should / Companies / Metals & Mining
By: Yiannis_G_Mostrous
Wild weather and a prolonged strike at its coalmines in Queensland, Australia exacted a toll on the world’s biggest miner, BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP). That said, there still was plenty of news to cheer investors.
BHP Billiton reported first-quarter 2012 production numbers, with iron as the brightest spot. Energy coal also was strong and copper remained flat. However, heavy rains and industrial action hit production of metallurgical (met) coal.
Tuesday, May 01, 2012
The ABCs of Picking Mining Stocks / Companies / Metals & Mining
By: Roger_Conrad
Stick to physical metals, avoid mining stocks. That’s the conventional wisdom in global stock markets in spring 2012.
Mining companies’ stocks across the board have sunk to their biggest discount ever, to the price of the resources they produce. As many investors worry that slower growth in Asia could reduce demand for key minerals, these stocks could fall further.
Friday, April 20, 2012
LME Considering Settling Metals Contracts in Renminbi / Politics / Metals & Mining
By: Dr_Jeff_Lewis
According to a report last week in the Financial Times, the London Metals Exchange or LME is currently considering allowing members to settle their contracts in Chinese renminbi.
In a survey of its members aimed at aiding the design of a new clearing house, the metals exchange reportedly asked if they would like to include the renminbi among its current roster of other currencies for the settling and clearing of trades, and if dropping the pound sterling would be problematic.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
WTO Suit Won't End China's Rare Earth Monopoly / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Critical_Metals_Repo
Washington misses the point about rare earth element supply, says Jeffery Green, founder of J.A. Green & Co. With the Departments of Energy, United States Trade Representative and Department of Defense each approaching China's near monopoly from different angles and Congress more divided than ever, it takes an expert like Green to illuminate the structure of this complex global market. In this exclusive interview with The Critical Metals Report, Green explains the fragmented policy developments in this space and pending WTO action, arguing that the U.S. needs to develop a domestic supply chain in order to remain competitive.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Copper Projects Push Forward in Prolific Walker Lane Belt / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Chris_Devauld
Perhaps best known as the fault zone that could replace the San Andreas plate boundary if California slips into the Pacific, the Walker Lane Belt also hosts a whole lot of copper. Aligned with the California / Nevada border, the Walker Lane descends across the two states, incorporating the famed Death Valley along with myriad geological features that have attracted scores of miners.
Friday, April 06, 2012
Dr. Copper Leads the Breakout in Commodities Prices / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Money_Morning
Don Miller writes:
Demand for commodities of all kinds is ramping up at breakneck speed. And despite fears of a slowdown in China's economic growth, Dr. Copper is leading the rise in commodities prices.
Copper earned that nickname because it's thought to be a bellwether on the health of the global economy, thanks to its numerous economic uses.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, April 05, 2012
Lithium Rare Earths Critical Metal for Green Energy Technologies / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Richard_Mills
Rare and critical metals are playing a crucial role in recent scientific advancements, especially in the environmental technologies and energy sectors. These advancements in today's and tomorrow's green technology are driving industrial countries like the United States to allocate significant funding for breakthroughs in alternative fuels for vehicles and alternative energy storage.
Thursday, April 05, 2012
U.S. Prepares For Rare Earth Metals Major Supply Disruptions / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Anthony_David
In continuation of the China vs. the-rest-of-the-world rare earth saga, the US, EU and Japan recently filed separate but coordinated complaints with the World Trade Organization (WTO) on the grounds that China was fortifying its stocks of those rare earth metals that were critical for the manufacture of technology products such as mobile phones, camera lenses, hybrid cars and weapons. The complaint also includes non-rare earth metals tungsten and molybdenum.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Investor Energy Metals Bonanza / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Energy_Report
It's a great time to be invested in energy metals, says Chris Berry, president and founder of House Mountain Partners. The current worldwide desire for a higher quality of life is a trend that will continue, argues Berry. In this exclusive interview with The Energy Report, Berry highlights the amount of research and development underway in the tech and energy sectors and why it spells a bullish message for lithium, graphite and uranium.
The Energy Report: Please tell our readers about TIMBIs and CIVETS and their expected contributions to global gross domestic product (GDP) growth over the next five years and beyond.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, March 19, 2012
Obama: U.S. Energy Future Depends on Rare Earth Metals / Politics / Metals & Mining
By: Money_Morning
Don Miller writes:
Will a near-monopoly in rare earth metals do for China what oil did for Saudi Arabia?
Not if the U.S. government has anything to say about it.
President Barack Obama made that clear last week when he joined the European Union and the Japanese government in filing a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) about China's manipulation of the global market in rare earth metals.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, March 16, 2012
A Nations Metallurgical Achilles Heel, Critical Materials Should be on Investors Radar / Politics / Metals & Mining
By: Richard_Mills
The following have all combined to limit control of foreign minerals by US companies:
- In 2011, Resource nationalism became the number one risk for mining companies
- Nationalization
- Expropriation
- Increased taxation
- Constraints on the degree of foreign ownership
- A trend in the less developed countries toward processing their own ores
- Increased completion from large eastern based mega mining companies
- Increasing competition from sovereign wealth funds and end users wishing to vertically integrate
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Investor Opportunities in Clean Rare Earth Metals Mining / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Critical_Metals_Repo
Cleantech companies are exploring—and exploiting—the connections between many sectors of the energy, infrastructure and other industrial markets. Dallas Kachan, principal of cleantech research and consulting firm Kachan & Co. in Vancouver, points to the emergence of "clean" mining as an important investment theme for 2012. In this exclusive interview with The Critical Metals Report, Kachan shares some companies using green techniques to improve their bottom lines.
The Critical Metals Report: Dallas, can retail investors make money in the near-term in cleantech companies or should they be more focused on the long-term?
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
'The Gray Hairs and the Slick Hairs' (notes from PDAC) / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Marin_Katusa
Marin Katusa, Casey Research writes: Many of Casey Research's editors and analysts spent last week in Toronto at the annual Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention. PDAC is one of the biggest resource conventions in the world – this year more than 30,000 people attended the show.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
What Commodity Bubble? Gold, Silver, Rare Earth and Uranium Miners Rebound / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Jeb_Handwerger
Far be it for Gold Stock Trades to indulge in hubris, nevertheless with all humility we not only saw this risk on rally forming in early October but reiterated on many occasions "be not dismayed by recent declines." "Commodities are not in a bubble." "Patience and Fortitude."
Recent action exemplifies the importance of not being trigger happy when it involves the commodity arena especially precious metals, uranium and rare earths. Volatility can daunt even the most resolute of investors.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, March 05, 2012
Still Long on Xstrata After Glencore International’s Takeover Offer / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Roger_Conrad
Shares of Xstrata (London: XTA, OTC: XSRAY) have performed well as of late, surging 62 percent after hitting a low in early October. Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX: BHP, NYSE: BHP) Changing Gears in 2012 / Companies / Metals & Mining
By: Roger_Conrad
BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX: BHP, NYSE: BHP) reported fiscal 2012 first-half earnings that disappointed some. Nonetheless, its stock has still returned 12 percent this year, largely on the continued strength and growth of its iron ore and metallurgical coal operations.Both of these are crucial elements in manufacturing steel, which remains in very high demand in developing Asia. The massive focus on these resources has triggered speculation that BHP may be ready to sell mines and other assets producing commodities considered less “core.”
Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Rare Earths Investing Update / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Jeff_Clark
By Jeff Clark, Casey Research We've received a number of inquiries from Casey Research subscribers about our opinion on the current rare earth metals market. We have covered this topic previously, but this article, we'll take a fresh look.
As a matter of a recap, rare earth elements (or REEs) is a generic name for 17 metals widely used mostly in high-technology devices, such as mobile phones, laptops, flat screen televisions, hybrid car batteries, lasers, optics, and military equipment. New uses for these metals are being constantly found, but more on that later.
Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Metals and Mining Paradigm Shift, Exiting Easy And Cheap / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Richard_Mills
The massive growth of global prosperity over the last five centuries has been driven by easy and cheap access to critical materials:
- Food
- Fibre
- Energy
- Minerals
However since October 2001 the CRB BLS Spot Index has reached record levels.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Copper Price Forecast, The Fall of The Chinese Miracle 2012 / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Submissions
Jaroslaw Suplacz writes: Firstly, cycles
The copper consumption has been strongly polarized in recent years. China uses more copper than North America and Europe combined. A drop in copper demand in China alone will signify a global crisis in industries pertaining to this natural raw material.
Despite the high and long-lasting economic growth of China (“despite” and “because of it”) one must remember that economy develops in economic cycles, including long lasting ones, after the economic boom of the Middle Kingdom, there will be a deep recession. The financial system of China may prove to be a bubble and currency reserves, although they appear enormous, will lose their significance against the scale of outstanding credits which were used to finance, among other things, rushed government investments – all of it is still ahead of China.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Rare Earth Metals Demand Is Unstoppable / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Critical_Metals_Repo
Not long after the New Year dawned, Gold Stock Trades Editor Jeb Handwerger noted certain rare earths emerging from their 2011 slumber to produce impressive gains. It's not yet March, but the good news keeps coming. Despite dire predictions that demand is drying up, Handwerger tells The Critical Metals Report in this exclusive interview that the world remains at risk of supply shortfalls. It's not strictly a rare earths story, either. Read on to see what he has to say about the nascent niobium space.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Graphite of Critical Importance, Investors Pencil It In / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Richard_Mills
Sometime between 1500 and 1565 a large graphite deposit was discovered in Cumbria, England. Because the graphite was extremely pure and solid it could easily be sawed into sticks. The graphite was actually thought to be a form of lead and called plumbago - Latin for lead ore.
The Borrowable Mine was soon ordered to be put under armed guard by Queen Elizabeth because the "lead" could be used to line the moulds for making her armies cannonballs. But black marketers managed to smuggle out the graphite for continued use in pencils. Artists from all over the known world quickly learned to appreciate the qualities of Cumbria's graphite but it wasn't until 1795 that Nicholas Conte learned to mix graphite powder with clay and fire it in a furnace to actually make something with the equivalent quality of Borrowables plumbago.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, February 08, 2012
Graphite and Rare Earth Metals for the 21st Century / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Critical_Metals_Repo
The list of once-obscure metals and minerals that are becoming "strategic" seems to be growing daily. However, population growth and rising living standards in developing countries are driving demand for most raw materials. In this exclusive interview with The Critical Metals Report, Institute for the Analysis of Global Security Senior Fellow Jack Lifton explains how increasing demand and harder-to-mine deposits are raising prices on these essential materials.
Friday, February 03, 2012
Critical Materials for Critical Technologies / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Richard_Mills
Critical materials have been described in various ways, with perhaps the clearest being the following two definitions:
A critical or strategic material is a commodity whose lack of availability during a national emergency would seriously affect the economic, industrial, and defensive capability of a country.
The critical materials are natural resources that have a threatened supply availability and are a necessity for technology that is experiencing growing demand.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, February 02, 2012
The Coming Disruption In Rare Earths / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Anthony_David
In December 2011, the US Department of Energy (DoE) released the 2011 ‘Critical Materials Strategy’, a report that examines the role of materials such as rare earth metals in the ‘clean energy economy.’ The report cautions that the US runs the risk of facing disruptions in its short-term rare earth supply chain until 2015 at least. Shortage of five critical rare earth minerals—dysprosium, europium, neodymium, terbium and yttrium—could create expensive interruptions in the production of electric vehicles, wind turbines and energy-efficient lighting.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, February 02, 2012
Battery Power: The Next Generation / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Anthony_David
Lithium Manganese Dioxide (LMD) batteries have 4% lithium, 61% manganese and 35% oxygen by atomic weight. Their high power output, low production cost, enhanced safety and thermal stability in comparison to other lithium ion batteries have made LMD batteries very attractive in the electric vehicle market. LMD batteries are already being used by the Chevrolet Volt and the Nissan Leaf.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, February 02, 2012
Have Your Heard of Graphene? / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Anthony_David
Graphene was discovered about seven years ago in Britain and since then, the material has been generating tremendous attention. The wonder value of the material is extraordinary—it is 200 times stronger than steel and tougher than diamond yet almost invisible and weightless; it stretches like rubber and is a better conductor of heat and electricity than copper. In fact, some researchers claim it is the most important substance created since synthetic plastic a century ago!
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Toyota Innovates Way Out of Rare Earth Handcuffs / Companies / Metals & Mining
By: G_Joel_Chury
According a report from Reuters today, Toyota Motor Corp. has developed a way to manufacture hybrid and electric vehicles without the use of rare earth metals. The announcement comes in response to China’s export quotas that have made the metals less economic.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Solving Critical Rare Earth Metal Shortages / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Critical_Metals_Repo
Years of supply mismanagement have left the U.S. dependent on foreign sources for critical metals like graphite, vanadium and manganese. In this exclusive interview with The Critical Metals Report, Dr. Michael Berry, publisher of Morning Notes and a former portfolio manager, and Chris Berry, founder of House Mountain Partners and co-author of Morning Notes, discuss what early-stage mines close to home could be the first to bolster the supply in U.S.
Wednesday, January 04, 2012
New Rare Earth Metal Deposits in 2012 / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Critical_Metals_Repo
China's tight grip on rare earth elements supply may loosen as other deposits around the world come to fruition in 2012. In this exclusive interview with The Critical Metals Report, Jon Hykawy, head of global research with investment bank Byron Capital Markets, discusses the supply and demand fundamentals that are driving his predictions for the New Year.
The Critical Metals Report: Many analysts, including you, expected a shortage of heavy rare earths (HREES), especially dysprosium, in the medium term. You no longer believe that's true. What changed your outlook?
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, January 03, 2012
2012: A Year of Transition for Strategic Metals / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Anthony_David
China announced its rare earth export quota for 2012 on December 27. The initial quantity has been reduced by 27% in comparison to 2011 but the whole year’s quota is slated to remain almost unchanged from 2011 levels. Officials have launched a new system whereby the export quota would be split among the different types of rare earths—such a move is expected to better match supply and demand. China has, for the first time, split its export quota into light and medium-to-heavy categories. Mining companies that cannot meet the environmental standards of the government would be excluded from the quota.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, December 07, 2011
The Age of Rare Earth Metals / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Critical_Metals_Repo
Just as the Bronze Age catapulted human civilization to new levels, so are critical metals changing the way we live in the modern world. Despite weak across-the-board market sentiment, Jacob Securities Analyst Luisa Moreno maintains that rare earths will continue to revolutionize our daily lives. In this Critical Metals Report exclusive, Moreno explains how to pinpoint investment opportunities as new projects inevitably come online.
Friday, December 02, 2011
Graphene The "Miracle Material" That Will Change the World / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Money_Morning
Michael A. Robinson writes:
A radical new material made from a single carbon atom will soon have a pervasive impact on the U.S. economy - and the entire human race.
Stronger than steel and lighter than a feather, this high-tech medium will shape virtually every part of our daily lives by the end of this decade.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Time For U.S. To Focus On Mining Stocks / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Jeb_Handwerger
The markets have spoken in response to the failure of the Super-committee to reduce spending in Washington with a major decline. This is less than a stellar review for currently elected officials going into the 2012 election. At this point, the marketplace is saying that the "Emperor's Have No Clothes". The word emperor is deliberately chosen. Latter day royalty comports behind the scenes in collegial collusion. It is not too far fetched to suspect the unbelievable. The fix may be in.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, November 02, 2011
No Easy Substitutes for Rare Earth Metals / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Critical_Metals_Repo
Light, strong rare earth elements (REEs) revolutionized the digital era and changed the face of our everyday lives. Even as shortages loom and companies scramble to find low-cost solutions, these critical materials cannot be easily replaced, nor can opportunities in this sector be dismissed. In this special for The Critical Metals Report, Gold Stock Trades Editor Jeb Handwerger calls attention to mainstream media's shortcomings in its REE sector coverage and profiles one company already making headlines.
Wednesday, November 02, 2011
China Leverages Electrolytic Manganese Metal Stockpile Monopoly / Politics / Metals & Mining
By: Anthony_David
metal over 30 years ago, but so far, the country has not been able to produce any electrolytic manganese (EMM), a critical alloying element. And like rare earths, the US has been sourcing its electrolytic manganese largely from China and small amounts from South Africa. In 2009, China’s production accounted for 95% of the global electrolytic manganese production.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, November 02, 2011
China’s Rare Earths Game Attracts Players Worldwide / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Anthony_David
Early 2011 saw stock prices of rare earth companies soaring upwards with the share price of Colorado based Molycorp Inc. reaching $79.16 per share. However, Molycorp share prices fell by 32% over four days in September. The price fall was partly because of falling rare earth prices worldwide combined with excess inventory and partly because of overall market trends. Stock prices of Australia’s Lynas Corp have also been adversely hit by falling rare earth prices. Average rare earth oxide prices have fallen almost 20% over the last quarter. Recent developments could however bring about another hike in rare earth prices, which would mean sunny fortunes once again for non-China based rare earth producers.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Companies Positioned to Grow with Exploding Lithium Demand / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Energy_Report
Lithium continues to be in high demand as battery application growth outpaces the economy. In this exclusive interview with The Energy Report, Jonathan Lee of Byron Capital calls on his engineering and manufacturing background to explain the factors shaping the evolution of this growing market. He also brings us up to date on several promising companies blazing trails in the lithium industry.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Vale, Emerging Markets Mega-Miner Taking Production to Another Level / Companies / Metals & Mining
By: Money_Morning
Jack Barnes writes:
You might think you know everything you need to know about Vale SA (NYSE: VALE), but you don't.
This is a company that, while big, is rife with hidden profit potential.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Gold, Silver, Copper, Nickel and Alternative Energy for Fun and Profit / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
Legendary mining entrepreneur Ross Beaty is an optimist. He likes the opportunities present in both bear and bull markets. In this exclusive interview with The Gold Report at the Casey Research Summit in Phoenix, he explains his love of metals and alternative energy and what he is doing to position himself regardless of where the markets go.
The Gold Report: Your talk was titled "Gold, Silver, Copper, Nickel and Alternative Energy: the Commodities I Still Like." Before we get into the specific commodities, I wanted to ask you about the distortions in supply and demand that you mentioned. As more investment is going into exploration, fewer discoveries are being made. Is that because the easy ones have already been mined? Are costs higher? Are there more regulatory burdens? And how does that impact share prices?
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
What Economic Uncertainty Means for the Rare Earth Metals Sector / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Critical_Metals_Repo
The rare earth sector has seen astronomical gains in recent years as Chinese export restrictions, short-sighted U.S. policy and investor interest combined to make front page news. In this exclusive article for The Critical Metals Report, Chris Berry, founder and president of House Mountain Partners, LLC, argues that a "Great Reset" is changing the face of the sector, rewarding explorers far more selectively.
Monday, October 03, 2011
Will The U.S. Ever Build A Strategic Metals Reserve? / Politics / Metals & Mining
By: Anthony_David
In late August, Michael N. Silver, president and chairman of the board of American Elements—a company that manufactures engineered and advanced materials—suggested that the United States should build a Strategic Metals Reserve (SMR) in an effort to protect its manufacturing and defense interests in case of an embargo by any nation, especially China. He pointed out that earlier this year China had already used its strategic position in the rare earths market against Japan.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, October 03, 2011
Market Volatility Continues To Shake Up The Rare Earths Industry / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Anthony_David
After two years of continuous increase, the prices of rare earth metals seem to have reached a more balanced level in recent times. The primary causes for this change is the optimistic supply scene and the possibility of China facing legal challenges because of its export restrictions. China controls almost 97% of the global market and over the years, its export restrictions and other policies have sparked panic buying, frantic searches for alternative sources and price hikes of almost ten times in certain cases. Certain companies have also begun reducing their usage of rare earth metals.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, September 30, 2011
China’s Rare Earths Monopoly - Peril or Opportunity? / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: OilPrice_Com
The prosperity of China’s “authoritarian capitalism” is increasingly rewriting the ground-rules worldwide on the capitalist principles that have dominated the West’s economy for nearly two centuries.
Nowhere is this shadow war more between the two systems more pronounced than in the global arena of production of rare earths elements (RREs), where China currently holds a de facto monopoly, raising concerns from Washington through London to Tokyo about what China might do with its hand across the throat of high-end western technology.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, September 29, 2011
China's Rare Earths Monopoly - Peril or Opportunity? / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: OilPrice_Com
The prosperity of China's "authoritarian capitalism" is increasingly rewriting the ground-rules worldwide on the capitalist principles that have dominated the West's economy for nearly two centuries.
Nowhere is this shadow war more between the two systems more pronounced than in the global arena of production of rare earths elements (RREs), where China currently holds a de facto monopoly, raising concerns from Washington through London to Tokyo about what China might do with its hand across the throat of high-end western technology.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
China Eyes West Africa’s Iron Ore: Junior Posts Positive Drill Results / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Submissions
Chris Devauld writes: Despite the ongoing economic turmoil and growing concern over a slowdown in global steel production, Chinese demand for iron ore remains strong. Having imported 618 million tons last year, China is by far the world’s largest iron consumer. China only produces 14% of the world’s Fe, while consuming approximately 50% of it. With 85% of its iron ore coming from Australia, Brazil, India and South Africa, the economic giant finds itself in a war to break from its dependence upon the “Big 3” producers—BHP Billiton [BHP-NYSE] , Rio Tinto [RIO-NYSE] and Vale [VALE-NYSE].
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Profit from Really Critical Rare Earth Elements / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Critical_Metals_Repo
Despite the important sounding name, not all rare earth elements are critical or in short supply compared to the ultimate demand. In this exclusive article for The Critical Metals Report, Jack Lifton, a senior fellow of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, shares the secrets for determining if a company has a chance of growing into a viable, profitable venture that will benefit both investors and host countries.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Why Obama Should Address the Rare Earth Crisis / Politics / Metals & Mining
By: Jeb_Handwerger
"A little bread-and-butter support by Obama could provide an important boost for the rare earth industry."There is a fast growing crisis to modern industrial nations posed by China's draconian and monopolistic maneuvers in the implementation of a quota system. With one specific bread and butter support by Obama, the rare earth industry (REMX:NYSE) could receive an important boost, providing jobs and facilitating the development of a new industrial sector.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, September 02, 2011
China’s Rare Earths Squeeze / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Anthony_David
China’s policy of tightening its rare earth export quota has been causing quite a furor in the rare earth metals market since 2009. With increasing technological advances, the demand for rare earth metals is only increasing worldwide and the declining supply is causing prices to shoot upwards. Prices can come down only if end users reduce production and thereby reduce demand. However, that is an unlikely situation and even if it did happen, the effects are likely to be short lived.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Beryllium - Even Sexier than it Sounds / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: George_Maniere
The young Marine sniper lays motionless in a shallow bed of sand and broken rock on the mountainside in Afghanistan. The sun blazes down, and he’s sweating. He’s spent the morning scanning a valley for Taliban fighters who keep a low profile in their maze of spider holes.
After a while, another Marine – the spotter – says, “I’ve got him. He’s just next to the tree, to the left of that stone house.”
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Cobalt Is the King of Critical Metals / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Critical_Metals_Repo
Most people don't know or care about cobalt. But, as with a number of metals we seldom hear about, we would certainly miss cobalt if it were not available for use in many cutting-edge applications. In this exclusive interview with The Critical Metals Report, Rick Mills, editor of Ahead of the Herd, talks about the supply and demand for critical metals and tells us why cobalt is the "King of Critical Metals." He also tells us why he likes two emerging cobalt producers that could reward investors looking to participate in this very tight market dominated by China.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Rare Earth Metals Are Not That Rare / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: George_Maniere
The term Rare earth is an oxymoron. Rare Earths are all around us and indeed are very common. What is rare is to find high concentrations of Heavy Rare earths in a mining friendly area, mines that are the open pit variety, sites that have the basic infrastructure needed for mining (electric and water) and finally mines that have the roads or waterways to move massive amounts of these earths to separation plants at a cost effective rate. This is indeed a rare combination.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Mining Stocks Sectors Two Biggest Risks / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Richard_Mills
Country Risk - Where the political and economic stability of the host country is questionable, and abrupt changes in the business environment could adversely affect profits or the value of the company's assets.
Resource Nationalism - The tendency of people and governments to assert control, for strategic and economic reasons, over natural resources located on their territory.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
The Manganese Market, a New Economic Growth Barometer? / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Critical_Metals_Repo
Manganese's many uses in infrastructure and building materials make its market a strong barometer for gauging the world economy. Soaring growth in countries like China and India has led to high global demand. In this exclusive interview for The Critical Metals Report, Helen O'Malley, a bulk manganese specialist with CRU International in London, discusses how manganese prices are closely tied to the economy and, in contrast to exchange-traded base metals, overwhelmingly determined by supply and demand.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Rare Earth Elements and The China Growth Story / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Investment_U
David Fessler writes: The average U.S. household owns hundreds of Chinese-manufactured goods. Almost the entire apparel industry moved out of the United States and halfway around the world. Most of our electronics, a lot of our food, and many of our automobile parts come from China.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Six Rare Earth Element Metals to Watch / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Critical_Metals_Repo
Rare earth elements have made possible improvements in everything from smart phones and plasma televisions to clean energy technology. In this exclusive interview with The Critical Metals Report, Jason Burack, independent investor and cofounder of Wall St. for Main St., and Kevin Kerr, commodities trader and president of Kerr Trading, share the names of the rare earth element companies to watch as the market grows.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
China and Rare Earth Metals Monopoly / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: OilPrice_Com
First, the bad news - China's constrained rare earth supplies will be an "irreversible trend" and prices will remain at high levels, according to Zhang Zhong, general manager of Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Rare-Earth Hi-Tech Co.
Zhang should know, as his concern is China's leading rare earths producer - the Baatou mine produces more than 95 percent of China's production, while Chinese mines currently account for 97 percent of global supplies.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, August 03, 2011
National Interest Rare Earth Element Projects Being Fast Tracked / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Critical_Metals_Repo
"What do you get when you put a professor, a fisherman and a creative Wall Street journalist together? Answer: science fiction, fishy stories and IPOs trying to sell the latest version of snake oil to unsuspecting investors."
Many years ago, farmers in Pennsylvania noticed a murky liquid seeping up through the soil. It didn't take long for entrepreneurs to find a use for this oily stuff. It was advertised as a cure for baldness, impotence and sundry medical conditions. Little did the super-salesman of that time realize that they had come across a vital component of the industrial revolution. They called it Snake Oil.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, August 03, 2011
Catalysts, Not Uranium Prices, Grow Stocks / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Energy_Report
Because of ongoing nuclear power development in China, Africa and the Middle East, uranium prices could bounce back to pre-Fukushima levels of $70/lb. in 2012, says Geordie Mark, a research analyst at Haywood Securities. Instead of waiting for prices to rebound, some mining companies are moving ahead with regulatory and construction projects to drive value. In this exclusive interview with The Energy Report, Mark points to the ones that could be poised to pay off for investors when the market turns.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Top Rare Earth Element Stock Picks / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Critical_Metals_Repo
As uncommon as they may be, rare earth elements are all around you—in your laptop, your cell phone and your flat-screen television. But despite their frequency in our everyday lives, investors still have a lot of false preconceptions about these 16 elements. In this exclusive interview with The Critical Metals Report, Luisa Moreno, a senior analyst with Toronto-based Jacob Securities, delves into the unique challenges rare earth miners encounter and how those can be opportunities for investors.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Lynas: A Gray Swan For The Rare Earths Sector? / Companies / Metals & Mining
By: Jeb_Handwerger
"Goldman Sachs recently based there rare earth recommendations on a limited universe consisting of only two stocks, Molycorp (MCP) and Lynas. .. Gold Stock Trades has a broader view."
Those of us who delve into the markets are referred to politely as investors. That is a Madison Avenue spin on what should in essence be a more accurate description. We are speculators, which is a more precise appellation. We assume business risks in hopes of gain. We buy and sell in the expectation of profiting from market fluctuations.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Copper Gains are Government Sponsored / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Dr_Jeff_Lewis
China steals the show when it comes to commodities. Large public works projects, particularly in developing key infrastructure and housing projects, buoy commodity prices. Increases in demand are naturally bullish for inelastic necessities like copper, which has only strengthened as spending from Beijing keeps China’s GDP on the up and up.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Juniors Plan Today for Tomorrow's Rare Earth Elements Demand / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Critical_Metals_Repo
The West isn't ready for an avalanche of rare earth elements—yet. But when the time comes, the junior miners that have mastered the art of location, mineralogy and metallurgy will be there to fill the demand gap. In this exclusive interview with The Critical Metals Report, Ahead of the Herd Editor Rick Mills points to some promising players in the light and heavy rare earth space.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Global Perspective on Critical Metals Investing / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Critical_Metals_Repo
"The best investments in the critical metals space," according to Technology Metals Research Founding Principal Jack Lifton, "are available in a form that small investors can buy or trade." In this Critical Metals Report exclusive, written on a plane high above Asia, Jack provides a truly global overview of the metals economy, zeroing in on the chief metals-related issues to emerge in the first decade of the 21st century.
Friday, July 15, 2011
China Gets Picky on Energy and Metal Resources Buying Prices / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Marin_Katusa
Marin Katusa, Casey Research Energy Team writes: It turns out that China is not willing to pay whatever it has to for energy and metal resources.
Several resource deals have faltered in recent months, indicating an increasingly choosy Chinese perspective on energy and metal acquisitions. Add to that the growing concern that the global economy is once again stumbling and that commodity prices may be near a top, and you have a Chinese deal-making market that has gone from 60 to zero in no time.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, July 15, 2011
Bullish Copper Technicals / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Zeal_LLC
Copper is growing increasingly popular among speculators, who are catapulting this unassuming base metal up into the rarified ranks of market-darling commodities. Neither precious like gold, nor immediately consumed like oil, copper’s price action is quite unique. And despite some risky headwinds remaining, its technicals are once again turning bullish today.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Critical Minerals and Materials Strategy / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Richard_Mills
In this article I am going to take a look at three reports covering what the US and Europe consider critical or strategic minerals and materials.
In its first Critical Materials Strategy, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) focused on materials used in four clean energy technologies:
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
The Real Rare Earth Elements Demand Investment Opportunity / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Critical_Metals_Repo
Finding experienced teams could be elusive in the rush to capitalize on growing demand for heavy rare earth elements. Energy and Scarcity and Outstanding Investments Editor Byron King unearths companies that can deliver the goods along with shareholder value in this exclusive interview with The Critical Metals Report.
Friday, July 08, 2011
Rare Earth Metal Prices Will Continue to Soar With China's Monopoly Intact / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Money_Morning
David Zeiler writes: The discovery of a massive trove of rare earth metals at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean last week triggered a fleeting hope that China's monopoly on the materials would be broken.
Unfortunately, the discovery may not have the impact many had hoped, which means prices for rare earth metals will continue to soar. That's bad news for countries like the United States and Japan, which count on the scarce materials for high-tech industries.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, July 05, 2011
Minor Metals Investing Ups and Downs / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Critical_Metals_Repo
The critical metals space is shifting. In this exclusive interview with The Critical Metals Report, Dr. David Trueman, a consulting geologist, points to opportunities in global mining, processing and recycling of "-um" metals for growing electronic applications.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Meeting the Critical Metals Demand / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Energy_Report
Is there a clear path to meeting growing global critical metals demand? An important first step, according to Laurentian Bank Securities' Technology and Strategic Metals Analyst Jim Powell, would be to establish supply sources that aren't concentrated in a single country—particularly one that isn't inclined to share its resources with the rest of the world. In this exclusive interview with The Critical Metals Report, Jim points out some potential plays to look for while the landscape is changing.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Could Rare Earth Elements Cartel Dictate Future for Junior Miners? / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Critical_Metals_Repo
An Americas-centric rare earth elements-processing cartel is forming to create a supply chain independent of China. In this exclusive interview with The Critical Metals Report , Mercenary Geologist Mickey Fulp points to the top companies that could be big players in the next five years.
The Critical Metals Report: The critical metals space can be very confusing. People lump all kinds of metals, including lithium, into general categories using the terms rare earth elements (REE), strategic or technology metals. What is your view on this and what should investors really be concerned with?
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Critical Raw Materials / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Richard_Mills
A critical or strategic material is a commodity whose lack of availability during a national emergency would seriously affect the economic, industrial, and defensive capability of a country.
The report "Critical Raw Materials for the EU" listed 14 raw materials which they deemed critical to the European Union (EU): antimony, beryllium, cobalt, fluorspar, gallium, germanium, graphite, indium, magnesium, niobium, platinum group metals , rare earths , tantalum and tungsten.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, June 17, 2011
Rare Earths Metals Group Mine to Magnet / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Richard_Mills
The rare earths are a group of 17 elements comprising Scandium, Yttrium, and the Lanthanides. The Lanthanides are a group of 15 (Cerium, Dysprosium, Erbium, Europium, Gadolinium, Holmium, Lanthanum, Lutetium, Neodymium, Praseodymium, Samarium, Terbium, Thorium, Thulium, Ytterbium) chemically similar elements with atomic numbers 57 through 71, inclusive. Yttrium, atomic number 39, isn’t a lanthanide but is included in the rare earths because it often occurs with them in nature - it has similar chemical properties. Scandium, atomic number 21 is also included in the group although it usually occurs only in minor amounts.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Rare Earth Metals Under Supply Threat / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
The Emerging Trends Report is 18 months into a planned 4-year circumnavigation of Australia, investigating specialty metal projects and recommending ASX-listed companies to clients. In this exclusive interview with The Critical Metals Report, we caught up with ETR Managing Editor Richard Karn shortly after he delivered the keynote address to the 2011 Energy and Resource Symposium for an update on the specialty metals market down under.
The Critical Metals Report: Let's start with the basics. In general terms, what exactly are "specialty" metals?
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
Critical Metals Myths, Markets and Geopolitics / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
William Stanley Jevons was a 19th century British economist who said, "The more efficient use you make of a scarce material, the greater the total demand will eventually be." Investors in critical metals projects all over the world hope Jevons' theory, known as Jevons Paradox, will eventually ring true. Read more in this Critical Metals Report exclusive.
Monday, June 06, 2011
Why China’s Rare Earth Exports Really Matter / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Jeb_Handwerger
For several months, I have alerted readers to the potential supply crisis of critical rare earths (REMX), which are used in our most vital defense technologies (ITA) and high tech industries (QQQQ). The recent volatility in the equity markets have caused many investors to flee rare earth mining stocks in search of safe havens in gold (GLD) and long term treasuries (TLT). This trend should be transitory in nature. We may see a strong rebound in many of these rare earth stocks once the uncertainty regarding the ending of QE2 winds down.
Friday, June 03, 2011
Rare Earth Metal Stocks / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Zeal_LLC
Nearly a year has passed since Molycorp hit the stock markets with its IPO. And considering this stock’s popularity today, it’s astounding that this IPO had flown under the radar for most investors. Last July MCP shares debuted below the pre-IPO targeted price range, and traded on the low side of that range for weeks before it finally caught a bid. MCP didn’t quite have the fanfare as say LinkedIn or other IPOs over the last year.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Goldman Sachs and Its Rare Earth Rigmarole / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Jeb_Handwerger
The front page headline in the Wall St. Journal a couple of weeks ago read, "Goldman Sachs (GS) warns of surplus with rare earths(REMX), rare earths seen growing less rare." If there was ever a case of journalistic malfeasance or in the least clumsy misinformation, this article had to be it.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Copper Stocks Gleaming in Gold's Glow / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Energy_Report
Blinded by the glare of gold's rocketing rise over the last several years, investors may want to follow the leads of the Barricks, Thompson Creek Metals, Goldcorps and other major miners targeting the copper space, according to Kevin Puil, portfolio manager at Malcolm H. Gissen & Associates and senior analyst for its Encompass Fund. In this exclusive Gold Report interview, Kevin tells us that major gold miners increasingly want to diversify and are turning to the red metal on the opposite end of the economic spectrum.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Don't Give Up On The Rare Earth Mining Sector Yet / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Bob_Kirtley
The prices of rare earth oxides are blasting through the stratosphere. Manufacturers are driving prices in their haste to involve them in production of hybrid vehicles, wind turbines and the most high tech applications of which many sophisticated investors are unaware. These producers need the rare earth ore and are willing to pay for them on the world markets.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Alternative Energy Fuels a Mining Bloom / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Energy_Report
Advances in energy and agriculture are creating demand for previously ignored metals such as scandium, tellurium and indium. In this exclusive interview with The Energy Report, Mining Analyst John Kaiser, editor of Kaiser Research Online, explains the science that could exponentially increase the value of overlooked stocks.
Friday, May 06, 2011
Why Copper is in a Long-Term Bull Market / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Money_Morning
Kerri Shannon writes:
With metals and commodities on a long-term bull-market run, investors have recently turned their attention to copper.
The red metal's price recently has fallen due to mixed economic data. Copper's use as an industrial metal - it's widely used in buildings, electronics, appliances and automobiles - makes it sensitive to economic growth prospects.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Global Demand for Iron Ore on Rise / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
How long until the window on rising iron-ore prices closes? Global demand is driving prices higher and shipping costs are at historic lows. But only companies poised to get into production quickly will be able to capitalize. In this exclusive interview with The Gold Report, Geordie Mark, an analyst with Haywood Securities in Vancouver, picks the companies that are ready to profit and those that are likely to get picked off by competitors.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Metals Market Equations Are No Longer Simple / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: HRA_Advisory
World events continue to signal support for hard assets, but caution is still advised. News in the copper space is as much about consolidation of the players as the metal itself right now. The $7 bid by China Minmetals for Equinox Minerals (EQN-T, ASX) has offered some support for other mid tier copper assets. The Minmetals bid requires EQN to drop its own bid for Lundin Mining (LUN-T, LUNMF-Q) that had already squelched the planned merger of LUN with Inmet Mining (INM-T, IEMMF-Q). EQN had already merged with an Australian junior to acquire its Saudi copper mine development that is to begin out put late this year. To this has just been added a take-over bid by Capstone Mining (CS-T, CSFFF-Q) for Far West (FWM-T, FWMLF-Q) and its copper-iron project in Chile, with an assist from state owned Korea Resources Corp. Small and mid tier copper producers are focused on securing growth assets of the right scale as Asia gets more aggressive in ensuring supplies for its markets.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Rare Earth Element Stock Insights / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
U.S. investors and institutions are seeing green in their rare earth elements (REEs) and strategic metals investments, and one investment bank is leading the way. Merriman Capital Services Group Managing Director Spencer Grimes shares his secret to investing in the right cleantech companies in this exclusive interview with The Gold Report.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Lithium Powers the Green Energy Revolution / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Energy_Report
Demand for lithium, a super-light, yet super-charged metal used in batteries, has been slowly rebounding from a dip in 2009. Main players in the space are planning to expand and new market entrants are on the horizon. But which are poised to benefit if there is a glut in supply? In this exclusive interview with The Energy Report, Byron Capital Markets Battery Materials and Technology Analyst Jonathan Lee reveals his forecast for prices, supply and demand.
Saturday, April 09, 2011
Rare Earth Stocks Heat Up On Legislative Action / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Jeb_Handwerger
There have been major developments occurring this week in the rare earth arena, which could hold significance for the expansion into Europe of Molycorp (MCP) and the development of a US domestic supply chain of rare earths (Market Vectors Rare Earth/Str Metals ETF (REMX).
Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, April 09, 2011
Vanadium, Gray Metal Driving Green Revolution? / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
Vanadium, a gray metal mainly used as an additive to steel, could see a jump in demand as new technologies emerge in energy storage. In this exclusive interview with The Gold Report, Jonathan Lee, a battery materials and technology analyst with Toronto-based Byron Capital Markets, talks about which vanadium producers are ready to grapple with the prospect of increasing demand from the adaption of "green" uses.
Wednesday, April 06, 2011
Lithium to Elevate Equities and Investor Mood / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Energy_Report
House Mountain Partners Founder Chris Berry points to the rising quality of life in Asia as competition for strategic resources that could push the cost of energy to the breaking point. There won't be a single solution, but more efficient electricity storage to power vehicles will be critical. High-capacity batteries are dependent on several metals, including lithium, which is still underappreciated by the commodity and equity markets. In this exclusive interview with The Energy Report, Chris shares some of his favorite lithium companies and why he sees dramatic upside potential in each one.
Monday, April 04, 2011
Waking Up Washington to Critical Metals / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Anthony_David
On March 11, 2011, The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) held a congressional briefing on critical metals, which includes strategic metals and rare earth elements (REEs). The briefing – entitled “Securing America’s Supply of Critical Materials and Rare Earth Elements: Implications for Renewable Energy” – focused on the global supply of critical materials, developments in China, and how US policy could be framed such that the nation’s expertise in the occurrence, detection, extraction, processing, and recycling of these commodities could be strengthened.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, April 04, 2011
Japan Earthquake’s Effects Felt Round The World / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Anthony_David
Besides the massive human toll, Japan’s catastrophic earthquake and tsunami has destroyed the region’s civil and industrial infrastructure. Water and electricity supply have been adversely impacted forcing several businesses to slow down or stop operations completely and the chance of radiation from the nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi power station has increased people’s fears.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Rare Earth Metal Stocks Rebounding / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Jeb_Handwerger
Not too long ago in our national history, mining for rare earths (Market Vectors Rare Earth/Strategic Metals (REMX)) was an American enterprise. As in so many other areas, such as nuclear power, automobiles and technolgoy, it was decided that the US would shut down industries and farm the work out. The Chinese took the lead and became the world's supplier of over 97% of these crucial rare earth elements. Now it is the Americans coming, hat in hand, to petition Beijing a la Oliver Twist with a "Please... may I have some more?"
Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Market Volatility Creates Resource Stocks Opportunity / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
The terrible tragedy in Japan is shifting markets worldwide. Mike Kachanovsky, a consultant to both resource companies and institutional investors, believes the volatility has created a finite opportunity to scoop up resource stocks on the cheap. In this exclusive interview with The Gold Report, Mike explains what impact the devastation could play to the performance of rare earth companies, as well as how to navigate discounted stocks to avoid the duds.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Manganese, a Major Investment Growth Opportunity / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
After working in the gold mining industry for many years, consultant Ken Reser has turned his attention to special opportunities in minerals of strategic importance to North America and Europe. In 2004, he developed an early interest in molybdenum as a vital resource, and then in 2007 became intensely interested in manganese as an element that would gain prominence due to the unique properties that make it irreplaceable in the manufacture of steel. Also, its growing importance in nascent battery technology will revolutionize development of electric and hybrid automobiles. In this exclusive interview with The Gold Report, Ken shares some thoughts on the significance of manganese and how investors might play growing demand for the metal.
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
Rare Earth Prices Soaring: Will Miners Play Catch Up? / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Jeb_Handwerger
The Middle East Turmoil has created a sell off in equities and a run to the safe haven assets of precious metals and oil. Even though rare earth prices are soaring, many investors have overlooked a key sector which has pulled back providing a bargain opportunity before the rare earth crisis intensifies.
Monday, March 07, 2011
Commodities Rundown, From Au To V / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
There is more to the periodic table—and to investing opportunities—than gold, silver and copper. Siddharth Rajeev, vice president and head of research at Fundamental Research Corp., sums up the market prospects for rare earth elements (REE) and a host of metals. He unearths some new names and some historical finds in this exclusive interview with The Gold Report.
The Gold Report: Sid, today we're going to talk about a number of different metals: gold, silver, vanadium, copper and rare earths. Could you handicap each of those metals for us, starting with gold, copper and silver?
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
Rare Earth Monopoly Coming To An End / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Anthony_David
Canada based Stans Energy Corporation is currently focused on developing mining properties in Kyrgyzstan. The company acquired the mining license for the past-producing Kutessay II rare earth mine in October 2009 and is now gathering and analyzing its historical data. Kutessay II along with the Kyrgyz Chemical Metallurgical Plant (KCMP) was the Soviet Union’s most advanced mining properties at one time. It supplied 80% of the nation’s rare earth metals for 30 years from 1960 to 1991. The mine was shut down in 1991 because of a fall in rare earth prices.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
As Rare Earths Get Rarer… / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Anthony_David
China’s role in the global rare earth market needs little introduction. China’s restrictive trade policies have forced the rest of the world to rethink their own policies and explore rare earth resources in nations other than China. The governments of the US and certain European nations are trying to develop various strategies to secure their supply of rare earth metals.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
How To Profit From Copper's Next Wave, Follow The Money / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Richard_Mills
Urbanization is a macro-trend, in 1800 two percent of the global population was urban, by 1950 it was 30%. Today half of all the people in the world live in cities. This is an economic migration - historically poverty rates are 4 times higher in rural than urban areas. The UN projects that by the year 2030 there will be 1.5 billion more people living in cities.
Investing in copper might be the simplest way to profit from the ongoing global urbanization.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, February 14, 2011
Opportunity in the Rejuvenation of Canada's Iron Ore Sector / Companies / Metals & Mining
By: HRA_Advisory
The Iron Ages began over three thousand years ago and a major expansion of iron's use is the earliest of waypoints on the road to industrialization. The market for iron is far larger than that of the other heavy metals and it is essential for creating our modern network of bridges and skyscrapers. Despite this, the metal is not the stuff of daily news like "Dr." copper. The heavy growth in Asia generated a massive expansion of global iron ore production in the last decade.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, February 09, 2011
Critical Times for Access to Critical Metals / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
Access to sources of real-world critical metals is in serious jeopardy. A variety of experts gathered recently in Vancouver to learn more about the reasons we're at risk and what we can do about it. Join The Gold Report as we venture into the complex, complicated, cloudy, uncertain, conflicted world they explored.
The same issues that have jolted U.S. officials awake to awareness about the nation's vulnerabilities in the supercharged atmosphere of the critical metals space drew an eager, attentive audience to the world's first-ever Critical Metals Investment Symposium, sponsored by Cambridge House, a Vancouver-based producer of resource investment conferences.
Monday, February 07, 2011
Rare Earth Metals Deficiencies, Diagnosis...An Emergency Treatment Plan / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Jeb_Handwerger
A serious lack of rare earth elements is endemically afflicting the world body politic. It has been brought on by a chronic combination of American short sightedness and Chinese need for self survival.
It is well known that rare earths, a group of 17 atomic elements are essential for the survival of cutting edge industry in such diverse areas as nuclear launch missiles, hybrid autos, wind turbines, solar devices, oncological applications, night-vision devices and petroleum production.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, February 04, 2011
Will Magnesium Batteries replace Lithium Ion? / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Anthony_David
As part of the global automakers’ efforts to improve ways of powering electric cars, Toyota Motor Corporation announced earlier this month that it is developing a magnesium based battery capable of storing double the energy stored by lithium ion cells. That would translate to a higher mileage on a single charge.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Vanadium Poised to be The Next Big Thing in Commodity Trends / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
In this exclusive interview with The Gold Report, Chris Berry, the founder of House Mountain Partners, and Michael Berry, publisher of Morning Notes and Discoveryinvesting.com, drop by to discuss some promising vanadium plays in North and South America. Vanadium is mostly used to strengthen steel, but as the Berry's suggest, the metal is poised to become "the next big thing," as its properties are ideal for use in mass energy storage devices and the lithium-ion batteries now being used in electric cars. Several companies are already aboard the vanadium train—and the Berrys divulge their favorites.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Cheaper Dollar Will Open Door For Chinese Investments In North American Natural Resource Companies / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Jeb_Handwerger
On January 18th and 19th, the top officials of the two most powerful nations on Earth are to meet in matters of far reaching significance. There will be not one but two dinners. One is to be a grand dinner of state with all of the military and business leaders of both sides in attendance. The other is to be an “intimate” dinner. Oh, to be a fly on the wall of that private meeting.
Monday, January 10, 2011
As China Stock Market Corrects, Rare Earth Crisis Takes Center Stage / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Jeb_Handwerger
History is replete with seemingly unexpected and catastrophic appearance of events that nobody saw coming. In the old days, we have Biblical prophets who sounded clarion alarms. Now we are past the age of prophecy. As in historical watersheds, we suddenly find ourselves congealed in the volcanic ash of a modern Vesuvius eruption, which leads us to scratch our heads of how in the world did we come to this point with rare earth supply fears?Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, January 07, 2011
Investors Getting High on Lithium / Companies / Metals & Mining
By: The_Energy_Report
With oil prices edging closer to $100 per barrel, the chatter about electric cars is again on the rise. Jon Hykawy, head of global research with Toronto-based Byron Capital Markets, thinks the time is nigh for the mass adoption of electric cars, all of which will need specialty metals like lithium. But where is that lithium going to come from? In this exclusive interview with The Energy Report, Jon handicaps most of the players in the lithium space and highlights a few that could be takeover targets.
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
Strategic Metal Supplies Will Tighten in 2011 / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Anthony_David
According to the World Steel Association, global steel demand in 2011 is expected to fall to 5.3% but in terms of volume, demand will still reach a record breaking 1.34 billion tonnes. As maturing economies continue to struggle to regain their foothold after the global economic downturn, the emerging BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) nations are expected to dominate the demand curve, with India and China at the forefront.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
Steel Volume Set to Grow in 2011 / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Anthony_David
World Steel Association (worldsteel) data states that the total crude steel produced by its 66 member countries during November 2010 was 114 million tonnes, which is 5.1% higher YoY. The first 11 months of the year saw a total crude steel production of 1.28 billion metric tonnes, a growth of 16.2% YoY. In Asia, China’s YoY crude steel production in November rose by 4.8% to reach 50.2 million tonnes, while India’s production rose by 3.15% YoY to reach 5.56 million tonnes. November production in the US went up by 13% YoY to reach 6.5 million tonnes while that of Brazil fell by 2.8% YoY to reach 2.6 million tonnes.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, January 03, 2011
Copper Outlook 2011: A Beijing Opera / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Dian_L_Chu
Year 2010 had been good to almost all investment classes. Stocks, bonds, commodities, and the dollar are all moving higher in tandem, a first of such unison since 2005. Among them, commodity is the one leading the pack partly on dollar weakness, as well as propped up by world’s central banks quantitative easing.
Base metals, in particular, are further supported as China keeps on trucking with double-digit growth despite most of the world practically stood still during the worst global recession since World War II.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Rarer Rare Earth Metals About To Get Even Rarer / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Jeb_Handwerger
What is so rare as a day in June, the poet asks? The answer..a sector in play, on a perfect day. The rare earth sector is experiencing an explosion of investment interest as China continues to place restrictions on Rare Earth Oxides (REO).
Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Rare Earth Metals Supply Hysteria / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
China's domination of the rare earth industry has led to very real fears about the future supply of these strategic metals that are used in all things technological—from electric car batteries, laptops and cell phones all the way to smart bombs. As one of the foremost experts in rare earth elements (REEs), Bill understands the implications of future supply shortfalls. In this exclusive interview with The Gold Report, the head of Vancouver-based Medallion Resources Ltd., explains the supply bottleneck and how his company is working to solve it.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Grassroots Investor Betting on Vanadium / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
It's all about who you know. Stephen Taylor, fund manager of Chicago-based Taylor International Fund, Ltd., has cultivated a grassroots network of contacts from Canada to China since working as a trader in the '80s. It's that network that has produced some of his fund's biggest winners. In this exclusive interview with The Gold Report, Taylor talks about his fund's bet on vanadium and why he doesn't own any Chinese mining companies.
The Gold Report: Stephen, could you please give us an overview of your fund and how you manage it?
Friday, December 10, 2010
Crude Oil and Commodity Resources Security of Supply / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Richard_Mills
While working for Shell Oil during the 1940's Dr. M. King Hubbert noticed the production of crude oil from individual oil fields plotted a normal bell shaped curve. Roughly half of the oil from a field has been exhausted when the bell curve peaks.
Carrying that insight further he surmised that oil production from a group of oil fields would follow a similar bell shaped pattern.
Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, December 04, 2010
Solving the Global Iron Ore Shortage / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
If there is one thing UBS Securities' Dieter Hoeppli knows it's steel. As global head of steel, as well as metals and mining in the Americas for UBS, he's spent the last 20 years analyzing the steel business and acting as an advisor on countless mergers and takeover deals. He regularly travels the world and crunches numbers to determine what's going to grow and what's not. In this Gold Report exclusive, we take you inside the recent Forbes & Manhattan summit for some of Dieter's candid thoughts on the shortage of iron ore global steel manufacturers are now facing.
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
Investing in Chinese Rare Earth Metals Mining Companies / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Anthony_David
During the recent de facto ban on the export of rare earth shipments to Japan by China, what almost went unnoticed is the fact that the ban was only on raw materials and not on finished goods that utilized rare earths sourced from China. This is viewed as a move by China to force foreign buyers to purchase China’s manufactured goods in addition to the raw materials. Economist Paul Krugman, while not sympathetic to the Chinese cause, blames the US and other advanced economies for getting themselves into such a position of dependence. He has pointed out that one way of breaking free is to do what the Japanese are doing – recycle rare earth metals, or get innovative and design products that do not require rare earths.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
How and Where Manganese & Magnesium is Used / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Anthony_David
Manganese is found in nature as a free element, in combination with iron and many other minerals. The most important industrial use of manganese is as an alloy, predominantly in the steel industry. In fact, there is no comparative substitute for manganese in its primary applications. Pure magnesium, on the other hand, is not found as a free element because of its highly reactive nature. The primary industrial applications of magnesium are as a component of aluminum and zinc alloys, in the removal of sulfur in the iron and steel-manufacturing sector, and in the production of metals such as titanium.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Downstream Value in Rare Earth Metals Companies / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
Byron Capital Markets Analyst Jon Hykawy sees the rare earth elements (REE) sector for what it is—something much different from mining copper or gold. He believes the keys to making money in rare earths involve metallurgy, deposit location, marketing and downstream integration. In this Gold Report exclusive, Jon makes his case for rare earth elements and the companies he believes have the best chance to deliver them at a profit.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Is BHP Billiton (BHP) Too Big to Grow? / Companies / Metals & Mining
By: Money_Morning
Jack Barnes writes:
In the banking crisis we learned that a group of U.S. banking and insurance firms are allegedly "Too Big To Fail." Now the world's largest mining company BHP Billiton Ltd. (NYSE ADR: BHP) has grown so large it is struggling to make meaningful deals, introducing us to another phrase: "Too Big To Grow."
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Rare Earth Elements (REEs) / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Richard_Mills
The rare earths are a group of 17 elements comprising Scandium, Yttrium, and the Lanthanides. The heavy rare earth elements, HREE. Light REE's are made up of the first seven elements of the lanthanide series - Lanthanum (La, atomic number 57), Cerium (Ce, atomic number 58), Praseodymium (Pr, atomic number 59), Neodymium (Nd, atomic number 60) Promethium (Pm, atomic number 61) and Samarium (Sm, atomic number 62).Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
The Yukon Metals and Mining Boom: Today’s Hottest Investment Play / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Casey_Research
Andrey Dashkov, Editor, Casey’s International Speculator writes: Building on the spectacular early takeover of Underworld Resources by gold major Kinross this June, recent discoveries in the Yukon Territory have made this large region of frozen tundra the hottest area play in the junior resource sector today.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
A Politician In Every POT / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: HRA_Advisory
[Journal Preface] Did we mention we’re contrarians at heart? As October wore on and legions of new “experts” declared resources the place to be we started to get uncomfortable with the sudden surfeit of company we had in the metals space. Not that we mind fresh buyers coming in after we own something. Far from it. Still, things became so good so quickly it’s hard not to get nervous.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
West Loses Resources War, China Controls Rare Earths and Middle East Has Crude Oil / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Dian_L_Chu
While most are anxiously anticipating a grand currency showdown at the G20 summit in Seoul this month, rare earths is bound to be one act of the G20 high Korean Drama amid the mounting worries among corporations and governments around the world about China’s recent export restrictions and embargo,
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Lithium Powers Hi-Tek, New Global X Lithium ETF / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Energy_Report
Cell phones, laptops, mp3 players—they are all powered by lithium. Bruno del Ama, the portfolio manager of New York-based, exchange traded fund issuer Global X Management, has recently launched an ETF targeting lithium companies for just this reason. In this exclusive interview with The Energy Report, del Ama discusses why sizeable deposits of lithium just now being developed may not be enough to keep up with the demand generated by consumer electronics and the emerging electric vehicles industry over the next decade.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Will China's Residential Construction Bubble Hit Copper, Zinc and Nickel Industrial Metals? / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Mike_Stall
China is the world’s largest consumer of copper, zinc and nickel and also among the leading consumers of other base metals. The country has one of the fastest growing auto sector (which has overtaken the US in size) and has plans for rapid expansion of railroads and other infrastructure segments. Not surprisingly, China’s demand growth is expected to be the single most important factor in determining the direction of metal prices.
Monday, November 08, 2010
China’s Urban Migration Catapults Copper Prices to New Highs / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Money_Morning
Don Miller writes:
The next phase of China's economic plan is fueling a relentless appetite for electricity, spiking demand for copper. That has moved investors to drive up the price of the metal, as well as the stocks of companies that mine it.
Copper has risen 14% this year, with contracts traded on the London Metal Exchange tripling since December 2008. The Bloomberg index of world mining stocks this year has climbed 16% to the highest level since Aug. 1, 2008, driven by miners like Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE: FCX), and Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (NYSE: IVN)
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, November 02, 2010
Metals and Mining Corporate Earnings Critical Crystal Ball for November 2010 / Companies / Metals & Mining
By: Anthony_David
The global steel industry has had to bear the brunt of the uneven global economy and quite unlike the upbeat expectations harbored at the beginning of the year, both sale and price of steel is on the decline while raw material cost is on the upswing. The failure of the construction industry to regain its pre-recession status is adversely affecting the steel market although the auto and appliance industries have reflected a surge in growth. Global leader ArcelorMittal’s Q3 results reported a drop of 21% from Q2, although it reflected a 48% jump in profits YoY. The company expects steel shipments to increase in Q4 but selling prices are expected to fall.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, November 02, 2010
Molycorp CEO Treads Carefully In Regards To Chinese Rare Earths Monopoly / Companies / Metals & Mining
By: Anthony_David
Rare earth metals company Molycorp, Inc. (MCP) owns the largest deposit of rare earth minerals outside of China and its Mountain Pass deposit in California is the only deposit of any significance in the western hemisphere. MCP is one of the two companies that plan to operate rare earth mines within the next two years in an effort to meet the huge demand expected. MCP’s announcement to reopen its mines has more than doubled its share prices over the second half of this year.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, November 02, 2010
BHP Abandonment of Joint Venture Benefits Chinese / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Anthony_David
The fate of the proposed $116 billion Pilbara iron ore joint venture between global mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto has finally been sealed, 16 months after the proposal was first announced. In view of the increasing possibility of not obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals, the two companies have decided to abandon the proposal. CEO Marius Kloppers of BHP Billiton said, “With the termination of the joint venture, this focus on efficiently growing and operating our Western Australian Iron Ore business through our existing Perth-based iron ore management team will continue”.
Read full article... Read full article...
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Mining Stock Investors Are About to Get Clobbered / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: DailyWealth
Matt Badiali writes: Oh boy... the crowd is about to get killed in resource stocks again.
And this time, the Grim Reaper comes in the form of "rare earth element" stocks...
Friday, October 29, 2010
Copper Could Pullback Soon / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Seven_Days_Ahead
Following a 38.2% pullback in Copper earlier this year subsequent recovery breached important resistance which opens the way for a return to the old 2008 peak. Shorter term, though, the signs are building that a correction is due.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
The West Panics as China Extends Rare Earth Metals Export Ban / Politics / Metals & Mining
By: Money_Morning
Jason Simpkins writes: China for months has blocked shipments of rare earth metals intended for Japan in retaliation for a regional dispute. Now, China appears to have expanded its rare earth embargo to include Western countries - a move that has U.S. and European authorities scrambling to formulate a backup plan.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
China's Rare Earth Metals Revenge, U.S. Military Vulnerable / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Jennifer_Barry
While China has slowly increased their market share in rare earth metals for decades, this year marks a quiet crisis in these elements. As James Dines reported in a recent interview, the Chinese now produce 97% of rare earth oxides and have cut back sharply on exports, slashing them 72% for the second half of 2010. These quotas are causing price spikes from panic buying.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Copper Talk / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Richard_Mills
Copper’s talking up a storm.
Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. said copper ore mined from Chile, and shipped to Indonesia, will be in short supply for at least the next five years.
Antofagasta Plc, which owns three Chilean mines, said a scarcity will persist for “the foreseeable future.”
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Insights into the Peruvian Gold and Metals Mining Industry / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
Mining is big in Latin America. The mining sector represents the lion's share of the main Peruvian indexes, and Chile and Argentina have significant mining operations as well. Kallpa Securities CEO Alberto Arispe talked exclusively with The Gold Report about some of the most promising small-cap plays in the area and the prospects of Peru, Chile and Argentina trading under a single exchange and what that might mean for the future of mine financing and investment opportunities.
Friday, October 15, 2010
China and the Future of Rare Earth Elements / Politics / Metals & Mining
By: STRATFOR
A recent diplomatic spat between China and Japan has heightened territorial tensions and called attention to China’s growing forcefulness with foreign powers. One of the more intriguing aspects of this development was China’s suspension of the export of “rare earth” elements (REE) to Japan. REE comprise 17 metallic elements with a variety of modern industrial and commercial applications ranging from petroleum refining to laptop computers to green energy applications to radar. China produces roughly 95 percent of the global supply of REE and Japan is the largest importer. China’s disruption of REE shipments to Japan has caused alarm among other importer countries, bringing new urgency to the search for new supplies and substitutes.Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Investing in Rare Earth Elements As China’s Exports Decline / Companies / Metals & Mining
By: Investment_U
Tony Daltorio writes: Bautou may look like a quiet, unassuming city in the middle of Inner Mongolia. But the home of two million finds itself in the middle of a global controversy all the same…
Right now, China controls the market for rare earths, a group of 17 key elements used in many of today’s modern technological devices. Precision-guided weapons, night vision, radar systems, hybrid cars and wind turbines: All rely, in part, on rare earth elements.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, October 06, 2010
Dajin - Lithium and Potash / Companies / Metals & Mining
By: Richard_Mills
The Puna plateau sits at an elevation of 4,000m, stretches for 1800 km along the Central Andes and attains a width of 350-400 km. The Puna covers a portion of Argentina, Chile and Bolivia and hosts an estimated 70 - 80% of global lithium brine reserves.
Saturday, October 02, 2010
U.S. and China Steel Giants Continue To Battle / Politics / Metals & Mining
By: Anthony_David
The US recently filed two new cases against China at the World Trade Organization (WTO) for allegedly violating global trade rules and discriminating against credit card companies and steel makers of the US. While one case challenges China’s imposition of anti-dumping and countervailing duties on a specialty steel product from the US, the other is related to trade barriers in the electronic payment processing market. China refuses to allow the independent functioning of US based credit and debit card companies keen to enter China’s market, and all companies must function through a Chinese entity.
Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, October 02, 2010
China Flexes It’s Rare Earth Muscles / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Anthony_David
The stakes of the recent dispute between China and Japan over the Japanese detention of a Chinese fishing trawler has reached a head with China blocking the export of precious rare earth metals to Japan. No official announcement has, however, been released and the Chinese Commerce Ministry has strongly denied the imposition of such an embargo. Any official ban on exports would allow Japan to complain to the World Trade Organization (WTO) but with no official Chinese statement and only the reported prevention of ships being loaded, there’s little room for Japan to react. Japan has not received any official communication about a ban either.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Rare Earth Metals, The Next Gold Rush? / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Tony_Sagami
China and Japan are having a small but potentially painful dispute over the ownership of a small chain of islands in the East China Sea.
These islands have very little significance other than the oil deposits that may lie around them. Whoever owns these islands would have claims to the mineral deposits on the ocean floors surrounding the islands.
Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Cautious Optimism for Precious and Base Metals, as Well as Rare Earths / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
Optimism is in the air at the Denver Gold Forum (the conference that assembles the world's leading precious metals miners and the global fund managers who invest in them), according to Encompass Fund Founders Malcolm Gissen and Marshall Berol. The Gold Report was on location at the Forum to get the scoop on their "cautiously optimistic" forecast for precious and base metals, as well as rare earths. In this exclusive interview, Gissen and Berol also explain their company-selection process, which appears to be paying off big time.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Large Copper Deposits Investment Thesis Paying Off / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
Wellington West Senior Analyst Steve Parsons developed an investment thesis for large copper deposits three years ago. His premise was that competition among Asian smelters would drive these companies to seek guaranteed sources of metal concentrate. In fact, several companies with large copper deposits have either received generous offtake financings or been taken over. Steve thinks his evolving thesis will remain valid for the foreseeable future. In this exclusive interview with The Gold Report, Steve divulges the few companies he thinks remain targets.
Saturday, September 04, 2010
British Columbia Mining Renaissance Continues with Historic Revenue Agreement / Companies / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
Gold Stock Trades Editor Jeb Handwerger joins The Gold Report for a look at the mining renaissance currently taking place in British Columbia. With the BC government now playing a more active role in bridging the conflicting needs of opposing sides, Jeb sees diminishing poverty, crime and unemployment levels in the province that generates close to $8 billion a year. "This is a historic first," he says, "BC's government sharing its wealth with the natives." Jeb also offers up some names in the space that are poised to grow alongside BC's rising economy in this Gold Report exclusive.
Friday, September 03, 2010
China’s Stranglehold on World’s Rare Earth Supply / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Anthony_David
All 17 of the rare earth elements are metals. Cerium, dysprosium, erbium, europium, gadolinium, holmium, lanthanum, lutetium, neodymium, praseodymium, promethium, samarium, scandium, terbium, thulium, ytterbium and yttrium – unfamiliar names, yet rare earths are used in most modern and almost all ‘green’ applications. A few everyday examples are cell phones, computer monitors, DVD players, flat panel televisions, e-readers, iPods, rechargeable batteries for hybrid and electric cars, catalysts in cars and oil refineries, advanced ceramics, super-conductors, fiber optics, lasers, CFL light bulbs, wind turbines, and military systems.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
China and the Copper Bull Market / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Richard_Mills
In this author’s opinion, China, and to a lesser extent India and other developing nations, are responsible for the largest and longest base metals bull market the world has ever experienced. Many fear the bull market for natural resources is over when in fact nothing could be further from the truth. This seems especially true, because of the supply/demand picture, regarding copper.Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, August 27, 2010
Park and Fly with Greenscape / Companies / Metals & Mining
By: Richard_Mills
Money might be made when one finds a company, soon to be a cash generator, that is trading well below its net asset value as the market is giving the company a discount to project completion.Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Investing Innovative Technology Companies Serving the Resource Sector / Companies / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
Taylor MacDonald, vice president of investments with Pathfinder Ventures Corporation in Vancouver, has a knack for discovering the undiscovered. In an exclusive interview with The Gold Report, Taylor drills down in the niche of innovative technology companies serving the resource sector and shares some names that most mainstream banks have never even heard of.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Tin, an Overlooked Commodity / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Alex_Cowie
I want to introduce you to one of the most overlooked metals in the commodity complex. On a price basis, it’s been a star performer. Yet it hasn’t attracted much attention.
That’s just the way I like it, though. It gives you a chance to examine the dynamics of the market without rushing. In this case, the dynamics are very strong. The supply side is constrained; a situation that almost always puts upward pressure on prices. The demand side is strong too, as the recent price action shows.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Junior Resources Companies, A Few of Stan Bharti Favorite's / Companies / Metals & Mining
By: The_Energy_Report
Forbes & Manhattan Founder and CEO Stan Bharti, whose genius has guided dozens of junior resource companies to the pinnacle, discusses his approach in this exclusive interview with The Energy Report—and a few of his favorites. Among them is a company using a molecular-tagging technology to foil a practice that fuels terrorist activities and deprives governments of more than $100 billion in tax revenues annually.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Hard Assets Investing, the Best Way to Buy Commodities / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
Is there magic in all those hats that Forbes & Manhattan Founder and CEO Stan Bharti wears? The financier who has seeded, nurtured, supported and guided dozens of junior resource companies to the pinnacle discusses his formula—and a few of his favorites—in this exclusive interview with The Gold Report. With hard assets in favor these days, Stan believes the best you can buy are commodities—they're "real, fundamental. . .something you can touch and feel."
Monday, August 02, 2010
The Special Science of Rare Earth Metals Investing / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
The ability to separate the science from the promotional claims is among the expertise that Geological Consultant Tony Mariano, PhD, brings to the rare earth elements (REE) table. Tony, who for decades has combined long hours in the lab with even longer field visits to evaluate mineralization in its natural environment, is among the rare ones who can help companies evaluate a deposit for grade, tonnage and the prospects for economic recovery. A sharp technician who manages to keep his head out of the clouds and his feet on the ground, Tony shares some of his secrets, and some of his opinions about the hottest prospective properties, in this exclusive interview with The Gold Report.
Monday, August 02, 2010
Steels Most Important Ingredient / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Anthony_David
As the economic crisis continues to reverberate worldwide, many smart companies and developing nations are taking advantage of the downturn to invest in strategic metals. One such metal continuing to gain interest around the world is manganese for the simple, but important reason that steel cannot be produced without it. That’s why this month, we’ve decided to focus on this little known strategic metal.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Metals Investing in Burkina Faso, The Land of Upright People / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Richard_Mills
Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Copper: More Than China's Property Market / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Dian_L_Chu
Despite an improved risk sentiment, copper price is still sitting at 20% below its April peak mostly from the following concerns:
- Demand slowdown in China as Beijing is attempting to tame inflation and property bubbles
- Recent drop in China copper imports
- “Double dip” in Europe from austerity programs
- Copper is down around 13% for the year so far
Monday, July 05, 2010
Rhodium Favorable Technical Conditions / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Ned_W_Schmidt
One aspect of Rhodium makes it of special interest, which arises from being the rarest metal. No one seems to be looking for it. If, when looking for something else, Rhodium is found, it is harvested. The rarity of the metal apparently precludes it from existing in sufficient quantity to justify the quest for it. The Rhodium play you are seeking is Rhodium itself.
Read full article... Read full article...
Sunday, July 04, 2010
Australia Reduces Mining “Super Tax,” Reviving Profitability of Resource Sector / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Money_Morning
Australian mining companies declared a huge win today (Friday) when the government announced the proposed mining "super tax" would be reduced, prompting some companies to reactivate shelved projects and reopen merger and acquisition talks.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Rare Earth Metals Investing Explained / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
Rare earth elements (REEs) are not all that rare. They are virtually everywhere—even in economic concentrations in safe jurisdictions, says Byron Capital Analyst Jon Hykawy. What's more, the prices for some high-demand metals derived from REE deposits continue to reach new heights, almost daily. These metals are essential to the manufacture of magnets used in hybrid and electric cars and other high-end "green" technology—a thriving market indeed. If that seems like a recipe for investment success, read what Jon has to say about the REE market in this exclusive interview with The Gold Report. It's complicated. Not one REE deposit to date comes without significant baggage. But there's still money to be made if you're willing to settle for a long-term relationship.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
China Revaluation News Could Spark Short Term Squeeze in Metals / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Dr_Jeff_Lewis
News that China is open to revaluing its currency could bring about a short term reduction in the price of precious metals. Ahead of important multi-national conversations about the future of global trade and the world economy, China politicized its monetary policy, hoping to push back criticism that it is a global currency manipulator. Earning the title of a currency manipulator could open an easy door for global political leaders to push tariffs on Chinese manufactured goods, allowing for a trade war that would be most destructive to international economic growth, particularly in China.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, June 21, 2010
North America Doesn't Need China's Rare Earth Metals / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
Everybody's talking about rare earth elements (REEs), but does anyone truly understand them? With nearly 50 years in the industry, independent Metals Consultant Jack Lifton sure does. The educational powerhouse in this burgeoning space returns to The Gold Report with a look toward future trends and a plan to emancipate North America from China's REE monopoly.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Psychology of the Copper Market, Implications for the Global Economy / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Gary_Dorsch
Copper is often referred to as the metal with a Ph-D in macro-Economics, since it finds its way into so many industrial applications, including automobiles, appliances, airplanes, pipes, wires, and even computer chips, to mention just a few of its uses. As such, it acts as a top forecaster of where the global economy is heading next, especially China, Asia’s economic locomotive. Copper is a favorite tool for speculators in the commodities markets, given its cyclical nature and volatility.
Wednesday, June 02, 2010
New Uses and Projections for Manganese, Magnesium and Molybdenum / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Anthony_David
In April 2010, India successfully traced manganese nodules at the poly metallic nodule (PMN) site in the Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB) by using ROSUB 6000, the remotely operable vehicle (ROV) developed at India’s National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) in Tamil Nadu. The ROV is a part of the technologies being developed to observe and explore deep-sea mineral wealth. The UN’s International Sea Bed Authority (ISBA) has allotted India 7,500 square kilometers in the CIOB to harness PMN nodules of cobalt, copper, manganese, and nickel. PMN nodules are located at depths of about 6,000 meters and according to estimates, the total resources available are a massive 380 million metric tons.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, June 02, 2010
Strategic Metals Shine in Africa / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Anthony_David
South Africa has over 80% of the world’s manganese resources and it accounts for about 15% of the global production each year. Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) reported that March 2010 saw the nation’s mining industry record the highest growth since March 2004. While the total mining industry recorded a year-on-year growth of 11% in March, manganese ore production grew by 55.3%. Diamond production rose by 98.4%.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, May 28, 2010
Coppers Wild Bull Market, SPX Usurps Stockpiles / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Zeal_LLC
From boring industrial metal to commodities superstar, copper’s wild bull market has been full of excitement. Its huge 475% run from its 2003 low to 2008 high made investors fortunes. Its subsequent panic-driven 69% plunge was catastrophic. And then copper’s resilient 183% post-panic recovery to its recent April high has been breathtaking.
Monday, May 10, 2010
CRU's Helen O'Malley Speaks Manganese / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
"The price for manganese ore has recovered a lot more swiftly and strongly than we anticipated," explains Helen O'Malley, a bulk manganese specialist with London-based CRU, adding: "The price bottomed out last year to about $3.50 per dry metric ton unit (DMTU) and now it's up to about $8.00." In this exclusive interview with The Gold Report, O'Malley sheds some light on the seldom-discussed metal and its supply and demand fundamentals. She also explains how the market is really being driven by China and even lists several junior mining companies who are actively exploring manganese properties.
Friday, May 07, 2010
Australia Mining Super Tax Blunder Will Squeeze Global Economic Recovery / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Money_Morning
Martin Hutchinson writes: Australia just this week unveiled a mining "super tax" that the country plans to levy against its natural-resources sector starting in 2012.
This is bad news.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, May 06, 2010
Victor Gonçalves Betting on the Raw Materials Investing / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
Equities and Economics Report writer Victor Gonçalves says the cobalt story is still yet to come. In this exclusive Energy Report interview, Victor also explains how to tell the real rare earth companies from the wannabes.
The Energy Report: Victor, one of the big headlines since we last spoke is the loan that Europe is giving Greece. Some are calling it an EU bailout. As an economist, how do you see this move?
Sunday, May 02, 2010
Rising Steel Demand Support Our 2010 Price Predictions for Molybdenum, Manganese & Magnesium / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Anthony_David
The Economics Committee of the World Steel Association met in Beijing last month and released a short-range outlook for 2010 and 2011. Daniel Novegil, Chairman of the Economics Committee said, “The world steel industry now seems firmly set on a path to recovery. The emerging economies, who in total maintained positive growth through the crisis, will continue to show strong growth, driving world steel demand in the future, however the current recovery in the major developed economies is slower and the projected steel demand for them in 2011 is well below the 2007 level.”
Read full article... Read full article...
Sunday, May 02, 2010
Manganese, Magnesium and Molybdenum, Strategic Metals Key to Green Technology / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Anthony_David
Although demand for approximately 90% of manganese, 75% of molybdenum and 13% of magnesium is accounted for by the global steel industry, these three strategic metals are becoming highly important to the future of emerging green technologies.
Read full article... Read full article...
Sunday, May 02, 2010
World’s Steel Giants Jockey for Position / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Anthony_David
Driven by strong Chinese demand and some recovery in OECD markets, global mining and exploration giant Rio Tinto reported a 39% jump in its Q1 iron ore production figures. Rio Tinto followed the announcement with a 1.7% raise, from 230 million tonnes to 234 million tonnes, in its 2010 iron ore production target. Chief Executive Tom Albanese of Rio Tinto said that he was hopeful of his company’s growth on the wave of economic recovery reported in Asia.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Derivative Overhaul is Powerful for Physical Metals / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Dr_Jeff_Lewis
As Congress looks to pass a financial overhaul bill to prevent a second coming of the Troubled Asset Relief Program and another financial crisis, one of the biggest winners are holders of physical precious metals. Language in the bill meant to reduce the volume of the derivatives market could send the price of physical metals soaring.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, April 19, 2010
Resources Stocks Sector Investing, Follow the News Early / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
"News flow is really, really important. If you're going to play these kinds of stocks, especially if this is a sector you're not that comfortable with, you want to get in at the start or before the start of a drill program and not at the end," says Eric Coffin, co-editor along with his brother David of the HRA (Hard Rock Analyst) publications. In this exclusive interview for The Gold Report, Eric explains the importance of sniffing out upcoming news and timing in selecting potential resource investment opportunities.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Investing in Planes, Trains & Automobiles (& Rickshaws), Is there a China bubble? / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
Is there a China bubble? Not according to Gianni Kovacevic, corporate development strategist and principal of Kovacevic Consultants. In this exclusive interview with The Gold Report, Gianni says that China will continue to be the primary driver of fundamental demand for copper and other resources. He says the amount of infrastructure already built in China, and to be built, is not a road or bridge to nowhere, but a critical necessity. Hundreds of millions of people are participating in the largest migration in human history, presenting a great opportunity for investors.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Copper: An Insider’s Perspective / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Q1_Publishing
Copper prices are up a 160% in the past year and a half.
Most investors are wondering is the run over?
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Gold and Metals Continuum / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: HRA_Advisory
The Chilean earthquake that has done so much damage in the southern area of the country also cut short the consolidation that copper’s price had begun. All reports indicate that there has been little damage at mine sites, most of which are in northern Chile. There is still a question of whether infrastructure disruptions resulting from the need to focus on the quake hit areas could reduce the country’s metal shipments.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Lithium Commodity Investing ABC / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Richard_Mills
The Puna plateau sits at an elevation of 4,000m, stretches for 1800 km along the Central Andes and attains a width of 350–400 km. The Puna covers a portion of Argentina, Chile and Bolivia and hosts an estimated 70 - 80% of global lithium brine reserves.
The evaporate mineral deposits on the plateau - which may contain potash, lithium and boron - are formed by intense evaporation under hot, dry and windy conditions in an endorheic basin - endorheic basins are closed drainage basins that retain water and allow no outflow - precipitation and inflow water from the surrounding mountains only leaves the system by evaporation and seepage. The surface of such a basin is typically occupied by a salt lake or salt pan. Most of these salt lakes - called salars - contain brines which are capable of providing more than one potentially economic product.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Lithium Commodity Investing - New Participants Positioned for Near Term Production & Supply Chain Fundamentals / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Madison_Avenue_R
Currently lithium production supply and demand are relatively in balance, however the possibility of a lithium production supply deficit is realistic scenario as the problem with predicting demand is that no one actually knows just how enthusiastic developing trends will be. The future use of lithium in transportation as a preferred medium of energy storage, among other uses, has earmarks of going viral in the next couple decades. New entrants and the ramping up of production from existing producers is expected by some industry forecasts to keep supply in step with demand, but the fear of possible supply chain interruption is a motivator for major industrial end users to take preemptive measures and ensure they are strategically involved now.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Lithium Commodity Investing, Hot Now, Soon to Sizzle / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
Lithium, the flavor of the year, is in high demand—powering everything from hybrid cars to laptops and cell phones. In this exclusive Gold Report interview, Byron Capital Markets lithium analyst Jon Hykawy discusses key drivers for lithium, as well as vanadium. He also recommends a few names in the still-small space, adding "these are early days;" the opportunities emerging should benefit the producers and investors.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Rebound in Copper Returns Focus On 76.4% Resistance / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Seven_Days_Ahead
Early this year the prior steady uptrend from a late 2008 low was seen to falter at a key Fibonacci level. After an initial sell-off a strong bounce has unnerved the bears - there is still scope for a resumption of weakness, but the market is at a critical stage.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Petropavlovsk’s Iron Ore Prospects / Companies / Metals & Mining
By: Miles_Banner
We last wrote about Petropavlovsk back in December 09. Back then we noted the unusual selling of shares from Peter Hambro and Pavel Maslovsky, the two directors. Last week one of our readers drew our attention to the fact we’ve not spoken about them for a while. Fear not, they have been on our radar and as of last week fresh news caught our interest.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
BHP Billiton, Amazon, Potash The Big Australian & the Brazil Consortium / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Richard_Mills
As a general rule, the most successful man in life is the man who has the best information
In the spring of 1869 a German Chemist named Charles Rasp immigrated to Australia for his health. Unable to find work in his chosen trade Charles learned to ride a horse and began wrangling sheep. One day, while out riding his horse at Broken Hill, he discovered mineralised rock. He took out a mining lease, punched holes in the ground and eventually found rich veins of silver. The Broken Hill Proprietary Company – BHP - was incorporated in 1885 while mining silver and lead at Broken Hill in western New South Wales.
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Resources Still The Place To Be Invested, But Watch For Correction / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
Adrian Day, President of Adrian Day Asset Management, says that despite hitting yet new highs near the end of the year, there is much further to go for gold and gold stocks. In this excerpt from a recent article, Adrian reviews the resource markets and looks ahead, particularly to gold; recommending several companies for which he is anticipating good things.
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Will Copper Become the “New Gold?” / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Money_Morning
Peter Krauth writes: The Statue of Liberty is one of the most recognizable American icons in the world.
And as she towers 305 feet above Ellis Island, what's Lady Liberty wearing? Copper - 60,000 pounds of it.
Monday, February 08, 2010
Electric Cars Materials and Resources Demand / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Richard_Shaw
If electric cars are adopted by the market in the US and abroad, there will be a shift in the relative demand growth rate for certain basic materials.
While global population growth and average global standard of living increases will raise overall materials demand across the board, a move toward electric cars, particularly plug-in electric cars, will change the composition of basic materials demand growth.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, January 29, 2010
Copper, Zinc, Nickel... Impact From Soaring Base Metals Stockpiles / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Zeal_LLC
Ever since its secular bull kicked off in 2003, the once-boring base-metals sector took on an aura of excitement. What trader wasn’t excited when copper, zinc, nickel, lead, and aluminum put together respective gains of 475%, 523%, 650%, 829%, and 163% from their 2003 lows to their interim bull-market highs?
A structural shift in base metals’ core fundamentals sent prices skyrocketing, as supply simply wasn’t able to keep up with fast-growing demand. The age of consumption extended well beyond the Western economies that normally drove commodities prices, and an Asian monster was aggressively feeding its voracious appetite for the metals. A new group of developing economies had finally joined the modern era, initiating colossal infrastructure buildouts.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Constituents of Commodity Companies Index (CCI) Finally Revealed / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Lorimer_Wilson
There are over 1000 companies of various market capitalizations trading on the Canadian and/or U.S. stock exchanges that are involved in some aspect of commodities be it in mining, drilling, agriculture, exploring, developing or financing. That being said there are only about 100 companies that have warrants that trade and only 35 have warrants that are of 24 months duration or longer.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Saskatchewan's Resources Enriching the World / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
As if the fairy godmother flicked her magic wand, once drab and droopy Saskatchewan has blossomed into the belle of the ball—and the healthiest economy in Canada. According to Tom MacNeill, undeniably one the province's most ardent fans, the transformed province will keep heads turning for the next century. Chairman and CEO of 49 North Resources Inc. (TSX-V:FNR), Tom is reaching out to line up suitors and fill out dance cards to finance a lot of early-stage opportunities in the now-flourishing resources sector that's leading the economic revolution.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Investors Race to Buy Up Rare Earth Elements in 2010 / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Energy_Report
Mercenary Geologist Mickey Fulp says that 2009's "flavor of the year"—rare earth elements—will sport that same label in 2010. A major driving force, the momentum building in green technology, is expected to take global consumption to 200,000 tons annually by 2015 (from approximately 108,000 tons in 2007). At the same time, tight supplies will shrink further for at least another two or three years, until deposits outside China ramp up into production. Among the companies Mickey likes in the space are the integrated mine-to-market players. In this exclusive interview with The Energy Report, he also tells us he's bullish on uranium, too, but finds it scary to see likes of Kazakhstan emerging as the world's top supplier.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Focus on Fundamental Drivers for Gold and Copper / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
Pinetree Capital Resource Analyst Craig Stanley sheds some light for The Gold Report on how real interest rates are driving gold's rise. Although the 10-year real rate is positive now, he says if it goes negative, and stays negative, "Look out. The gold price could really spike." In this exclusive Gold Report interview, he discusses some of the junior exploration and development companies in Pinetree's portfolio.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Copper Awaiting Reaction at 76.4% Resistance / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Seven_Days_Ahead
The recovery in Copper that started in late 2008 continued through 2009 without much reaction to the downside. The upmove has finally reached the 76.4% recovery area of the major losses seen earlier in 2008 – it is worth keeping an eye out for signs of bull fatigue here.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Base Metals and Rare Earths Balancing Security of Supply and Investment Optimism / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Energy_Report
Americans have been bemoaning U.S. dependence on foreign oil for decades and a domestic alternative still seems a distant dream. Meanwhile, the world has changed. On one hand, that dependency now stretches across a broadening spectrum of raw materials, from molybdenum and tungsten to zinc, nickel and chromium to the decade's darling on the periodic table—the rare earths. And on the other, huge emerging economies, primarily that of China, are driving up demand for the raw materials needed to develop infrastructure and making it clear that their own domestic needs take priority.
Friday, January 08, 2010
Copper Bull Market Correction / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Zeal_LLC
Copper has enjoyed a spectacular run higher. In calendar 2009 as it emerged out of the stock-panic-induced commodities-price crash, it rocketed 153.2% higher! Such performance is just staggeringly good, even by the high post-panic standards. Over this same span the flagship CCI commodities index (which includes copper) only rallied 32.1%. And gold, which captivated traders in recent months, was only up 24.3% in 2009.
Saturday, January 02, 2010
Junior Base Metals Stocks / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Zeal_LLC
If you peel away the layers of what the mainstreamers classify as materials stocks, you will find the base metals stocks. And it is this group of stocks that represents the mining companies responsible for the supply side of the non-ferrous metals trade.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Brent Cook on Successful Metals and Mining Exploration Investing / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
No drill results? No worries. Good geology, good management, a good cash position and a good stock price are good enough to coax renowned exploration analyst (and geologist) Brent Cook into buying junior prospect generators and explorers. He finds his sweet spot being near the top of the batting order. If he waits for drill results to confirm what he expects them to reveal, he may miss the best time to buy. With year-over-year returns on his Exploration Insights portfolio averaging 80%—and one superstar at 10 times that!—Brent's clearly hit a few homers with his strategy. But in this exclusive interview, he cautions Gold Report readers against believing everything you read and hear. He says, "It's really, really critical to evaluate what a company's telling you."
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Essential Trading Tips for the Junior Mining Shares Investing / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Dudley_Baker
We suggest that investors be aware of the high risk of investing in this sector as well as the spectacular potential rewards. Investors are encouraged to focus on companies with excellent management, excellent properties and cash in the bank. This will greatly increase our chances of success along with learning the trading tips which follows.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Safeguarding Our Future Supply of Rare Earth Metals / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
"Price may not be as important as security of supply," says Jack Lifton, an independent consultant with more than 45 years of experience in sourcing nonferrous strategic metals. In the U.S., our dependence on rare metals is undermined by the simple fact that we're not producing any. Given that China now controls 95% of these 'technology metals' and the world is projected to eat 200,000 tons of rare earth metals near 2015, Jack tells The Gold Report we need to jumpstart our own domestic supply chain and, more importantly, build the refineries to process them—rather than sending them to China for refining, which is our only option currently.
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Q&A with Eric Coffin on Gold and Base Metals Exploration Companies / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: HRA_Advisory
I recently had a chance to talk to Eric Coffin, who, along with his brother David, produces the HRA (Hard Rock Analyst) Advisories. Eric, Dave and I have been friends for 15 years and we run into each other several times a year at conferences we all speak at. I’ve talked about some of the companies we both follow in the past few months and wanted to get some more information from “the horse’s mouth.”
Monday, November 30, 2009
If the U.S. Eonomy Weakens Again, What Happens to Gold and Base Metals? / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: HRA_Advisory
The announcement of a surprisingly large US trade deficit for September had some assuming the US consumer is back in a buying mood. Alas, the much watched Michigan consumer confidence index for November quickly followed, and it is off a large 4.6 points, from 70.6 in October to 66.0 now. The import gains were largely for crude oil, and there was some gain from the “declunkering” auto sector. Even in weak markets there will periods of restocking that have to be figured into single bits of data. Before Friday was done inventory levels for crude came out that were full enough to knock its price back from recent highs.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Contaminated Mining Environments: It's Better to be Green / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Richard_Mills
Waste Rock and Tailings -
When a mining company wants to dig up specific minerals, it has to remove rock from the earth to do so. Any rock removed that does not contain economic amounts of the wanted mineral is called waste rock. Mining companies put this waste rock in piles called “dumps.”
Monday, November 23, 2009
Two Nickel Explorers / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Richard_Mills
As a general rule, the most successful man in life is the man who has the best information
It wasn't so long ago that the base metals were some of the most rewarding markets to be involved in during this commodities bull market. That of course changed drastically when all the base metals were subjected to very large price drops late in 2008.
Read full article... Read full article...
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Hunting for Golden Resource Elephants in Chile / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Sean_Brodrick
Chile is prime hunting ground for “elephants” — large, undiscovered deposits of all sorts of minerals — copper, gold, silver and more. And last week, I visited this supermodel-skinny country, which is 4,022 miles long and an average width of only 100 miles across, on the trail of one of the world’s great undeveloped gold deposits.
Monday, November 09, 2009
Volume Telling the Tale for Metals and Resource Stocks / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: HRA_Advisory
India’s central bank taking 200 tonnes (6.4 million oz) of gold from the IMF in an off market trade has certainly lit a fire under the yellow metal. While a trade of that nature was anticipated, India, which is about the savviest of commercial gold players, was not atop the expected buyers’ list. Given the greenback was steady and that gold’s chart went near vertical when the overnight rumor became official, it is likely that the big long position that came into the market forced some covering on the short side. Is this more than a spike? Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Junior Mining Stock Market Orders, Stink Bids - What, Why and How…. / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Dudley_Baker
I’m sure you have heard of this term, ‘stink bids’. They are but one way of insuring a low entry price in some of your favorite junior mining companies.
Whenever I hear the term I always think of Doug Casey, Casey Research which is where I recall learning about them years ago.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, October 30, 2009
Copper the Bellwether Base Metal Bull Market Marches On / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Zeal_LLC
Though not the most exciting of the earth’s minerals, the bellwether base metal has wrangled up a following. Since the beginning of copper’s powerful bull run, that took out all-time highs in 2005, this metal has made a place for itself on headline business-channel tickers and in everyday trader talk.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Copper Bulls Stay Sidelined, Downside Risk Remains / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Seven_Days_Ahead
The 2009 bull run ran out of steam in August, with price action turning consolidative. After an initial negative sign the bears have been reluctant to follow through, but downside risk stays present.
Friday, October 09, 2009
Mickey Fulp: Rare Earth Metals Are 'Flavor of the Year' / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Energy_Report
Shifting gears from gold to energy, Mercenary Geologist Mickey Fulp focuses on the latest rage: rare earth elements (REEs). In this exclusive interview with The Energy Report, Mickey discusses China's monopoly on REEs and the resultant shock waves still rocking Western industrialized countries and Japan. While fear of China protectionism looms, Mickey sees plenty of opportunity in "cream-of-the-crop North American companies" that are presently undervalued.
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Steve Parsons Takes a Shine to Copper / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
Consumption, speculation and growing demand by emerging economies add up to a rather rosy outlook for copper, says Steve Parsons, Senior Research Analyst for Wellington West Capital Markets. In this exclusive Gold Report interview, Steve explains how investors might capitalize on a theme that's picking up momentum on the copper concentrate side of the industry. He also sheds some light on a great copper story that's unfolding on the northern shore of Lake Superior in northeastern Minnesota, not far from the Ontario border.
Monday, October 05, 2009
Ivanhoe Deal in Mongolia Vindicates Friedland / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Midas_Letter
It wasn't that long ago that Forbes Magazine, a widely read yet thinly fact-checked business tabloid, launched a campaign to discredit Robert Friedland and Ivanhoe Mines (TSX:IVN). Indeed, Friedland has been targeted by most of the mainstream media in Canada and the U.S., prompting Ivanhoe to issue news releases attempting to set straight the facts on a nearly continuos basis.
Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, October 03, 2009
Why All the Fuss Over Rare Earth Metals? / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Doug_Horning
Doug Hornig Senior Editor of Casey’s International Speculator writes: Rare earth elements (REEs) have been the mystery metals of the mining world for years. Now, suddenly, everyone’s heard about them.
Friday, October 02, 2009
Base Metals Stocks Bull Market / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Zeal_LLC
The base metals markets have been some of the most exciting to trade in this commodities bull. From trough to peak, copper, zinc, nickel, lead, and aluminum have seen staggering gains of 575%, 537%, 1124%, 888%, and 163%! Naturally, gains of this magnitude have made the mining of these metals an incredibly lucrative business.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Lithium Leading the Charge in Automotive and Electronics Batteries / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
One of these days, pent-up demand for new cars and growing concern about the carbon footprint associated with driving vehicles powered by traditional internal combustion engines will fuel tremendous demand for lithium, a development sure to spark greater investor interest, as well. A staple in batteries for hybrids and all-electric vehicles on the road and on the drawing boards, lithium is becoming a darling among hot commodities. As one of the few of his ilk on the planet, Jon Hykawy is also in considerable demand these days. The Gold Report caught up with Jon in Buenos Aires, where he—as Byron Capital Markets' recently appointed lithium analyst—is checking out facilities in Argentina, the world's second-largest (behind Chile) lithium-producing country, to talk about his favorite subject.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Copper Panic and Recovery / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Zeal_LLC
Although copper is not the largest base-metal market (aluminum is way bigger), nor the most valuable of the primary base metals (nickel is worth several times more per pound), it is still arguably the most important base metal. As the base metal of choice for investors and speculators, copper’s price offers great insights into how traders view the global economic outlook.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Pro-Copper Investment Crowd Grows / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
Corporate development strategist and consultant Gianni Kovacevic, back with The Gold Report for the second time this year, still takes a shine to copper—but he has a lot more company now than he did in April. As copper climbs, the Monday morning quarterbacks are changing their tune. Also a fan of molybdenum, which is often a significant byproduct of copper mining, Gianni says it does more than fortify steel for pipelines, vehicles and beams. He calls it the "glue" of any growing economy.
Friday, September 11, 2009
What's Driving Lithium? Merrill McHenry on the "Technology" Metal / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
Demand for lithium is on the rise, as hybrid car batteries and portable electronic devices often require rechargeable lithium batteries. Analyst Merrill McHenry, MBA, CFA, in this email interview, gives The Energy Report readers the lowdown on automakers racing to see how many cars they can get into the market, and the importance of project economics in looking at investment opportunities. Some excerpts:
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
The Metals Resource Investment Story Is Not Over / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
Not many investors anticipated the devastation 2008 would visit upon the markets. Nonetheless, shrewd advisors sought, as always, to limit risk by investing in a wide array of sectors. Looking to do just that, Malcolm Gissen and Marshall Berol started a no-load mutual fund—the Encompass Fund—in June 2006. Like others, the fund suffered a steep decline in Q408, but has since witnessed a pretty dramatic recovery. In this exclusive interview with The Gold Report, Malcolm and Marshall share why they believe "we're still in the early innings" of the resource investment game and foresee a bright future for the all-star junior miners.
Friday, August 21, 2009
China Turning the Screws on Rio Tinto in Iron Ore Negotiations / Companies / Metals & Mining
By: Money_Morning
Bob Blandeburgo writes: China is pressing Rio Tinto PLC (NYSE ADR: RTP) hard for a sharp reduction in the prices the company charges for its iron ore. But mining companies like Rio, who have had their bottom lines eviscerated by a slump in commodities prices, may have a hard time acquiescing.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Two Near Term Junior Resource Market Production Stories / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Richard_Mills
As a general rule, the most successful man in life is the man who has the best information
Base metal prices have been on a tear and are currently up much more then precious metals in 2009. Copper has almost doubled from its low, to $2.74/lb, zinc is up 70% to $0.80/lb. Even nickel, which had been lagging the recovery, is now up almost 100% to $8.50/lb. The Gold Fields Mineral Services Base Metal Index is up 26% just in last month.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Lithium and Obama’s Electrification of America / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Richard_Mills
America’s future energy course is being charted today because of the ramifications of peak oil, because cars pollute too much, because of global warming, because America wishes to end her dependence on foreign supplied energy and to be blunt… Americans need jobs.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Cheerful Prognosis for Dr. Copper / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
Even if emerging economies' demands for copper were to falter, Jennings Capital Inc. Mining Research Analyst Peter Campbell sees plenty of polish on copper ahead. One big reason: Even a gradual climb out of recession will prompt North American and European manufacturers to replenish inventories as they begin restoring production to pre-crash levels. As for the copper companies themselves, he tells The Gold Report that some of the best bets lie with emerging producers that are prepared to augment diminishing supplies with new finds. Peter has his sights set on iron ore, nickel, aluminum and other base metals, too, but he calls copper "the best and clearest way by far" of participating in the evolving economic story.
Saturday, August 08, 2009
Helping Investors Navigate Metals and Mining Rocky Road to Riches / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
You don't hear a lot about "peak gold," but the fact is that great gold deposits are harder and more costly to find these days. Then getting the few finds into production takes more time and money than ever before. So why bother? Because the occasional success story makes it all worthwhile for the intelligent investor. "It's those few that really keep all of us in this game and keep all the money coming in," renowned exploration analyst and geologist Brent Cook tells The Gold Report readers. Brent, who produces the weekly Exploration Insights newsletter, also offers a few tips for intelligent investing in metals and mining that don't require expertise in mineralogy to put into practice.
Friday, August 07, 2009
The Cobalt Commodity Story / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Richard_Mills
As a general rule, the most successful man in life is
the man who has the best information
What is Happening with Cobalt?
Cobalt became one of the two “major” minor metals in this decade’s metals cycle, the other being molybdenum. Cobalt also made the short list of four metals that the European Union chose to name in its press release as representative of the 40 metals it is classifying as critical:
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Metals Snap Back Rally / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: HRA_Advisory
The continued enthusiasm for metals can be tied to a combination of devaluation of the Greenback and hopes that western recessions are bottoming. The deteriorating US Dollar is an element that will have to be weighed against the demand picture for the next decade. However, western demand hasn’t been fundamental to pricing metal, or oil, for over a decade. Current enthusiasm, especially in light summer trading, should be treated gingerly.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Economies Bottoming and Metal Prices / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: HRA_Advisory
The shift towards a more positive mood became infectious last week, despite a continuation of at best mixed results from either side of the Atlantic. In New York the brokers were showing good Q2 results, but the bankers are still flushing cash away on an operating basis. Being able to gain on the decline of assets is aiding the traders, while the lenders continue to deal with the losses this creates.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Race for Rare Metals – And China Is Winning! / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: ProactiveInvestors
Sam Kiri writes:The recent G8 Summit in Italy ended with one important concluding note. As President Barack Obama summarised, “For us to think we can somehow deal with some of these global challenges in the absence of major powers like China, India and Brazil seems to me wrongheaded.” A well-timed thought as it is clear that the role played by these nations in the world economy is gaining prominence.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Which Metal Is Shining More, Copper or Gold? / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Bill_Downey
For any investor trying to sum up the copper situation, he/she must come to grips with many conflicting forces all vying to affect its price. The mass media continues to send signals that the worst is over and recovery is at hand in the global market place. Meanwhile some pretty savvy analysts on the internet are telling us to hold on to our buttocks as the next wave of credit contraction is upon us this fall as the commercial real estate market is about to embark on the same road as the residential real estate market followed last year. If this is the case then the markets could be in for another bout of cascading selloffs as were witnessed last year. Let’s discuss both, and then look at the price charts to see if they offer clues and potential tactics we might employ.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Mining In Mexico with Great Panther Resources, GPR:TSX / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Richard_Mills
In 1992 mining laws were changed in anticipation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The new laws allowed 100 percent foreign ownership of Mexican mines (except for hydrocarbons, radioactive materials and salt).
Monday, July 20, 2009
An African Mining Stock for Brave Investors / Companies / Metals & Mining
By: MoneyWeek
Dominic Frisby writes: The life of an exploration geologist is not an easy one.
Despite spending many years in the remoter parts of the wild with just your boots, a pick and a tent for company, you might make just one significant mining discovery in your career. If you’re lucky, you might make three or four. Plenty make none.
Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Mickey Fulp Sees Bright Outlook in Junior Gold and Rare Earth Elements Sectors / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
Well-known and highly regarded throughout the mining and exploration community, Mercenary Geologist Mickey Fulp returns to discuss the brightening prospects for the junior sector with The Gold Report readers. A Certified Professional Geologist, he is particularly intrigued these days by companies operating in “emerging environments” where the “geological potential is under-explored.” Another area of keen interest Mickey talks about in this exclusive interview is the re-emerging rare earths elements sector, a potential source of neodymium, lanthanum and heavy rare earth elements needed to produce energy-efficient hybrid vehicles.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Metal Prices Creating Another Financial Bubble? / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Pravda
against the background of the sliding dollar. Nickel had the most considerable price increase at London Metal Exchange today. A ton of this metal gained 5.09 percent and reached the maximum of this year – $15359.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Keep an Eye on Metals Mining Exploration Plays in the James Bay Area / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
Eric Lemieux, metals and mining analyst with Laurentian Bank Securities, focuses on the emerging mineral wealth of the James Bay area of Quebec and discusses his favorite explorers in this exclusive interview with The Gold Report. Despite producers being more in favor, he believes the James Bay area with its exploration plays and favorable geological, geographic, and social fundamentals retains its advantages.
Saturday, May 02, 2009
ECU, Silver Miner Sitting on Half a Billion Ounces / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Uncommon_Wisdom
Sean Brodrick writes: What if I told you that there was a producing silver miner, sitting on nearly half a billion ounces of silver equivalent, that you could buy for under a buck a share. Would you be interested?
You’d probably have more questions. I had a lot of them when I had a chance to sit down this week with Stephen Altmann, President of ECU Silver (symbol ECU on the TSX in Canada; ECUXF on the pink sheets in the United States). ECU is a Canadian miner hard at work in mineral-rich Durango State in Mexico.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Copper Supply and Demand - New Rule Book Still Being Written / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
What's driving copper to its recent high of $2.20 a pound? If demand is down, how is it possible that the price of copper went up 40% to 50% within the last three months alone? "We're playing by a different set of rules now," says Gianni Kovacevic, corporate development strategist at Global Opportunities AG. In this exclusive interview with The Gold Report, Gianni discusses the changing face of copper and the new rule book being written for it.
Friday, April 24, 2009
China Demand Driving Bullish Reversal For Copper Prices / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Money_and_Markets
Sean Brodrick writes: I have a chart of copper that I MUST share with you. Despite the bearish news on the global economy as a whole, copper is strong and getting stronger …
You can see that after plunging last fall, copper has spent months hammering out a rounded bottom. This kind of pattern is often an indicator of trend reversal. In this case, the trend would be reversing from bearish to bullish.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Matt Badiali: Focus on the Mining Sector Prospect Generators / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
According to Matt Badiali, editor of S&A Oil Report, prospect generators represent the best opportunities in the mining sector. Instead of being cash-burning machines that dilute shareholder equity, they put up the initial investment on a property, "do the science," and then turn it over to a partner who puts up the money to drill the projects. He calls the power of the prospect-generating model "astonishing," and names some companies that he considers top-flight in the sector.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Is Copper Poised for a Sustainable Secular Bull Market? / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Guy_Lerner
Over the last 4 months, copper has bounced about 70% from its lows. Yet it is only recently that such a significant price move is beginning to attract attention as pundits try to explain what is going on. With stocks roaring back over the past 5 weeks, the obvious (and wrong) connection is that the global recession is ending. To me, copper's price rise is more technical after a deeply oversold condition, and it appears that the pundits are only crafting a good story to explain its recent price movements.Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, April 13, 2009
Obama’s Energy Revolution It’s Clean, It’s Green, and its Right Now / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Richard_Mills
As a general rule, the most successful man in life is the man who has the best information
“Finding the new driver of our economy is going to be critical. There’s no better driver that pervades all aspects of our economy than a new energy economy. … That’s going to be my No. 1 priority when I get into office.” President Obama
Friday, April 10, 2009
Emerging Copper Bull Market Signaling an End to the Recession? / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Zeal_LLC
Most analysts believe this deep global recession has abruptly ended the powerful secular commodities bull that was born at the turn of the 21st century. And it is certainly hard to argue this point considering the dismal panic-selling-induced performance of nearly all commodities.
The volatility and fear that took hold of the markets have given traders the mindset that all economic activity has ground to a screeching halt. And the markets have discounted the idea that global economic growth is over, thus warranting the aggressive selling of all assets.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, April 10, 2009
Copper Up 50% To date, Can China Save the Day? / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
Brent Cook writes: The copper price is on a roll having risen roughly 50% over the past three months to $1.95 lb (Fig.1 below). Unfortunately for analysts and specialists, the fundamentals driving copper pricing are opaque at best and therefore subject to a variety of interpretations and predictions. Here's my take. Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, April 03, 2009
Good Reason for Optimism in Industrial Metals Investing / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
Leonard Melman, prodigious writer (The Melman Report) and leading authority in the metals and mining arenas, sees opportunity for some "really good moves" and "fabulous returns" on the horizon, citing vibrant charts on random juniors whose values have multiplied during the last six months. Also noting the possibility of some "good price pops" in the metals themselves, Leonard considers the price of the base metals as a real key to the future of the economy. On the other hand, he shares some serious concerns about the economy in this exclusive interview with The Gold Report. For example, he is alert to several "ominous red flags" that warn of the potential for devastating hyperinflation and worries that the Humpty Dumpty of savaged financial assets may be beyond repair. Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Gold, Copper and Uranium Stocks Outlook for 2009 / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
George Topping, a research analyst specializing in the mining sector at Blackmont Capital, pays closer attention to uranium and copper than he does gold and silver, but in this exclusive interview with The Gold Report, he shares what he foresees: gold flat at $950 per ounce (in real terms) through 2011, copper at $1.80 per pound in two years, and uranium nudging up $100 per pound within five years. Read full article... Read full article...
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Lithium Demand, Pricing, and Supply Forecast Considered as Li-ion in Automotive Use to Surge / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Madison_Avenue_Resea
Current Lithium Production and Use - Well over 95,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent was produced in 2008, more than double the amount from a decade earlier. The USGS estimates the current global end-use markets for lithium as follows: batteries, 25%; ceramics and glass, 18%; lubricating greases, 12%; pharmaceuticals and polymers, 7%; air conditioning, 6%; primary aluminum production, 4%; continuous casting, 3%; chemical processing 3%; and other uses, 22%. Lithium use in batteries expanded significantly in recent years because rechargeable lithium batteries were being used increasingly in portable electronic devices and electrical tools. Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, March 27, 2009
Copper Bull Market to Climb Much Higher / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Q1_Publishing
Exclusive Interview With the “King of Copper” Reveals “…Copper to climb 34% to 61%”
Editor's Note: Andrew Mickey, Q1 Publishing's Chief Investment Strategist, sat down for an exclusive one-on-one with one of the most experienced professionals in the copper industry. In this exclusive interview we reveal where the “King of Copper” believes copper prices are headed to… how China takes a different stand on copper prices and more…
Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Success Stories: An Interview with Ross Beaty of Equinox Resources / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
Little has changed in the soap opera being played out in the financial sector. Three more banks failed last week, bringing the total number of 2009 bank and thrift failures to nine. There were 25 failures during all of 2008, and nine in the first six weeks of 2009. Yes, this is a trend. Read full article... Read full article...
Sunday, February 08, 2009
COPPER- Upside Breakout Imminent, Implications for Commodities... / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Clive_Maund
Although copper may seem like a sideshow it is actually very important, for it is a barometer of changes in the world economy. In retrospect it is easy to see on its long-term chart below that its refusal to break higher for several years from what turned out to be a major top area was a warning that all was not well with the world economy. The breakdown from the lower support line of the top area led to a crash back to the first major support level where it has stabilized. It remains wildly oversold, as shown by the huge gap between the 50 and 200-day moving averages. Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, January 30, 2009
Copper, Zinc, Nickel, Lead and Aluminum Base Metals Technicals / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Zeal_LLC
Not too long ago base metals were the hottest of commodities. In their bull markets the prices of these industrial-use metals had soared to lofty heights to reflect the speculative risk premiums brought on by greatly imbalanced markets. Copper, zinc, nickel, lead, and aluminum achieved staggering trough-to-peak gains of 574%, 523%, 1124%, 829%, and 151%!
A mixture of robust infrastructure growth and hoarding led to demand far outpacing supply. Global stockpiles were being drained to alarmingly-low levels, the world's smelters and refineries were operating at full capacity, and the mining companies couldn't bring their metals to market fast enough.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, January 29, 2009
China's Growth Story and BHP Billiton Cyclical Opportunity / Companies / Metals & Mining
By: Oxbury_Research
Year of the Ox - I want to wish a happy new year to everyone of Chinese descent. According to the Chinese calendar, 2009 is the Year of the Ox. The Ox is said to symbolize prosperity through fortitude and hard work. That description seems to be a very appropriate way to describe the country of China as a whole. Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Brent Cook on Junior Minors Upside Potential / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
Turning Rocks Into Money - Geologist Brent Cook, editor of Exploration Insights newsletter, has earned a reputation for recognizing which juniors have the best chance of beating the odds and where rocks have the greatest potential for producing profit. In this exclusive interview The Gold Report, Brent shares some of his insights about which juniors have upside potential in this volatile market. Brent has examined properties in more than 60 countries and learned the investment side of the business from master Rick Rule. Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, November 28, 2008
Junior Mining Resource Stocks in Hell / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Zeal_LLC
Junior resources stocks reside in a realm that has long been considered the Wild West of the equity markets. And investors who speculate on the junior circuit are the consummate gamblers. Risks and rewards are realized in extreme fashion as juniors can either make you rich or rob you blind.
The allure of juniors will always captivate investors. It's exciting to own a portion of a company that is in effect a modern day treasure hunter. Whether it is searching for precious metals or petroleum, if a junior scores a find the owners of the company will be greatly rewarded. Speculating in juniors allows desk jockeys to become prospectors.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Beryllium May Be New Kid on the Nuclear Block / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
The potential of beryllium oxide as a better, safer, more efficient and longer lasting alternative to conventional nuclear fuels in an era that is likely to witness a renaissance in nuclear plant activity is one factor that may spike demand for what Denis Brady calls “the wonder element” in the not-too-distant future. Industrial requirements in emerging markets such as China and India are another. In this exclusive interview with The Gold Report, Denis—who sold his beryllium metalworking and specialty alloy processing company to International Beryllium because he shares its vision for growth across the mine-to-market value chain—discusses hot prospects for this unusual material, which is simultaneously stiff and light, nonmagnetic and transparent to x-rays, with a modulus of elasticity almost 50% greater than steel, with only one-fourth the weight and an extremely high melting point of 2349°F. Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Investor Capitulation in Metals and Mining Stocks Presents Great Buying Opportunity / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Justice_Litle
This is because the use of copper is so widespread throughout our lives. Most of the appliances in your house use copper: the fridge, the dishwasher, the microwave, and the washing machine just to name a few.
By the time you add up the electrical wiring, pipes and so on, the average home uses 400 pounds of copper. And your car? Another 50 pounds.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Commodity Super-Cycle, Mining Sector Rotation, China Economics, Copper Insight / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Madison_Avenue_Resea
Commodity Super-Cycle - Recent commodity weakness could be explained merely as a huge sell-off within a longer-term bull market in basic materials, which has years to run. And while inflationary conditions are generally the most favourable for commodities, scholars note that this asset class did perform fairly well during the extreme deflationary era of the 1930s ( analysis of that era found here ). The Reuters CRB Futures Index is a bellwether physical commodities indicator, the 10 year weekly chart (seen to the left) shows the long uptrend from 2002 - 2008 and ferocious break down within the last few months. Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, November 07, 2008
Commodities Supply Destruction / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: HRA_Advisory
[ Editor's note : The following article was sent to subscribers in September. The intent was to remind readers what to look for in the various metals sectors in terms of supply going forward. Balance will return to the market not just from eventual demand increases but also (and perhaps mainly) from supply cut backs. We chose zinc to focus on as it has the largest percentage of uneconomic operations at current prices. For reasons we go into in the article, we expect a quicker supply response then in past cycles.Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, October 20, 2008
Zinc Two Year Bear Market Coming to an End? / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: John_Lee
Centuries before zinc was discovered in the metallic form, its ores were used for making brass and zinc compounds, its ores were used for healing wounds and sore eyes. It is believed that the Romans first made brass in the time of Augustus (20 B.C. - 14 A.D.). In the 13th century Marco Polo described the manufacture of zinc oxide in Persia. At Zawar, India, both zinc metal and zinc oxide were produced from the 12th to the 16th century. From India, zinc manufacturing moved to China in the 17th century where it developed as an industry to supply the needs of the brass industry. Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Kerry Smith: Metals & Mining Portfolio Building During Chaotic Times / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: The_Gold_Report
A veteran analyst, Kerry Smith of Haywood Securities covers a broad range of companies in the mining sector, from juniors to mid-tiers to majors, from explorers and developers to producers, from base to noble metals. In this exclusive interview with The Gold Report , he covers a lot of territory, discussing the outlook for gold, the next stage of sector consolidation and the rough political terrain in some of the world's most resource-abundant geographies. The Gold Report: How should investors play this market, and what's your outlook for commodities, gold in particular?
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, August 01, 2008
Base Metals Bull Markets Impacted by LME Stockpiles / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Zeal_LLC
When the base metals bulls began in 2003, few could fathom the wild ride ahead. Fundamentals indeed supported steadily rising prices, but the massive parabolas that unfolded between 2005 and 2007 were amazing to behold. From trough to peak copper, zinc, nickel, lead, and aluminum skyrocketed 475%, 523%, 650%, 829%, and 137% respectively.
This rise of the base metals not only represented yet another powerful breakout within the commodities sector, but a universal acceptance that a global secular commodities bull was upon us. With oil and gold already paving the way, the economic imbalances unfolding in the indispensable metals used in the production of everything structural and mechanical was eye-opening.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Battle for Strategic Control of Zimbabwe's Rich Mineral Treasures / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: F_William_Engdahl
Robert Mugabe, the President of Zimbabwe, presides over one of the world's richest minerals treasures, the Great Dyke region, which cuts a geological swath across the entire land from northeast to southwest. The real background to the pious concerns of the Bush Administration for human rights in Zimbabwe in the past several years is not Mugabe's possible election fraud or his expropriation of white settler farms. It is the fact that Mr. Mugabe has been quietly doing business, a lot of it, with the one country which has virtually unlimited need of strategic raw materials Zimbabwe can provide— China . Mugabe's Zimbabwe is, along with Sudan, on the central stage of the new war over control of strategic minerals of Africa between Washington and Beijing, with Moscow playing a supporting role in the drama. The stakes are huge. Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, July 07, 2008
Commodities Are Strong, But Which Ones Are the Strongest? / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Frank_Holmes
There's been plenty written about how well commodities have performed in recent years.
But do you know which of these commodities have done the best between 1999 and 2007? Do you know which ones have been the brightest stars so far in 2008?
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, June 20, 2008
Metals Market Trend Analysis 2008 to 2009- Part 1 / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: John_Lee
Oftentimes I talk to investors, even sophisticated ones, and I realize that they treat metals as a group. Particularly in the subset of base metals, most point out the price action of copper and conclude that all base metals are in a raging bull with no signs of slowing down. Close examination of correlation between various metal prices reveals a very different story, as we shall illustrate. (most charts here are from my friends at Kitco.com)
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Another Shaft in the Mining Business / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Darryl_R_Schoon
Expect the unexpected and you'll end up in therapy, on drugs or enlightened.
For those aware of the impending collapse of debt-based paper money assets, the fact that the majority still have no idea about the magnitude of the approaching danger is unbelievable. What is also unbelievable are the positions some of those people hold.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Mining Companies Risk / Companies / Metals & Mining
By: David_Morgan
In last weeks column we discussed some risks associated with the junior mining sector. In this week's article it is important to recognize what has just been reported about mining operations in Venezuela, an article posted on International Business Times yesterday stated, "Hecla Mining's Isidora gold mine is the third operation in just one week in Venezuela's mineral rich Bolivar State to suffer a roadblock. Venezuelan workers have stalled operations of the country's largest gold miner, citing poor working conditions and demanding that President Hugo Chavez nationalize the mine."Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Mining Industry Caves in to Fanatical Greens / Politics / Metals & Mining
By: Gerard_Jackson
Nikki Williams, chief executive of the NSW Minerals Council, is a grim example of why public relations exercises always fail against green fanaticism. Her response to the greens' phony claim that mankind is warming the planet is to surrender to these fanatics. ( The Australian , We can bury carbon dioxide forever , 9 March 2008). In other words, run up the white flag and issue yellow-striped jackets to the mining industry's executive. In my not-so humble opinion it's PR personnel who should be buried, preferably after they have been defenestrated.Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
How to Invest In Precious Metals with $25,000 to $50,000 / InvestorEducation / Metals & Mining
By: Dudley_Baker
My previous article, “ How to ‘Invest' with $5,000 to $10,000 ”, created a lot of interest among investors so we have decided to make this a mini-series of three articles. This current article increases the investment dollars available to be invested in the natural resource sector to the $25,000 to $50,000. The final article with be for investors with $100,000 and more and will be posted next week.Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Prepared Speech: IQPC Base Metals Investment Summit 2008 / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Mack_Frankfurter
Recently, there was an article in the Financial Times titled: “Plummeting dollar a big headache for pegged currencies.” Between hedge fund margin calls, the Fed's $236 billion plan to boost liquidity, Bear Stearns take-under by JP Morgan, and not least Elliot Spitzer's self-destruction, why focus on this particular back page headline? The reason this article caught our eye is that it focused attention on what we believe is the near-term “end game” within a longer-term era of commodity inflation—in other words, a significant correction of some duration within the context of a long-term secular bull market in commodities. Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Access to Water of Paramount Importance for Mining Operations / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: David_Petch
Careful about Moving to Nevada - I have one thread that basically sums up the title for the introduction so please read before continuing further into the article: http://www.physorg.com/news122050436.html . Access to water is essential for mining and nuclear power plants and if Lake Mead continues to decline in volume, the Hoover dam will become a modern day Pyramid…a derelict of the past that had a purpose only to be viewed as a monument of the technical savvy of those that went before them. This event could affect millions of people, so as an aside, avoid purchasing real estate in Vegas because it likely is entering a long-term bear market.Read full article... Read full article...
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Bull Markets in Precious and Industrial Metals / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Joe_Nicholson
Those looking for $1k gold continue to be thwarted as the monetary metals have to prove themselves in the short term by taking out key upside levels and invalidating corrective counts. Silver… can extend to 17.40-17.50 before facing significant resistance. At the same time, platinum continued its tear higher on the back of fundamental supply concerns in South Africa and is yet to show signs of letting up.~ Precious Points: Ready, Set, Retrace , February 09, 2008Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, February 08, 2008
Chinese-Alcoa consortium Forces BHP to pay more for Rio Tinto / Companies / Metals & Mining
By: Fat_Prophets
BHP Billiton has upped the ante with respect to its takeover ambitions for Rio Tinto, boosting its previous 3-for-1 share offer to a more reasonable 3.4-for-1. To what extent this increase was influenced by the arrival of the Chinese onto the RIO register remains a mystery, but it must have entered BHP's calculations to some degree. We believe RIO remains in a position of strength with regard to developments and that shareholders should sit tight.
"RIO remains firmly in the driver's seat with respect to the unfolding takeover scenario."
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, February 08, 2008
BHP Billiton Enhanced Bid for Rio Tinto / Companies / Metals & Mining
By: Fat_Prophets
BHP Billiton has enhanced its previous 3-for-1 scrip offer for Rio Tinto, by announcing on the final day before the 'put up of shut up' deadline, a fresh 3.4-for-1 scrip offer. What role the late entry of the Chinese-Alcoa alliance into proceedings had on BHP increasing its offer remains to be seen, but it would seem to have forced BHP's hand to some degree. BHP has also announced a US$6.0 billion interim result for the six months to 31 December 2007, which was broadly in line with market expectations.
"The motive for BHP remains clear - acquisition of Rio Tinto would create a mining company with unparalleled market and pricing influence."
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Materials and Utilities Investing Themes 2008: A Tale of Two Halves - Part 4 / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Hans_Wagner
The beginning of a new year is a good time to make a new assessment of the important investment drivers and themes for the year. If you want to beat the market it is important to understand what is driving the markets and where the best sectors are to find good opportunities. By identifying these factors you will have a solid framework to assess the impact market movements and news events on your investment strategy. This is the fourth of a five part series on the outlook for the 2008 markets. The first part discussed the key drivers ending with a mention of what sectors will benefit and those that will be hurt. This Part discusses the Materials and Utilities sectors. Part 2 discussed Energy and Financials, Part 3 reviewed Technology and Consumer Staples. Part 5 will address Healthcare, Industrials and Consumer Discretionary sectors. Read full article... Read full article...
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Uranium, Gold and Silver Outlook / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Merv_Burak
Well, gold has now made it to a new all time intra-day high. Again, so what? Momentum and volume activity are still lagging. Go with the flow but keep your protective options at the ready.
URANIUM
By all news accounts uranium is much in demand these days. In fact, uranium is supposed to be in greater and greater demand over the next many years as more and more nuclear plants in China and elsewhere come on steam. But it seems that after a sharp run-up over the past few years uranium and uranium stocks just can't seem to get any more steam for further advancement. Were they so overpriced that they are now destined not to go anywhere for some time, until the usage increases significantly?
Friday, December 28, 2007
Base Metals 2008 Trend Determined by LME Stock Piles - Copper, Zinc, Nickel, Lead and Aluminum / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Zeal_LLC
From their lows in the early 2000s, base metals prices have soared to achieve highs in the last couple years that many would have thought unheard of. Traders that were long in both the futures and the stocks of the mining companies that bring these metals to market have seen legendary gains.
This rapid appreciation of base metals prices has been undergirded by rock-solid fundamentals. Asia 's modernization and industrialization is commanding massive commodities inflows. And to support its insatiable appetite for base metals in particular, an economic imbalance has crept into these markets that has simply caught the world off guard. These industrial metals that go into the infrastructural and mechanical web of global growth have seen supply greatly lag fast-rising demand.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Metals Strong on Supply Demand Fundementals / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Gold_Investments
Gold was up $1.50 to $794.50 per ounce in New York yesterday and silver was unchanged at $13.81 per ounce. Gold was flat in Asia but has since rallied in Europe and the London AM Fix was at $796.25.Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
US Economy Hurting, Days of Cheap Resources Coming To an End / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: David_Vaughn
The well known and respected Gartman Letter remains “steadfastly bullish” on gold. The seasons are bearing down on us. Thanksgiving is now over a week behind us. Christmas is just around the corner and then we have a whole new year to follow these events in repetition. Gold appears to have very strong resistance around 790, but I doubt it will remain in that range for very long. The next major resistance for gold appears to be around 815. And when 815 – 825 is crossed we will probably observe gold making new highs. Always remember its 2 steps forward then 1 step back. I can live with those statistics.Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Commodities Supercycle Metals and Mining's Merger Mania! / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Money_and_Markets
Sean Brodrick writes:Australian mining giant BHP Billiton's stunning $149 billion bid for rival Rio Tinto — a combination that would control more than one-third of the world's iron sales — shows what we'll likely see in natural resources for at least the next 12 to 18 months — merger and acquisition activity escalating into a frenzy.
Already, a five-year rally in metals prices has spurred more than 1,448 takeover offers in the mining industry (with a value of about $185.7 billion) in just the past 12 months!
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, November 02, 2007
Major Base Metals, Copper, Zinc, Nickel, Lead and Aluminum, Are All in the Midst of Spectacular Secular Bull Markets / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Zeal_LLC
The global commodities bull has sure been flexing its muscles in recent years. And this is a result of our growing world's insatiable demand for the hard commodities that feed widespread industrialization and modernization. Since these commodities are finite in nature, an economic imbalance has emerged that has showcased incredible market activity.
Supply has simply not been able to keep up with fast-growing demand. And when you have more capital chasing after fewer goods, prices are naturally going to rise. The industrial metals or base metals that are indispensably used in virtually every aspect of physical infrastructure, from structural to mechanical, have displayed this basic economic principle to the highest degree.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Filtering the Opportunities and Location of Mining Properties / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Dudley_Baker
There are literally no geographical boundaries for companies in search of natural resources. Nearly every country from the United States , Peru , Ecuador , Brazil , Argentina , Venezuela , China , Turkey , Mexico and even under the ocean floor, offer the potential for incredible opportunities.Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Phase II of the Natural Resources Boom Is About to Burst onto the Scene / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Money_and_Markets
Larry Edelson writes : Is it ugly out there in the markets or what? Unfortunately, things are likely to get worse before they get any better.
The good news is that I also see a massive profit opportunity coming directly ahead. More on that in a moment.
First, you need to understand what's happening right now …
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Gold Recovers Early Dip; China 's Copper Demand Doubles in 12 Months / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Adrian_Ash
SPOT GOLD PRICES recovered an overnight dip early Wednesday, regaining the previous night's US close after recording an AM Fix in London of $657.15 per ounce.
"The credit worries are not over and the [gold] market will not really have much clue what the true credit liquidity dynamics are for some time," says metals analyst Michael Jansen at J.P.Morgan.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Investing in the Melting Tundra / Stock-Markets / Metals & Mining
By: Money_and_Markets
Sean Brodrick writes: On Sunday, I arrived in Yellowknife — a town steeped in rich gold mining history. I had a lot of time to reflect on that history as I took a long walk through town.
Why was I out in the brisk, sub-arctic August weather? Because my cab driver brought me to the wrong hotel from the airport. I didn't discover this until after he had driven off. I tipped him well, too!
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Metals and Mining Investing and Alternative Strategies / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Dudley_Baker
We are of the opinion, based upon our research and the opinions of numerous analysts we respect and follow, that an incredible move to the upside in the shares of natural resources is right around the corner. We may still have some work to do from a technical and timing standpoint for the next few weeks, but we suggest investors should be preparing for this event.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Canadian Junior Mining Shares Ripe For The Picking / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Captain_Hook
The opportunities in Canadian junior mining shares has never been better. And now is the time to get in before prices skyrocket higher in my opinion. As mentioned the other day in pointing out the precious metals sector is turning higher, when the Canadian $ heads over parity against the Greenback, American investors will be looking for a home for excess cash they wish to hold in Loonies. And as they work their way down the food chain, eventually they will arrive at junior mining shares, a group that has been all but forgotten by the institutional types because either company or trading characteristics don't meet desired models at this time. That is to say the shares are in the pennies, generally illiquid, and have been heading in the wrong direction (down) for some time now, a characteristic set definitely outside of the desired formula most momentum chasing behemoths (hedge funds) are chasing these days.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Stainless Steel Crossover Drives Manganese Prices Higher / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: James_Finch
By James Finch and Ken Reser: Although manganese is the fourth most heavily consumed metal – behind iron, aluminum and copper, most investors have failed to observe the dramatic bull market in manganese which began unfolding this past spring.About 34 million tons of manganese ore were mined in 2006.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Commodities are For Crafty Not Crazy Investors / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Dudley_Baker
Remember my 'Crazy Like A Fox' subscriber? (See my previous articles entitled, “A Crazy Man's Rant or Right On” and “Crazy Man's Rant – He's Crazy Life A Fox”). He continues (like many of us) to be a proponent of investing in commodities and gold, silver, uranium, oil and gas in particular and he continues to prosper. Many people have wondered how he has been so successful so I asked him recently. Below are a few comments regarding his approach to investing both in the past, now and the foreseeable future.Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, June 18, 2007
Vast Untapped Riches in the Rainforests / Stock-Markets / Metals & Mining
By: Money_and_Markets
Martin Weiss writes: I've just returned from Hispaniola, after a few days by its serene seashores and a visit to its lush rainforests.
The island, shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti, was discovered by Columbus on his very first voyage to the Americas in 1492.
And earlier this year, Money and Markets' Sean Brodrick was also there, trekking along the border area with Haiti. That's where Falconbridge of Canada has been mining nickel for almost 25 years and where other major companies — like Placer Dome and Gold Fields of South Africa — also have mining operations.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Gold looking great! Plus Titanium another Hot Market! / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Money_and_Markets
Larry Edelson writes: Gold's looking great! After a brief pullback earlier last week, the yellow metal jumped almost $10 an ounce to well above its recent strong uptrend line that dates back to October of last year.
And while gold's not out of the woods yet, my indicators tell me that once it closes above $682 — a new leg up will begin, and gold will soar to new record highs, well above $732 an ounce, and probably over $800!
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Gold, Uranium and Nickel Poised for Blast-Off! / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Money_and_Markets
Sean Brodrick writes A funny thing is happening on the way to the next U.S. recession — the rest of the world is forgetting to come along.
Sure, the U.S. economy may be slowing down precipitously — gross domestic product expansion was just revised down to 0.6% for the first quarter. But the global economy is expected to grow at a 4.7% pace in 2007, and may accelerate in 2008.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, June 01, 2007
Copper Long-Term Bull Market - 2 / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Zeal_LLC
Scott Wright writes : Five years into its amazing bull market, the king of the base metals continues to hold strong through a renewed onslaught of adversity. After an exciting 2006 that saw copper shatter all-time highs, this red metal continues to trade at levels that most thought improbable several years ago.
Copper's success has given it quality time in the spotlight which has ultimately garnered it increasing mainstream attention. Even on CNBC when headline metals quotes are periodically displayed, copper now shares real estate with gold and silver. But is the fame and fortune that copper had thrust upon it sustainable?
Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Gold Spooked by IMF Sales Speculation - Gold Stock Valuations 4 / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Zeal_LLC
This week the International Monetary Fund, which has long commanded the world's third largest official holding of gold bullion, once again made some noise about selling 400 tonnes of its gold. Such a sale would represent about an eighth of the IMF's total holdings, and as usual such tidings spooked the markets.
So far in its secular bull, gold has climbed 181% higher since April 2001. Interestingly, the IMF has been periodically announcing that it is considering gold bullion sales over the majority of this entire six-year span. The recurring threat of IMF gold sales is just another brick in the great wall of worries that gold has handily overcome.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, May 17, 2007
The Bubbling Metals : Zinc, Copper, Aluminium, Uranium Silver and Gold / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Aden_Forecast
The metals have been on a tear. The base metals have been rising sharply with several hitting new highs. Whether it's nickel, lead, copper, zinc or aluminum, they've all risen sharply while platinum soared to record highs. And it's not just the metals, the entire gold universe has been hot. Uranium continues to defy gravity as it jumped well above $100, while crude oil sits above the $60 level.
The stock market has been hot too. It's been getting most of the publicity as it keeps hitting record highs. And while the stock market is indeed bullish, over the past eight years the Dow Industrials is still down 58% compared to gold. So the percentage gains have simply been better in gold and the other metals.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Mining Merger Mania : Say it Three Times Fast / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Michael_K_Dawson
I was shocked last week when I read a report from Merrill Lynch stating that BHP Billiton could possibly be a target of a private equity bid. BHP Billiton is the largest mining company in the world. I have always envisioned it as the acquirer not the acquiree. However, with so much money at stake - anything is possible.Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Global Economic Growth Outlook and Gold / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Neil_Charnock
It should be of some interest to the global investment community, in particular those that make money from the commodities boom and gold. I am referring to the performance of the global Resource Bourse - the ASX… because it is more heavily weighted in resource stocks than any other national stock market. Well that and banks too, very top heavy with BHP and RIO and some larger commodity producers.
This is a land of giant nuggets, massive mineralized belts and a disproportionate amount of mining activity, 3 rd highest global gold producer at present. See the chart below as an indicator, the ASX is booming and we enjoy a world class sovereign risk rating.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, April 27, 2007
Base Metals Stockpiles and Prices 2 / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Zeal_LLC
Just a few years ago, the majority of stock traders were oblivious to the excitement that base metals had to offer commodities stocks. Futures traders hustled and bustled to make a buck in their familiar base metals marketplace, yet not even they were aware of the eruption of capital that would eventually take these markets by storm.
Today the London Metal Exchange (LME), the world's largest non-ferrous metals exchange, manages over $10 billion of traded contracts each day with well over $2 trillion worth turned over annually. These are numbers that the LME says have increased by tenfold in the last 15 or so years. And it expects another double in the next three to five years.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, April 23, 2007
Mexico lures junior miners; investors encouraged to take another look / Companies / Metals & Mining
By: Harold_Leishman
As a venture capital broker, active in the resource market, I look worldwide for the best opportunities for my risk tolerant clients. One country that keeps coming to my attention is Mexico . Junior resource companies grow and create shareholder value by discovering and developing mineral deposits, ideally ones rich enough to attract the attention of acquisition-minded senior producers. Some juniors aspire to become producers by reviving historic mines or partially developed projects with near-term production potential.
Many of these companies have found that Mexico is one of the best places in the world to pursue their goals. It offers many advantages — vast geological potential, a favorable investment climate, and an enduring mining tradition.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, April 16, 2007
Misguided worldview! Overlooked boom! Iron Ore / Companies / Metals & Mining
By: Money_and_Markets
Martin Weiss writes : Before he passed away, Dad and I often got away from the office, compared Big-Picture numbers of the global economy, and sometimes questioned the prevailing worldview.
Our conclusion: Probably since the Renaissance and certainly since the Industrial Revolution, the worldview of the West placed Europeans and their descendants at the top; Asia and its peoples near the bottom.
But in the real world, that image is upside down.
Just in terms of population, Asia dominates the globe — with an amazing 61% of all the people on the planet.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Molybdenum Mining Stocks? Check with Locals, Natives First / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: James_Finch
Institutions and investors are climbing aboard as greater interest emerges in molybdenum. The silvery white metal adds anti-corrosive properties to everything from pipelines and power plants to desalination plants, automotive parts and air pollution systems. Find out if the project has permits before jumping into the moly mania. We interviewed Adanac Molybdenum executive chairman Larry Reaugh about the dozens of junior resource companies, which now proclaim they are part of the Molybdenum Bull Market. His company appears as a potential molybdenum producer on the horizon.Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Gold Mining Companies - Why larger exploration budgets won't mean higher gold mining output / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Adrian_Ash
AS THE TREND for spot gold prices to move higher rolls on, the big gold mining companies keep racing to re-stock their shrinking reserves.Three of the larger gold miners just said they're going to spend record sums trying to find new gold-in-the-ground. Trying to pick the winners – and selecting junior miners on the brink of receiving a hot takeover bid – might just pay off handsomely.
But don't neglect the bigger picture as you chase these short-term M&A profits. "Route One" to growing proven and probable reserves in the ground is more than likely to eat up total exploration budgets in 2008 and beyond.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Sayonora to Gold Stocks - As money flows into Gold ETFS and Funds instead of Gold Stocks / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Michael_K_Dawson
I have sold at the bottom far more times than I care to admit. However, if this is another occasion so be it - Sayonara, Au Revoir, Adios Gold stocks.
I purchased my first gold stock, Royal Gold, in May of 2002. At the time, I really didn't know much about gold or gold stocks and had no idea that it was the beginning of a bull market in gold. Royal Gold met the criteria of a screen that I was using at the time and it simply was one of many stocks that popped out. The trade didn't work as I had hoped. After a quick 20% haircut, I sold it three weeks later. This didn't discourage me. As I read more about gold, I realized that something special was in the makings.
The first part of 2003 wasn't much better. I had more losses with Glamis Gold, Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM) and Anglogold (AU). However, around mid year my fortunes changed for the better. The winners started coming 5%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 250%. Yes, I turned a 250% profit on a trade of Golden Star Resources (GSS). Needless to say, I was hooked at that point.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Stock market and natural resources recovery continues / Stock-Markets / Metals & Mining
By: Clif_Droke
The market indicated its super-oversold condition to us soon after the Feb. 27 sell-off based on volume and put/call ratio indications. The bottom has since been confirmed and Wednesday witnessed the big rally day everyone has been waiting for. The market rewarded our patience on Wednesday by rallying 24 points, or 1.71%, as measured by the S&P 500 index (SPX).
As of Wednesday the number of stocks making new 52-week highs on the NYSE was 239 versus only 19 new lows. The number of new lows over the past week has held consistently below 40, a sign that internal selling pressure is almost non-existent. That's a big positive from a technical standpoint and it proves that the recent damage done by the Feb. 27 panic selling was over-done and bound to be recovered. As of Wednesday we've recovered most of those losses as measured by the SPX.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Investing in Gold Mining Companies - Hispaniola / Companies / Metals & Mining
By: Money_and_Markets
Sean Brodrick : On my way to check out a mine in Hispaniola! - By the time you read this, I'll be flying to the Dominican Republic on the island of Hispaniola. I'm not going there for rest and relaxation. Instead, I'll be investigating a small mining company. It's exploring a rare spot where gold is literally laying on the ground just waiting to be scooped up!
I'm in a hurry to see this place in person. Especially since gold looks ready to move past $800 an ounce. More on why in a moment.
First, let me tell you about my golden ticket to the Dominican Republic. Let's start with a little background …
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Subprime mortgage companies continuing collapse to benefit Gold stocks / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Ned_W_Schmidt
GOLD THOUGHTS : New York, which considers itself the center of the known universe, has discovered a solution to collapsing mountain of mortgage debt. NYSE is delisting NEW. Strategy of out of sight out of mind works for them. Amid this collapse of mortgage related stock prices and business models, Street analysts are showing their skills. One of these fantasy forecasters lowered NEW to "under perform" on Monday.
Talk about forecasting ability. The mortgage bomb de jour for Tuesday is LEND, down from almost $60 to $5. This one also downgraded to "under perform" by a talented analyst on Monday, and the price target of $26 was discarded. Interestingly, in most of these meltdowns some hedge fund seems to be identified as holding a major position. Pity the poor individual investors, the ultimate beneficiaries of this combined ineptness.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, February 26, 2007
Analysis of Gold and the XAU Index Ratio Charts / Commodities / Metals & Mining
By: Tim_Wood
It has been a while since I have talked about ratio analysis and because of a few developments of late, I thought that this may be a good time to do so. First, let me begin by explaining to those that may not understand, a ratio chart is calculated by simply dividing one stock or commodity by another.
This in effect then shows us the "Relative Strength" of the two. We can then take this analysis one step further by comparing the ratio chart to the underlying stock or commodity and even applying indicators to the equation. Let's take a look at a few examples.
Read full article... Read full article...