Winter warmers could dull big chill
May 22 - 28, 2013
WHILE it currently feels like the onset of a long bitterly cold winter for the resources sector, there are six catalysts that could turn the situation around.
Platinum’s rebalancing act
May 15 - 21, 2013
THE prospect of slightly stronger platinum prices this year is unlikely to do much for South Africa’s struggling PGM producers, who will continue to cop it from every angle.
Time to look anew at zinc?
May 22 - 28, 2013
THE person suggesting “zinc is the new copper” is the resource world’s best spruiker and the owner of a world-scale zinc development. Still, the underlying message in the line corresponds with what many others have been saying for some years.
Mining sector fund-raising drops 24%
May 15 - 21, 2013
MAY 15: The first quarter of 2013 has been extremely challenging for the international mining industry, with the problematic combination of rising operating costs, falling metals prices, lower ore grades and a continued scarcity in the availability of funds, according to the latest IntierraRMG snapshot of the industry.
Iron ore not going to pot
May 8 - 14, 2013
FEAR of iron ore supply overwhelming the market have been fashionable in recent times but a comparison with another commodity suggests such concerns are being overplayed.
Battered Panoramic still in the game
May 1 - 7, 2013
EXAMPLES of the currently battered resources sector litter the stock exchanges of the world and Panoramic Resources is surely a classic case in point.
Add up new copper supply when it appears
April 24 - 30, 2013
FORECAST future new copper supply won’t, surprise, surprise, be arriving at the LME and Chinese warehouses in the quantity generally expected. But there will be a little some pain for producers in the interim.
Time out for copper bulls
April 24 - 30, 2013
CREDIT Suisse called time on the gold bulls back in February and now it’s doing the same with regards copper.
Something to cheer among the shadows?
April 10 - 16, 2013
AMID some of the gathering gloom, UBS anticipates a much brighter second quarter for iron ore and copper producers.
Permitting pace dulls US appeal: Behre
April 10 - 16, 2013
DESCRIBED this week as “the next big thing for ASX-listed juniors” searching for a politically safe and potentially highly rewarding place to explore, the USA is still among the worst places in the world for permitting delays, according to leading home-grown mining consultancy Behre Dolbear. The firm also issued the relevant, general warning to investors: look out for Phydeaux!
Port expansion will put Cazaly within range of BC
April 10 - 16, 2013
JUST what Cazaly Resources could become if the cards finally fall its way this year can potentially be seen by reference to BC Iron.
Panoramic PGM view just needs patience
April 10 - 16, 2013
RECENT history has not been kind to nickel miner Panoramic Resources and its shareholders, but for those that can stay the course the move into the PGM space may prove a canny move indeed by the company’s board and management headed by Peter Harold.
Metals won’t defy gravity for much longer
April 3 - 9, 2013
BROADLY speaking, investment bank Credit Suisse claims “tepid demand” plus increasing supply equals “gravity” in a less than bullish note this week entitled, “The setting of the sun ...”
Under the gun
April 3 - 9, 2013
WHAT now for Gunson Resources’ stalled Coburn mineral sands project following more than a decade of management focus, millions of dollars of shareholder funds, and a boom period of pricing all failed to result in the project getting into development?
Much ado about not much
March 27 - April 2, 2013
WITH the iron ore majors incentivised to both “talk big” and under-deliver, market fears of a looming wall of supply may well be misplaced.
What to do about Roseby
March 20 - 26, 2013
COPPER miner Altona Resources doesn’t know how it’s going to fund its $A300-odd million Roseby development in Queensland, but it does know two or three things it’s not going to do; namely, it is not going to go down the “nutty” route of developing the project on its own and essentially “working for nothing” by issuing a billion or so pieces of paper to raise equity, or being in the service of the bank(s) for hedging taken-on as part of a debt facility.
Oakajee optimist stoking big plans
March 20 - 26, 2013
GROWING up in Geraldton may have offered a distinct advantage for one mining boss as he plans the critical infrastructure requirements for his iron ore project in Western Australia’s Mid West.
Lots of questions for the man in the middle
March 13 - 19, 2013
JUST what project resource sector “name” Ian Middlemas brings to the table is now the obvious question to be answered for those at Aviva Corporation. But there’s one or two other obvious questions too.
Heron cash still looking for a home
March 13 - 19, 2013
THE cashed-up company that has been on the lookout for projects for some years has made yet another appointment in the quest to transact a transformational deal.
Now you see it, now you won't
March 6 - 12, 2013
THE fear of providing an admittedly often irrational market with even a whiff of disappointment is the obvious reason behind companies recently being active on the creative accounting front.