In a shocking move, the world’s largest producer of thermal coal, Glencore (GLEN.LON), announced yesterday that it will shut down its Australian coal operations for three weeks starting in mid-December. An estimated 5 million tonnes of output (roughly 6% of Glencore’s annual Australian coal output) will be cut from the markets as a result. Seaborne thermal-coal prices remain at… Continue Reading
After pre-marketing their latest venture, Denham Capital, which is one of the largest resource-focused private equity firms, announced the formation of Auctus Minerals, to focus on acquiring underperforming operations across Australia and applying operating efficiencies to them in order to turn a profit. The venture is being funded with US $130 million (initially) from Denham and will… Continue Reading
Today, the world’s largest diversified miner, BHP Billiton, announced it is looking to divest all or part of its Western Australian Nickel West business which includes the Mt Keith, Cliffs and Leinster mines and associated concentrators, the Kalgoorlie smelter, Kambalda concentrator and the Kwinana refinery. The announcement comes as nickel prices continue to soar (although have… Continue Reading
Luck has always played a role in the natural resource exploration business. Tiny companies toil away and turn over multiple projects in the hopes of finding something with real value. Sometimes non-core projects deliver pleasant surprises to investors in these high risk endeavours. Robert Friedland’s Diamond Fields International was looking for diamonds on the sea… Continue Reading
Novo Resources (TSXV:NVO), a junior exploration company exploring for gold in the Pilbara region of Northwestern Australia, announced a new gold-bearing reef discovery 700 meters west from their original 43-101 resource (421k ozs gold at 1.47 grams per ton). The reef varies from 1-2 meters thick and is less than 20 meters deep, and one… Continue Reading
According to a Bloomberg article last week, ‘Big Mick’ Davis, the former CEO of Xstrata Plc, is seeking to raise $3 billion for his private, X2 Resources, prior to him acquiring any assets. Davis, the 55 year-old South African, has raised $1 billion from investors including private equity firm TPG and Asia’s largest metals trader, Noble Group. … Continue Reading
Kaizen Discovery (KZD:TSXV) has closed its initial 49% earn-in for the Fairholme copper-gold porphyry exploration project in central New South Wales, Australia (Clancy Exploration owns remaining 51%). The Fairholme project is located on the Fairholme Igneous Complex. The company can earn up to 65% in the project by spending $4 million on the ground over the… Continue Reading
Not all metals and sectors have the same catalysts; so, to not miss mining opportunities in 2014, we must understand which metals/minerals will face supply gluts, difficulty financing and a lack of investor interest, and avoid them. On the flip side, we must be aware of exactly which metals/minerals are facing imminent supply deficits, because… Continue Reading
A new mineral exploration company to watch, Kaizen Discovery, will commence trading in Toronto tomorrow under the symbol KZD. Kaizen was born out of an amalgamation with HPX TechCo (50% owned by Robert Friedland) and Concordia Resource Corp. Kaizen will be 85% owned by HPX TechCo (Private) and 15% by Concordia shareholders. The company will… Continue Reading
Coming off the recent discovery at the Shpirag-2 well, (25% WI with operatorship; Shell 75% non-operator), where they tested flow rates of 1,500-2,200boe/d and hit an 800m oil column; Petromanas (PMI:TSX) announced today they have added international depth to their board of directors by brining on Gen. Wesley K. Clark, U.S. Army (retired). Gen. Clark retired a four-star… Continue Reading
Disclosure: Author has no formal or informal pecuniary interest in Mega Uranium. However, author has acquired hundreds of thousands of Mega Uranium [MGA.TO] shares in the past three weeks. This investment opportunity is very high risk and is not suitable for most investors. Always do your own due diligence and please consult an investment advisor.… Continue Reading
On the west coast of British Columbia, onshore LNG terminals and pipelines to feed those terminals have become a media and political hot potato, with environmentalists increasing the instability of these projects which can cost $50-$60 billion. In Colombia, Pacific Rubiales (PRE:TSX) announced this morning that they have executed a heads of agreement for a… Continue Reading
According to Bloomberg, Greenland is set to lift a uranium mining moratorium which has been in place for 25 years. Greenland is thought to be extremely rich in rare earth and uranium minerals which could spark a uranium mining rush to the arctic island. Denmark has backed Greenland’s plans to expand the development of its natural resources to include… Continue Reading
Resource consulting firm, Wood Mackenzie put out a report Monday stating that by 2020, coal will surpass oil as the key fuel for the global economy. Global coal consumption is expected to rise by 25% on the backs of China and India as they fill demand for cheaper energy sources to meet their fuel needs. By… Continue Reading
By Henry Bonner (hbonner@sprottglobal.com) As we recently explained, the practice of “high-grading” where a miner extracts only the high-grade ore from a deposit has been widely adopted in the mining industry over the past 10 years. The method increases short-term cash flows, but can harm the profitability of a mine over its lifetime. As an investor,… Continue Reading
