A World of Mining Special – Part 1 of 2 This is a story about Eira Thomas, dubbed the “Queen of Diamonds” for her role leading the geologists who discovered the kimberlite pipes that became the Diavik diamond mine. Diavik, Canada’s second diamond mine, produced 1.9 million carats of the sparkling stones in the fourth quarter… Continue Reading

Gina Rinehart is Australia’s richest—and most controversial—billionaire. We had missed this fascinating New Yorker profile of Gina Rinehart, Australia’s wealthiest person, the second generation iron ore prospecting titan, who, along with her father, deserves much of the credit for developing the Pilbara (pronounced: Pilbra), one of the richest iron ore finds in the world, located… Continue Reading

A steady lift of supply from Australia and a moderation in demand growth from China will put pressure on the number one steelmaking input over the next three to five years, analysts say. “Prices will slump as much as 34 percent to $90 a ton by the end of December, according to the median of… Continue Reading

Lately, the media has made much of Canada’s “Cold War Era” uranium policy, limiting foreign ownership rights to 49 percent of a producing uranium project. The policy’s loudest critics include Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall, Newfoundland & Labrador Premier Kathy Dunderdale, Rio Tinto, Areva Resources, Paladin Energy Ltd. and the Australian government. As it stands, a… Continue Reading

Here’s a gambling story about the late great media billionaire Kerry Packer from Australia. One casino boss remembered, “I was lucky enough back in the day to actually witness this gentleman sign several markers one night for at least 6 million while sitting in the high limit room of one of Vegas finest casinos, I’ll… Continue Reading

I had the opportunity this week to connect with Jorge Beristain, head of Americas metals and mining equity research at Deutsche Bank. It was a fascinating interview, as Jorge communicates with CEOs of the world’s largest mining companies, and helps guide high-net worth individuals and institutions with their mining investments. Key issues discussed during the… Continue Reading

Canadian oil companies are getting less for their oil due to pipeline bottlenecking. Most of the Oil extracted in Western Canada is piped to Illinois for refinement and then to Cushing, Oklahoma for sale. In recent years the sale price differential between Canadian crude oil, known as WCS (Western Canada Select), and its American counterpart… Continue Reading

Odgers Berndtson are global leaders in executive search and recruitment for mining and other industries. The other day we were talking discovery with respected gold geologist Brent Cook (full interview to be published next week). In our conversation we asked Brent to name a few explorationists investors should follow; the names of people Brent would… Continue Reading

This is a guest post from the Occam Papers, a new blog by three Canadian mining engineers we know and trust. I recently had a discussion with a friend of mine who is just getting into resource investing. She was rather confused about how companies report the size of their mineral deposits (i.e. the resource… Continue Reading

QOTD: “Under promise and over deliver is smart. Over promise and over deliver is talent.” D’Arcy Stuart, Odgers Berndtson Kansas Farmers Prepare to Plant Winter Wheat in Driest Soil Since 1991. Bloomberg Carlyle Group to Buy DuPont Unit for $4.9 Billion. CNBC RBC, CIBC and TD hike dividends as profits surge. Financial Post.  18 brilliant… Continue Reading

Cameco Acquires BHP Australian Uranium Deposit For $430 Million. Globe and Mail Harper’s Chief of Staff Faces Conflict of Interest Questions Over Barrick Gold Links. Financial Post “Electricity is the Only Commodity in the World That Isn’t Really Stored…When Storage Becomes Cheap and Massive, ‘The Impact Will Be Huge.'” Bloomberg Some Suggest Putin’s Net Worth… Continue Reading

A fun story for mining and US history buffs and an argument for continued strength in copper demand. Stanford University, located in Palo Alto, California, and today known as the epicenter of technology, has graduated untold thousands of students. However, as with most top schools in the world, few of those graduates have chosen mining-related careers. But… Continue Reading