Frik Els, Author at MINING.COM

Fury over Conga threatens to overwhelm Peru’s president

Peru's President Ollanta Humala declared a state of emergency and has now enlisted the help of the clergy after deadly clashes but the violence shows no signs of letting up.

Frik Els | July 8, 2012 | 8:21 pm

Papua New Guinea scares off another miner

As Papua New Guinea's sometimes shambolic elections drag on into a third week, already nervous miners with projects in the country would not have been encouraged by news of another miner falling foul of the country's authorities.

Frik Els | July 8, 2012 | 12:01 am

Massive new Brazil mine will pipe iron-water slurry 420 kilometres to coast

Hong Kong's Honbridge Holdings plans to build a 420 kilometre pipeline to move iron-ore from Brazil's Minas Gerais state to the coast in stead of building a railway line for its new $3.6 billion – $4.2 billion mine.

Frik Els | July 7, 2012 | 9:41 pm

Doubts creeping in over stellar zinc price run

Abundant zinc could replace scarce and pricey indium in solar panels

Oxford University researchers looking for more efficient and cheaper ways to manufacture solar panels have found a possible solution in lowly base metal zinc.

Frik Els | July 7, 2012 | 8:55 pm

Wage talks in South Africa’s gold sector reach standstill: strike imminent

Eastplats caps 30% weekly gain with rap on the knuckles from BC securities commission

Vancouver-based Eastern Platinum was forced to issue a clarification over contained platinum resources at its South African PGM properties following a review by the British Columbia Securities Commission.

Frik Els | July 6, 2012 | 9:57 pm

Gold price: Forget the death cross, here are the real reasons to be nervous

All news is now bad news for gold

The stars are aligning for gold take up its position of the ultimate storer of wealth, hedge against inflation and all-round best alternative to paper currency. But gold is not reacting the way it used to - instead it is trading back below $1,600 an ounce, down almost $30 on Friday and now showing a loss for 2012.

Frik Els | July 6, 2012 | 8:16 pm

China's central bank continues to stock up on gold

China’s gold output could fall 40 tonnes this year

Gold production in the country – the world's top miner of the metal – appears to be slowing and at the current rate output is set to fall below the 341 tonnes mined in 2010.

Frik Els | July 5, 2012 | 1:50 pm

Gold prices down despite upbeat US jobs numbers

China, EU and UK central banks ease. Gold slides. What’s it gonna take?

In short QE3 would great, but no QE3 will be disastrous. Perhaps today's move down is a sign gold traders are beginning to price in disappointment.

Frik Els | July 5, 2012 | 1:48 pm

Is Cow Mountain a golden calf? Barkerville stock corrects as doubts over bonanza find creep in

Massive trading volumes on Wednesday saw Barkerville Gold stock give up 25% over two days after some exploration analysts raised doubts about the 10 million ounces of contained gold at its Cow Mountain project in British Columbia first announced on Friday.

Frik Els | July 4, 2012 | 10:40 pm

South Africa’s new wave of strikes could ruin economy: President

Nationalization worries in South Africa, rating agencies may downgrade

On Wednesday, a day after after all three major global ratings agencies – Fitch, Moody's and Standard & Poor's – placed South Africa's credit rating on negative outlook, home affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma became the latest senior figure in the ruling ANC party to join a growing chorus calling for state control of mining.

Frik Els | July 4, 2012 | 9:22 pm