Frik Els , Editor

Frik has 20 years’ experience as a business journalist across a range of industries including automotive, technology and entertainment markets. Frik has an entry in Global Mining Observer’s Who’s Who of Mining 2018, and contributions to publications and conferences including Business Insider, Investing.com, Mines & Money London and New York, Vancouver Resources Investment, Progressive Mine Forum in Toronto and Canadian Mining Symposium in London, UK. He’s been interviewed on CBC Radio and Korea State TV and quoted in the Financial Post.

Posts by Frik Els:

Scotiabank: potash price up 30% since December will jump again this year

Spot potash prices for the standard grade leaving the port of Vancouver rose from $445 per tonne in May to $481 in June and $490 in July and is up US$111 since December according to the Scotiabank Commodity Price Index out on Wednesday. Scotiabank also said Canpotex, the marketing agent for Western Canada's three potash producers, is virtually sold out for the third quarter this year and a third price increase this year of $30 to $40 is likely.
Frik Els | July 27, 2011 | 5:30 pm

Obama forced into pipeline decision as Canada oil sands crude swamps US

Reuters reports US lawmakers approved legislation late on Tuesday setting a November 1 deadline for the Obama administration to decide the fate of a proposed $7 billion pipeline to transport Canadian oil sands crude to refineries on the Gulf coast and ease the glut in the Midwest hub. The price oil sands producers can charge for exports to the US is falling further behind the international benchmark because of the lack of pipelines and hedge funds have started to bet that the spread could go as high as $50/barrel leaving Alberta producers $75 million out of pocket per day.
Frik Els | July 26, 2011 | 8:43 pm

New $1.5 billion nickel mine can start dumping waste in PNG ocean

Australia's Highlands Pacific and China Metallurgical Group can now power on their $1.5 billion Ramu nickel project in Papua New Guinea after a judge threw out the environmental challenge to the project's planned deep-sea disposal of tailings after an 18-month legal battle. Ramu is situated on Papua New Guinea's north-west coast and is completely built – annual production is estimated at more than 31,000 tonnes of nickel and 3,300 tonnes of cobalt for over 20 years.
Frik Els | July 26, 2011 | 5:50 pm

De Beers exec: best six months since going private, strong US growth surprises

In an interview with Moneyweb on Tuesday, De Beers Chief Commercial Officer said the company had experienced its best six months since it went private in a $19 billion deal with parent Anglo-American in 2001. Bruce Cleaver said the stellar results that saw net income tripling had been driven not only by "enormously strong" consumer demand in China, Hong Kong, Macau, India and the Gulf states but "surprisingly" strong growth in America, where sales had been anaemic over the last few years.
Frik Els | July 26, 2011 | 5:40 pm

Macarthur coal exports plunge amid due diligence

Macarthur Coal, the mining group that is the target of a $4.7 billion takeover bid by US energy company Peabody Energy and steel giant ArcelorMittal, has suffered a steep slide in sales a result of wet weather. Macarthur's sales in the June quarter tumbled 22.5%, with its annual sales down 26.5% to 3.9 million tonnes. Peabody and Arcelor have sweetened the deal following a couple of failed attempts in the past three years and is set to complete due diligence at the end of the week.
Frik Els | July 25, 2011 | 10:05 pm

Gold ends at record Monday as US and Euro debt fears intensify

Comex gold and silver futures prices closed the day session higher Monday, with August gold powering to another new all-time record high of $1,624.30 an ounce. The precious metal was lifted by the breakdown in debt talks in the US over the weekend and news that ratings agency Moody's has downgraded Greece's debt again saying default is now almost a certainty. December Comex silver also traded up $40.44 after hitting a new 11-week high early on Monday. The gold:silver ratio – the number of ounces of silver needed to buy an ounce of gold: eased back below 40.
Frik Els | July 25, 2011 | 9:00 pm

Globex options second Labrador Trough iron project

Globex Mining Enterprises Inc. announce Monday that it has signed an Option Agreement with Titan Iron Ore Corp wherein Titan may earn 100% interest in a Globex, Labrador trough area iron exploration property in Northern Quebec. The property consists of 200 claims totalling approximately 9,160 ha (22,635 acres) and covers a 32 kilometre (19.9 miles) long magnetic anomaly which coincides with known showings of magnetite, an ore of iron.
Frik Els | July 25, 2011 | 6:28 pm

Canada makes a deal a day as mining M&A head towards $200 billion

The value of mergers and acquisitions in the mining sector more than doubled to $96.3 billion in the first six months of the year and could top $200 billion for the whole of 2011 says a new research report. Canadian companies – both as acquirers and as the targets of buyers – dominated corporate finance activity in the first half shaking on more than a deal a day and at 325 deals accounting for almost two-thirds of all the metals and minerals transactions carried out around the world.
Frik Els | July 25, 2011 | 6:06 pm
india mining

India’s illegal iron ore mining scandal grows, could bring down state government

Indian Express reports Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, currently holidaying in Mauritius, is among a slew of politicians, many of them from the BJP party, set to be named in a damning 8,000-page report on the illegal plunder of the Indian state’s iron ore resources over a decade. The report from the Lokayukta, an anti-corruption ombudsman organization, may lead to so called President's rule in Karnataka when a state legislature is dissolved or suspended and the state is placed under direct federal governance and is proving to be a huge embarrassment to the BJP leadership.
Frik Els | July 25, 2011 | 6:00 pm

Grizzly adds to 2.4 million acres of land for Alberta potash project

Grizzly Discoveries Inc. announced on Monday it has applied for a new metallic and industrial mineral permit in Alberta along the Saskatchewan border covering approximately 4,672 hectares to add to its existing land holdings of more than 2.4 million acres for its Alberta Potash Project. Stocks in the micro-cap company was steady at 70c on Monday following the news and is worth more than double what it was at the start of 2011. Apart from potash Grizzly is exploring for gold and base metals in British Columbia and diamonds in Alberta.
Frik Els | July 25, 2011 | 4:37 pm
Featured Post

Copper price: What’s in store for 2025

The bellwether metal had a rollercoaster 2024, will next year bring more wild swings?
Frik Els | December 13, 2024 | 5:48 pm