Frik Els , Editor

GeoMega says drill results confirm Montviel as world class neodymium resource

Montreal-based GeoMega announced the results from its Phase I diamond drilling program conducted on the Montviel property in Abitibi, Québec and said these latest results confirm that it is one of the world's most significantknown deposits of neodymium that can be developed quickly given the excellent local infrastructure such as road access, nearby hydroelectric services and rail.

Frik Els | June 28, 2011 | 5:47 pm

Chinese miners plunge as reverse-listing contagion spreads

Iron, zinc and coal miner China Natural Resources shed 20% of its value on the Nasdaq stock exchange in morning trade on Monday in the absence of any fresh news about its operations while China Shen Zou Mining lost over 8%, the worst performers in the sector. Investors are continuing to worry about the soundness of Chinese companies that came to the US market through so-called reverse listings with the value of the 98 companies declining sharply in recent weeks as creative accounting and other irregularities are uncovered at firms engaging in operations as diverse as software and timber.

Frik Els | June 27, 2011 | 4:30 pm

Investors don’t like Golden Minerals, ECU Silver merger

A merger between Quebec-based ECU Silver Mining and Golden Minerals of Chicago announced on Friday had investors scrambling for the exits on Monday with the two companies at one point trading down 3.9% and 7% respectively on a generally bad day for silver stocks. The combined company worth over $600m with extensive assets in South America will keep its headquarters in Golden, Colorado and the Golden Minerals name and will be headed by Golden CEO, Jeffrey Clevenger.

Frik Els | June 27, 2011 | 4:28 pm

Oil sands stocks hit hard by reserves move

Canada’s most valuable oil companies Suncor and Canadian Natural Resource – together worth over $100bn – were trading down over 3% on Thursday before recovering some ground following news that 2m barrels of oil per day - equal to Canada's total daily exports to the US – will be released onto the market over the next month. The International Energy Agency said 28 of its members, with the US providing about half of the total, would tap their strategic oil reserves in an effort to make up for lost output as Libya's civil war drags on.

Frik Els | June 23, 2011 | 8:00 pm

South Africa gold miners hammered as costs spiral

By early afternoon on Thursday 7.5% or over $400m had been wiped off the value of Harmony Gold Mining stock in New York, the worst performer in an index of 50 of the largest gold and silver counters. Other South African gold miners were also punished with both Anglogold Ashanti and Gold Fields down over 5%. Some South African produces are struggling with cash outlays of $1,200/ounce – almost double the global average – thanks to a strong currency, wage disputes, power supply problems and geological issues. As the gold price eases as much as 180,000 oz of quarterly production are being put at risk.

Frik Els | June 23, 2011 | 6:59 pm

Oil sands M&A expected to heat up

Canadian Business reports merger and acquisition activity is expected to increase in Canada's oilpatch this year, as energy executives take a brighter view of their sector's prospects, according to a study released Wednesday. But the positive outlook is dampened somewhat by cost escalation for labour and equipment, the Ernst & Young report said. In 2010 Canadian energy M&A activity was dominated by oil sands. While the $4.65bn Sinopec-Syncrude deal was the largest the total the number of oil sands transactions tripled.

Frik Els | June 22, 2011 | 9:20 pm

Burned by sub-prime, banks turn to resource sector for profits

Data out this week show the likes of Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan raking in record revenues of almost $1bn/month in commodity and other trading revenue. A recent study of mining mergers and acquisitions shows the proportion of financial firms – as opposed to other miners – taking over resource companies had increased fourfold. And perhaps the most significant indication that US banking practices honed in the property markets have arrived in minerals is news that star metals traders now command pay as high as $3 million/year.

Frik Els | June 22, 2011 | 6:38 pm

Zambia scoffs at Zimbabwe and South Africa mine nationalization schemes

On Tuesday Zambia's Finance Minister mocked Zimbabwe and South Africa for planning to forcibly raise government stakes in foreign mines, saying "the Zambian miner in 1970s was a happier miner than a miner during the period of state ownership of the mines.” Under Zimbabwe's on-again off-again indigenization policy mining companies were granted until the beginning of June to submit proposals about transferring majority ownership to locals while there are growing calls within the ruling party in South Africa to move ahead with nationalization as called for in the country's Freedom Charter.

Frik Els | June 21, 2011 | 9:46 pm

China rare earth exports fall 11% in a single month, prices since start of year triple

China's exports of rare earth ores, metals and compounds, fell 11% in May compared to April and 8.8% to 23,742 metric tons in the first five months of the year compared to last year. At the same time the value of exports surged 242% to $1.6 billion, customs data supplied by Hong Kong-based Economic Information & Agency showed Tuesday. China in recent months closed or consolidated more than 35 rare earth mines and cut export quotas sparking concerns in the US and other industrial nations about access to supplies and causing a frenzy of exploration and development activity.

Frik Els | June 21, 2011 | 6:01 pm

Gem Diamonds to supply water to Kalahari bushmen fighting for residence rights in game reserve

London-listed Gem Diamonds said in a statement on Monday that it will drill four boreholes in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in partnership with VOX United, a non-governmental organisation to provide the bushmen or Basarwa living in the reserve with water. The community is locked in a bitter battle with the Botswana government which accuses them of depleting the park's natural resources, while the Basarwa say that the government is violating their rights by trying to relocate them and that their impact on the environment is negligible.

Frik Els | June 21, 2011 | 6:00 pm

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