Overall, only the stock indices of Spain and Portugal's top companies fared worse than Toronto's S&P/TSX-60. But in the group of resource-heavy exporting countries Canada's stock market came in stone last.
The $2.6 billion Qatari investment could provide Glencore CEO Ivan Glasenberg the necessary backing he needs to push through the deal which many Xstrata shareholders say sell them short.
The source of the surge in mining investment has been quite diverse, reflecting the widespread advance in prices. For 2012, gold leads the way with $3.6 billion of capital spending. But not far behind are copper-nickel-zinc mines at $3 billion, potash at $2.9 billion and iron ore at $2.7 billion as the Labrador Trough is developed.
Recent potash contract placements by some of the world’s largest buyers have raised hopes of a resurgence in the fortunes of potash companies and their investors.
Christy Clark, the Premier of Canada’s British Columbia unveiled details of a C$25 billion public and private sector plan to expand trade with Asia, by improving the province's transportation system.
Galaxy has spent the last 18 months searching the world for a high quality, undeveloped lithium brine deposit and we believe Lithium One's Sal de Vida lithium-potash project in Argentina fits that criterion. The Sal de Vida brine chemistry is highly favourable, with high levels of lithium and potash and low levels of magnesium and sulphate impurities.
"They need to clearly indicate to the market what their strategy around Olympic Dam is, around shale gas, all of these things, to return confidence that they're not spending huge amounts of capex for very low returns."