Nickel

Investors weren't happy with the news. The stock dropped to record lows Friday, becoming the top loser on FTSE 350 mining index.

JP Morgan Cazenove says Swiss commodity trading giant has to start off-loading inventory to slash its $48 billion debt pile and keep its credit rating.

About 90% of China’s rare earth producers are currently operating at a loss as prices for the coveted elements continue to drop due to a global glut and illegal mining.

The company, which runs the massive Grasberg mine in Papua, has stopped exporting since last month.

Stock markets in Canada and the United States fell sharply on the news that China had allowed the yuan to drop 2%.

Simon Moores, managing director of London-based Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, and the firm's analyst, Andrew Miller, provide insight into minerals that they say need to shed their labels as traditional commodities and embrace their future as niche, raw-material solutions for a growing list of technology manufacturers.

It’s an issue that the Canadians for Tax Fairness and the Liberal Party of Canada appear to be hoping to make a federal election issue.

There are good companies doing promising work. Yes, the news flow is slower than in better markets, but that doesn’t mean it’s crickets out there.

While analyst predict a rebound in hard-hit rare earth prices later this year, it is still unclear whether companies outside China, the world’s largest producer, will be able to challenge its dominance.