Mining

    War in Iran, higher energy prices are only delaying gold's rally to $5,000; mining stocks remain undervalued – Gabelli teaser image

    War in Iran, higher energy prices are only delaying gold's rally to $5,000; mining stocks remain undervalued – Gabelli

    (Kitco News) - The ongoing war in Iran and disruptions to global energy supplies are driving inflation pressures higher, forcing central banks to maintain restrictive monetary policies, which is taking its toll on gold; however, one fund manager says the conflict is only delaying gold's eventual rally, while the mining sector continues to generate significant cash flow at historically elevated prices.

    Kitco Mining Channel

    NLC India, Odisha agency sign pact for coal power, minerals ventures

    NLC India (NSE: NLCI) said on Thursday it has signed an agreement with Odisha’s state investment agency to pursue a coal-fired power plant, a coal-gasification study tied to fertilizer production and a beach sand minerals project.The planned thermal plant would involve an investment of 350 billion rupees ($3.69 billion) and have a capacity of 3,200 megawatt, the state-owned miner and power producer said.The beach sand mineral processing facility would involve a tentative investment of 20 billion rupees.

    Copper price falls to five-week low as LME inventory build continues

    Copper fell to its lowest in more than five weeks on Thursday as further inflows into London Metal Exchange warehouses eased some supply fears, even though expectations of regional supply bottlenecks persisted outside the US.Benchmark three-month copper on the LME was down 1.8% at $14,089 a metric ton as of 1600 GMT. It hit a session low of $14,031, its weakest since September 15.Copper stocks in LME warehouses climbed for a fourth day after 29,050 tons of inflows on Wednesday, chiefly in the US storage hub of New Orleans.

    India permits large silver imports despite weak domestic demand

    India has issued permits to import around 6,500 metric tons of silver over the next six months as the world’s biggest consumer of the precious metal seeks to meet festive-season demand, four bullion dealers who received the permits told Reuters.Higher imports by India, which relies on overseas purchases to meet more than 80% of its silver demand, could support global prices XAG= while easing hefty domestic premiums that have risen due to tight supplies.
    Incoming Northern Star CEO flags possibility of asset sales teaser image

    Incoming Northern Star CEO flags possibility of asset sales

    Australia’s Northern Star Resources (ASX: NST) on Wednesday flagged the potential for asset sales as the miner focuses on delivering its turnaround plan under a new CEO, amid pressure from both activist investor Elliott and suitor Gold Fields.Northern Star reported a 7.2% rise in first-quarter revenue from gold sales, helped by higher average gold sale prices that offset lower volumes from planned shutdowns, but missed market expectations. It, however, kept its full-year guidance intact.
    Chile plans five new lithium tenders in push to double output teaser image

    Chile plans five new lithium tenders in push to double output

    Chile plans to issue tenders for five more lithium projects next year as part of a drive to more than double output of the battery metal within a decade, Mining Minister Daniel Mas told Reuters.The world’s second-biggest lithium producer wants the private sector to play a bigger role in developing new mines, Mas said in an interview during LME Week, an annual gathering of the global metals industry in London.“We’re trying to change so that the private sector leads the mining industry to speed things up,” Mas said.
    CMRG agrees to new annual supply contract with Rio Tinto, sources say teaser image

    CMRG agrees to new annual supply contract with Rio Tinto, sources say

    China’s state iron ore buyer has agreed a new supply deal for the key steelmaking ingredient with Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) (LON: RIO), people with knowledge of the matter said.China Mineral Resources Group (CMRG) verbally notified some steel mills of the agreement on Wednesday without giving further details, they said.CMRG will start on Thursday to collect information on volumes that each mill needs to buy from the miner, two of the people said.CMRG and Rio Tinto did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
    Grupo Mexico reports higher quarterly profit, cuts copper guidance teaser image

    Grupo Mexico reports higher quarterly profit, cuts copper guidance

    Mining and transportation conglomerate Grupo Mexico reported a 56% profit bump in the third quarter compared to the same period a year earlier, helped mainly by higher metal prices, even as it noted a drop in copper production.The group, a leading global copper producer, lowered its 2026 copper production guidance to 1.026 million metric tons from a previous forecast of 1.034 million tons.Net profit came in at $2 billion from revenue that climbed 38% to $6.33 billion, according to a Tuesday filing.
    Copper supply gap favors projects that can get built - Jeff Pontius teaser image

    Copper supply gap favors projects that can get built - Jeff Pontius

    (Kitco News) The coming copper supply gap is putting more value on projects that already have infrastructure, clearer permitting paths and a realistic route to production, according to exploration geologist Jeff Pontius.“There is going to be a copper gap here,” Pontius told Kitco Mining’s Digging Deep on Oct. 15.
    BHP misses quarterly copper output estimates on Chile disruptions teaser image

    BHP misses quarterly copper output estimates on Chile disruptions

    BHP Group (ASX: BHP) on Tuesday reported a steep fall in copper production in the first quarter as bad weather and a fatal accident forced temporary halts at its flagship Escondida mine in Chile.Operations there were suspended in late September after a worker was killed in an accident while carrying out maintenance work. Production was also disrupted for several weeks at BHP’s Carrapateena copper mine in South Australia after an underground conveyor belt failed.
    Italy’s top court set to rule on future of troubled Taranto steelworks teaser image

    Italy’s top court set to rule on future of troubled Taranto steelworks

    Italy’s Supreme Court is due to consider on Tuesday a case that could have major consequences for the former Ilva steelworks, a leading employer in the southern Italian city of Taranto and an important part of Italy’s manufacturing sector, with a ruling expected in the coming days.The country’s top court is reviewing an order to shut the steelworks’ blast furnaces on health and environmental grounds – a move the company says could trigger the permanent closure of the plant, which was once the largest in Europe.
    Codelco sets 2027 Europe copper premium at record $350 a metric ton, sources say teaser image

    Codelco sets 2027 Europe copper premium at record $350 a metric ton, sources say

    Chile’s Codelco is offering its European customers copper at a record high premium of $350 a metric ton for next year, up more than 7% from $325 this year, two sources with knowledge of the matter said.Codelco, the world’s biggest copper miner by production, declined to comment.Premiums set by Codelco for physical delivery of refined copper are paid on top of London Metal Exchange prices and are often referenced as a benchmark in global supply contracts for the metal used in electric vehicles, grid infrastructure and construction.
    Sulphuric acid prices due to extend decline in 2027, CRU says teaser image

    Sulphuric acid prices due to extend decline in 2027, CRU says

    Prices of sulphuric acid used to process metals such as copper and nickel are expected to extend their decline next year, consultancy CRU said on Tuesday.Sulphuric acid delivered to top copper producer Chile is forecast to fall to $215 a metric ton in the fourth quarter of 2027 from a record of $451 earlier this year, CRU said.“There’s a bit of relief for those that are more exposed to the spot and contract sulphuric acid markets,” analyst Chris Lawson told a seminar during LME Week, an annual gathering of the global metals industry in London.
    NMDC puts nickel foray on hold on global oversupply concerns, sources say teaser image

    NMDC puts nickel foray on hold on global oversupply concerns, sources say

    India’s state-run miner NMDC (NSE: NMDC) has put its planned foray into nickel on hold partly because of global oversupply concerns in Indonesia, a country that accounts for more than 60% of global output of the metal, two company officials with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.Reuters had earlier reported that India’s state-owned Steel Authority of India (SAIL) (NSE: SAIL) and NMDC were looking at boosting nickel supplies from Russia and acquiring coking coal assets.
    Shenghe Resources said to sell majority stakes in some businesses teaser image

    Shenghe Resources said to sell majority stakes in some businesses

    Shenghe Resources (SHA: 600392) said it would sell majority stakes for its smelting and separation business for 1.66 billion and 1.81 billion yuan ($248.44 million-$270.89 million) to a subsidiary of state-owned China Rare Earth Group.Shenghe Resources will transfer a 51% stake at its Leshan Shenghe subsidiary, after spinning off the subsidiary’s non-rare earth smelting and separation business, to a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Rare Earth Group, according to a company filing on Sunday.