International - Copperbelt Katanga Mining

Copper price down as dollar firms

February 4, 2022February 4, 2022 admin

The copper price fell on Thursday as poor risk sentiment driven by weak corporate earnings pushed the dollar up. March delivery contracts were exchanging hands for $4.47 a pound ($9,840 a tonne) on the Comex market in New York, down 0.5% compared to Wednesday’s closing. European shares and US equity futures declined on Thursday amid the souring mood in the stock market. The greenback snapped three days of declines as investors sought a haven, putting pressure on gold and metals priced in the currency. U.S. businesses’ payrolls fell last month by the most since… Read More Here

Glencore’s output falls amid COVID Challenges

February 3, 2022February 3, 2022 admin

Switzerland-based mining company Glencore saw the production of most of its minerals fall year-on-year (YoY) in 2021 as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to affect operations. The company saw falls in copper, zinc, lead, nickel, gold and silver production. The most significant drop was in lead, which declined by 14% YoY to 222,000 tonnes, followed by gold, which fell by 12% YoY to 809,000 tonnes. However, the miner did see an increase in ferrochrome production output, which jumped by 43% to 1.46 million tonnes, and coal-coking, which rose by 20% to 9,100 tonnes. Despite… Read More Here

Copper International

Copper price rises as trade thinned by China holiday

February 2, 2022February 2, 2022 admin

Copper prices rose on Tuesday as the dollar lost ground, but trading volumes were thin as markets in top metals consumer China were closed for the week-long Lunar New Year holiday. March delivery contracts were exchanging hands for $4.44 a pound ($9,768 a tonne) on the Comex market in New York, up 2.3% compared to Monday’s closing. “Trading will be relatively quiet throughout the whole week because of the Chinese New Year. But at the moment base metals are supported by benign equity markets and dollar pushing metals up,” said… Read More Here

Gold International

Gold back above $1 800-mark on firmer investment demand

February 1, 2022February 1, 2022 admin

Gold prices firmed above the key $1 800-level on Tuesday as investment demand strengthened, with a weak US dollar and Treasury yields offering further support. Spot gold rose 0.6% to $1 806.32 per ounce by 10:38 GMT. US gold futures climbed 0.6% to $1 807.40. A weaker dollar is helping gold along with “good uptake yesterday on the ETF side that took us through the magic $1 800 level,” independent analyst Ross Norman said. Holdings of the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust, rose to the highest levels since mid-August on… Read More Here

International

Debswana annual diamond sales jump 64%

February 1, 2022February 1, 2022 admin

Sales of rough diamonds by Debswana Diamond Company jumped 64% in 2021, statistics released by the Bank of Botswana showed on Monday, driven by the reopening of key global consumer markets. The total value of Debswana’s diamond exports stood at $3.466-billion in 2021 compared with $2.120-billion in 2020, the central bank data showed. Debswana, a joint venture between Anglo American unit De Beers and Botswana’s government, sells 75% of its output to De Beers with the balance taken up by the state-owned Okavango Diamond Company. Debswana sales fell by 30%… Read More Here

Cobalt International Mining in DRC

Cobalt outlook bullish through 2022 and beyond, ERG CEO says

February 1, 2022February 1, 2022 admin

The situation in the global cobalt market is such that prices could climb to new highs through 2022 and beyond, according to the chief executive officer of diversified mining company Eurasian Resources Group (ERG). Benedikt Sobotka said that the surging price of the metal, which rose by 119% in 2021, was giving a very clear message: the market is severely short of cobalt, a key ingredient in the batteries that power electric vehicles (EVs). There were no discernible signs of any fundamental easing, he said, and prices remained on an… Read More Here

Gold International

World: 2021 ended with rising gold demand (WGC)

February 1, 2022February 1, 2022 admin

Global demand for gold for the whole of 2021 has seen an increase, reaching 4,021 tons, according to the World Gold Council (WGC) report published on January 28, 2022. In this report, it is specified that demand has recovered a large part of the losses linked to the health crisis in 2020. World Gold Council notes, in the same report, the drop in gold consumption levels around the world in the first half of 2021 and the chain, the following three months, also with a drop. The report states that… Read More Here

Gold International

Gold set for worst month since September on Fed rate-hike prospects

January 31, 2022January 31, 2022 admin

Gold prices fell on Monday and were set for the biggest monthly drop since last September, as markets anticipated higher rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve on the back of key economic data, while a stronger dollar put further pressure on bullion. Spot gold was down 0.2% at $1,787.70 per ounce, as of 0658 GMT, taking its monthly drop to more than 2%. U.S. gold futures were up 0.1% at $1,789.20. “It’s just that continuation of the real rates moving higher again and that’s producing a more negative backdrop… Read More Here

Cobalt International Mining in DRC

cobalt price surge to continue this year amid rising demand

January 28, 2022January 28, 2022 admin

The surge in the cobalt price, which increased by 119% in 2021, is expected to continue unabated this year, with cobalt supply increasingly unable to keep pace with demand, diversified mining major Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) CEO Benedikt Sobotka said in a statement on January 27. The global price of cobalt more than doubled last year, reaching its highest levels since 2018, he noted. “The market is severely short of the blue metal. There are no discernible signs of any fundamental easing, with prices remaining on an upward trajectory as consumers skirmish… Read More Here

Gold International

Gold demand hits highest level in more than two years

January 28, 2022January 28, 2022 admin

Market development organisation the World Gold Council’s (WGC’s) latest ‘Gold Demand Trends’ report shows that yearly demand, excluding over-the-counter markets, has recovered many of the Covid-19-induced losses from 2020 to reach 4 021 t for the 2021 full-year. Demand for gold reached 1 147 t in the fourth quarter of 2021 – its highest quarterly level since the second quarter of 2019. It is also an increase of almost 50% year-on-year. Gold bar and coin demand rose 31% to an 8-year high of 1,180 t as retail investors sought a haven against the backdrop of rising inflation… Read More Here