Cameco not likely done with M&A yet, analysts say

Cameco’s announcement this week that it is paving the way to raise up to $1-billion has sparked speculation the Canadian uranium giant may be preparing for a large takeover. TSO & Associates analyst Terence Ortslan said on Friday there are...

Newmont cuts spending on Peru mine project

Newmont Mining Corp said on Wednesday it will cut capital spending on a controversial gold mine project in Peru by two-thirds for the 2012/13 period because of delays caused by government and environmental reviews.CEO Richard O'Brien told...

US copper futures sink to fresh 2012 trough

US copper futures fell to a fresh 2012 low Wednesday, hit by a mass exodus of risk assets amid doubts that Europe will be able to wrestle its festering debt crisis under control. Comex copper for July delivery plunged 9.65c or 2.8% to an...

Kansas City Southern says coal shipments weaken

Railroad operating company Kansas City Southern said on Friday shipments of coal, farm products and chemicals are weaker than it had expected a month ago, but it kept its full-year profit forecast unchanged, saying shipments should pick up once...

No major changes in Chinese REE export update, says analyst

The updated 2012 rare earths export quotas China published on Thursday implied a total of 31 438 t for the year, a slight increase on 2011’s figure, consultancy Technology Metals Research (TMR) said. The Ministry of Commerce (Mofcom) in...

China’s gold demand seen flat as economy slows

Gold demand growth in China, the second-largest consumer, may stagnate this year as declining prices put off investors and slower economic growth crimps sales, according to the mainland’s biggest gold-jewellery maker. “The volatility and...

Fuel cell makes loco debut, better than asteroid mining, big demand change needed

A platinum-using fuel cell is driving a locomotive in a South African platinum mine; a platinum miner quips about asteroid mining; and current weak platinum demand is seen as hugely problematic.

Paulson holds to gold ETFs in Q1, profits as prices rise

Prominent hedge fund manager John Paulson held on to his exchange-traded fund (ETF) bullion holdings in the first quarter of this year, profiting from an early surge in gold prices before the market tanked, a regulatory filing by his company...

US March brass mill imports, exports fall y-on-y

US imports of brass mill products eased 0.9% in March from a year earlier and exports fell 11.7% during that time, an industry group said. Imports of brass mill products in March slipped to 43.5-million pounds from 43.9-million pounds in the same...

Gold drops to 4-1/2-month low on eurozone worries

Gold prices fell to a four-and-a-half-month low on Monday, hit by concerns about a worsening debt crisis in the euro zone following political deadlock in Greece which fuelled risk aversion and put pressure on the euro. Spot gold hit a session low...

US PGM investment seen out of favour on weak economy

Demand for US platinum and palladium investment products has held firm so far in 2012, but the platinum group metals' heavy industrial uses and lingering fears over economic slowdown could push them off institutional investors' radar screens. A...

Coal makes a comeback in Illinois Basin in US

Two years ago, Peabody Energy opened a new coal mine in Sullivan County, Indiana. The mine, called Bear Run, is now the largest surface mine in the eastern US and a symbol of the revival of one of America's historical coal fields. As coal mining...