Metals News - Metals Place

Experts expect copper prices to soar

2011-05-07T21:17:33Z

More big miners will likely follow the world's largest gold company into the copper sector as the metal's price soars alongside Chinese industry's growing hunger for it, experts say.

Canada's Barrick Gold Corp. took a bold step into copper Monday with a friendly $7.3-billion bid to acquire Equinox Minerals Ltd. Other miners will likely follow suit as copper becomes increasingly lucrative while China seeks to meet its need for the metal used in electric cables, cars, cellphones and trains, Scotiabank commodities specialist Patricia Mohr said Tuesday.

"Copper is much more profitable than gold. Considerably more, even with the record gold prices we've been seeing recently. That's why I've been calling copper the new gold," she said.

Copper is likely to hover around record prices for the next few years, because there isn't enough in the world to feed China's demand, which will climb even higher this spring as better weather leads to construction season, Mohr said.

The price of copper was trading at US$4.33 per pound midday Tuesday, below the record of $4.60 set in February. But Mohr said copper is still bringing in "huge" profit margins.

"Even at $4.29 you have a 68 per cent profit margin," she said, adding that other metals bring in about 50 per cent.

The high cost of mining and increasingly lower grade of copper found at established mines will inevitably lead to smaller players being swept up as the major global miners look to get into the industry and diversify with little risk.

Companies will see copper as a worthwhile investment while a world shortage of copper grows deeper as China grows in the next decade, said Tom Whelan, head of mining and metals research at consultancy firm Ernst & Young.

China already consumes between 35 and 40 per cent of the world's supply of copper, at about seven million tonnes a year, and appears to have an insatiable appetite for more. Whelan said statistics from the Chinese government indicate demand will grow to 12 million tonnes over the next 10 years on an annual basis.

But the world's supply won't expand fast enough to keep up with the demand, he said.

"It's not like mining companies can just flip a switch," he said, adding that it takes time to make mine sites suitable for extracting metal.

"Supply remains constrained and there's been an underinvestment in new mine supply. It's just taking longer and longer to get mines into production. At the end of the day the supply growth is constrained."

He said global copper output should rise to 20 million tonnes by 2015, helping to ease the supply shortage.

And metals miners —particularly gold companies like Barrick— are becoming increasingly more comfortable with copper, as they tend to find it nestled in the same mines as gold, said Whelan.

With the number of available gold mines wearing thin around the world, gold miners have to look to other metals to grow their business.

"All mining companies need a growth story, and mergers and acquisitions are certainly on the table for many copper companies," he said.

Mohr said opportunities to buy smaller, established copper miners are rare, and with the price of copper so high, many companies could start bidding wars to get their hands on one.

She said the price of copper should come back down when new mines open, but it will be the hottest metal on the market until that happens in about two years' time.

But John Ing, president and CEO at Maison Placements and a gold analyst, said he expects the prices of copper to stay high in the near future.

"(Acquiring companies) are looking ahead and they see continued demand for copper. In fact there's expected to be a deficit. In the near and intermediate term, the expectation is for higher prices," he said.

"Copper is at $4.29 thereabouts and this is at a time when China's imports for this part of the year have slowed down, yet copper prices remain very strong," he said.

Iron ore prices reach $190/mt

2010-04-20T21:12:41Z

Week 16 opened with a bang with the Indian spot prices making a quantum jump of almost USD 10 per tonne since 16th April. The unprecedented escalation seems unstoppable leaving veterans exasperated. It is noteworthy that the gradient has become steeper with each passing days from 1% in mid February to 11% during the course of last one week.

The following factors needs to be mentioned

1. After the banishing import of iron ore below Fe 60% by Chinese traders India could play only second fiddle as the composition of Indian iron ore is skewed towards low grade. As a result, spot prices of high grade iron ore from India have sky rocketed. Although the CNF prices seem to be prevailing at USD 190 per tonne, freakish cases of USD 195 have also been heard on week opening.

2. Prevailing mining mess in India has further fanned the fire with curtailed supply especially on East Coast.

3. The three mining behemoths viz., Vale , Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton have been playing truant to the roost by withholding supplies to leverage negotiating power in contractual discussions creating a situation of "take it or leave it " for Chinese buyers.
4. Against the backdrop of limited ore supply, traders are postponing selling in anticipation of better realization thereby supporting the hike.

However all the fun and frolic is not devoid of an element of scepticism as the tenants of this surge seems artificial rather than market driven.

1. In all likelihood Chinese buyers will bulk under the burgeoning costly ore prices as the finished demand is not increasing proportionately . Domestic prices have already showed signs of waning towards the weekend when the prices of long and flat product dipped slightly.

2. Shanghai equities slumped the most in 6 weeks due to the suspension of lending from banks to third home buyers in some areas.

3. Once the Chinese buyers acquiesce to the demands of the biggies naturally the spot prices will be doused.

The iron ore prices seems all set for a turbulent phase in the coming weeks in view of the above paradoxical reasons however clarity will dawn after the shaping of price trend in the domestic market during the coming week.

Copper futures down to $7,610/mt

2010-04-20T21:08:06Z

Risk aversion drove copper to a three-week low on Monday, as investors fretted about the potential impact of fraud charges against Goldman Sachs, Wall Street's most influential bank and a leading commodities player.

Investors were seen parking their cash into the safety of the U.S. dollar, which tends to make dollar-priced metals more expensive for non-U.S. investors, as the combination of the Goldman news and lingering concerns about Greece's debt compounded the shaky market sentiment.

On the London Metal Exchange, copper for three months delivery CMCU3 touched a session low of $7,610.25, its weakest since March 29, before ending at $7,696 a tonne from $7,763 on Friday, when it lost over 2 percent of its value.

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Gold futures rise to $1,139/oz

2010-04-20T21:06:51Z

Gold futures ended higher Tuesday as investors again stepped in to snap up bullion, although gains fizzled somewhat as the dollar strengthened.

Gold for June delivery, the most active contract, added $3.40 or 0.3%, to settle at $1,139.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Stock Exchange. Other metals followed gold's lead to finish higher on Tuesday, with palladium posting a fresh two-year high.

A retreat in the two previous sessions left gold at a two-week low. The June contract has lost 1.8% from the close of Thursday.

"Buyers have come back on this dip," said Frank Lesh, a broker and futures analyst with FuturePath Trading in Chicago.

Markets were rocked Friday as news broke that U.S. regulators had charged top commodities broker Goldman Sachs Group Inc. with fraud.

Those worries had eased by Tuesday, said Matt Zeman, a broker with LaSalle Group in Chicago. But the market grew quieter towards the end of the trading day as "investors were in a holding pattern," he said.

Gold prices are "vulnerable" to any whisper of tighter regulations following Goldman's legal woes, as well as to any further implications from the Securities and Exchange Commission case against the firm, Zeman said.

Moreover, the jewelry markets in Dubai and India - top gold importers - appear "well stocked at the moment," and there's lackluster physical demand for gold in these countries, noted Pradeep Unni, an analyst with Richcomm Global in Dubai.

Dollar moves also took some of gold's shine Tuesday. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, fell as low as 80.76 from 80.930 late Monday, though it recently edged higher to 81.07.

A stronger U.S. unit makes dollar-denominated assets such as gold less attractive to holders of foreign currencies.

Among the other metals, palladium for June delivery rose $17.70. or 3.3%, to $551.40 an ounce, touching highs not seen since March 6, 2008 for a most-active contract and besting the April 14 close of $548 an ounce.

July platinum gained $25.20, or 1.5%, to finish at $1,721.80 an ounce, while May silver added 3 cents, or 0.2%, to settle at $17.86 an ounce.

Brockman seals $6 billion iron ore deal with Sinosteel

2010-04-20T21:04:17Z

Emerging Pilbara iron ore producer Brockman Resources has pulled off a major coup by signing a sales agreement with China's largest importer of ore, Sinosteel, that could be worth more than $6 billion.

The Perth-based miner announced yesterday that it had signed a landmark memorandum of understanding with Sinosteel Australia, for the purchase of up to 50 per cent of future production from its flagship Marillana iron ore project in Western Australia's Pilbara region.

"This is a key milestone because you are now dealing with one of the most credible international companies when it comes to offtake and it shows credibility to us and our project," managing director Wayne Richards said.

"To get someone like Sinosteel willing to market 50 per cent of your ore is a major benefit."

The agreement involves the purchase of up to 10 million tonnes a year of production over an initial five-year period.

Based on Macquarie Bank's recent estimate that BHP Billiton was selling ore into Asia at about $120 a tonne for the April-June quarter, the Brockman deal would be worth about $6.5bn over five years.

Mr Richards said the company had been in talks with Sinosteel for the past 18 months.

"We have been moving the conversations and the opportunities and the potential MOU along to a point that it was now the right time based on the project status," he said.

Sinosteel Corporation, Sinosteel Australia's parent, is one of China's largest state-owned enterprises and Mr Richards said its size meant there would be additional opportunities with the Asian giant.

"There is the potential to look at other opportunities and relationships around the project," he said.

"Sinosteel has various business models and opportunities but it is not constraining us to them as we can keep the optionality open for project financing and this does not preclude us from any future financing structure arrangements for the project."

Sinosteel Australia's managing director Li Ying said the company was looking forward to finalising the offtake agreement.

"Our company is keen to co-operate and partner with Australian companies with credible projects seeking to leverage our capability to supply raw materials for China's steel industry, whether this is iron ore, manganese, chrome ore or coal," he said.

Mr Brockman said the agreement, the first signed for its offtake from Marillana, provided a strong foundation for completion of the definitive feasibility study and project development.

Molycorp could raise $350m in IPO

2010-04-20T21:00:33Z

Molycorp, whose subsidiary Molycorp Minerals is the only producer of rare earth oxides in the Western hemisphere, plans an initial public offering of its stock this week.

The company said it expects to become one of the world's most integrated producers of rare earth products, including oxides, metals, alloys and magnets.

Rare earths are used in clean energy technologies such as hybrid and electric vehicles and wind power turbines; high-tech uses including fiber optics, lasers and hard disk drivers; defense applications such as guidance and control systems; and advanced water treatment technology for use in industrial, military and outdoor recreation applications.

The company said it may raise up to $350 million from the offering, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The money will be used to modernize and expand its Mountain Pass, Calif., mining and production facility and for general corporate purposes that include developing new products.

Molycorp Minerals was formed in 2008 to buy the facility and associated assets from Chevron Mining, a subsidiary of Chevron. Molycorp, Molycorp Minerals' parent and based in Greenwood Village, Colo., was formed March 4.

The company had $7.1 million in revenue last year from the sales of products manufactured from stockpiled feedstocks. The company said this level of revenue is not representative of its planned level of operations after it restarts mining operations.

The stock is expected to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "MCP".

MAG Silver drills molybdenum-gold

2010-04-20T20:56:31Z

MAG Silver Corp. announced additional gold and molybdenum assay results from on-going drilling (32 diamond drill holes) of the Pozo Seco moly-gold discovery on its 100% owned Cinco de Mayo property in northern Chihuahua State, Mexico. Results reported here include the thickest intercept to date of significant molybdenum mineralization.

Starting at 2 metres depth, Hole CM10-221 has cut the thickest molybdenum intercept to date on the property: 278.42 metres (913.45 feet) of 0.052% molybdenum (Mo) with 0.10 grams per ton (g/t) gold; including several high-grade zones such as 34.06 metres (111.7 feet) (115.29 to 149.35 metres depth) grading 0.158% moly with 0.21 g/t gold. Four additional holes in this area (CM10-144, 182, 208 and 211: see press release of March 26, 2010 and Table 1 below) indicate that mineralization in this "Northwest Prime" zone is thickening, extending deeper and moving farther west than previously thought. This may indicate that a major mineralizing fluid zone has been encountered. Drilling in this area has been stepped up to explore for the root of the system. Pozo Seco not only represents a moly deposit target in its own right, but also represents an important indicator of nearby significant lead-zinc-silver mineralization typical of the Carbonate Replacement Deposits (CRDs) in this part of Mexico.

Diamond drilling on one hundred metre centres within the Pozo Seco Prime Zone also includes some of the thickest and highest grade intercepts seen there to date as shown by Hole CM10-217 which assayed 0.264% molybdenum over 80.3 metres (263.4 feet).

"The results from this round of drilling clearly demonstrate width and continuity within the Pozo Seco Prime discovery zone with holes consistently showing grades higher than many of the world's major molybdenum mines", said MAG CEO, Dan MacInnis. "It is also clear that the moly zone is thickening, deepening and swinging to the west, perhaps directing us towards the system's source. These are exciting exploration developments given both the fact that the moly mineralization remains open in several directions and that our exploration model suggests that such extensive molybdenum mineralization may indicate that a large silver-lead-zinc skarn-replacement system lies nearby."

Rio Tinto to invest $340m in molybdenum facility

2010-04-20T20:55:00Z

Kennecott Utah Copper, today announced that its parent company, Rio Tinto, will invest $340 million in the construction of a new Molybdenum Autoclave Process (MAP) facility at Kennecott Utah Copper (KUC) in Magna, Utah. KUC has been producing copper, gold and silver since 1903 and molybdenum since the 1930s. The new facility will allow lower-grade molybdenum concentrate to be processed more efficiently than through conventional roasters, allow improved molybdenum recovery and operating flexibility, and enable production of metallurgical and higher chemical grade molybdenum products. MAP will also make it possible for KUC to recover additional by-products from its concentrate.

Kelly Sanders, President and CEO of Kennecott Utah Copper said, "The outlook for molybdenum demand is very strong, driven by the rapid urbanization and industrialization of China and India. The production of molybdenum and gold make KUC one of the world's lowest cost producers of copper."

Molybdenum is a by-product of KUC's copper production and is used in metal alloys, including steel, to enhance toughness, high temperature strength and corrosion resistance. It is also a key component in oil refining catalysts used to remove sulfur from fuel and improve air quality. Investment in the MAP facility is part of an overall plan to extend the life of the Bingham Canyon Mine beyond 2020, where a significant molybdenum deposit remains.

Molybdenum has been a major contributor to the profitability of Rio Tinto in recent years and is likely to continue to be in the future. Each year, KUC produces approximately 30 million pounds of Molybdenum. The MAP facility will process all of the molybdenum produced from the Bingham Canyon Mine.

"This capital investment will prove to be a tremendous future benefit to Rio Tinto," said Brendan Ryan, Vice President, Projects and Expansion, Kennecott Utah Copper. "MAP is a robust project that will act as an enabler for future extensions to the mine life."

The MAP design includes a number of energy efficiency features and environmentally responsible techniques for producing molybdenum products. When completed, MAP is anticipated to produce molybdenum with fewer greenhouse gases than traditional roasting plants. The facility includes a heat recovery system that captures excess heat from the autoclave for use in downstream processes. A combined heat and power (CHP) system, similar to the one being installed at KUC's Refinery, will also be used to produce steam to power the majority of the facility's electrical requirements. This system will be capable of producing 6.2 megawatts of clean energy, which is equivalent to the electrical needs of about 6,000 average-sized homes.

The MAP facility will be constructed in two phases. Construction of phase one has already begun between KUC's smelter and refinery in Magna. First production is anticipated for the fourth quarter of 2012 with full production of 30 million pounds scheduled for fourth quarter 2013. Phase one will have a net increase of 30 new full-time employees. Construction of phase two, which adds additional production capacity totaling 60 million pounds, is anticipated for completion in the first quarter of 2015. Phase two will add a further 20 new full-time employees.

Pan American Silver first quarter silver-gold production report

2010-04-20T20:30:11Z

Pan American Silver Corp., today reports that the illegal strike which began on April 10th at its Huaron mine in Peru was settled on April 15th and that normal operations have resumed. In addition, the Company is pleased to take this opportunity to provide an update on its first quarter 2010 silver and gold production.

First Quarter 2010 Production

- Silver production was 5.5 million ounces, an increase of 13% as compared to the 1st quarter of last year.
- Gold production was 27,896 ounces, an increase of 34% as compared to the 1st quarter of 2009.
- Cash costs declined to approximately $4.50 per ounce, net of by-product credits, 27% lower than the cash costs in the first three months of 2009.

Consolidated silver production was 3% behind 2010's forecast for the first quarter, whereas gold production was almost 8,000 ounces above plan. Cash costs for the first three months of 2010 were approximately $4.50 per ounce, well below the Company's forecast of $6.40 per ounce(1) for the full year. Better than expected gold production primarily from the Manantial Espejo mine in Argentina and higher than predicted gold prices were the key contributors to the lower cash costs.

Silver production from the Morococha and Quiruvilca mines in Peru and the La Colorada mine in Mexico was in line with the Company's forecast, while silver production at the Huaron mine was well below expectations due to adverse ground conditions in several key production areas. Alamo Dorado and San Vicente both had excellent first quarters and were able to largely overcome Huaron's production shortfall for the quarter. Manantial Espejo's silver production was also below forecast; however, the mine's higher than expected gold production more than compensated for this fact.

Based on the first quarter's performance, Pan American still expects to achieve its full year silver production forecast of 23.4 million ounces(1). It is expected that production from Huaron will continue to be adversely affected by the difficult ground conditions until the third quarter of the year and thus the mine will likely fall short of its full year silver production target. However, better than anticipated silver ore grades at Alamo Dorado and San Vicente are also likely to continue and should entirely offset Huaron's shortfall for the year.

In addition, the Company anticipates that the positive gold production trend at Manantial Espejo will continue throughout the year and is therefore revising its anticipated 2010 consolidated gold production forecast upwards to 95,000 ounces(1) and its consolidated cash costs downwards to $5.90 per silver ounce net of the by-product credits(1).

"We've had a very solid start to 2010 and precious metals prices have remained robust," said Geoff Burns, President and CEO. "Silver averaged $16.93 per ounce in the first three months of 2010 and should provide very healthy operating margins for Pan American, even though the price was not quite as high as the consensus analyst expectations of US$18.40 per ounce."

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold earnings preview

2010-04-20T20:26:43Z

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., the world's largest publicly traded copper company, reports first-quarter results Wednesday before the market opens.

What to watch for

Signs that the slow recovery in the U.S. economy is translating into improving demand for copper in key markets, such as housing and commercial construction.

While the Phoenix global mining giant has not seen much improvement in domestic markets for copper, it has benefited from robust demand in China where construction is under way on roads, buildings and other infrastructure projects.

In the first quarter, China's copper and copper product imports rose 14.2 percent in a year-over-year comparison, according to a recent JPMorgan report. Scrap copper imports increased by 33.5 percent.

Copper prices have nearly doubled in the past year, another plus for Freeport-McMoran. A year ago, it reported an average realized price of $1.72 per pound. Copper for future delivery closed at the end of the first quarter at $3.55 a pound.

Freeport-McMoRan also had to deal with rising prices for energy. The increased costs should be offset by higher revenue from copper and gold.

There also may be an indication from executives about the status of U.S. mines and ongoing talks with the Democratic Republic of Congo about a mining project in Africa.

Why it matters

Freeport-McMoRan mines key metals used in a number of products, so rising demand for the metals can be an indication of an improving economy.

Copper is used for wiring and plumbing in commercial buildings and homes, for electronics and in automobiles. Molybdenum, another metal Freeport-McMoRan mines, is used to strengthen steel. Gold is bought by investors and is used in jewelry and other products.

What's expected

For the first quarter, Freeport-McMoRan has forecast slightly lower production of copper and gold mainly because it has been mining lower grades of ore. Molybdenum production is expected to increase slightly. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters have predicted earnings of $1.91 a share on revenue of $4.5 billion.

With demand still weak in domestic markets, Freeport-McMoRan is expected to report strong exports to China, analysts said.

"Going forward, demand has to stay the same or go higher in order for them to keep doing well on the earnings front," Argus Research analyst Bill Selesky said.

Last year's quarter

Freeport-McMoRan reported net income of $43 million, or 11 cents per share. Revenue totaled $2.6 billion.

North American Palladium to acquire gold exploration project

2010-04-20T20:24:35Z

North American Palladium Ltd., operator of the Lac des Iles palladium mine near Thunder Bay, Ont., said Tuesday it plans to buy the Vezza advanced gold exploration project in Quebec's Abitibi region from Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd,. for $10 million in cash and stock.

NAP's gold division will add Vezza to several existing gold projects it owns in the same area. Bringing them to production would raise throughput at its Sleeping Giant mine's mill and raise the company's overall gold production significantly, said CEO William Biggar.

Vezza already has a power shaft, four underground levels and a hoist, but never went into production because of the lack of a mill. It has a measured and indicated resource of 288,600 ounces.

NAP, with the Lac des Iles mine, is one of North America's two palladium producers. Palladium is a metal used as a catalyst and in alloys.

Australian gold mine hit by earthquake

2010-04-20T20:23:23Z

A powerful earthquake struck Australia's major gold-mining region in the west Tuesday, collapsing roofs of several buildings and prompting the evacuation of mines, schools and hospitals.

Two people were treated for minor injuries, including a teenage girl who was hit by falling rubble, news reports and police said.

The magnitude 5 quake hit at 8:17 a.m. local time (0017 GMT, 11:17 p.m. Monday EDT) about six miles (10 kilometers) southwest of the town of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, according to Geoscience Australia.

The region is used to much lower-level rumbling from massive explosions at the nearby Kalgoorlie Gold Mine, Australia's largest open-pit mine where blasting is regularly used to deepen the more than 2-mile long, 1-mile wide (3.5 kilometer-long, 1.5-kilometer wide) hole.

More than 50 mines operate in Kalgoorlie, 370 miles (595 kilometers) east of the Western Australia state capital of Perth. The Super Pit, as it is known, was among several mines closed as a precaution after Tuesday's quake. It produces up to 850,000 ounces of gold every year.

All mines were evacuated and all miners accounted for, said Paul Howes of the Australian Workers Union.

"We know now that at the open cut mine there has been some significant rockfalls, and we expect similar problems in the underground mines," Howes said. "This incident is a huge reminder of the inherent dangers in our industry."

The area was founded on gold fields in 1893.

In Kalgoorlie-Boulder, roofs fell in hospitals and other buildings, and balconies fell off some hotels.

Western Australia Premier Colin Barnett said the quake had caused some structural damage to schools, which sent students home until safety checks could be carried out.

Geoscience Australia seismologist David Jepsen said the quake was fairly shallow and would have been felt several hundred kilometers (miles) away.

It was the strongest earthquake to hit the region in 50 years, Geoscience Australia said.

Interview: Nickel, zinc to go up

2010-04-20T20:21:29Z

In an exclusive interview, Bharath Kumar, Global Financial Market, speaks about various commodities and gives his outlook going forward.

Q: What would your strategy be on crude now? Would you choose to go long considering the kind of upmove that crude is seeing?

A: Yesterday we a have seen the bounce from USD 88.50 per barrel, I think lot of short covering has happened and fresh long positions are little bit being built up. So for today, I think as the market comes to around the Rs 3,730 or 3,735 per barrel range in terms of MCX May contract, one can initiate long positions. Unless it is trading above Rs 3,700 per barrel, which happens to be the stop loss, we prefer to be on the buy side, initially targeting Rs 3766 per barrel on the higher side.

Q: What about copper would that also be a hold for you or a buy call and would you have some levels that you can watch out for in copper?

A: I think copper also it has shown very good support at around Rs 341 per kg range incase of April MCX contract. So as it comes to around Rs 346 per kg range one can initiate long positions, stop loss being below Rs 343 per kg. I think we can see around Rs 340.50 per kg in the evening trading session. So, I think even copper is showing good resilience at the lower ranges.

Q: Apart from copper, what would your best bet be now in the entire base metal gamut?

A: In case of base metals, we are still bullish on nickel and then afterwards in case of zinc yesterday at the lower ranges long positions have been built up. So I think zinc and nickel seem to be promising at these particular ranges.

Two copper mining projects launched in Zambia

2010-04-20T20:19:59Z

Zambia's President Rupiah Banda on Tuesday launched two new copper mining projects with a call to investors to add value to the economy by employing more Zambians.

Banda said that despite the recent growth of the mining sector in the copper-rich southern African country, not many Zambians are given job opportunities by foreign investors.

"The mining sector is growing and Zambia is on course to recapture its former status as one of the leading copper producers in the world and it is the wish of everyone to see that this translate into improved well being of all Zambians," Banda said.

"While copper production is increasing, very little progress is being made to add value locally to the commodity to enhance the benefits accruing to the nation," he added.

Banda was speaking at the launch of the Konkola Deep Mining Project (KDMP) in Chililabombwe, north of the capital, Lusaka. He also launched the Nchanga Smelter in Chingola, about 25 kilometres (15 miles) away.

Indian mining firm Vedanta, which holds a 79 percent stake in the Konkola mine, says the 674-million-dollar (500-million-euro) KDMP expansion will increase the mine's output from 2 million to 7.5 million tonnes per year.

The launch of the projects comes barely a month after Banda commissioned a nickel mine in Mazabuka, south of Lusaka.

Mining is an economic mainstay for Zambia, where the average person earns less than three dollars a day, according to the World Bank.

Last year, more than 80 percent of Zambia's foreign exchange earnings and 15.9 percent of its GDP came from copper mining, Banda said.

Silver, copper ETF launched on New York Stock Exchange

2010-04-20T20:18:43Z

Global X Funds, a New York-based exchange traded funds (ETF) provider, said on Tuesday it has launched two ETF products which track the performance of silver and copper mining companies.

Global X Silver Miners ETF (SIL) - which tracks the Solactive Global Silver Miners Index .SOLGLOSI, and Global X Copper Miners ETF COPX - which tracks the Solactive Global Copper Miners Index .SOLGLOCO, are being traded on New York Stock Exchange's Arca platform.

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Steel Dynamics first quarter profit $1.56b

2010-04-20T20:14:06Z

Steel Dynamics, Inc said Monday after the markets closed that it swung to a first quarter profit, as sales jumped 91% from last year. The company's quarterly earnings per share also came in above analysts' expectations. At the same time, the company said it now sees a more stable and positive outlook for the rest of the year.

The Fort Wayne, Indiana-based steelmaker reported net income for the first quarter of $65.0 million or $0.29 per share, compared to a net loss of $87.9 million or $0.48 per share for the year-ago quarter.

On average, 11 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.26 per share for the first quarter.

Last month, the company said it expected first quarter earnings to be in the range of $0.22 to $0.27 per share.

Net sales for the first quarter jumped 91% to $1.56 billion from $814.65 million in the same quarter last year. Seven analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $1.37 billion for the first quarter.

"In the first quarter, the company's steel operations gained momentum, producing operating income of $138 million, or $99 per ton shipped, while OmniSource, which benefitted from increased volumes and higher scrap prices, achieved operating income of $43 million during the quarter," said Keith Busse, Chairman and CEO.

The company's steel operations reported net sales of $1.0 billion for the first quarter, representing 63% of the company's external sales, up 87% from $535 million for the first quarter of last year. The company's steel operations include its five steelmaking divisions and The Techs three galvanizing plants.

Schnitzer Steel acquires scrap-metal processor in Montana

2010-04-20T20:12:16Z

Schnitzer Steel Industries Inc. is the new owner of a scrap-metal processor in Billings, Montana, managers of the Portland-based company said today.

Schnitzer's subsidiary, SSI Big Sky, acquired substantially all the assets of Golden Recycling & Salvage Inc., which it will operate as Schnitzer Steel Billings. Terms of the transaction weren't disclosed.

Golden has been collecting, processing and recycling scrap metal from greater Billings for 19 years. The company's annual sales are about $1.8 million, and it has 22 employees, according to the Billings Gazette.

Schnitzer has been growing aggressively in recent years, and the latest acquisition positions the company for additional expansion in Montana, said Don Hamaker, president of Schnitzer Steel's metals recycling business.

Japan iron and steel production down 26.3% in 2009

2010-04-20T20:10:26Z

Crude steel production in Japan fell by 26.3 percent in fiscal 2009, according to data released by the Japan Iron and Steel Federation on Monday.

For the fiscal year, which ended on March 31, the nation produced 87.5 million tons of crude steel, down from 118.7 tons for the previous year.

However, the nation logged its fifth consecutive month of year- on-year increase in March, producing 62.8 percent more than in the month in fiscal 2008.

Iron and steel production in Japan has been strong in recent months because of increasing demand from overseas, particularly Asia.

As the world's No. 2 economy continues its tentative economic recovery, it is expected that production of iron and steel will continue to increase.

BHP-Rio Tinto iron ore join venture ruling expected by May

2010-04-20T20:08:11Z

The Australian competition regulator hopes to decide on a proposed iron ore joint venture between Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton by the end of May, the head of the regulatory body said on television on Tuesday.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which began its probe in December, had first planned to hand down its decision in February, then raised concerns in March about the plan by the world's second- and third-largest iron ore miners.

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BHP's iron ore output up 11%

2010-04-20T20:06:28Z

BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's largest mining company, said third-quarter iron-ore production rose 11 percent as demand from China surged.

Output of the ore, the company's biggest earner in fiscal 2009, was 31.16 million metric tons in the three months ended March 31, from 28.19 million tons a year earlier, Melbourne- based BHP said today in a statement. That compares with UBS AG's estimates of 27.9 million tons and 33.25 million tons from Credit Suisse Group AG.

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