Gold miners have shed the exuberant skin they formed as failing banks sent investors rushing for safe havens early this week. That has been replaced by a nervous atmosphere, with nailbiting all round as gold producers wait to see where the US Fed heads with interest rates tonight. Prices fell over 2% overnight, with the London Bullion Marketing Association reporting...
Lithium de France has successfully completed its latest funding round, raising EUR 44 million after equity was allotted to institutional buyers including Arverne Group, Equinor Ventures and Hydro. It is worth nothing that Arverne Group, the main investor in Lithium de France, implements geothermal projects in France, Equinor Ventures is a subsidiary of Norwegian oil and gas corporation Equinor, which...
But how might transition metals markets cope? By 2050 the energy transition could see nickel (Ni) demand triple, copper (Cu) demand more than double, and demand for Lithium chemicals grow 700%. The burden on miners of transition metals will be immense and the industry will be transformed as investors scramble to deliver the necessary metal. For battery raw materials in...
The global palladium market is at a turning point: it’s becoming cheaper, but there are also conditions that point to a possible increase in its price. The structure of palladium consumption is changing, preparing the market for a significant transformation. Unnecessary negativity The price of palladium is dropping, which is making investors nervous. In January this year, the price of...
US-based Steel Dynamics has begun construction on a flat-rolled aluminium plant in Mississippi. The project cost is estimated at USD 2.2 billion, with operations expected to get underway in Q1 2025. The site will have an output of 650,000 tons of low-carbon aluminium sheets per year. The move has been received as an extraordinary event in the US aluminium industry...
Indonesia has historically had limited success with industrial policy. That may now be changing, with recent interventionist policies targeting the nickel sector suggesting initial success in developing downstream segments of the value chain. So successful have these industrial policies been that the government is planning to target other minerals in a similar fashion, despite the objections of major trading partners....
Forecasts for 2023 – full infographics available here. Aluminium: For the aluminium sector, 2022 was a year defined by pessimism. The price of natural gas, coal and electricity in Europe, North America and Asia was relatively high and refused to come down. The European Union in particular suffered as a result, so it was no surprise when in January the...
Russia’s top gold and silver miner Polymetal is in negotiations with British authorities to keep its London listing in the form of global depositary receipts (GDR) after it moves to Kazakhstan, Reuters has reported. The transition to Kazakhstan would allow the company to spin off its Kazakh business, which accounts for about 38% of revenue and 32% of annual production....
China produced 372 tonnes of gold in 2022, an increase of 43 tonnes or 13.1% compared to the previous year, according to data from the China Gold Association (CGA). Gold consumption in China totalled 1,002 tonnes last year, a decrease of 10.6% from the previous year. Consumption of gold jewellery dropped 8% year on year to 654.3 tonnes, while gold...
The platinum market saw a deficit in 2022, with global demand remaining flat at 7.4 million ounces and global supply forecast to decline by 11% to 7.3 million ounces, according to Wilma Swarts, Director of PGMs at Metals Focus. The main factors driving this market imbalance were weaker supply rather than stronger demand, with production challenges and operational difficulties leading...
