Phelps Dodge bleeds red
The world’s second-biggest copper producer, U.S.-based Phelps Dodge, was the newsmaker of the week as it posted a US$275-million loss in 2001 on revenue of US$4 billion, compared with US$29 million ea…
Ashanti Goldfields Company Limited
Mixed week in US trading
In the face of declining base and precious metals, a number of U.S.-listed mining majors still managed to trade higher over the report period, as investors showed interest in old-economy cyclicals.BHP…
US markets up over the holidays
Markets in the U.S. enjoyed a modest boost over the Dec. 21-Jan. 1 report period, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 36.32 points to surpass the 10,000-mark and the Standard and Poor’s 500 a…
Majors sink with Metal Prices
An easing of base and precious metal prices during the week before Christmas resulted in a broad decline in producers stocks.Southern Peru Copper was off 14 to US$11.16 as it placed US$73 million wor…
Normandy takeover heats up
The quest for Australian gold producer Normandy Mining turned a corner over the Dec. 5-11 report period as Newmont Mining increased its cash component to twice that offered by rival suitor AngloGold…
Canaccord revises PGM forecast downward
In a November research report, Canaccord’s London-based gold analyst, Roger Chaplin, lowers his price projections for platinum group metals (PGMs) and their producers.Building on PGM supply-and-demand…
Alcoa proposes Labrador smelter
The Newfoundland government spent the Nov. 28-Dec. 4 report period assessing an Alcoa feasibility study into the possibility of reviving the stalled Lower Churchill hydroelectric project in Labrador. …
Newmont bid stirs market
Newmont Mining shocked the gold mining world on Nov. 14 by launching a simultaneous, all-share takeover bid for Canada’s Franco-Nevada Mining and Australia’s Normandy Mining. The deal would create the…
Feds slash key rate to 2%
The biggest market-driver in the U.S. during the report period ended Nov. 6 was the Federal Reserve’s slashing of its overnight lending rate by 50 basis points to 2%, its lowest level in more than 40 …
Weaker US dollar to benefit gold
Gold will remain a financial refuge in these uncertain times and the year-old bull run in gold equities has not yet reached its peak, according to an October 15th report by HSBC.The document, compiled…
Geita powers Ashanti
Ghana-based Ashanti Goldfields (ASL-N) saw its profits nearly double during the third quarter, thanks in part to increased production at its 50%-owned Geita mine in Tanzania.Earnings totalled US$14.5 …
Cut in Bank of Canada rate falls on deaf ears
Hoping to boost investor confidence, the Bank of Canada shed 75 basis points from its key lending rate on Oct. 23, bringing it to a 40-year low. But so far, the decision appears to have backfired: the…