Kaiser thrown US$300m lifeline
Nosediving 50% to US35, Kaiser Aluminum won the flameout-of-the-week award by filing for bankruptcy protection and obtaining US$300 million in debtor-in-possession financing from the Bank of America….
Freeport-McMoRan Inc
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…
GFMS sees some upside in gold price
The gold industry’s chief gatherer of supply-and-demand data, London-based Gold Fields Mineral Services, saw a fairly stable gold market in 2001 and is forecasting a slightly better year ahead for the…
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…
Lower grades at Grasberg push Freeport into the red
Vancouver — Lower grades at the mighty Grasberg mine in Indonesia resulted in decreased production and a fourth-quarter loss for Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (FCX-N).The New Orleans-based company t…
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…
Exploration companies tightened belts in 2001
With prices for base and precious metals sagging, funding for exploration has become scarce, a fact borne out by Halifax-based Metals Economic Group’s latest study of exploration budgets for 679 compa…
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…
Ivanhoe sparks excitement with Mongolian copper-gold find
Oyu Tolgoi, Mongolia — Convinced that its Turquoise Hill copper-gold porphyry discovery in southern Mongolia has the tonnage potential to rival that of the huge Grasberg deposit in Indonesia, Robert …
Output to rise at Grasberg
Vancouver — Bucking the trend of other major producers, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (FCX-N) says it expects a 7.1% increase in copper production next year at its Grasberg mine in Indonesia.Output …
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…
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. …