A Blog for Browsing Mining, Mineral Processing, and Metals Info

“If anyone in Russia can print at the moment, it’s Norilsk Nickel,” said a London-based investor due to meet with the company next week. “Possibly everyone is underweight Russia, and Norilsk has been one of the main beneficiaries of the events in the country.”

Operating profit at the company stood at US$2.4bn for the first six months of this year, up by US$400m year-on-year and US$600m more than the same period of 2013, according to its financial statements. This is despite nickel prices falling 35% this year, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon data.

Read more at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/01/bonds-norilsk-nickel-idUSL5N1171EU20150901

Both #Vale and #Fortescue need a benchmark price of about $US40 a tonne to break even while #BHPBilliton and #RioTinto require about $US25 a tonne, #Citigroup analyst Alexander Hacking said. Those break evens – the price at which the miners are not making or losing cash – have been calculated on an earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation basis (EBITDA).

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/mining-and-resources/citi-says-vale-will-open-big-cost-gap-on-fortescue-metals-20150831-gjc70w.html#ixzz3kTvqvxJQ

From Thomas Edison’s practical electric light in the 1880s to its recent breakthrough, namely a 3D-printed aircraft engine’s fuel nozzle that is 25 percent lighter and five times more durable, global giant #GeneralElectric (GE) is without a doubt a great innovator.

The global giant General Electric (GE) spread its innovative spirit to #Indonesian youth by opening up a garage filled with state-of-the-art tools.

– See more at: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/09/01/ge-garage-young-inventors-playground.html#sthash.ElDrLUod.dpuf

The global #Nickel deficit will be at 60,000 metric tons in 2016 and the market will likely be balanced in 2015, according to #Norilsk. In its previous market update in March, the producer saw a deficit of 20,000 tons this year that would widen to 55,000 tons in 2016.

Read more at: http://www.mineweb.com/news-fast-news/norilsk-raises-nickel-deficit-forecast-for-2016-as-price-slumps/

A group of #MIT scientists says they have developed the world’s first #3DPrinter capable of making ready-to-use objects from 10 different materials at once. The new device, supplied with powerful software, boasts nearly human-free operation.

http://www.rt.com/usa/313858-multifab-3dprinter-ten-materials/

The Ankara-based Grafen Chemical Industries in #Turkey has developed a unique approach to producing #Graphene at affordable prices.

Read more at: http://www.aa.com.tr/en/news/582935–turkey-s-innovation-champions-compete-in-global-markets

Russia’s #NorilskNickel has hired five banks to arrange a Eurobond, according to two sources.

This will be the first benchmark-sized bond from a Russian issuer this year, as first sanctions, and then low oil prices, have kept Russian names out of the international bond markets.

Read more at: http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/08/27/bonds-norilsk-nickel-idINL5N11225T20150827

Now, BHP is pulling back, faced with a slowing Chinese economy that will no longer be the same dominant force in commodities. Profit is falling and the company is cutting its investment spending budget by more than two-thirds.

Read more at: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/27/business/international/china-falters-and-the-global-economy-is-forced-to-adapt.html?_r=0

“That 7 percent growth is always going to drift down once they complete the investment phase and they will … require less and less new metals and steel in our case as they become more focused on the services and consumption-based economy,” Mackenzie told reporters, referring to consensus forecasts for Chinese GDP.

Read more at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/25/bhp-billiton-results-china-idUSL5N1104ME20150825

China has reached the end of its fast industrialization. It must now make the transition to a world-leading developed economy, allowing services to increase, consumption to grow and industrial production to decline proportionately. Like all transitions, this will be turbulent and may be traumatic.

Read more at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/francescoppola/2015/08/24/chinas-black-monday-signals-the-end-of-its-growth-cycle/3/