HONG KONG — NICKEL buyers in China and Japan are scrambling to secure supplies as soaring prices and a fear of shortages boost demand for both refined metal and long-term ore contracts.
Read more at: http://www.bdlive.co.za/world/asia/2014/05/09/chinese-japanese-nickel-buyers-scramble-for-supplies
Anglo American, which is reviewing assets globally as it tries to return to profit, may offer its Brazilian nickel unit to the nation’s largest miner Vale SA as metal prices increase, Deutsche Bank AG said.
Nickel will probably peak at $27,000 a metric ton in 2017, Deutsche analysts Rob Clifford, Anna Mulholland and Paul Young wrote in a report dated yesterday, raising the bank’s forecast of $20,000 a ton in 2018. The metal has surged 40 percent in London trading this year after leading global miner Indonesia barred exports of raw ores in January.
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May 7 (Reuters) – Newmont Mining Corp will start cutting back production at its Batu Hijau copper and gold mine in Indonesia from around June 1, the U.S. miner said in a statement on Wednesday, if talks with the government remain unresolved over export taxes.
Read more at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/07/indonesia-newmont-mining-cuts-idUSL3N0NT0UQ20140507
Indonesia’s export ban on nickel ore will reduce China’s competitive advantage in stainless steel production to the benefit of Europe’s industry, Bank of America Merrill Lynch has predicted.
PT Bintan Alumina Indonesia said construction of its planned alumina refinery will begin only after a new government is formed later this year following elections in July, behind its original start date of May or June, said CEO Zulnahar Usman.
Read more at: http://af.reuters.com/article/metalsNews/idAFL3N0NT0FZ20140507
LONDON, May 6 (Reuters) – Miner Glencore Xstrata met market forecasts with a 24 percent increase in copper production in the first quarter of 2014 mainly due to output expansion at its African operations and to higher grades at its South American mines.
Glencore said the performance of its marketing division was overall “strong and in line with expectations” without elaborating further.
Read more at: http://af.reuters.com/article/metalsNews/idAFL6N0NS1J520140506?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0
Mongolia is preparing to overturn last year’s cancellation of more than 100 mining licenses following a corruption investigation, in a further attempt to revive investor confidence in the mineral rich nation.
The central Asian nation has also vowed to end its long-dragged dispute with mining giant Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) over a delayed investment to expand Oyu Tolgoi, the country’s largest copper mine, operated by Vancouver-based Turquoise Hill
Read more at: http://www.mining.com/mongolia-wants-to-regain-investors-confidence-by-returning-mining-licenses-52233/
China’s Minmetals Resources Copper Co is expected to start construction of its 100,000 mt/year core copper cathode project at Hengyang city in Hunan province by July this year, according to a report by the Hunan government posted on its website Friday.
Construction of the concentrate warehouse and dispensing line began on May 1, and work on the core copper cathode project is scheduled to start by July.
Read more at: http://www.platts.com/latest-news/metals/hongkong/chinas-minmetals-to-start-work-on-new-hunan-copper-21574481
Nickel has enjoyed a solid price spurt in recent months, fuelled by fears over heavy supply disruptions after Indonesia — home to around a fifth of total nickel production — placed an export ban on nickel ore back in January.
The move was prompted by a 2009 law calling for more domestic refined output, a situation which is significantly hampering Chinese production of nickel pig iron (NPI) as ore shipments dry up. As Indonesian refining capacity could be described as inadequate at best, nickel prices have shot 35% higher since the turn of the year, striking 14-month peaks above $18,700 per tonne in the process and looking poised for another move skywards.
In April, nickel was the best performer of all commodities, rising 15 per cent. On Friday, nickel for three-month delivery on the London Metal Exchange traded at $18,250 a tonne, a 31 per cent rise year-to-date. Trading in call options, which give the buyer the right to purchase metal for a set price on a given future day, has surged.
“Every hedge fund manager and his dog is long on nickel,” says Jim Lennon, commodities consultant at Macquarie, who expects prices to rise as high as $30,000 a tonne in 2016 if the Indonesian export ban remains.
Read more at: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/31384544-d205-11e3-8b5b-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz30prnD6XW
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