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

Washington (Platts)–11Sep2013/752 am EDT/1152 GMT

The premium of platinum to gold prices will likely widen in the coming quarter due to monetary tightening and rising interest rates in the US, analysts with Bank of America Merrill Lynch said Tuesday.

“Given an acceleration of growth especially in [developing markets] and tighter monetary policy in the quarters ahead, we believe cyclical metals like platinum will outperform gold in the coming quarters,” BofA Merrill Lynch analysts said in a report.

http://www.platts.com/latest-news/metals/washington/platinum-to-outperform-gold-in-coming-quarters-26264598

Russia will invest $1 billion in rare earths production by 2018 in a bid to become less dependent on China, which controls more than 90 percent of global supply of the elements used in sectors including defense, telecommunications and renewable energy.

The U.S., Japan and the European Union have complained to the World Trade Organization about China’s efforts to control the sector, saying China is trying to use its stranglehold over supply to drive up prices and gain a competitive advantage.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/rostec-agrees-1bln-rare-earth-deal-in-bid-for-self-sufficiency/485833.html?

The global cobalt market will shift from surplus in 2013 to deficit in 2017, analysis by Glencore Xstrata suggests.

Exports of China in August 2013 surpassed expectations and provides hope that the world’s second largest economy is resuming its admirable growth. Overseas shipments were reported to have grown 7.2 percent year-on-year, while analysts expected a 5.5 percent growth rate. In July, China’s exports had already recorded a 5.1 percent growth compared to the same month in 2012. On the other hand, imports in China grew slower than had been forecast at 7 percent (YoY). The country’s trade surplus reached over USD $28 billion.

http://www.indonesia-investments.com/news/todays-headlines/promising-data-from-china-and-japan-support-indonesias-exports/item1078

MOSCOW, Sept 10 (Reuters) – Russia will invest $1 billion in rare earths production by 2018 in a bid to become less dependent on China, which controls more than 90 percent of global supply of the elements used in sectors including defence, telecommunications and renewable energy.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/10/russia-rareearth-china-idUSL5N0H51K920130910

OHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA–(Marketwired – Sept. 9, 2013) – Robert Friedland, Executive Chairman of Ivanhoe Mines (TSX:IVN) (formerly Ivanplats, TSX: IVP), and Lars-Eric Johansson, Chief Executive Officer, announced today that the company is proceeding with the sinking of a bulk-sample shaft to access the underground Flatreef platinum, palladium, nickel, copper, gold and rhodium discovery at its Platreef Project in South Africa’s Bushveld Complex.

The South African government’s Department of Mineral Resources has notified Ivanhoe Mines of its approval of the planned bulk-sampling procedure.

http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20130909-903268.html

(Reuters) – South African platinum miner Lonmin, almost 25 percent owned by Glencore Xstrata , has appointed two executives from the commodities group to its board, it said on Monday.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/09/lonmin-board-idUSWLB004Y120130909

Copper rose for a third day in New York after exports from China increased more than projected, adding to evidence of an economic rebound in the world’s largest consumer of the metal.

Shipments gained 7.2 percent from a year earlier in August, customs figures showed yesterday, compared with the 5.5 percent median estimate from analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. An official Chinese manufacturing gauge published Sept. 1 reached a 16-month high and a measure for service businesses the same week indicated expansion continued near the prior month’s pace.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-09/copper-advances-as-china-s-exports-grow-more-than-estimated.html

Indonesia, the world’s largest tin exporter, said there will be some shipments this month even as new trading rules force some producers to halt cargoes.

“It’s only been one week; there will be some exports by the end of this month,” Bachrul Chairi, director general of foreign trade at the Trade Ministry, said by phone from Jakarta today. “Everyone is still adjusting, buyers and sellers are still registering. There’s a process. Exports will drop by the end of the year, but value will increase. That the target.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-09/indonesia-seen-exporting-some-tin-this-month-by-trade-official.html