Spot copper prices are again trading at a steep premium to later-dated futures in New York, putting fresh pressure on holders of short positions after a historic squeeze last month. The July-delivery Comex copper traded at a 7.4 cent-per-pound premium to the September contract, in a condition known as backwardation that typically signals a supply shortage. […]
Battery Metals
Canada blocks Chinese rare earths deal in Trudeau-led crackdown
Canada’s government will buy stockpiled rare earth materials from Vital Metals Ltd. in a deal that prevents the company from selling its production to a Chinese buyer. The small Australian firm, which mines rare earths in Canada’s Northwest Territories, will sell its stockpiled rare earth material to the Saskatchewan Research Council for C$3 million ($2.2 […]
Copper price slides to eight-week low after more soft data from China
Copper slipped to an eight-week low after Chinese economic data highlighted persistent weak spots in the metal’s biggest market. Prices fell as much 1.6% to $9,587 a ton on the London Metal Exchange, after capping a fourth straight weekly drop. The world’s second-biggest economy released figures on Monday that bolstered concerns over a disappointing demand […]
Taseko reaches tentative labour deal for Gibraltar mine restart
Taseko Mines’ (TSX: TKO) Gibraltar mine in British Columbia is set to resume operations in the coming week after the company and the workers’ union reached a tentative agreement over the weekend. On June 1, more than 500 workers at the mine located north of Williams Lake, BC, went on strike after talks over a new […]
Explained: Nissan’s solid-state battery that could double EV range
The manufacturer that brought us the first mainstream electric cars could also be about to become the first to bring us the next big thing in EVs: a car with double the range for less money. The secret lies in the much-talked-about solid-state battery technology, which, if it lives up to the hype, should yield batteries that […]
Saudi mining minister to visit Chile in July, source says
Saudi Arabia’s mining minister plans to meet with his Chilean counterpart in Santiago at the end of July to discuss potential investments in lithium, a Chilean government source said on Friday. Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef told Reuters in a recent interview that the Middle Eastern country is interested in obtaining […]
CATL and BYD are working on batteries with a 6C charge rate
The ‘C’ is an indicator of the ratio of battery size to charging power. At 1C, an 80 kWh battery can be charged with a maximum of 80 kW. At 6C, the same battery can theoretically be charged with six times the charging capacity, meaning up to 480 kW. The first Chinese electric vehicles are […]
A fifth of copper smelting capacity suspended in May, data shows
About a fifth of global copper smelting capacity was suspended in May, mostly for maintenance, data from satellite surveillance of metal processing plants showed. Earth-i, which specialises in observational data, tracks smelters representing up to 90% of global production for its SAVANT service and sells data to fund managers, traders and miners. The company said […]
Gold rush grips Asia despite near-record prices
Demand for gold in Asia is surging despite prices hovering near the record highs it hit in May, industry officials say, as buyers snap up the metal to hedge against geopolitical and economic uncertainty. Spot gold XAU= is trading a little over $2,300 per ounce, up about 12% year-to-date and only about 6% shy of […]
Nevada Copper files for bankruptcy, names new top boss
Cash-strapped miner Nevada Copper (TSX: NCU) has filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11, kicking off a restructuring process during which its Pumpkin Hollow mine will be halted. President and chief executive, Randy Buffington, has resigned and the Canadian company has appointed mining veteran Tom Albanese, its lead independent director, as the new chairperson. The […]
