American Vanadium clinches deal to sell German clean technology

US project developer American Vanadium on Wednesday announced that it had entered into a master agreement that would allow it to market and sell German energy solutions provider Gildemeister’s CellCube vanadium redox flow batteries in North...

Alternative rare earths remain elusive three years after curbs

Following the global economic downturn of 2008/9 and a series of events and press reports in 2010 that coined what some referred to as the “rare-earths crisis”, there has been a glut of new rare earths projects starting out, yet few have...

Critical alternative rare earths sources remain elusive well after 2010 curbs

Following the global economic downturn of 2008/09 and a series of events and press reports in 2010 that coined what some referred to as the “rare-earth crisis,” there has been a glut of new rare earths projects starting out, yet few have...

Physical gold demand soaring on currencies’ turbo-charge

The demand for physical gold is soaring to potentially record highs, boosted by the current low dollar prices that are particularly attractive in several other currencies. “Gold is looking particularly attractive in many currencies around the...

Mosaic builds $2bn cash pile for share buyback

US fertiliser producer Mosaic plans to have accumulated a $2-billion cash pile by the end of May to buy back shares locked up since its split from agribusiness giant Cargill. Mosaic, the No 2 fertiliser producer in North America, also deferred...

Platinum market records 375 000 oz deficit in 2012

The global platinum market experienced a deficit of 375 000 oz in 2012, owing to a steep decline in output from South Africa, platinum group metals authority Johnson Matthey’s ‘Platinum 2013’ report has revealed. Published on Monday, the...

Glencore Xstrata Q1 results show solid performance from metals division

The newly merged Glencore Xstrata group on Monday posted combined first-quarter 2013 production results, which saw the metals and minerals division delivering solid results, despite some softening in prices towards the end of the quarter. The...

Supply side factors to continue impacting platinum price

The price of platinum this year would, in large part, continue to be determined by supply side factors, Thomson Reuters GFMS mining research director William Tankard said on Friday. Discussing the firm’s latest Platinum & Palladium Survey, he...

Gold discoveries down 45% as shortage of exploration funding takes toll

The declining rate of new gold discoveries and grades worldwide has accelerated in the last four years, with a significant decrease in the rate of drilling. This is as a result of explorers suffering from a severe shortage of financing, says...

Company Announcement: Launch of new Atlas Copco surface core drilling rig opens up mineral exploration market across Southern Africa

Atlas Copco Geotechnical Drilling and Exploration, a division within Atlas Copco’s Mining and Rock Excavation Technique business area, proudly introduces to the Southern African market a new exploration drill rig for mineral exploration core...

Orbite ships first commercial HPA samples

Toronto-listed Orbite Aluminae has shipped the first commercial samples of high-purity alumina (HPA) produced at its HPA plant in Cap-Chat, Quebec. The company last week said it had started shipping the metal with a minimum purity of 4N (99.99%),...

North America becoming big coal exporter as domestic consumption declines

The North American coal industry is in transition; a significant decline in domestic consumption means that it is becoming a significant exporter of the fossil fuel to emerging economies, especially those in Asia.