First Majestic Silver, Del Toro Mine Video Update

   

  The Del Toro Silver Mine is 100% owned and operated by First Majestic Silver. The mine is a major component of First Majestic’s growth plans, and is ideally situated with excellent infrastructure and several other major mines located nearby. Del Toro consists of three underground silver, lead and zinc mining operations as well as a dual-circuit flotation and cyanidation processing mill.  Initial silver production began in January 2013 after 7 years of extensive planning, permitting and development. First Majestic is rapidly expanding all aspects of the mine including resources and reserves,... [Read more...]

Placing Bets on Colombia: Paul Harris

   

Source: Brian Sylvester of The Gold Report  Some exploration projects in Colombia are advancing to the mine definition stage, says Paul Harris, the Colombia-based editor and publisher of the Colombia Gold Letter, and with the government starting to provide the level of administration that the sector needs, the country is poised for great things. In this interview with The Gold Report, Harris discusses the implications of Colombia’s 2001 mining code and which companies are leading the project development curve. The Gold Report: What makes Colombia an appealing mining jurisdiction... [Read more...]

Rush to Molycorp sees 34% leap in share price

   

By Frik Els, Mining.com Rare earth miner Molycorp (NYSE: MCP) rocketed 34% on Friday after first quarter results provided a pleasant surprised to the Colorado company’s investors. Molycorp is a speculators’ favourite and the closely watched stock regularly features among the most active on the New York stock exchange.Flash Player 9 or higher is required to view the chartClick here to download Flash Player nowView the full MCP chart at WikinvestBy lunchtime more than 35 million shares (out of a free float of just over  160 million) had already changed hands with the counter hitting... [Read more...]

Stream financing: A primer

   

Stream financing, also known as resource streaming or metal purchase agreements, is becoming increasingly popular in the resources sector. Stream financing can be used to help bring a development stage project into production or to expand existing production capacity of an operating mine. It provides an alternative way of raising capital for a project at a time when market conditions make equity financings very dilutive and debt financing difficult and expensive to obtain. Stream financing can be in respect of either primary or secondary products and can be used for either precious or base metals. In... [Read more...]

Nickel: the long and the short

   

BMO Research continues to recommend a cautious approach to nickel given a near-term oversupplied market and rising inventory levels. However, two key supply-side factors – Indonesian exports and HPAL (high pressure acid leaching) projects – could provide meaningful upside for nickel, with BMO Research running commodity price sensitivities on the two scenarios. If all raw nickel ore exports cease from Indonesia in 2014, BMO Research estimates nickel price upside to US$20/lb by 2016. If current HPAL projects are entirely unsuccessful, BMO Research estimates nickel price upside to US$14.50/lb... [Read more...]

WELL SAID: Deloitte, Tracking the Trends 2013

   

A really good quote from an even better Deloitte publication for miners. Click the image to read “The top 10 issues mining companies may face in the coming year”.  Read More →

Can Russia Challenge China’s REE Monopoly?

   

ICT Group, controlled by Russian tycoon Alexander Nesis, and state-owned company Rostec will aim to put the Tomtor deposit, one of the largest repositories of rare earth elements in the world, into production. The Chinese chokehold on the rare earths market been a longstanding fact of the industry for years, but that could be changing as a result of a landmark $1 billion deal to develop the Tomtor rare metals deposit in the Russian Far East.  According to Russian newspaper Kommersant, ICT Group, controlled by Russian tycoon Alexander Nesis, and state-owned company Rostec will aim to put the deposit,... [Read more...]

Sentry Investments: We’ve Seen This Before, It’s Quite Common For A Sector To Look Broken At The Bottom

   

By: Tekoa Da Silva, BullMarketThinking.com I had the chance to connect recently with one of Canada’s rising fund managers, Jon Case, portfolio manager with Sentry Investments. Sentry manages over $10 billion in assets, representing over 300,000 Canadian clients, and has further received numerous industry distinctions. Serving as co-portfolio manager to over $1 billion in precious metals and natural resource funds, Jon was kind enough to share some commentary on the challenging environment of the mining sector, and recent sell-offs in the price of gold. Here are the written notes from... [Read more...]

Uncertainty grips resource sector ahead of elections

   

Source: Resource Investing News The Canadian province of British Columbia is headed toward an election on May 14, and the polls don’t look good for Premier Christy Clark’s Liberal government. The Liberals trail the opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) by 14 points, with 45 percent of voters favoring the NDP and 31 percent supporting the Liberals, according to an Angus Reid survey released on April 26. The BC Conservatives (11 percent) and Green Party (10 percent) trail well behind. A potential win by the left-leaning NDP has Philip Hochstein, president of the Independent Contractors and... [Read more...]

Gold’s plunge ultimately healthy for the sector

   

Photo source: ChinaDaily.comMarket volatility sets the stage for price upswings as well as down, according to Michael Gray, equities analyst of Macquarie Capital Markets, and the recent gold price drop should be seen as a “pause” in the bull market. Management teams are pausing as well, to focus on earnings and shareholder return, rather than growth. In this interview with The Gold Report, Gray says this is the time to buy the best companies you can while they are discounted to fire sale prices, and he offers several names in jurisdictions from South and North America in the junior... [Read more...]