Copper

New gold and copper deposits found in India

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By Shivom Seth

Rajasthan, well known for its crude oil will soon be known for its huge gold deposits. The Geological Survey of India (GSI) has struck huge reserves of gold ore in Rajasthan and a new report has indicated the presence of copper and gold deposits as well in Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh.

Internationally, such deposits are considered commercially viable if more than 2 gram of gold can be extracted from every tonne of ore, said officials.

Mitsubishi to Double Copper Output After Chile Mine Expansion

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By Yuriy Humber

Mitsubishi Corp. (8058), Japan’s biggest commodity supplier, plans to almost double its copper output in 2012 after spending $5.39 billion to buy a minority stake in Anglo American Plc (AAL)’s Chilean unit.

The Tokyo-based trading house’s copper production will rise to 250,000 metric tons, compared with 140,000 tons last year, Mitsubishi said Feb. 1 in an earnings statement on its website. The increase is due to an expansion at the Los Bronces mine in Chile, which will produce 440,000 tons this year from 260,000 tons last year, Mitsubishi said. Read more

Norilsk to Spend $1.1 Billion by 2016 to Boost Copper Output 16%

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By Ilya Khrenniko

OAO GMK Norilsk Nickel (GMKN), Russia’s largest mining company, plans to spend $1.1 billion by 2016 to develop an eastern Siberian copper field and boost output of the highly conductive metal by 16 percent.

The Bystrinsky deposit is expected to yield 62,000 metric tons of copper and 6.3 tons of gold in concentrate a year, First Deputy Chief Executive Officer Yury Filippov said in an e-mailed response to questions. Norilsk plans to complete a feasibility study this quarter and build a processing plant at the site by the end of 2016, he said. Read more

Copper Extends Gains on U.S. Manufacturing: Commodities at Close

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By Claudia Carpenter

The Standard & Poor’s GSCI gauge of 24 commodities climbed 0.4 percent to 663.08 at 4:52 p.m. in London. The UBS Bloomberg CMCI index of 26 raw materials was up 0.4 percent at 1,592.379. Read more

Copper emerges as star performer-Scotiabank Commodity Price Index

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By Dorothy Kosich

In her latest edition of the Scotiabank Commodity Price Index, economist Patricia Mohr noted base metals rallied strongly in January, with copper as the star performer.

Chinese imports of copper surged to a record high in December helping prompt Read more

Messy guidance at Copper Mountain

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By Peter Koven

Copper Mountain Mining Corp. released some ugly 2012 production guidance on Monday morning, and one analyst is already warning that he will likely “materially reduce” his estimates as a result.

The company said that mined grades at its British Columbia-based Copper Mountain mine will average a paltry 0.35% copper this year. BMO Capital Markets analyst John Hayes was expecting 0.45% copper, a number that was based on the feasibility study for the mine. The lower grade is due to slower-than-expected waste removal in one of the pits, and a permitting delay in another. Read more

Indian companies to bid for gold, copper in Afghanistan

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By Shivom Seth

Close on the heels of bagging the rights to mine iron ore and set up a steel plant at Hajigak in Afghanistan with an investment of up to $11 billion, a consortium of Indian companies led by Steel Authority of India has turned its sights to gold and copper exploration.

In November, a seven member consortium of Indian companies secured the rights to mine iron ore at Hajigak in Afghanistan, Read more

Thaduna’s copper allure grows for Perth junior explorer

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By Ross Louthean

Ventnor Resources Ltd (ASX: VRX) said today that with the progression of the third phase of a drilling programme, a total of 127 holes for 15,888 metres have now been drilled.

The last reported results this month included two holes with wide intercepts – 37m @ 2.61% copper from 111m depth, Read more

Copper climbs to new highs on Fed rates statement

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By Matt Day

COPPER futures continued to climb overnight, touching fresh four-month highs on increased demand for growth-sensitive assets after the Federal Reserve’s low interest-rate outlook.

The most actively traded copper contract, for March delivery, recently traded up 6.2 cents, or 1.6 per cent, at $US3.8915 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Read more

Anglo American’s Q4 copper up 10%; platinum down

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Miner Anglo American posted a 10 percent rise in copper output in the final three months of 2011, boosted by its flagship Los Bronces mine as it recovered from a tough third quarter hit by blizzards and lower ore grades.

The Los Bronces mine, at the heart of the miner’s complex legal dispute with Chilean state copper producer Codelco, Read more

Copper futures hit four-month high on Fed interest rate statement

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By Matt Day

COPPER futures edged higher overnight, settling at the highest price in more than four months as the Federal Reserve’s forecast for low interest rates into 2014 stoked investor demand for commodities.

The most-actively traded copper contract, for March delivery, rose 2.2 cents, or 0.6 per cent, to settle at $US3.8295 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement price since September 16. Read more

Anglo American Iron-Ore Output Rises 5%; Copper Advances 10%

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By Carli Lourens

Anglo American Plc (AAL), the third- largest copper producer, said iron-ore output rose 5 percent in the fourth quarter, while copper volumes gained 10 percent.

Iron-ore production climbed to 12.4 million metric tons and copper increased to 170,000 tons, London-based Anglo said today in a statement. Manganese alloys advanced 1 percent. Iron ore, manganese and copper accounted for 65 percent of the company’s operating profit in 2010. Read more

Rio Tinto takes control of Ivanhoe, strengthens hold on Oyu Tolgoi

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By Alex MacDonald

RIO Tinto last night said that it has taken majority control of Ivanhoe Mines, a move that would theoretically allow it to take indirect majority control of Mongolia’s massive Oyu Tolgoi copper-and-gold project.

By increasing its stake in Ivanhoe, Rio Tinto now has the ability to change Ivanhoe’s board composition, a person familiar with the matter said. It will be able to increase its number of appointed board members, currently seven out of 14, which would allow it to assume indirect majority control of Oyu Tolgoi. Read more

Copper Bears Retreating as Prices Rebound the Most Since 2009: Commodities

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By Nicholas Larkin

Copper traders are the least bearish in a month after the commodity had its best start to a year since 2009 and stockpiles tracked by the world’s biggest metals exchange were poised to slump to the lowest in 3 1/2 years.

Fourteen of 30 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expect the metal to decline next week, the lowest proportion since Dec. 23. Three were neutral. Read more

Newmont expects higher costs, lower copper output

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Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM-N  60.94  -2.45  -3.86%) said mining costs for gold (GC-FT1,657.401.800.11%) and copper (HG-FT  3.73  –  –%) are expected to rise this year, mainly because of higher labour and power prices in Australia, and it forecast a drop in copper production because it was currently mining lower-grade ores in Indonesia.The outlook sent the Denver-based company’s shares more than 3.5 per cent in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Read more

Copper Nears Four-Month High on Chinese Growth, Rio Production

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By Agnieszka Troszkiewicz

Copper neared a four-month high in New York as stronger-than-estimated economic growth in China bolstered demand prospects and Rio Tinto Group said its production of the metal fell, underlining threats to supply.

Gross domestic product expanded 8.9 percent in the fourth quarter, China’s national statistics bureau said today, above the 8.7 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of economists. The country is the biggest global copper consumer. Output of mined copper slid 23 percent in 2011, Rio said, speeding up from the 16 percent decline a year earlier. Read more

PanAust sets new high for materials moved

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By Robb M. Stewart

PANAUST today said it achieved record production at its key Phu Kham copper-gold operation in Laos in December, 2011, after recovering from severe mid-year rains.

The operation produced 6639 tonnes of copper in concentrate for the final month of the year, bringing annual output to 59,897t, the Brisbane-based company said in a statement. Read more

COPPER EXPANSION: Gibraltar mine, mill increase on track for year-end start

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The expansion of the Gibraltar copper-molybdenum mine and mill to 185 million lb of copper annually is on track for completion by the end of 2012. The project, located 65 km north of Williams Lake, is owned by Taseko Mines (75%) and Cariboo Copper Corp. (25%).

Taseko president and CEO Russell Hallbauer said this year’s capital budget for the expansion is $134 million of the total $235-million budget (excluding mining equipment). A second concentrator with a capacity of 30,000 t/d is being built to bring total capacity to 55,000 t/d. Read more

Zambia 2012 Copper Production May Surge to Highest in Decade

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By Simbarashe Gumbo and Carli Lourens

Zambia, the largest copper producer in Africa, may raise output this year to the highest in at least a decade as prices more than doubled in the past three years.

Production may grow to 976,733 metric tons this year, the Bank of Zambia said in an e-mailed response to questions today. It was 789,382 tons last year through Nov. 30, according to preliminary data provided by the Lusaka-based central bank. Read more

China to keep copper at $7,000-$9,000: Sucden

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By Melanie Burton

The drive to develop China’s interior will keep copper prices firm in a $7,000 a tonne to $9,000 (U.S.) range in 2012, offsetting demand damaged by a floundering European economy, a top Sucden Financial executive in Asia told Reuters.

“The most likely scenario is a $7,000 to $9,000 type range, with potential for $500 either side of that quite feasible in short term spikes,” said Jeremy Goldwyn, Asian business development chief of the commodities broker. Read more

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