Metals / Commodities

Aug 10, 2011 at 11:28 | John Daly

First, the bad news - China's constrained rare earth supplies will be an "irreversible trend" and prices will remain at high levels, according to Zhang Zhong, general manager of Inner…

Aug 09, 2011 at 08:11 | John Daly

Pity poor Mongolia, bereft of fiscal resources, caught between the ambitions of its superpower neighbors, Russia and China. Ulaan Bator’s situation is akin to interwar Poland, dexterously attempting to reconcile…

Aug 04, 2011 at 07:25 | EcoSeed

China is planning to launch environmental checks for the rare earth industry this year to ensure environmental protection – a move that has been met with criticism from the local…

Jul 22, 2011 at 07:37 | Andrew Smolski

At the moment México has multiple mining operations and many are operated by transnational corporations, in a country known for its aversion to any form of foreign presence within its…

Jul 20, 2011 at 07:22 | David Gabel

Phosphate is a mineral that is used in fertilizer to boost agricultural productivity. It is greatly responsible for the "green" revolution and the increased output of farms around the world.…

Jul 14, 2011 at 07:57 | Editorial Dept

Go looking for Wahidullah Shahrani and chances are you’ll find him at an investor conference promoting Afghanistan as an ideal opportunity for global mining companies. By most accounts the minister…

Jul 13, 2011 at 07:41 | Mad Hedge Fund Trader

The Chinese are nothing if not opportunistic. You may recall that a shocking increase in this year’s corn crop predicted by the US Department of Agriculture triggered a series of…

Jul 08, 2011 at 07:59 | Brian Westenhaus

Spooked by the Chinese embargo of rare earth elements the rare earth mining industry is busily looking and investing in rare earth mineral extraction.  Several prospects look practical.  Meanwhile Japan’s…

Jul 07, 2011 at 07:50 | Professor Chris Rhodes

Not only are supplies of oil and natural gas under imminent threat of failing to meet demand for them, but so is a whole range of precious metals, along with…

Jun 30, 2011 at 19:22 | Mad Hedge Fund Trader

Grain prices were slaughtered today in the wake of a bombshell of a report from the US Department of Agricultural showing that plantings were much larger than expected. Corn and…

Jun 06, 2011 at 11:01 | Mad Hedge Fund Trader

Deutsche Bank has launched the first ever ETF for the precious metal Rhodium, to be listed on the London stock exchange. Expecting a massive inflow of capital into this obscure…

Jun 01, 2011 at 08:24 | Mad Hedge Fund Trader

Interest in Rare Earths is starting to heat up once again, and it something you should keep on your radar. China’s Baotou Steel has announced its intention to start up…

May 30, 2011 at 08:10 | Stuart Burns

Metals prices may have come off in the wake of fears over continued tightening in China, Greek debt default and wider worries over stalling global growth, but strangely for some…

May 26, 2011 at 07:54 | Stuart Burns

A series of recent FT articles covering a range of topics such as global growth, commodity market volatility and aluminum demand appear to offer conflicting guidance on the direction of…

May 23, 2011 at 22:13 | Stuart Burns

A fascinating special report by Reuters this week tracks the fortunes of oil and silver over the last few days and reads more like a novel of Wall Street trading…

May 23, 2011 at 22:07 | Brian Westenhaus

It’s phosphorus.  The element of great importance – its essential for life – humans and animals need it for healthy bone formation, and plants need it to grow.  Without it…

May 20, 2011 at 07:52 | Stuart Burns

Zinc has dropped significantly along with copper these last few weeks as stocks have continued to rise along with a massive surge in mine production last year. One might be…

May 19, 2011 at 07:23 | Stuart Burns

The iron ore price has been taken as a bellwether for the commodities super-cycle in recent years. Steel production in China has been at the core of that country’s growth…

May 16, 2011 at 07:59 | Mad Hedge Fund Trader

In the days of olde, the prices of agricultural commodities were determined by the birds, the bees, and Mother Nature. No more. The Mississippi River basin is suffering once in…

May 14, 2011 at 15:30 | Stuart Burns

There was a time (and I can remember it) when the streets of Shanghai at rush hour were a manic surge of bicycles either waiting at lights or streaming across…