Metals / Commodities

May 30, 2010 at 12:11 | Brian Westenhaus

Platinum – the joy of a jewelry designer – the bane of a catalyst user, and in the current economy its the most expensive element on earth. Platinum is the…

May 14, 2010 at 11:53 | Dave Forest

A couple of interesting data points on costs in the mining industry. Cost containment is once again becoming a major issue for miners. TD Newcrest analyst Greg Barnes told a…

May 07, 2010 at 12:07 | Dave Forest

Exciting couple of days on the market. With the Dow having its worst intra-day drop ever yesterday, most of the commodities got trashed. Over May 4 and 5, outstanding silver…

May 03, 2010 at 12:01 | Dave Forest

Australia sent the major miners into a tailspin overnight. The Rudd government announced Sunday night that it will impose a new "resource super profits" tax on mining, oil and gas,…

May 02, 2010 at 09:33 | Mad Hedge Fund Trader

Interest in Rare Earths is starting to heat up in a dramatic fashion, and it something you should keep on your radar. So named because they were hard to get…

Apr 27, 2010 at 13:31 | Dave Forest

Calling all mineral explorers. Australia needs your help. The Australian Institute of Geosciences (AIG) this week released a report noting that the Aussie exploration sector is suffering. AIG blames the…

Apr 19, 2010 at 19:00 | Dave Forest

I wrote yesterday about the importance of tailoring royalties to fit the situation for different oil and gas plays. Today, there's news on an interesting riff on this idea. Tailoring…

Apr 14, 2010 at 19:00 | Dave Forest

Reports this morning that Russian aluminum giant Rusal is looking at launching an exchange-traded fund (ETF) back by physical aluminum. Rusal said the fund could initially be backed with up…

Apr 08, 2010 at 19:00 | Dave Forest

A couple of interesting data points the last few weeks, on commodities oversupply. Last week CBI China reported that Chinese base metal stockpiles are reaching epic levels. CBI surveyed commercial…

Apr 04, 2010 at 19:00 | David Caploe PhD

When four executives from Rio Tinto, the giant Anglo-Australian mining company, were arrested last July on charges of stealing commercial secrets, as well as taking and receiving bribes from Chinese…

Mar 24, 2010 at 18:47 | Dave Forest

Gold investors have long-believed the mainstream is close at hand. One of the major arguments from gold bulls over the last ten years has been that bullion prices will rise…

Feb 22, 2010 at 18:37 | Dave Forest

China is the key to the metals markets today. And there are some important signals about this market registering in the last few weeks. Last month, I wrote about…

Feb 05, 2010 at 17:33 | Dave Forest

This might be the year's most important news. Which got almost no press globally. Something strange happened in Japan in December. Shipments of aluminum from Mozambique and Brazil…

Feb 04, 2010 at 00:01 | Dave Forest

David Threlkeld of metals trading advisor Resolved Inc. got some press this week. That happens when you predict a catastrophe. Threlkeld was quoted by Bloomberg repeating an ominous prediction…

Dec 22, 2009 at 22:13 | Dave Forest

There are two kinds of junior natural resource companies. When you analyze, it's critical to realize which one you're dealing with. The first type are explorers. These are companies hoping…

Oct 02, 2009 at 16:02 | Editorial Dept

Whilst Gold is busy grabbing the headlines, it’s bigger, rarer, more versatile and useful brother is quietly doing its job of providing Industry and manufacturing with the base elements they…

Sep 17, 2009 at 15:54 | Editorial Dept

For decades, copper has served as an effective barometer of the economic health of a region. This amazing consistency of ability to gauge a realistic prognosis of an area’s economic…

Jul 24, 2009 at 07:48 | Editorial Dept

Commodity trading has a rich and colorful history going all the way back to the mid 1800s. Our “Industrial Revolution” brought new technologies and abilities to produce more efficient tools…