Quote of the Week"I am not sure that in a period of crisis the right strategy would be to stop investing. We should carry on with investments so when international prices pick up again we can respond to it." - Ousmane Kane, managing director of Mauritania state-owned iron ore miner Societe Nationale Industrielle et Miniere
Waiting to adjust focus
HOLDING a steady course and maintaining the faith is tough in times like these for explorers, producers and investors alike, but there are suggestions that the commodity demand drop-off could in actual fact be less extreme than it currently appears.
A tough road ahead for juniors
NOV 24: HAVING successfully called the top of the cycle, Robin Widdup has the credibility that the vast majority of those in mining markets around the world don’t have. As such, his prognosis for the future is well worth bearing in mind.
PanAust sees clear skies ahead
EMERGING copper producer PanAust is very confident short term debt it owes to Goldman Sachs JBWere (GSJBW) is a non-issue for it despite the blowtorch being applied to a number of companies in the past month.
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Around zero
PALADIN Energy has smashed uranium resource valuations into the ground with its agreed bid this week for Queensland uranium explorer Fusion Resources.
Leaching opportunities
KNOWLEDGE is power. That’s why AIM-listed European Nickel has been able to maintain the progress of its nickel development pipeline while other juniors are busy selling off assets, slowing project development or are in danger of falling into administration.
Rio closes wallet, opens shop
CAPEX cuts across the portfolio and project sales are obvious measures that could be initiated at Rio Tinto given the company’s constrained balance sheet and the potential for tough times ahead.
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Iron horses for courses
NOV 24: BC IRON managing director Mike Young spoke to Andrew Forrest the morning of his presentation at last week’s Australia Mining Congress in Sydney and it must have been a typical pep talk from the Fortescue Metals boss because Young injected some spark into a sombre room.
Third force in iron walls
THE third force in Australian longwall mining is building a significant longwall design, engineering and technology development presence in the country, a platform that is expected to provide a sound basis for a bigger offshore push in future.
Straits to Madagascar
NOV 24: FORGET Mongolia, Botswana, Mozambique and Australia. Instead think Madagascar. For it’s that low profile country off the east coast of Africa that will deliver the best next generation of thermal coal projects.
No Movember
NOV 24: ALAN Heap, Citi Investment Research’s managing director, global commodity analysis, might agree with Macquarie Bank’s declaration of force majeure on the super cycle but he’s not ready to call the end of the cycle. It could be seen as a close shave though.
FINANCE
Hedge no buffer, but why not?
IGNORE for a moment the jarring contradiction of CopperCo’s sudden demise after positive quarterly reports and presentations (caveat emptor anyone?) and leave aside for another day questions about whether much value can be accorded independent assessments in related party transactions. Because there is another particularly nagging question in relation to this whole debacle.
COAL TRADE
Analyst accepts bear facts
TWO weeks ago veteran Australian coal analyst Dr Don Barnett nearly choked on his cornflakes when he saw Macquarie Bank had chopped its coking coal price forecast for 2009 by close to 60%. With Merrill Lynch having now added its name to the doomsayers list Barnett concedes his reaction to the Macquarie “overreaction” may have been a bit hasty.
SOUTH AMERICA
A tough year for Colombia gold exploration
THIS YEAR promised a great deal for Colombia’s nascent gold sector, with $US147.6 million budgeted for exploration by 18 companies, according to mining association Asomineros, but the financial crisis has brought a frustrating year end for junior explorers.
ReGENERATION
Time to get smart
NOV 24: ‘GET THE cow and we’ll talk some more’, sounds like a line out of an episode of popular 70s spy sitcom Get Smart. It’s basically the deal Phil Welten signed on for when he became managing director of Indo Mines early last year.
ReGENERATION
60 seconds with Phil Welten
NOV 24: THREE people who have influenced you/your career/why?
AUSTRALIA MINING CONGRESS 2008
The case for gold
NOV 24: THE GOLD sector is Australia’s ship without a rudder at the moment. Buffeted by the general market malaise and seemingly unable to raise itself from a decade of decline, the sector is crying out for stand-out discoveries, mines and companies, the Australia Mining Congress 2008 heard.
VIEW FROM THE WEST END
Not fun
NOV 17: NEGOTIATION is from the Latin words, neg (not), and otium (ease or leisure). The inference being, presumably, that negotiation was not meant to be fun. Rather obvious I guess, but probably more so to anyone involved in metal price negotiations.
