Inside Metals
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INSIDE METALS COMPILED ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 08, 2011 If you would like to receive this newsletter via email please register at http://salesandtrading.thomsonreuters.com/commodities_preference/ CHART OF THE DAY FEATURE Barrick outlines new Nevada gold discoveries Barrick Gold has made two major gold discoveries on its Cortez property in Nevada, highlighting the miner's increased emphasis on exploration to ex- pand its resource base and sending its shares higher. The world's top gold miner said on Wednesday the new discoveries, known as Red Hill and Gol- drush, are located about 6 kilometers (3.6 miles) southeast of its Cortez Hills mine and are geologically similar to the deposit it is currently mining on the property. Click here to read the rest of the story MARKETS (Click on the sections below to jump to the full story) CLICK HERE FOR LME CHARTS BASE METALS: Copper prices edged down, tracking a TRADING PLACES downturn in Asian equities and the euro as worries about S.Korea says seeks 5,000 T aluminium ingot for Nov the euro zone debt crisis and faltering U.S. economy under- China probes some steel imports from Japan, Europe mine confidence. "I think there is a cautious optimism that LME approves Erus as metals warehousing company Obama could announce greater plans to boost jobs. If he GENERAL NEWS does, I think that could be positive for risk assets in gen- Chinalco Yunnan Copper to partner Rio Tinto in Chile prospect eral," said Phillip Futures analyst Ong Yiling. Iraq faces rocky road in mining investment hunt Indonesia may impose tax or quota on ore ex- PRECIOUS METALS: Gold prices rebounded more than 1 ports percent following a drop of 3 percent in the previous ses- Philippines says H1 metals output value up 31 pct y/y sion, as sharply lower prices attracted bargain hunters, but METALS improved risk appetite is likely to cap gains. "Some inves- tors, speculators and physical buyers have shown a lot of COPPER: buying interest at current prices, as they are much lower Peru mine strike not to affect Freeport's output Freeport dismisses Peru strike production compared to a few days ago," said a dealer at a Tokyo- impact based bullion house. NICKEL/STEEL: China probes some steel imports from Japan, Europe FOREX: The euro slipped in Asia and faces headwinds from Mexican steel output growth seen slowing in suspicions that Europe's efforts to fix its debt crisis may not 2012 be fast enough to keep markets happy, while the Austra- Steelmaker Aperam ready to talk to rivals lian dollar was knocked by a surprise decline in the coun- China nickel ore imports to slow in H2 vs H1 - Jinchuan exec try's employment levels. "If Trichet makes cautious re- TIN/MINORS: marks on bond buying, Italian and Spanish spreads could EU to develop rare earth substitutes with US, rise again and hurt investor sentiment," said Junya Tanase, Japan chief strategist at JPMorgan Chase. Top China antimony plant 2011 output flat or up slightly - parent FEATURE Barrick outlines new Nevada gold discoveries EXPLORATION FOCUS TORONTO, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Barrick Gold has made two "These two discoveries highlight the potential value and major gold discoveries on its Cortez property in Nevada, opportunities that can be created through a well- highlighting the miner's increased emphasis on exploration structured and disciplined exploration program," said to expand its resource base and sending its shares higher. Chief Executive Aaron Regent in a statement. The world's top gold miner said on Wednesday the new Given Barrick's size and scale, costly takeovers typically do discoveries, known as Red Hill and Goldrush, are located little to move the needle in terms of its gold resources. Re- about 6 kilometers (3.6 miles) southeast of its Cortez Hills gent has long argued that expanding its resource base mine and are geologically similar to the deposit it is cur- through a more cost effective exploration program is the rently mining on the property. best way forward for the company. "The mineralization in both deposits remains open in mul- Over the last two decades, the company's global explora- tiple directions," said head of exploration Rob Krcmarov. tion program has added about 140 million ounces of gold "We have more work to do, but these discoveries have the reserves, at an average discovery cost of about $16 per potential to become truly world-class deposits." ounce. Barrick has outlined a 3.5 million-ounce inferred resource Barrick plans to spend between $370 million and $390 mil- at Red Hill, and it is drilling at the site to upgrade and ex- lion on its exploration program this year. pand the resource. The company has yet to outline a re- Gold has had a dream run this year. Spot prices touched a source for the Goldrush discovery. record high of $1,920.30 an ounce on Tuesday, as the In a note to clients, Dundee Capital markets analyst Paul global economic recovery has spluttered and concerns Burchell said Barrick would likely use its existing facilities about sovereign debt issues on both sides of the Atlantic at Cortez Hills to tap the new deposits, have risen. "Given the size of the current resource, we expect the new Despite the 4 percent pullback in the price of gold on discoveries to be additive to Cortez Hills, rather than repre- Wednesday, Barrick's New York-listed shares ended the senting a new stand-alone operation," said Burchell. day up 1.7 percent at $54.48. Barrick's Toronto listed shares ended the day up 1.1 percent at C$53.71. Burchell, who has a "buy" rating at a C$60 price target on the stock, said the brokerage firm would review its valua- tion after Barrick finished presentations to investors on Wednesday. 2 GENERAL NEWS Chinalco Yunnan Copper to partner Rio Tinto in Indonesia may impose tax or quota on ore Chile prospect exports SYDNEY, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Chinalco Yunnan Copper Re- JAKARTA, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Indonesia may impose a tax or sources , an Australian affiliate of Yunnan Copper Industry quota on mineral ore exports ahead of a planned regula- (Group) Co, has teamed up with Anglo-Australian miner tion to ban all exports of raw minerals by 2014, the industry Rio Tinto to explore for copper in Chile. ministry said on Wednesday. Chinalco Yunnan Copper Resources said on Thursday it The industry ministry has proposed this as a transition be- had signed an earn-in agreement with an option to joint fore the export ban, in a move that could hurt nickel firms venture with Rio Tinto at copper porphyry exploration INCO and Antam and copper miners Freeport McMoRan property Candelabro, northern Chile. Copper & Gold and Newmont Corp . "Some of the options for transitional regulations are taxes as high as possible on mining products like iron ore, baux- Iraq faces rocky road in mining investment hunt ite, and other metals like nickel and copper," the ministry's LONDON, Sept 7 (Reuters) - High-level Iraqi government spokesman Hartono said. officials converged in London on Wednesday for the first This could also take the form of an obligation to sell part of ever Iraq Mining conference to show how determined the firms' output to the domestic market, he said, without giv- oil-rich country is in trying to secure investors into its long- ing further details or timing. neglected mining sector. New government regulations are regularly mooted in Indo- However, the conference heard Iraq will need to resolve a nesia but often take a long time to be approved or fail to number of issues, such as security and the introduction of a materialise. mining law, before it can start to attract foreign investment into its non-oil resources sector. The planned 2014 export ban is part of a mining and coal law introduced in 2009 that requires miners to process "Iraq is rich in various types of mineral resources...and has coal and minerals into higher value products before export- many promising shows of lead, zinc, copper and chromium ing them, as the country seeks to boost revenue from the in Kurdistan," Sami al-Araji, chairman of Iraq's National mining sector. Investment Commission, told the conference. Indonesia, the world's largest tin and thermal coal ex- Iraq is trying to shake off the legacy of years of violence, porter, said last month it is looking to revise its royalty pay- sanctions and economic decline by opening up its financial ments made on all domestic tin shipments, to close a tax and industrial sectors and luring foreign investment and loophole and bring these in-line with existing charges on expertise to help it rebuild, however security issues still exports. remain a big concern for potential investors. Analysts have said a string of recent comments by politi- Deputy Prime Minister Rozh Nouri Shawis said the govern- cians to increase resource royalties suggested a rising tide ment was reviewing the mining law. of nationalism aimed at shoring up domestic political sup- While its autonomous region of Kurdistan has the greatest port. potential for metal resources, it has no mining code. The mountainous region of Kurdistan also throws up addi- Philippines says H1 metals output value up 31 tional challenges for mining investors. pct y/y Shawis told reporters that a company that already invests in Iraq won't enter Kurdistan because of the terrain. MANILA, Sept 7 (Reuters) - The value of the Philippines' metallic mineral output in the first half of 2011 jumped 31 "What's in a meadow is easy, but what's on a mountain is percent from a year earlier as miners ramped up produc- difficult," he said.