Cameco's Paladin view; Resolute's new broom; golden real estate
December 1 - 7, 2011
STANDARD negotiating tactic or just more bad news for John Borshoff’s Paladin Resources? That’s the obvious question after comments this week by Cameco Corp’s CEO Tim Gitzel that will have done precisely zero to please Borshoff or his shareholders.
Buena vista, for some
November 17 - 23, 2011
IT LOOKS for all the world like a beaut little project out there in the back blocks of Nevada and if we were punters on our way to Las Vegas we’d likely be more than interested in popping in and pulling up a chair at the Buena Vista table. But there’s a question or two for the good ol’ boys at Richmond Mining, no doubt about that.
Westgold targets 120,000ozpa in Murchison
November 10 - 16, 2011
WESTGOLD Resources hasn’t thus far been one of the higher profile members of the big five in the emerging Murchison gold (and copper!) region of Western Australia but work on the marketing trail is continuing with a small handful of analyst and banker-types heading up to its project this week.
Fielding unnecessary calls
October 20 - 26, 2011
INDEPENDENCE is hosting a site visit next week with analysts and institutions and it is possible that one of the aims of managing director Chris Bonwick and his team is to allay lingering disgruntlement expressed by some with the Jabiru acquisition last year.
Pitching in
October 13 - 19, 2011
SAFE to say the Credit Suisse investment bank’s M&A team isn’t in the running for advising Xstrata or Glencore on possible merging?
Some lucky banker; the lucky country; unlucky Oz service providers
September 29 - October 5, 2011
THERE is scepticism and there is scepticism. And a tier one investment bank is having a major case of the latter when it comes to a new copper project being proposed in Chile.
Knock, knock ... anyone home?
August 18 - 24, 2011
YOU would be fair dinkum presuming it would not be too much to ask but evidently it has been thus far. We speak of the classy exhibition by Mount Gibson Iron which, last time we looked, was apparently a publicly listed company ostensibly led by managing director Luke Tonkin.
Old mates, new horizons; Anvil on the move; Grange needs to mature
August 4 - 10, 2011
RON Sayers has been around the mining game for as long as … well, as long as Piggy Bartlett, that’s for sure. So the questions he’d have been asking his old Kalgoorlie mate during their recent meetings would not have surprised the former Barminco chief (and Ausdrill major shareholder).
Zinc supporters finding voice
July 28 - August 3, 2011
XSTRATA has given the tick for development of the Lady Loretta zinc project in Queensland, a decision that, with the market trends for mid-tier miners such as Perilya and Kagara, further suggests interest in zinc is definitely on the rise.
Shale, shale, shale on you, BHP
July 21 - 27, 2011
URANIUM bull Marino Pieterse believes it will become apparent over time that BHP Billiton has made a big mistake with its recent acquisitions of shale gas companies Petrohawk Energy and Chesapeake Energy.
Extraneous expenses
July 14 - 20, 2011
LIBERIA has a become a common destination for miners and explorers keen on West Africa, with Adamus and Tawana, for example, two ASX-listed juniors now actively exploring. But it wasn’t always the most friendly country. In fact just a few short years ago it was anything but. Just ask Cazaly Resources’ Nathan McMahon.
Rio's road to redemption
June 23 - 29, 2011
THIS week’s Rio Tinto iron ore update again heads to West Africa, where Rio’s penance for past sins continues to be unveiled.
Remote chance
June 16 - 22, 2011
THE remote operating centre (ROC) developed by Rio Tinto for its iron ore operations in Australia has been getting big wraps from analysts, and the question doing the rounds is where next another such system might be implemented. Given Rio’s reportedly shambolic efforts at Simandou in the early years, it will be interesting to see if Guinea gets a jersey.
Pioneer returns from the wilderness
June 2 - 8, 2011
PIONEER Resources has been one of those little Aussie battlers for many years, and unlike many of those of the John Howard-variety, it has not benefited from the mining boom in any way, shape or form. Certainly not from a shareholder’s perspective! However, maybe, just maybe, the Kiwi-led tiddler’s time is nigh.
A faster road to glory?
May 19 - 25, 2011
NATURALLY mergers and takeovers are primarily assessed by fundamental measures as to whether they are fair or not. Metrics such as earnings and production profile and resource base and all that sort of stuff. That’s all well and good and perfectly understandable, but there’s always a degree of subjectivity, and some deals just look ‘right’ over and above all the numbers the investment banks and advisors generate to buttress their respective positions.
Make mine an ETF
May 12 - 18, 2011
EVEN before the recent sell off of resource companies, miners were struggling to attract much buying despite high commodity prices. It is a lament faced by mining executives globally as shareholders rightfully aren’t happy. Moves are afoot in Canada to try an address the apparent malaise.
Crazy times indeed
April 28 - May 4, 2011
THE often entertaining UBS commodities team has done it again with a beautiful piece on the future of the iron ore price, triggered by the reported comments of Baosteel Group chairman Xu Lejiang that a sharp decline in the price would result from a severe supply glut.
World Cup the perfect cover for Karnataka runners
April 21 - 27, 2011
INDIA’S plans to lift an 11-month ban on iron ore exports from the state of Karnataka, responsible for some 25% of India’s iron ore production, should have absolutely no impact on iron ore prices according to analysts at UBS. That’s a 35 million tonnes per annum tap being turned back on …
What's the rush then?
April 14 - 20, 2011
IN THE era of veritable nanoseconds, it’s rather fetching to come across a company that’s evidently not overly keen to rush things. Step forward Repubic Gold and its Amayapampa gold project in Bolivia.
Flanagan’s bald statement, and another feather in his cap
April 7 - 13, 2011
DAVID Flanagan is not one to lose his head. His hair, it seems, is another story.