Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 10:49 AM on Friday, January 18th, 2019
SPONSOR: New Age Metals Inc.
(TSX-V: NAM) The company’s new Lithium Division has already made
significant acquisitions in Canada and the USA. The company also owns
one of North America’s largest primary platinum group metals deposit in
Sudbury, Canada. Learn More.
NAM: TSX-V ——————————-
Palladium held above $1,400 U.S. an ounce on Friday after surging to record levels in the previous session, amid tight supplies and robust demand, while gold slipped as risk sentiment got a boost from hopes of progress in U.S.-China trade talks.
Glenn Wilkins – Friday, January 18, 2019
Palladium held above $1,400 U.S. an ounce on Friday after surging to
record levels in the previous session, amid tight supplies and robust
demand, while gold slipped as risk sentiment got a boost from hopes of
progress in U.S.-China trade talks.
Spot gold was down 0.1% at
$1,290.51 U.S. per ounce, while U.S. gold futures were down 0.2% at
$1,290 per ounce. One official said the market is currently unable to
gauge the extent of economic slowdown, and that uncertainty is
supporting gold.
Meanwhile, spot palladium climbed 1.1% to
$1,411 U.S. per ounce Friday, having hit an all-time high of $1,434.50
U.S. on Thursday. The metal is on track to rise for a fourth week in its
strongest weekly gain since the week ended Sept. 21. It has risen
around 12% so far this month.
The price of palladium, used
mainly in emissions-reducing catalysts for vehicles, is up nearly 70%
since a low marked in mid-August. Prices for the metal overtook gold for
the first time in 16 years early in December.
However, spot
gold was set for its fifth straight weekly gain, supported by
expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve may not raise interest rates
this year on worries about economy and uncertainties around Brexit.
Gold
watchers say spot gold is due for a sharp move, as its consolidation
within a neutral range of $1,285-$1,299 U.S. per ounce is ending.
In other metals, platinum rose 0.5% to $809 U.S. an ounce, while silver gained 0.1% to $15.53 U.S.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 9:03 AM on Thursday, January 17th, 2019
SPONSOR: New Age Metals Inc.
(TSX-V: NAM) The company’s new Lithium Division has already made
significant acquisitions in Canada and the USA. The company also owns
one of North America’s largest primary platinum group metals deposit in
Sudbury, Canada. Learn More.
NAM: TSX-V ——————————-
Palladium scaled a new peak on Thursday, driven by a deficit in the auto-catalyst metal and robust demand, while gold held firm on concerns surrounding a U.S. government logjam and Brexit.
Spot palladium had jumped 3.53 percent to $1,407 per ounce as of 8:08 a.m. ET, hitting an all-time high, and rising more than 10 percent so far this month.
“Any new high in the market is triggering additional buying … It is
a good old-fashioned squeeze driven by tight fundamentals, strong
momentum and low liquidity,†Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen said.
The price of palladium, used mainly in emissions-reducing catalysts
for vehicles, has leapt more than 60 percent since hitting a trough in
mid-August. The metal overtook gold in price terms for the first time in
16 years late last year.
Meanwhile, holdings in palladium exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracked
by Reuters have nearly halved from January last year as prices rose.
“There is not sufficient supply in the market, so people are
purchasing metals from the ETFs,†said Samson Li, a Hong Kong-based
precious metals analyst at Refinitiv GFMS.
Spot gold fell 0.04 percent at $1,292.92 per ounce and U.S. gold futures were down 0.1 percent at $1,292.50.
“Gold is looking for the next short-term stimulus … On the next
occasion we see a sustained equity market pull-back, you’re likely to
see a movement above $1,300,†Capital Economics analyst Ross Strachan
said.
Spot gold is about to exit a neutral range of $1,285-$1,299, and
either rise to $1,311 or drop towards $1,268, according to Reuters
technical analyst Wang Tao.
Gold remains supported by a variety of factors, including a prolonged
partial U.S. government shutdown, a possible pause in the U.S. Federal
Reserve’s rate hike cycle, and concerns surrounding Brexit, analysts
said.
In other metals, platinum fell 0.06 percent to $804 an ounce, while silver dropped 0.4 percent to $15.53.
Tags: palladium, PGM, tsx Posted in New Age Metals | Comments Off on New Age Metals Inc. $NAM.ca – #Palladium surges to new record on tight fundamentals $WG.ca $XTM.ca $WM.ca $PDL.ca
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 12:08 PM on Tuesday, January 15th, 2019
The amended January 9, 2019 NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate confirms that the River Valley Project has 2,867,000 Measured and Indicated PdEq ounces, with 1,059,000 PdEq ounces in Inferred at a 0.35 g/t and 2.0 g/t PdEq cut-off for open pit and underground respectively.
The amended and restated Mineral Resource Estimate presents a Mineral Resource that demonstrates reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction.
The new pit constrained Mineral Resource will be more representative of the potentially economic portion of the Mineral Resource that will be disclosed in the upcoming 2019 Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA).
River Valley is the largest undeveloped primary PGM Mineral Resource in North America. The Project has excellent infrastructure and is within 100 kilometres of the Sudbury Metallurgical Complex. The Project is 100% owned by New Age Metals.
The Project’s first economic study (Preliminary Economic Assessment) is slated to be completed on or before the end of Q2 2019.
January 15, 2019 / Rockport, Canada – New Age Metals Inc. (NAM) (TSX.V: NAM; OTCQB: NMTLF; FSE: P7J.F) Harry Barr, Chairman & CEO, stated; “The company is pleased to update our shareholders with the new amended May 2018 NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate of the River Valley Platinum Group Metals (PGM) Project. As a result of a review by the British Columbia Securities Commission (“BCSC”) the Company is clarifying the Technical Report on its River Valley PGM Project filed on May 7, 2018. WSP Canada Inc. (WSP) under the supervision of Todd McCracken, P. Geo., completed the Mineral Resource estimation. Management believes this study has upgraded the open pit bulk mining potential of this project. The May 2018 Technical Report presented a global mineral inventory whereas the January 2019 Technical Report presents a pit constrained Mineral Resource that shows reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction. Our objective is to complete the Project’s first economic study, a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) on or before the end of Q2 2019. The second objective is to continue to explore and develop the entire 16 kilometres of mineralization throughout the contact zone (current established Mineral Resource) and test the new footwall discovery that has potential to extend throughout the overall Project.” (See Figure 1)
WSP Canada, under the supervision of
Todd McCracken, P. Geo (Manager-Mining at WSP Canada) has recently
amended the 2018 NI 43-101 Mineral Resource estimation of the River
Valley PGM Deposit in the Sudbury Mining District of Ontario, Canada. The
new Mineral Resource Estimate has incorporated all the past data,
geophysics, new drilling since 2015 and the River Valley Extension
(RVE), including the additional drilling in the new footwall discoveries
Pine Zone and T3.
The
results of the updated Mineral Resource Estimate are tabulated in Table 1
below (0.35 g/t PdEq open pit and 2.0 g.t PdEq underground cut-off).
This 43-101 Technical Report is available on SEDAR.
Table 1: Results from the amended NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate.
Click Image To View Full Size
Class
PGM + Au (oz)
PdEq (oz)
PtEq (oz)
Measured
1,394,000
1,701,000
1,701,000
Indicated
983,000
1,166,000
1,166,000
Meas +Ind
2,377,000
2,867,000
2,867,000
Inferred
841,000
1,059,000
1,059,000
Notes:
1.CIM definition standards were followed for the Mineral Resource Estimate.
2.The 2018 Mineral Resource models used
Ordinary Kriging grade estimation within a three-dimensional block model
with mineralized zones defined by wireframed solids.
3.A base cut-off grade of 0.35 g/t PdEq
was used for reporting Mineral Resources in a constrained pit and 2.00
g/t PdEq was used for reporting the Mineral Resources under the pit.
6.Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have economic viability
7. The Inferred Mineral Resource in this
estimate has a lower level of confidence than that applied to an
Indicated Mineral Resource and must not be converted to a Mineral
Reserve. It is reasonably expected that the majority of the Inferred
Mineral Resource could be upgraded to an Indicated Mineral Resource with
continued exploration.
Click Image To View Full Size
Figure
1: The Yellow Band represents the footwall potential area of the River
Valley Deposit based on the results of the Pine Zone where footwall
mineralization was noted to extend 150 metres eastward from the Pine
Zone/ T3 main deposit. At present the only area that has confirmed
footwall mineralization is in the Pine Zone (defined from 2015 to 2017
drilling). Geophysics and exploration are in progress to test other
areas of the Deposit. Management’s specific focus is to outline a
sufficient potentially economic Mineral Resource in the northern portion
of the project, and subsequently develop a series of open pits (bulk
mining), crush,and concentrate on site, and ship the concentrates to Sudbury for metallurgical extraction.
CONFERENCES THIS QUARTER
In late January, our Chairman & CEO
Harry Barr is travelling to South Africa attending two 1-2-1 style
conferences with over 25 pre-booked meetings with mine finance
companies, major mine companies, institutions, stock brokers, and high
net worth individuals.
OPT-IN LIST
If you have not done so already, we encourage you to sign up on our website (www.newagemetals.com) to receive our updated news or click here.
ABOUT NAM’S PGM DIVISION
NAM’s flagship project is its 100% owned River Valley PGM Project (NAM Website – River Valley Project)
in the Sudbury Mining District of Northern Ontario (100 km east of
Sudbury, Ontario). See results from the most recent NI 43-101 Mineral
Resource update above in Table 1. NAM management and consultants are
currently designing a complete drill program to be executed in 2019 for
the River Valley Project. This plan will consider previously proposed
drill parameters and will be based on the most recent geophysical
assessment and consultant expertise. The projects first economic study, a
Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) is underway and is being overseen
by Mr. Michael Neumann, P.Eng., a veteran mining engineer and one of NAM’s directors. See
the most recent press releases for the River Valley Project PEA which
details the appointment of P&E Mining Consultants Inc. and DRA
Americas to jointly conduct the study, dated July 25, 2018 and August 1, 2018 respectively. Our new Fall Chairman’s message can be accessed at our website (www.newagemetals.com) .
On April 4th, 2018, NAM signed an agreement with one of Alaska’s top geological consulting companies. The companies stated objective is to acquire additional PGM and Rare Metal projects in Alaska. On April 18th, 2018,
NAM announced the right to purchase 100% of the Genesis PGM Project,
NAM’s first Alaskan PGM acquisition related to the April 4th
agreement. The Genesis PGM Project is a road accessible, under
explored, highly prospective, multi-prospect drill ready Palladium (Pd)-
Platinum (Pt)- Nickel (Ni)- Copper (Cu) property. A
comprehensive report on previous exploration and future phases of work
was completed by Avalon Development of Fairbanks Alaska in August 2018
on Genesis. A full sampling program will be conducted to continue
to outline additional mineralization along the 800-metre by 40-metre
mineralized zone
On August 29, the Avalon report was
submitted to NAM, management is actively seeking an option/joint-venture
partner for this road accessible PGM and Multiple Element Project using
the Prospector Generator business model.
QUALIFIED PERSON
The
contents contained herein that relate to Exploration Results or Mineral
Resources is based on information compiled, reviewed or prepared by Todd
McCracken, P.Geo. an employee of WSP and independent of New Age Metals.
Mr. McCracken is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument
43-101 and approves the content of this news release.
On behalf of the Board of Directors
“Harry Barr”
Harry G. Barr
Chairman and CEO
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its
Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies
of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward
Looking Statements: This release contains forward-looking statements
that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements may differ
materially from actual future events or results and are based on current
expectations or beliefs. For this purpose, statements of historical
fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. In addition,
forward-looking statements include statements in which the Company uses
words such as “continue”, “efforts”, “expect”, “believe”, “anticipate”,
“confident”, “intend”, “strategy”, “plan”, “will”, “estimate”,
“project”, “goal”, “target”, “prospects”, “optimistic” or similar
expressions. These statements by their nature involve risks and
uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially depending on a
variety of important factors, including, among others, the Company’s
ability and continuation of efforts to timely and completely make
available adequate current public information, additional or different
regulatory and legal requirements and restrictions that may be imposed,
and other factors as may be discussed in the documents filed by the
Company on SEDAR (www.sedar.com), including the most recent reports that
identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to
differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. The
Company does not undertake any obligation to review or confirm analysts’
expectations or estimates or to release publicly any revisions to any
forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the
date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
Tags: PGM, stocks, tsx Posted in All Recent Posts, Lithium, New Age Metals | Comments Off on New Age Metals $NAM.ca Updated NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate 2,867,000 PdEq Measured and Indicated Ounces, with an additional 1,059,000 PdEq Ounces in the Inferred Classification River Valley #Platinum Group Metal Deposit, Sudbury, Ontario #Palladium #PGM
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 10:28 AM on Tuesday, January 15th, 2019
SPONSOR: New Age Metals Inc.
(TSX-V: NAM) The company’s new Lithium Division has already made
significant acquisitions in Canada and the USA. The company also owns
one of North America’s largest primary platinum group metals deposit in
Sudbury, Canada. Learn More.
NAM: TSX-V ——————————-
Discovery of mineral used in batteries has drills turning around Snow Lake
The growing prominence of electrified vehicles may be of huge benefit to Snow Lake, which is home to a large lithium find. The commodity is used in batteries
One of the hubs of activity for a mineral vital in the world’s drive to electrification is around Snow Lake, 200 kilometres east of Flin Flon.
Ian Froese · CBC News · Posted: Jan 12, 2019 6:00 AM CT | Last Updated: January 12
It may not offset the hundreds of mining jobs that northern Manitoba is losing, but exploration companies are bullish on the potential for lithium.
One of the hubs of activity for a mineral vital in the world’s drive
to electrification is around Snow Lake, 200 kilometres east of Flin
Flon.
“If we get three or four mines going up there again, we could
probably get 500 directly employed people,” said geologist Dale Schultz,
who is collaborating with a new mining company called Snow Lake
Resources.
It’s a lofty goal, but then lithium, used in batteries, is a hot
commodity in the expected electrification of our society,
including vehicles. And jurisdictions are taking notice: only months ago
the B.C. government promised it would take steps to ensure all new cars
and trucks sold in the province are emission-free by 2040.
That means the resource will become more valuable as time goes on, Schultz says.
“That’s the common wisdom right now.”
Betting on lithium
In and around Snow Lake, drills are turning for lithium.
Snow Lake Resources has dibs on a 6.3-million-tonne resource
estimate, while Far Resources is digging into an initial resource of 1.1
million tonnes.
The exploration comes amid a downturn in the province’s mining industry.
The sector faced a body blow last year when Hudbay announced its
intentions to pull up stakes in Flin Flon by 2021 due to a lack of ore
in the ground. In another setback, Vale laid off 169 employees last year
at its Thompson mine.
To save even some of those Hudbay positions, Snow Lake is being held
up as a saving grace. The miner expects to transfer employees to the
Stall mill, Lalor mine and a refurbished New Brit Gold mill, all near
Snow Lake.
It will lessen the blow, but it won’t save all 800 Hudbay jobs at risk in Flin Flon.
A helicopter view of a drill rig Far Resources is using to uncover lithium deposits. (Far Resources )
That’s where further exploration may come into play.
In addition to the play for lithium, Rockcliff Metals, a Toronto-based miner, is after a gold deposit in the region.
Toby Mayo, president and CEO of Far Resources, says there’s no
denying the demand for lithium can lift the fortunes of Snow Lake.
“There’s no reason why a huge number of additional discoveries can’t be made that will really put Snow Lake on the map — again.”
Hope during a downturn
Snow Lake has a storied mining history, but is subject to the whims of the industry’s cyclical nature.
Mayor Peter Roberts acknowledges his northern community may be
approaching a time when a stream of Flin Flon residents come to their
community to work, instead of a flow of citizens travelling in the
opposite direction.
He’s encouraged by any sign of drilling, but said he cannot hang his
hopes on firms which haven’t started mining yet. In the meantime, he’s
hopeful that Hudbay, still exploring in the region, can strike riches.
“As long as there is exploration, there’s always hope for a longer future,” he said.
In Manitoba, senior mining companies intended to spend $41.3 million
toward exploration in 2018, while junior miners invested $6.3 million
toward the same task, according to Natural Resources Canada figures.
Ken Klyne, president of the Manitoba Prospectors and Developers
Association, said provincial exploration can rise again by simplifying
the permitting process and reducing the need for onerous consultations.
Tags: lithium], stocks Posted in All Recent Posts, New Age Metals | Comments Off on New Age Metals Inc. $NAM.ca – Demand for lithium expected to put a charge in Manitoba’s mining sector $GLEN $LIC.ca $LIX.ca
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 9:41 AM on Wednesday, January 9th, 2019
SPONSOR: New Age Metals Inc.
(TSX-V: NAM) The company’s new Lithium Division has already made
significant acquisitions in Canada and the USA. The company also owns
one of North America’s largest primary platinum group metals deposit in
Sudbury, Canada. Learn More.
NAM: TSX-V
——————————
The Palladium Play – Part 1
Palladium: The White-Hot Metal Climbed 18% in 2018 and Doubled in Three Years
BY John Ciampaglia
Part 1 in our palladium series provides a primer; Part 2 will explore the unique supply/demand fundamentals that support our bullish outlook.
Palladium has been on a multi-year run that shows few signs of
abating. For the tumultuous market year 2018, spot palladium gained
18.6% and is up 124% since the beginning of 2016. In comparison, spot
gold, platinum and silver all declined last year (1.6%, 14.5%, and 8.5%,
respectively), while U.S. equities lost 4.4% in 2018, as measured by
the S&P 500 Total Return Index.1
Palladium is close to becoming the most “precious†of precious
metals. Palladium passed the $1,000 per ounce mark in late 2017 for the
first time since 2001. Palladium’s momentum accelerated in 2018, with
its $1,262 price-per-ounce edging close to gold’s $1,282 price by
year-end.Palladium was named by its discoverer William Wollaston in 1803, after the asteroid Pallas.
While the escalating U.S.-China trade war hurt many commodities in
2018, it couldn’t dent palladium’s rise. The white metal is primarily
used in catalytic converters that reduce pollution from gasoline
internal combustion engines (ICEs). Demand for palladium was especially
robust last year, as environmental concerns have prompted a global shift
from diesel to gasoline and hybrid vehicles. Not even the 2018 slowdown
in China’s auto market, the world’s largest, dampened demand.
Palladium (chemical symbol “Pdâ€) is primarily used as an industrial
metal and is considered a “precious†metal along with platinum, gold and
silver. Both palladium and platinum are far rarer than gold and
represent smaller markets. Recent world production of palladium and
platinum has averaged about 200 and 175 tonnes per year, respectively,
while gold production tallies approximately 3,000 tonnes per year (Read more about Platinum).
Also known as “white gold†or the “bright white metals,†palladium
and platinum are members of the Platinum Group Metals (also known as
“PGMs,†which also include ruthenium, rhodium, osmium and iridium) and
typically co-occur in ore deposits. Their shared chemical origins give
palladium and platinum similar characteristics, such as being relatively
inert and having high melting points – part of their appeal as
catalysts in industrial and automotive applications.
Figure 4. The Automotive Industry is the Largest Pd Consumer – Catalytic Converters
Automakers, who have little flexibility to produce cars without
palladium, are being forced to push the price higher to secure their
critical supply.
Source: Johnson Matthey.
Palladium’s primary application is within the auto sector. Though
historically more expensive than palladium, platinum was long the
primary metal used in catalytic converters, partly because of its
stability at the high temperatures required to achieve the conversion.
However, in the past decade, automakers have developed technology to
achieve nearly the same results with palladium, at a significantly lower
cost, causing the automotive industry to transition to palladium.
While palladium is also used in jewelry, electronics, chemical and
dental applications, the automotive industry’s need for catalytic
converters is the primary factor driving palladium demand. If
palladium’s price continues to outpace platinum’s, automakers may return
to using platinum. However, analysts predict that any move back to
platinum would take at least 18 to 24 months.
Palladium’s Supply Constraints
Supply shortages continue to support palladium’s performance, with
strong multi-year growth in palladium demand now straining a fixed
supply. Palladium is especially scarce and its supply is inelastic since
it is usually a by-product of ores that are being mined for other
metals, like platinum and rhodium. It is rarely mined on its own. Russia
is the world’s largest palladium-producing country, followed by South
Africa, Canada, the U.S. and Zimbabwe.
The official level of palladium reserves in Russia is a state secret
and many industry participants believe that Russia’s stockpiles of
palladium have been largely sold, constraining supply. Supply concerns
were further heightened in April 2018 when the U.S. levied more
sanctions against Russia.
Figure 5. Palladium Mine Production by Country (Metric Tonnes) 2012-2017
Source: U.S. Geological Survey.
Global demand for palladium, net of the supply provided through
recycling, was expected to reach 7.1 million oz. in 2018, exceeding a
total supply of 6.9 million oz. This shortfall extends a seven-year
trend leading to a current total deficit in the market of 801,000 oz.,
according to the chemical company, Johnson Matthey.2
Shifting Automotive Demand but Positive Outlook
While no country has outlawed new combustion engines, Norway, China
and Germany, among many countries, have implemented frameworks to
discontinue long-term ICE production and encourage demand for electric
vehicles (EVs) and hybrid-electric vehicles.
The growth of EVs3 could pose a risk to the palladium sector since
EVs do not require catalytic converters. On the other hand, the rise of
hybrid-electric vehicles could drive palladium demand, since they too
require palladium to control pollution. The mining company Norilsk
Nickel forecasts that combined palladium use in hybrid and plug-in
hybrid — or rechargeable — vehicles in 2019 will be nearly triple that
of 2016.
Today, catalytic converter demand accounts for 70% of the palladium
demand worldwide. While any threat to palladium’s role within catalytic
converters could impact its long-term price outlook, our view is that
palladium’s fundamentals should remain strong for at least the next 24
months.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 4:54 PM on Tuesday, January 8th, 2019
SPONSOR: New Age Metals Inc.
(TSX-V: NAM) The company’s new Lithium Division has already made
significant acquisitions in Canada and the USA. The company also owns
one of North America’s largest primary platinum group metals deposit in
Sudbury, Canada. Learn More.
Best metal of 2018 now commands $500 an ounce more than rival
Substitution in autocatalysts still seen as unlikely: Norilsk
Palladium’s premium to platinum jumped to a record, building on its ranking as the best-performing metal of 2018.
Shortages of the metal used in autocatalysts for gasoline-fueled
vehicles sent its price to yet another all-time high, widening the price
difference with rival platinum to more than $500 an ounce on Tuesday. Most analysts don’t see supply relief for palladium anytime soon.
Both metals are used in catalytic converters to reduce vehicle
emissions. Platinum, the more expensive of the two for most of this
century, has seen usage decline from its key consumers, diesel
carmakers. Demand slid as consumers turned away from diesel vehicles in
the wake of Volkswagen AG’s emissions-cheating scandal.
Platinum is now trading near a 10-year low, at about $821.35 an ounce, while palladium is near its highest, $1,325.13 an ounce.
The widening price gap has spurred speculation that petrol-carmakers
may switch from palladium to cheaper platinum. Anton Berlin, head of
analysis and market development at Russia’s Norilsk Nickel PJSC, says
this is unlikely. Palladium has some features that make it more suitable
for gasoline or hybrid cars, like better resistance to higher
temperatures.
Switching to platinum would take at least two years and would need
additional work and costs to adjust engines and car-exhaust systems,
said Berlin, whose company is the world’s biggest palladium miner and
fourth in platinum. Manufacturers also need to use more of the precious
metal than is needed with palladium, he said.
Berlin believes that overall demand for platinum will recover anyway.
The market may even face a deficit if investment demand is sufficient,
including bar and coin sales, he said. The World Platinum Investment
Council predicted in November that platinum will remain in surplus in 2019, albeit a smaller one than last year.
Tags: palladium, PGM, tsx Posted in All Recent Posts, New Age Metals | Comments Off on New Age Metals Inc. $NAM.ca – #Palladium Just Smashed Another Record $WG.ca $XTM.ca $WM.ca $PDL.ca
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 1:31 PM on Thursday, January 3rd, 2019
SPONSOR: New Age Metals Inc. (TSX-V: NAM) The company’s new Lithium Division has already made significant acquisitions in Canada and the USA. The company also owns one of North America’s largest primary platinum group metals deposit in Sudbury, Canada. Learn More.
———————–
Blackwater founder launches fund to invest in electric car battery metals
Blackwater founder Erik Prince aims to raise as much as $500 million to invest in metals needed for making the batteries that power electric vehicles (EVs), the Financial Times reports.
Fund will focus mainly on cobalt, copper and lithium assets
Erik Prince, the founder of controversial U.S. private security firm Blackwater and an informal campaign adviser to President Donald Trump, is looking to raise as much as $500m to invest in metals used in the batteries that power electric cars. (Image courtesy of Miller Center | Flickr.)
Blackwater founder Erik Prince aims to raise as much as $500 million
to invest in metals needed for making the batteries that power electric
vehicles (EVs), the Financial Times reports.
Prince, who besides starting the controversial private security
company is known for have been an informal campaign adviser to US
President Donald Trump, said the fund will bring unexplored deposits
into production and then sell them to large miners after four to five
years.
The fund will focus mainly on cobalt, copper and lithium assets located mainly in Africa and Asia, Prince told FT.com.
“For all the talk of our virtual world, the innovation, you can’t
build these vehicles without minerals that come from generally weird,
hard-to-access places,†he said.
Metals such as cobalt, lithium, nickel and copper have seen demand soar in recent years as the shift away from
cars powered by fossil fuels gains momentum and mining companies are
investing billions of dollars into developing deposits of those key
commodities.
Experts expect the need for the commodity from battery makers alone to jump 650% by 2027, while overall demand is forecast to rise more than threefold in the next nine years.
Prices, however, are projected to drop in the early 2020s as a result
of an ever-rising number of projects expected to come online.
Prince sold Blackwater in 2010, after it was hit with a series of
lawsuits. Since then, he’s been running Frontier Services Group, which
provides integrated security, logistics and insurance services in
frontier markets and is backed by Hong Kong investor Chun Shun Ko and
China’s CITIC Group.
Frontier has also invested in a bauxite mine in Guinea, and identified a copper and cobalt deposit in the Congo.
Prince’s sister Elisabeth Dee DeVos is Trump’s education secretary.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 9:16 AM on Monday, December 17th, 2018
SPONSOR:Â New Age Metals Inc. (TSX-V: NAM) The company’s new Lithium Division has already made significant acquisitions in Canada and the USA. The company also owns one of North America’s largest primary platinum group metals deposit in Sudbury, Canada. The property hosts M+I 4,626,250 Palladium Equivalent Ounces. Click here for more information
——————–
Palladium is one of the best-performing commodities of 2018.
Its price has surged more than 50% in the past four months.Tiffany Hsu
Palladium inside a catalytic converter at Alpha Recycling in the
Bronx, New York City. Palladium, a silvery-white metal, used in cars and
sometimes jewellery, has topped gold in commodities trading for the
last three days.
PHOTO: NYTIMES
GOLD was long the most valuable of precious metals until, suddenly,
it wasn’t. Last week, an obscure and far less sexy rival called
palladium swung ahead, for the first time in 16 years. Gold briefly
retook the lead, but spot palladium prices have beaten out gold prices
for the past three days. Palladium hit a record high on Wednesday before
settling in at US$1,255.12 an ounce at the market close in London on
Thursday, according to data from SP Angel, an investment research firm.
Gold was US$1,243.02 an ounce.
It is an impressive dethroning aided by economic shifts,
antipollution legislation, union campaigns by mine workers and global
trade negotiations. Until recently, palladium was perhaps best known for
sharing a name with several popular entertainment venues and for
powering the fictional arc reactor mechanism hooked up to Iron Man’s
heart.
Its primary purpose is far less glamorous: More than 80 per cent of
the world’s palladium is used in the catalytic converters that help
vehicles manage their pollutant output.
Palladium is one of the best-performing commodities of 2018. Its
price has surged more than 50 per cent in the past four months. Some
dealers have sold out of the metal.
For at least the near future, palladium will most likely remain in
high demand and short supply, experts said. Here, we explain how a metal
usually ignored in favour of gold, silver and platinum has recently
eclipsed them all.
What is palladium?
A cousin of platinum and traditionally much less expensive, palladium
is part of a family of metals known as the “noble metals” because they
resist corrosion and oxidation. Palladium was discovered in the early
1800s by William Hyde Wollaston, a British scientist. It was named after
Pallas, a recently identified asteroid. Silvery-white and durable, the
metal is used in surgical instruments, dental alloys and in cellphones
and other electronics.
Jewellers like Jenny Windler in Berkeley, California, sometimes use
it because it is hypoallergenic and “not too fussy to work with”, she
said. Palladium was also less expensive than other precious metals like
gold or platinum. In the past few months, palladium men’s rings have
been among the most popular search terms on her online store, Ms Windler
revealed. But she uses the metal in less than 10 per cent of her
products.
Recently, Ms Windler was buying platinum online and noticed a price
chart that listed palladium as more expensive. “I thought: ‘That can’t
be right; it must be some kind of typo,'” she said.
Increasing efforts to regulate tailpipe emissions in the 1970s paved
the way for palladium’s gradual popularity. The metal, along with
platinum and rhodium, helps keep toxic exhaust in check by reacting with
carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxide to make them less
harmful. For decades, palladium has been a major, but largely unseen,
component of cars.
A shift away from diesel vehicles, whose catalytic converters rely
more heavily on platinum, has intensified the demand for palladium,
especially in Europe. Sales of petrol-fuelled cars had surged for
several years until this year. Tighter emissions regulations have led
automakers to use more palladium.
Demand for the metal for catalysts will reach a record high of 8.5
million ounces this year, according to the consulting firm Metals Focus.
But car sales are beginning to soften. In the United States, drivers
are keeping their cars longer and, faced with rising interest rates, are
hesitating to replace them. US President Donald Trump is pushing ahead
with his proposal to significantly roll back emissions rules for cars
and light trucks.
In China, demand for palladium could be tempered by worries about the
slowing economy, tariffs by the Trump administration and curbs on
lending to consumers. “That’s collectively weighing on demand for new
cars,” said Rohit Savant, the director of research at the commodities
research firm CPM Group.
Tight supply
Palladium is extremely rare, mostly generated as a byproduct of
platinum mined in South Africa and nickel mined in Russia. Palladium’s
price spiked in the early 2000s in reaction to disruptions in supply
from Russia and increased interest in catalytic converters.
Demand for palladium has steadily increased for eight years and is
expected to outstrip supply by 1.2 million ounces in 2018, and Metals
Focus has forecast “further, sizable deficits to come”. As supply
tightens, palladium’s price has climbed.
In South Africa, contentious wage negotiations with miners and
complaints about hazardous working conditions have resulted in strikes
that have sometimes stymied production. Many mining companies are loaded
with debt and trying to cut costs.
Mining more palladium requires more platinum mining. But diesel’s
decline, exacerbated by the emissions cheating scandal that engulfed
Volkswagen in 2015, has depressed platinum prices.
Even as the prices for most other metals struggled this year,
palladium hit high after high. Experts expect it to stay elevated for at
least a few months. But coming investments by mining companies and
shifts in clean-air technology could cause the price to slip.
In Russia, the Norilsk Nickel mining giant indicated this week that
it would spend more than US$12 billion to raise production during the
next five years. The company is the world’s largest producer of
palladium.
Investors might move into gold and other safe-haven assets as they
digest predictions of slowing global growth, the roiling equities market
and the fading effects of last year’s tax cuts in the US, analysts
said. NYTIMES
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 11:19 AM on Wednesday, December 12th, 2018
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——————–
Brazilian pre-operational miner Sigma Lithium Resources expects the premium for high-quality lithium hydroxide monohydrate that goes into battery production to rise in the next few years while demand for electric vehicles (EVs) grows, vice-chairman Ana Cabral told Fastmarkets.
“We believe prices for technical grade lithium hydroxide, at 56.5%, will fall further from now on, but premium for 90% content and beyond are set to increase as the material starts going into EV battery output,†she said.
By: Renata Rostas
Brazilian pre-operational miner Sigma Lithium Resources expects the
premium for high-quality lithium hydroxide monohydrate that goes into
battery production to rise in the next few years while demand for
electric vehicles (EVs) grows, vice-chairman Ana Cabral told
Fastmarkets.
“We believe prices for technical grade lithium hydroxide, at 56.5%,
will fall further from now on, but premium for 90% content and beyond
are set to increase as the material starts going into EV battery
output,†she said.
Fastmarkets assessed spot 56.5% lithium hydroxide prices in China
at 105,000-115,000 yuan ($15,209-16,658) per tonne on December 6,
unchanged from a week before but lower than this year’s peak of
148,000-153,000 yuan per tonne on January 11.
“Battery makers are increasingly looking for low-impurity, high-content
lithium, and being able to deliver this product right now is key in our
industry,†Cabral said. “We aim to produce refined material with high
grades, and you can count on your fingers how many companies, mostly in
Australia, do that.â€
Sigma Lithium owns a spodumene pegmatite
mine in Brazil’s Vale do Jequitinhonha, a region in the southeastern
state of Minas Gerais whose GDP per capita ranks as the 121st lowest out
of 137 meso-regions.
The company aims to start industrial
operations in the fourth quarter of 2019 and produce 240,000 tonnes per
year of spodumene concentrates (6-8% lithium oxide) by 2020, in “phase
2†of the plant.
A pilot 12,000-tpy capacity, or phase 1, is
currently in place, meant for product approvals from clients while the
miner finishes a feasibility study for the project. The study is
scheduled to be finished by February 2019, Cabral said.
Japanese trader Mitsui has agreed to buy a third of initial commercial
output in the second phase of operations, for $30 million, with an
option to maintain its 33% proportion at a possible phase 3. A
pre-payment will be done as soon as the feasibility study is ready,
allowing the company to finance the start-up.
“We have
continued discussing other offtake and similar agreements,†Cabral said.
“There are more traders that wish to secure their supply, but we want
to close deals with different types of companies and geographies, to
diversify our portfolio.â€
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 1:09 PM on Wednesday, November 14th, 2018
DEMAND for platinum-group metals from their No.1 use – autocatalysts to reduce harmful engine emissions
looks solid for the next 15 years even as sales of electric vehicles grow, the bullion market’s premier industry event was told last month.
Platinum mining supply, in contrast, is set to fall the London Bullion Market Association’s annual conference – held for 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts – also heard.
Speaking on Day 1 of the LBMA Boston 2018 event, Dr.Rahul Mital – technical specialist for diesel after-treatment at US auto giant General Motors (NYSE: GM) – forecast that more than 85% of new passenger cars sold in 2030 “are expected to have internal combustion engines with [catalytic] converters,” because all-electric cars won’t sell as strongly as hybrid vehicles using both technologies.
With environmental regulations growing tighter, hybrid electric vehicles are “typically be certified to lower emission levels,” Mital explained to the LBMA conference, so the quantity of platinum-group metals (PGM) loaded into the catalytic converter for their internal combustion engines “is not expected to decrease.”
Sales of Fuel Cell cars – a competitor green technology to electric vehicles, powered by energy made from mixing hydrogen and oxygen over a platinum catalyst – will meantime grow to perhaps 1 million units worldwide, Mital said.
That would prove enough to make a notable impact on auto-sector platinum demand, he said.
Noting there are “many different forecasts” analysts should consider, Mital said that on his assumptions global PGM usage by the auto sector “is expected to stay stable or decrease [only] marginally by 2030…with diesel sales [needing platinum catalysts] in the heavy-duty industry expected to stay steady with no change or [even a] slight increase in PGM usage as tougher regulations come into play.”
On the supply side meantime, 71% of global platinum-output comes from miners in South Africa, says a note from specialist consultants Metals Focus. So “with 90% of their costs in local currency terms, it is important to view prices in Rand terms,” and with the currency falling hard in 2018 “the Rand-denominated PGM basket price [for platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold] is up 11% for the year.”
That’s now “providing some relief to South African platinum producers,” Metals Focus says. More globally, and on an all-in sustaining costs basis for the first half of 2018, “24% of the industry is loss making, a marked improvement from 57% in H1 ’17.”
South Africa’s output of platinum-group metals rose in September, new data showed last week, beating a 1.8% total drop in all mineral production and a near one-fifth decline in gold output with 7.2% year-on-year growth.
Further ahead however, “Supply driven deficits [are] on the horizon” for platinum worldwide reckons Justin Froneman, chief financial officer for the US at gold and platinum-group miner Sibanye-Stillwater (JSE: SGL), also speaking at the LBMA event in Boston last month.
Since the global financial crisis of 2008 and the following drop in platinum prices, “Capital investment in South Africa has been insufficient to replace current production levels.”
“Without incentive-driven price growth, new supply coming on-stream seems unlikely or delayed,” Froneman went on, forecasting that South Africa’s primary platinum production will drop to 3.9 million ounces in 2025, down more than 25% from the 5.3moz produced in the peak year of 2006.
“The Western Limb [of South Africa’s giant Bushveld mineral complex] currently represents more than 70% of South African supply. No new production is expected from the Western Limb without a real basket price escalation exceeding 20-25%.”
All told, “Platinum is likely to remain in marginal surplus for the remainder of this decade,” Froneman concluded, “before reverting to increasing deficits as primary production from South Africa contracts.”
Platinum’s No.1 industrial use – greater than chemical, electrical, petroleum, medical and all other productive uses combined – autocatalyst demand may slip 6% this year worldwide, buoyed by growing emerging-market usage but dented by the sharp fall in diesel passenger-vehicle sales seen in Europe since the emissions-test cheating scandal broke at VW and other leading manufacturers.
Adrian Ash is director of research at BullionVault, the physical gold and silver market for private investors online. Formerly head of editorial at London’s top publisher of private-investment advice, he was City correspondent for The Daily Reckoning from 2003 to 2008, and is now a regular contributor to many leading analysis sites including Forbes and a regular guest on BBC national and international radio and television news. Adrian’s views on the gold market have been sought by the Financial Times and Economist magazine in London; CNBC, Bloomberg and TheStreet.com in New York; Germany’s Der Stern; Italy’s Il Sole 24 Ore, and many other respected finance publications.
