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Copper

Funds dump copper as rising stocks dampen bull spirits – by Andy Home (Reuters – July 29, 2024)

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, July 29 (Reuters) – Funds have slashed their long positions on the copper market as high and rising inventories cause a collective re-think of the market’s short-term prospects. Investors rushed to buy copper during the second quarter, betting the metal would benefit from a turn in the economic cycle and a green energy demand booster.

The bull narrative was spiced with concern that supply simply wouldn’t keep up, creating yawning deficits and potentially explosive higher prices. The reality has turned out slightly different.

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First Quantum reaches agreement with major Chinese shareholder Jiangxi Copper to curb its power – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – July 24, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Canada’s First Quantum Minerals Ltd. has reached an agreement with Jiangxi Copper Co. Ltd. that significantly curbs the power of its major China-based investor and makes Jiangxi Copper far less likely to act as a mergers and acquisitions kingmaker.

The company has an 18.5-per-cent stake in First Quantum. Its investment predates restrictions introduced by Canada’s federal government that severely limit investment into Canadian critical minerals companies by entities tied to the Chinese state. Jiangxi Copper is the largest copper smelting company in the world and is part-owned by China’s Jiangxi province.

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Copper miners predict industry overhaul as end users rush to secure supply – by Harry Dempsey and Rachel Millard (Financial Times – July 21, 2024)

https://www.ft.com/

Executives see increasing signs of a shift to direct deals with cable manufacturers, car companies and other big buyers

The world’s largest copper miners predict closer collaboration with end users from carmakers to utilities, upending a hitherto fragmented supply chain as shortages of the metal crucial to green technologies are set to flare up in the years ahead.

Executives at leading mining groups see increasing signs of a shift to direct deals with cable manufacturers and other big buyers to secure supply of the “metal of electrification” at an affordable price.

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Chile copper, lithium mines rattled by 7.4-magnitude quake – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – July 19, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

A 7.4-magnitude earthquake hit northern Chile on Thursday night, 45 km outside San Pedro de Atacama, where the majority of the country’s vast copper and lithium mines are located.

The main quake hit at 9:50 p.m. local time, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and has been followed by at least five aftershocks ranging from 4.2 to 5 magnitude. The seismic activity shook homes and led to power outages, but there have been no immediate reports of injuries or major damage.

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Why China Is So Interested in Kazakhstan – by Daisuke Wakabayashi (New York Times – July 18, 2024)

https://www.nytimes.com/

Kazakhstan’s bounty of so-called critical minerals has enriched the country and grabbed the attention of entrepreneurs scrambling to control the ingredients needed to fight climate change.

Kenges Rakishev, one of the richest men in Kazakhstan, stepped off a private jet at a Soviet-era airport and hopped into the lead car of a convoy of sport utility vehicles. The cars tore down a two-lane road, zipping past the snow-covered steppe in eastern Kazakhstan at 90 miles per hour.

Riding shotgun, Mr. Rakishev gestured toward the vast emptiness. “Nothing, right?” he said with a chuckle. “But it’s a unique opportunity.” That opportunity is in nickel, a key mineral used in electric vehicles and other clean energy technologies. Kazakhstan, a mineral-rich country in Central Asia, has a lot of nickel, and Mr. Rakishev is investing tens of millions of dollars to extract it.

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Would Canada allow Rio Tinto to buy Teck? Miners aren’t so sure – by Alisha Hiyate (Northern Miner – July 12, 2024)

https://www.northernminer.com/

The federal government’s attempt to clarify its rules for foreign investment in mining is instead causing more confusion as the industry grapples with changing rules under the Investment Canada Act. But Rio Tinto’s interest in buying Teck Resources, as reported by Sky News, could serve as a test for what the feds will allow as it tries to keep critical minerals available for Canada.

Last week, the federal government formally approved Glencore’s purchase of a 77% stake in Teck’s coal business. At the same time, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne issued a statement saying the government would only greenlight future foreign takeovers of “important Canadian mining companies engaged in significant critical minerals operations… in the most exceptional of circumstances.”

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Rio Tinto mulls potential bid for Teck — report – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – July 12, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

Rio Tinto (ASX, LON, NYSE: RIO) is said to be studying potential takeover bids for smaller rivals, including Teck Resources (TSX: TECK.A, TECK.B) (NYSE: TECK), Canada’s largest diversified miner, which successfully fended off Glencore’s (LON: GLEN) $23 billion attempt to buy the company last year.

The world’s second largest mining company has held talks with bankers over a potential offer for the Canadian target, but is not immediately planning to launch a bid, Sky News reports citing unnamed sources.

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World would need 55 per cent more copper mines to meet EV transition goals: study – by Theresa Balocating (National Post – July 12, 2024)

https://nationalpost.com/

‘I think there’s a disconnect between, what the intentions are to meet the global warming challenges and the reality of the materials that are going to be required’

The transition to greener, more sustainable transportation is impracticable as copper mine production cannot keep up with the rising global demand for electric vehicles, according to a new study.

“I think there’s a disconnect between, what the intentions are to meet the global warming challenges and the reality of the materials that are going to be required,” said Dr. Lawrence Cathles, an earth and atmospheric sciences professor at Cornell University.

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Marathon mine developer eyes 2025 construction start – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – July 4, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Generation Mining focusing on copper amid permitting delays, hunt to secure project financing

Generation Mining president-CEO Jamie Levy wants to assure all that the Marathon palladium-copper mine will get built. Ever since the Toronto junior miner first appeared on the north shore of Lake Superior in 2019, the company has been a press release-generating machine with its ambitious plans for an open-pit operation.

But in recent months, there’s been a lull in news flow that’s prompted a few concerned investors to ask Levy if the project is stalled.

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Copper consolidation: How merging several operations in British Columbia’s Highland Valley created Canada’s largest copper mine – by Ailbhe Goodbody (CIM Magazine – July 02, 2024)

https://magazine.cim.org/en/

Copper was first discovered in British Columbia’s Highland Valley porphyry copper district in 1899, but production did not start until Bethlehem Copper Corporation’s property began operations in 1962.

Several other large-tonnage, low-grade copper operations were developed in the area, including Lornex Mining Corporation’s Lornex mine (controlled by Rio Algom) in 1972 and Highmont Mining and Teck’s Highmont mine in 1980.

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Copper’s unicorns – by Frik Els (Mining.com – July 1, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

Tech venture capitalists invest in startups and get to call them unicorns. Startups like Juicero, famous for $700 a pop “smart” chopped fruit squeezers and being one of Silicon Valley’s dumbest moments, Wag! (oh? you have a dog walking app that sends updates on the frequency and consistency of pet number 2s? – here’s $300 million) and In-Real-Life or IRL, a chat app made for bot to bot communication.

The official definition of a unicorn is a startup with a $1 billion valuation while still a private company. There are more than 1,500 unicorns globally and a variety of investment products that track them. Your humble correspondent felt that the mining industry deserves a similar category of company.

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Hedge Funds’ Bullish Copper Bets Run Into China’s Slowdown (Bloomberg News – June 23, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — As copper surged to record highs last month, several senior Chinese traders started trying to contact western hedge fund managers whose names they’d only read in the press. For years, the veteran traders’ privileged insight into their own economy had given them an edge in the copper market, where China accounts for more than half of global demand.

But now they were bewildered. Everything in China pointed to a market that should be slumping, and yet prices were soaring on a wave of speculative money. What were they missing?

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Top 20 Copper Producing Countries in The World – by Faheem Tahir (Yahoo Finance/Insider Monkey – April 29, 2024)

https://finance.yahoo.com/

Copper; the first metal manipulated by humans, still stands as one of the most important metals. From its use in mobile phones, laptops, homes, and automobiles, copper is the third most used metal in the world. According to USGS, an average US resident requires 12 pounds of copper each year to sustain their lifestyle. Furthermore, it is believed that this demand is going to continue to grow in years to come.

Research presented in Yahoo Finance shows that the global market for copper was $308.67 billion in 2023 and it is forecasted to grow to $504.93 billion by 2033, projecting a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 5.04% during the forecasted period.

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Investing in Africa’s Copperbelt – The Race for EV Metals (Gulf Africa Review – June 21, 2024)

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U.S., Japanese, and European companies are investing in Africa’s Copperbelt, employing cutting-edge technology to extract essential electric vehicle metals like copper and cobalt.

The global demand for electric vehicle (EV) metals has spurred a surge in investments in Africa’s Copperbelt, a region straddling Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Companies from the U.S., Japan, and Europe are increasingly leveraging advanced technologies to identify and extract critical minerals such as copper and cobalt, challenging China’s dominance in the region.

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Copper Frenzy Draws Mining Giants to Argentina After Milei’s Reforms – by Jonathan Gilbert and James Attwood (Bloomberg News – May 22, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Global mining heavyweights including Lundin Mining Corp., Glencore Plc and First Quantum Minerals Ltd. are piling into Argentina as a new government intent on luring foreign investment propels the companies closer than ever to opening up vast copper deposits in the red-hued Andes.

It’s part of a colossal wave of spending needed worldwide to prevent a supply crunch for the metal, a critical component of the electrification push to slow climate change.

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