Frik Els, Author at MINING.COM

Commodities set for worst week since start of pandemic

Gold tanks after Fed backs away from QE3

Contract gold dropped almost $40 an ounce in a matter of minutes in lunchtime trade after comments from the US Federal Reserve that seemed to preclude any chance of another round of monetary easing.

Frik Els | April 3, 2012 | 7:20 pm

De Beers says diamond sales growth to end this year

Why are Rio and BHP killing off their diamond divisions when demand is forecast to double by 2020?

The profit margin for diamonds is a far cry from 70% enjoyed by the mining giants' iron ore divisions.

Frik Els | April 3, 2012 | 2:21 pm

Mali is quickly turning very ugly: Separatists, Islamists seize Timbuktu

Tuareg rebels aided by Islamists ransacked bars, banned Western-style dress and music and called for the imposition of Sharia law.

Frik Els | April 2, 2012 | 9:29 pm

Prophecy up 4.8% after Southgobi deal puts Mongolian coal back in focus

Prophecy has more than 1.4 billion tonnes of surface minable coal resources at its flagship Chandgana project and is already producing at Ulaan Ovoo in Mongolia.

Frik Els | April 2, 2012 | 7:15 pm

Ecometals gives Condor Gold buyers more time to come up with money. And not for the first time

Ecometals Limited announced after the market close on Friday that is has been forced to give Ecuador Capital Corporation more time to come up with a final payment of $1,750,000 for its Condor Gold Project in Ecuador.

Frik Els | March 31, 2012 | 12:10 am

BEAR GRIP: 9 ways 2013 changed gold for good

On White Tiger misses deadline to submit financials, says struggling to account for Century buy

White Tiger Gold (TSX:WTG) is worth only one-tenth of what it was last year and news out late on Friday will do little to restore investor confidence in the Canada-Russia gold miner.

Frik Els | March 30, 2012 | 11:35 pm

New Zimbabwe PGM royalties and fresh blow to Implats add to industry woes

Zimbabwe going swimmingly for Caledonia, but platinum rights in South Africa go missing

Production at Blanket in Zimbabwe doubled and the Toronto-based company said it paid direct and indirect taxes, royalties, licence fees, levies and other monies to the Government of Zimbabwe totalling $13,6 million.

Frik Els | March 30, 2012 | 10:40 pm

Sources say Polyus Gold’s $1 billion London sale will happen in April. They may want to check with Vlad Putin

Prime minister and president-elect Vladimir Putin heads a government commission that has sweeping authority over foreign investment in companies like Polyus Gold, whose gold reserves are considered strategic by the state.

Frik Els | March 30, 2012 | 8:02 pm

Harmony Gold digs out of 52-week deep hole as it awaits ‘game-changing’ Wafi-Golpu pre-feasibility

Harmony Gold Mining (NYSE:HMY) traded today at a new 52-week low of $10.58. So far today approximately 1 million shares have been exchanged, as compared to an average 30-day volume of 2.1 million shares.

Frik Els | March 30, 2012 | 1:05 am

The Oppenheimers and De Beers are no more. Here’s a 30-year old article that predicted the cartel’s undoing

"An unruly market may undo the work of a giant cartel and of an inspired, decades-long ad campaign."

Frik Els | March 29, 2012 | 7:08 pm

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Frik Els , Editor

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