Platinum and Copper Are the Metals of the Future: Robert Friedland
Source: Lawrence Williams, Mineweb  (12/2/13)
Robert Friedland's presentation at MineAfrica in London avows that the supercycle is not dead, and he sees huge value ahead for his Ivanhoe company's new platinum, copper and zinc projects in South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo. More >

Richard Karn: Three Australian Miners Positioned for Success
Source: Special to The Energy Report  (11/19/13)
Sometimes the worst of times brings out the best in people. Such is the case in Australia's mining sector, according to Richard Karn, managing editor of The Emerging Trends Report. While some companies are floundering or failing altogether, Karn has noticed a few shining exceptions. These are companies with innovative management teams that have approached project funding in this challenging environment as though it were a high-stakes chess game—and their maneuvers are astonishing. In this interview with The Mining Report, Karn takes a look at three mining companies that are defying the odds and may emerge victorious. More >

Understanding High-Grade Lump Graphite
Source: J. Alec Gimurtu of The Gold Report  (11/18/13)
Four graphite ore samples are placed on a conference room table. Straight from the earth, which one can be used to write on a piece of paper? Answer: the lump graphite sample. In this interview with The Gold Report, Paul Ogilvie, CEO of the newly formed Saint Jean Carbon, explains the distinctive advantages of lump graphite from a mining and marketing perspective and describes his plan to create a profitable company from an uncommon form of high-grade graphite deposit. Read how the company is educating investors on this highest-grade form of graphite while restarting world-class mines using modern technology and an experienced business team.
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Eric Muschinski: Investor Psychology Can Trump Market Fundamentals
Source: Special to The Gold Report  (11/13/13)
With gold and silver equities markets as volatile as ever and assets of many miners valued at pennies on the dollar, Eric Muschinski, editor of the Gold Investment Letter, believes it is critical to be on the right side of the emotional curve when investing. He pays as much attention to investor psychology as he does to market fundamentals. In this interview with The Gold Report, Muschinski explains how investors can use knowledge of market cycles to their advantage and profiles undervalued companies flying under the radar. More >

Steve Palmer: Change Up Your Portfolio's Sector Weightings to Capture Profits
Source: Peter Byrne of The Mining Report  (11/12/13)
Steve Palmer's AlphaNorth Partners Fund didn't make a 130% return by adhering to a strict natural resource weighting. In this interview with The Mining Report, Steve Palmer describes how his fund uses "bottom-up analysis" to find profit opportunities in metals, energy, life sciences and tech stocks. Small-cap equities may not be leading the pack now, but they are still the best-performing asset class in the long term, says Palmer, and he names some companies that are already outperforming. More >

What Global Copper Reserve Estimates Don't Reveal
Source: Richard Mills, Ahead of the Herd   (11/11/13)
"World copper reserves are currently placed at around 630 million tons. When considered as just a single consolidated global num¬ber, copper reserves seem large and adequate for several decades of production at 2012 levels. Unfortunately most people do not take into consideration that these reserves are made up of many separate deposits, each of which has to be considered as a standalone and on its own merits." More >

Play the Market Bottom and Focus on Energy Commodities: Chris Berry
Source: J. Alec Gimurtu of The Mining Report  (11/5/13)
Commodities are and always will be a cyclical market, asserts Chris Berry of House Mountain Partners. That's why he's not sweating disappointing stock performance and flat pricing environments. But the self-described long-term bull on energy materials has big plans on how to play growth in the developing world, and he insists that now is the time for investors to position themselves ahead of an upswing. Find out about companies that have the cash, the assets and the strategy to create long-term shareholder value in this interview with The Mining Report. More >

Carbon Is the Problem: Is Graphene the Solution?
Source: Christine Hertzog, The Energy Collective  (10/31/13)
"The search is on to find a better material than silicon—one that is much more energy-efficient and less likely to produce waste heat." More >

10 Strategies for Success in a Flat Commodity Price Market: John Kaiser
Source: JT Long of The Mining Report  (10/22/13)
It could be 2017 before the commodity supercycle is evident again, but stormy weather in the mining space has a silver lining: It is encouraging miners to develop new, innovative approaches to their business. In this interview for the first edition of The Mining Report, John Kaiser of Kaiser Research Online outlines 10 strategies that are setting certain companies apart. Discover the companies that are redefining their business, as well as miners with the goods in the ground to continue come rain or shine. More >

Maximizing Returns in an Uncertain Mining Market: Tom Szabo
Source: Brian Sylvester of The Metals Report  (10/15/13)
Tom Szabo, an investment strategist and principal of MetalAugmentor.com, invests in miners with base metal, specialty metal and rare earth element projects because the market isn't quick to notice them—meaning it's easy to get in early on a great project. His Peerless system helps to identify opportunities based on unique attributes. So, which metals and rare earth companies are set to strike in this volatile market? Szabo doles out tips in this Metals Report interview and explains why he likes companies that have yet to achieve market favor. More >

Wave of the Future Investment from the Ground Up: Byron King
Source: JT Long of The Metals Report  (10/8/13)
An increasingly high-tech world is on the horizon, but technological revolution can't take place without the right materials, especially graphite and platinum group metals. This is where mining, one of the oldest industries in human history, comes in. In this interview with The Metals Report, Byron King, editor of the Energy & Scarcity Investor and Outstanding Investments newsletters, profiles companies poised to deliver graphite and platinum group metals to tech companies working to change the way we communicate, travel and harness energy. More >

Diversified Miners Pin Hopes to Iron Ore and China
Source: Alex Williams, Mineweb  (10/7/13)
"Record export figures from Western Australia's Port Hedland suggest iron ore miners BHP Billiton, Fortescue Metals and Atlas Iron are set to report strong quarterly earnings in the coming two weeks." More >

Rick Mills: Greenland Is the Final Frontier for Lower-Cost Mining
Source: Kevin Michael Grace of The Metals Report  (10/1/13)
Industrial minerals like copper and nickel are essential to global economic expansion. But everywhere you look, grades are getting lower, and costs are getting much, much higher. Is there a way out? Rick Mills says mining companies need to look to Greenland. In this interview with The Metals Report, the owner and host of Ahead of the Herd.com lauds the world's largest island for its vast resources, its one-stop regulatory system and its year-round access to ocean transportation. More >

McKinsey Report: Commodities Supercycle Dead? Hardly.
Source: Dorothy Kosich, Mineweb  (9/30/13)
"Over the past 13 years, the average annual volatility of resources prices has been three times what it was in the 1990s, resulting in a new era of resource price supercycles." More >

Look Beyond Gold for Compelling Risk/Reward Ratios: Michael Curran
Source: Kevin Michael Grace of The Metals Report   (9/24/13)
Diversify, diversify, diversify—that's Michael Curran's advice for metals investors. So if you've been obsessively eyeing gold and silver prices, you might want to focus your attention elsewhere in the mining sector, says the Beacon Securities mining research analyst. Nothing wows the market like discoveries, and exploration success in the copper, zinc and uranium spaces are making some shareholders very happy indeed. In this interview with The Metals Report, Curran shares his top speculative picks for a diversified mining portfolio. More >

Paul Renken: It's Time for Retail Investors to Capture Metals Upside
Source: Brian Sylvester of The Metals Report  (9/17/13)
When gold and silver took a plunge, institutional investors went bargain shopping right away, says Paul Renken, mining analyst with VSA Capital. Now it's time for retail investors to ride upside momentum in copper, zinc, tungsten and phosphate. In this interview with The Metals Report, Renken shares his outlook for base and minor metals, as well as the companies that could outperform on the back of climbing commodity prices. (Hint: It's not usually the majors.) More >

Is the Peruvian Government Becoming More Mining Friendly?
Source: Brian Sylvester of The Gold Report  (9/16/13)
With a credit rating higher than Mexico and Brazil, Peru should be high on the list of mining investors, but confidence has been shaken over the last few years when the government revoked some high-profile mining licenses. According to Lima-based Kallpa Securities Managing Director Ricardo Carrión and President Alberto Arispe, recent government actions might signal a reset, with the government even acting as a mediator between mining companies and the local communities. In this interview with The Gold Report, Carrión and Arispe detail the state of mining exploration in Peru and discuss companies actively exploring, including one that just received its long-awaited environmental approval.
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David Franklin: Is Platinum the New Gold?
Source: Peter Byrne of The Metals Report  (9/10/13)
The Goldrums of June are giving way to a new dawn for platinum group metals, says David Franklin, a market strategist at Sprott Asset Management. While white metal miners face a variety of challenges, there is an increasing demand for platinum and palladium from vehicle manufacturers in the U.S. and China. And supplies of the hard-to-find metal are vanishing day by day. Now is the time to buy into existing stockpiles of the precious metal, Franklin tells The Metals Report. More >

Zinc Faces Structural Deficit as Demand Outstrips Supply: Glencore
Source: Andy Blamey, Platts  (9/10/13)
"According to Glencore's presentation, a 5% increase in demand equates to around 600,000 mt of new zinc mine capacity needed every year; by 2016 nearly 2 million mt of new annual production will required." More >

The Impending Shakeout in the Rare Earth Sector: Who Will Survive?
Source: Gareth Hatch, Technology Metals Research  (9/5/13)
"Though there are exceptions, in general the supply chain doesn't care which REE projects will successfully come to fruition, only that enough come to fruition such that their ability to secure REE metals, oxides and other compounds from sources outside of China, at a reasonable price, is realized." More >

Peruvian Precious Metals Repeating a Winning Formula
Source: Alec Gimurtu of The Gold Report   (9/4/13)
The management team that took Prodigy Gold from a $25 million market cap junior to a $340 million buyout in less than three years is back with a new company that it believes is tailor made for applying its formula for success. In this interview with The Gold Report, CEO Brian Maher and VP of Corporate Development Kimberly Ann discuss their latest project, how they are "managing through change" and what differentiates them in an industry of over-promoting and under-delivering juniors. Clear communication is part of the formula, but there is more than talk when it comes to advancing a great project in South America's largest gold producing region. More >

Anthony Mariano: Calling Next-Generation REE Investors
Source: Brian Sylvester of The Metals Report  (8/27/13)
If you thought you had rare earth element mining all figured out, think again. Dr. Anthony Mariano and his son, Anthony Jr., work as geological consultants to many rare earth companies, and say even they have more to learn. But if you're looking for a sector that will nurture your inner nerd, rare earth elements may be the play for you. In this interview with The Metals Report, geek out with the Marianos as they talk rare earths and igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks. More >

Mark Seddon: Why You Should Look Twice at an Ugly Duckling Metal
Source: Alec Gimurtu of The Metals Report  (8/20/13)
Tungsten just doesn't have the sex appeal that made investors fall for the rare earth story. But maybe that's its trump card, considering the boom/bust cycle that swept rare earths didn't touch tungsten's slow, steady price increases. Analyst Mark Seddon of Tungsten Market Research has long been watching the often ignored metal, and asserts that tungsten is a harder sell, but a better buy for investors. In this The Metals Report interview, Seddon outlines tungsten's finer points and suggests miners are poised to reap rewards. More >

Will Copper Prices Drop Further? Just Look at Oil Investments
Source: Stuart Burns, Resource Investor  (8/15/13)
"While the media reports copper's price falls as a loss of faith by investors, the reality is they are being influenced by the same supply and demand judgments used by buyers." More >

Electric Transportation Could Jump-Start Rare Earth Markets: Patrick Wong
Source: JT Long of The Metals Report  (8/13/13)
Remember when CD players cost hundreds of dollars? The same volume-based price slide is starting to take place with electric vehicles, according to Patrick Wong, CEO and director of Innovation Metals Corp. Wong believes that hybrid and electrical cars are on the cusp of overtaking standard automobiles as the vehicles of choice. And when they do, the rare earth markets that supply the materials needed in every electric car battery and drive motor will take off. In this interview with The Metals Report, Wong encourages investors to get into the market before they get left behind. More >