Fitch expects oil prices to recover further in 2021
With Brent crude prices continuing to rise in November and following reports that a second highly effective COVID-19 vaccine is nearing emergency approval in the coming weeks, Fitch Solutions National Risk and Industry Research expects a more dramatic recovery in oil demand in 2021.
Fitch said OPEC + appeared determined to extend production cuts in the short term from current levels.
As a result, Fitch expects optimism about improving demand and tighter control on supply in 2021 to keep the market undersupplied, helping to support higher prices.
However, renewed blockages in key markets in Europe and the US could lead to lower prices.
Fitch expects average benchmark oil prices to average $48 a barrel in 2021 and $50 in 2022, down from previous estimates of $51 and $53.
Copper prices surged on optimism about vaccine development
Copper prices hit their highest intraday level since 2014 on Friday following positive reports from Pfizer and Moderna about a coVID-19 vaccine breakthrough.
Copper for December delivery rose 3.1 per cent to $3.3015 a pound ($7,276 a tonne) at midday in New York, its highest level since January 2014.
Copper on the London Metal Exchange surged 1.6 per cent to $7,207.50 a tonne, its highest level since June 2018.
Copper is still rising this month for the eighth straight month, its longest winning streak in nearly a decade.
The number of major development projects in Australia rose 19 per cent
The latest figures from the Office of Australia's Chief Economist show a 19 per cent increase in the number of major resource and energy developments in the country over the past 12 months.
There are 335 major projects under development in Australia, with the value of projects up 4 per cent from last year to A $334 billion.
The value of committed projects rose 30 per cent to A $39bn, marking a turning point in the cycle and a shift in investment patterns, the OFFICE of the Chief Economist noted.
LNG projects accounted for 51 per cent of the commitments, iron ore was second at 19 per cent, followed by gold at 11 per cent, coal at 9 per cent and base metals at 2 per cent.
The value of gold and battery-metal-related projects rose 33% and 7%, respectively, reflecting strong demand for gold and strong growth in electric vehicles.
Global primary aluminium production rose 4.5 per cent year on year in October
Global primary aluminium production was 5.592 million tonnes in October, up 4.5 per cent from a year earlier, according to figures released on Friday by the International Aluminium Association.
China's primary aluminium production was 3.23 million tonnes in October, according to IAI estimates.
Anglo American plans to start production of Quellaveco in 2022
Anglo American is pushing ahead with the Quellaveco copper project in Peru and plans to start production in 2022.
Diego Ortega, Anglo American's vice-president of corporate affairs in Peru, said 15,000 workers were working at the $5.3bn mine.
Anglo is also advancing optimisation to restore the economic impact of the outbreak on the project's capital expenditure.
Once operational, Quellaveco will be one of the largest mines in Peru.
Ortega expects to produce 330,000 tonnes of copper a year in the first five years of production, compared with an average of 300,000 tonnes in the first 10 years.
Unions at the Centinela mine may go on strike next week
A worker at the Mine's Centinela mine union in Antofagasta said a vote on the labor agreement would be held next week and it was highly likely that the agreement would be rejected.
That could be the trigger for a strike.
Luis Redlich, President of the Centinela regional Union, said their expectations were high as workers continued to work during the COVID-19 outbreak and copper production was guaranteed.
Brazil's court of Auditors approved the auction of the Cobre DE Bom Jardim copper mine
The Brazilian court of Auditors TCU authorized the federal government to auction off the Cobre DE Bom Jardim copper mine in goias state.
According to the government, the mine has 12.2m tonnes of resources with a grade of 0.21 per cent copper and 0.025 PPM cobalt.
Capital expenditure for the project is estimated at $19.5 million and operating expenditure at $42.7 million.
Although the exact date of the auction has not been made public, the notice is expected to be made public this year, according to the government office of Concessions and Privatization Plans, which organized the auction.
Colombia will attract more than $3.2 billion in oil and gas investment in 2021
Driven by offshore development, Colombia's oil and gas exploration program will attract more than $3.2 billion in investment by 2021, according to the Department of Energy.
Miguel Lotero, Colombia's deputy energy minister, said $1.9 billion was expected to be spent on drilling in the Caribbean, while $940 million had been earmarked for conventional land.
In addition to traditional onshore and offshore fields, the government outlined plans to begin drilling the first fracking test Wells in the second half of 2021 at an estimated cost of $400 million to $650 million.
The Ghanaian government expects gold production to increase in 2020
Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh, Ghana's minister of land and Natural resources, said the government expected to produce more gold this year than last year's 4m ounces.
Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh said that as investment in exploration, technology and human resources remains stable through 2020, the resilience of the mining industry will become apparent.
Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh also said that the government has realized that it needs to strengthen its policies in the extractive industries so that it can support the country's socio-economic development.
India's steel minister said a ban on iron ore exports could not be ruled out
Indian Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told an annual conference in MCCI that he would not rule out a short-term ban on iron ore exports from the Indian market.
At the conference, steel industry representatives sought intervention from India's Steel Ministry to address the iron ore shortage.
Pradhan said that stopping exports was a good idea and was being communicated to stakeholders.
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PUDA is a 28-year’s leading, growth-focused manufacturer of packing equipment and custom-engineered and integrated plant-wide system for dry bulk powders, flakes, and granules! PUDA-International Inc. is a Canadian based company located in Great Vancouver, Canada in 2004. Puda owns world famous partners like Southern Copper Corp. Rio Tinto Group, Zijin Group, LG China, OT Group, FL Smith, MCC,KAZ Minerals PLC and E.Mix and ECUACORRIENTE S.A.
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Bagging Machines
Heater sealer
Check-weigher and-rejecter
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Mixers/Blenders
Dry mortar plant
Screeners
Bulk bag discharger
