TNR Gold: Los Azules Copper - Argentina's Mining Industry Eyeing US$20 Billion In Investment.

  

  

  Now we are talking about the real progress in Argentina. Credit rating is going up, reforms are changing the business environment for the better and now giant Los Azules Copper project is being acknowledged on the state level. China is coming back strong from its transition into the domestic growth oriented economy, Energy rEVolution with Solar and Electric Cars and rising Argentina are making International Lithium and TNR Gold stories even stronger now.

"Most of the investment is expected to be made between 2018 and 2020. Some of the projects that are due to come online include Glendora's El Pachón, First Quantum's Taca-Taca, Yamana Gold's Agua Rica and McEwen Mining's Los Azules, Caem said." - BN Americas.

TNR Gold and McEwen Mining: Los Azules Copper - China Wants To Buy More Copper Mines To Secure Its Supply.

McEwen Mining.

  

  Collapse in commodity prices has come with China economy downturn and will go with its transition to the internal consumption - security of supply for strategic commodities will always stay. China is moving very fast into the Next Industrial Energy rEVolution. Electric cars and Solar Energy are the new strategic industries and part of the 5 year plan. To secure the raw materials for this leapfrog jump directly into post carbon economy there is the military plan in action. China is already centre of Lithium Universe and controls 75% of Lithium Hydroxide which goes into Tesla Batteries. Now it is the follow up plan to secure the Copper supply when asset prices are depressed. Las Bambas was the first step and now next projects will follow. Los Azules giant copper project in Argentina is very well positioned for TNR Gold and McEwen Mining for these developments.

President Of International Lithium And Non Executive Chairman of TNR Gold Buys 1 Million Shares In TNR Gold.

TNR Gold Los Azules Copper: New Argentina's Government Making Right Moves, Rob McEwen Says.

  "The proud people of Argentina are taking their country back! Nobody knows the future, but now we have the hope that conservative Mauricio Macri will bring his country back where it belongs on the international arena. I expect that now, finally, country risk will become the huge value catalysis. From the article with Rob McEwen you can better understand what is really happening in Argentina already and how TNR Gold projects in Copper and Lithium will potentially benefit from these positive changes. Read more."

TNR Gold Royalty: McEwen Mining Eyeing Lower Capex Development At Giant Los Azules Copper In Argentina.

  

  And now here we go: Rob McEwen Mr Goldcorp himself is on the road to the economic recovery in Argentina and is working on the giant Los Azules Copper to make it the success story for the proud people of Argentina. I would like to use this opportunity and send my very warm regards and the best wishes for the New Year 2016 to Rob and all his Team at McEwen Mining from all of us at TNR Gold!

  Please carefully read my legal disclaimer and nothing on this educational blog must be taken as an investment advice. Always consult your qualified financial adviser before any investment decisions. Read more."

BNAmericas:

Argentina's mining industry eyeing US$20bn in investment

By Juan Andres Abarca 

Argentina's mining industry expects US$20bn in new investment over the next five years thanks to a series of measures being implemented by the government of President Mauricio Macri to attract private sector investment in the country.

"The mining sector will invest US$20bn in the regional economies through 2021, thanks to improvements in our competitiveness due to tax changes and the expectations that we're creating the necessary certainties that the mining sector needs," Marcelo Alvarez, president of Argentina's mining chamber (Caem), was quoted as saying by state news agency Télam.

Macri took office in December and, since then, has taken steps to foster private sector investment. Within weeks the government abolished export duties and trade controls, eliminated the fixed exchange and capital controls and most recently settled the 2003 default with bondholders and returned to global debt markets.

Most of the investment is expected to be made between 2018 and 2020. Some of the projects that are due to come online include Glendora's El Pachón, First Quantum's Taca-Taca, Yamana Gold's Agua Rica and McEwen Mining's Los Azules, Caem said.

During the five-year period, the industry expects exports to reach US$25bn, and generate 40,000 new jobs, on top of the existing 90,000 jobs in the mining industry."

TNR Gold And McEwen Mining's Los Azules In Argentina - Copper Miners Pin Hopes On Electric Cars After Tesla's Success.

  

  Timing is everything. And you will never have the perfect one, so once decided - just be there. And if you managed to survive "the wrong timing" and can even add to your position, just do it. This is the only advice I can share. 

  Argentina is changing very fast now under the new leadership and we can stretch our imagination that one day it will not only export its commodities like Copper and Lithium, but actually will become the power force behind the Energy rEVolution. Elon Musk with 325,000 orders for Tesla Model 3 has confirmed that consumers are ready to buy the best electric cars. Now Financial Times spells you the connection between The Next Industrial Energy rEVolution and Green Energy Metal - Copper. Copper goes everywhere in the 21st century: you will find it in electric motors, in new charging stations and wiring, in Wind and Solar installations with Smart Grids. China has a military plan to acquire and build its own resource base for strategic commodities like Lithium and Copper. Argentina can do much better than just supply the Hungry Red Dragon, it can produce lithium batteries and electric cars at least for South America one day. It is not such a stretch in the end: Chinese BYD backed by Warren Buffett is building its lithium batteries Megafactory in Brazil next door; and electric buses and lithium batteries plants in Argentina. International Lithium and TNR Gold are very well positioned in creation of the secure supply chain for strategic commodities for Energy rEVolution with Lithium and Copper.

TNR Gold and McEwen Mining: Los Azules Copper - China Wants To Buy More Copper Mines To Secure Its Supply.

  

  

  "Collapse in commodity prices has come with China economy downturn and will go with its transition to the internal consumption - security of supply for strategic commodities will always stay. China is moving very fast into the Next Industrial Energy rEVolution. Electric cars and Solar Energy are the new strategic industries and part of the 5 year plan. To secure the raw materials for this leapfrog jump directly into post carbon economy there is the military plan in action. China is already centre of Lithium Universe and controls 75% of Lithium Hydroxide which goes into Tesla Batteries. Now it is the follow up plan to secure the Copper supply when asset prices are depressed. Las Bambas was the first step and now next projects will follow. Los Azules giant copper project in Argentina is very well positioned for TNR Gold and McEwen Mining for these developments. Read more."

President Of International Lithium And Non Executive Chairman of TNR Gold Buys 1 Million Shares In TNR Gold.

FT:

Copper miners pin hopes on electric cars as China falters

APRIL 8, 2016

by: Henry Sanderson

The world’s copper miners and traders are pinning their hopes on increased demand for the metal from the makers of electric cars, after Tesla Motors revealed more than $10bn of pre-orders for its mass-market vehicle, the Model 3.

Robert Friedland, billionaire founder of Ivanhoe Mines, showed a picture of a Tesla vehicle at the annual copper conference in Santiago this week, saying it will consume 65 kg of copper per car. Friedland’s HPX exploration company is working “very closely” with Tesla, he said.

“Copper is the king of metals,” he said. “Just based on world ecological and environmental problems every single solution drives you to copper — solar power, wind power, electric cars, you name it.” 

While demand for copper could increase because of its uses in electric cars and in renewable energy, other analysts say this is unlikely to make up for weakness in demand from China’s construction and infrastructure industries, which are slowing. 

Copper traded on the London Metal Exchange has dropped more 20 per cent in the past year on concerns about Chinese demand and is currently trading at just $4,700 a tonne. In 2010 it cost more than $10,000 a tonne.

In the short term, miners and traders gathered in Chile said the copper price is likely to fall further without a recovery in demand in China and amid growing global supply from large mines brought on stream during the boom years.

Batteries in electric vehicles are likely to use 927,000 tonnes of copper a year by 2030, according to forecasts by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. That amounts to around 5 per cent of total production in 2014.

Still, miners in Santiago remained hopeful. Each electric vehicle requires four-times as much copper as its gasoline counterpart, before including the copper used in recharging infrastructure and electricity generation, according to John MacKenzie, executive chairman of Mantos Copper, which bought two copper mines in Chile last year as part of a consortium.

“Copper remains the best electrical conductor available and this will be more and more important in a world where energy efficiency is a priority,” he said in Santiago. “Sales of electric vehicles, together with other drivers such as renewable energy, will provide added impetus to future copper demand.”

But in the meantime global copper supply has grown by 3 per cent this year and, if there is no pick-up in demand in China, copper prices need to fall to below $2 a pound ($4,400 a tonne) before production cuts occur, Mr MacKenzie said.

The increasing popularity of electric cars is also boosting hopes for other commodities, such as aluminium. Increasingly stringent fuel economy standards will force carmakers to “accelerate a shift to new materials that will reshuffle the supply chain”, analysts at Goldman Sachs said in an April 7 research note. Aluminium is one-third the weight of steel.

“Through 2025, we expect demand for new lightweighting technology to underpin the shift to aluminium and ultra-high tensile steel,” analysts at the bank added. It forecasts a 17.5 per cent growth in use in aluminium alloys in cars through 2025."

TNR Gold and McEwen Mining: Los Azules Copper - China Wants To Buy More Copper Mines To Secure Its Supply.

  

  

  Collapse in commodity prices has come with China economy downturn and will go with its transition to the internal consumption - security of supply for strategic commodities will always stay. China is moving very fast into the Next Industrial Energy rEVolution. Electric cars and Solar Energy are the new strategic industries and part of the 5 year plan. To secure the raw materials for this leapfrog jump directly into post carbon economy there is the military plan in action. China is already centre of Lithium Universe and controls 75% of Lithium Hydroxide which goes into Tesla Batteries. Now it is the follow up plan to secure the Copper supply when asset prices are depressed. Las Bambas was the first step and now next projects will follow. Los Azules giant copper project in Argentina is very well positioned for TNR Gold and McEwen Mining for these developments.

President Of International Lithium And Non Executive Chairman of TNR Gold Buys 1 Million Shares In TNR Gold.

TNR Gold Los Azules Copper: New Argentina's Government Making Right Moves, Rob McEwen Says.

  "The proud people of Argentina are taking their country back! Nobody knows the future, but now we have the hope that conservative Mauricio Macri will bring his country back where it belongs on the international arena. I expect that now, finally, country risk will become the huge value catalysis. From the article with Rob McEwen you can better understand what is really happening in Argentina already and how TNR Gold projects in Copper and Lithium will potentially benefit from these positive changes. Read more."

TNR Gold Royalty: McEwen Mining Eyeing Lower Capex Development At Giant Los Azules Copper In Argentina.

  

  And now here we go: Rob McEwen Mr Goldcorp himself is on the road to the economic recovery in Argentina and is working on the giant Los Azules Copper to make it the success story for the proud people of Argentina. I would like to use this opportunity and send my very warm regards and the best wishes for the New Year 2016 to Rob and all his Team at McEwen Mining from all of us at TNR Gold!

  Please carefully read my legal disclaimer and nothing on this educational blog must be taken as an investment advice. Always consult your qualified financial adviser before any investment decisions. Read more."

FT:

China wants to buy more copper mines to secure its supply

YESTERDAY 

by: Henry Sanderson in Santiago

China will continue to acquire overseas copper mining assets to secure supply despite the uncertain outlook for commodity prices and scarcity of large projects, the vice-president of the country’s largest metal trader has said.

“China is very short of copper resources,” Jerry Jiao, vice-president of China Minmetals, told the World Copper Conference in Santiago. “The only way to make stable supply of copper resources … going overseas is the only solution.” 

The world’s largest mining companies are looking to shed assets as they seek to cut their debt loads and move away from a large diversified business model focused on multiple commodities. Swiss mining company Glencore is looking to sell its Lomas Bayas copper mine in Chile, while reports have also suggested that US copper miner Freeport-McMoRan may be willing to sell a stake in its El Abra mine in the South American country.

Minmetals is the owner of the big Las Bambas mine in Peru, which started shipping copper this year. It agreed to sell copper concentrate from the mine to a local unit of China’s state-owned Citic group, it said in January.

“We all know there are not many Las Bambas out there, it’s not easy to develop a huge mine,” Mr Jaio said. “It is more and more difficult to get one tonne of copper produced.”

Last December China’s state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission said that Minmetals, which was founded in 1950, would merge with Metallurgical Corp of China, an infrastructure and construction group. That will allow the combined entity to control the whole metals value chain from mining to construction.

Last year Minmetals copper production rose to a record high of 217,000 tonnes, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. 

But Minmetals could face severe competition for copper assets from miners such as BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, who both have positive views on copper. There are also billions of assets in private equity that could bid for any projects.

Even miners with stretched balance sheets are not selling their best copper assets as the metal is expected to be in short supply by the end of the decade.

China has built out its smelting capacity over the past ten years as it has grown to consume about 40 per cent of the world’s copper. But it is still reliant on overseas mines for the raw copper material. 

China’s copper consumption is akin to a “reverse pyramid,” Mr Jiao said. It consumes about 11m tonnes, and produces about 7m tonnes of copper cathode. But it can only supply 1.7m tonnes from its domestic mining.

“It’s easy for China to build a smelter but not to find resources,” he said. “Going forward [the] concentrate or mining sector will still occupy a large percentage of value along the whole value chain.” 

Mr Jiao said that emerging industries in China, such as automotive and renewable energy, are increasing their intensity of copper use. But the price outlook for the metal depends on whether China can successfully transition its economy towards these new industries and away from the old industrial sectors. 

“If we believe China has made a stable adjustment then we will feel at ease that copper will face a stable and balanced situation,” he said. 

However, Goldman Sachs, which has been one of the most bearish banks on copper and other commodities, warned that if China’s transition to a more consumer-led economy is successful, then copper demand growth is likely to be between flat to about 3 per cent.

“At best, if China manages its bumpy deceleration, which includes a big reduction in investment share of GDP over the next three to five years, the copper market will turn,” Goldman analyst Max Layton told the conference.

“If they perfectly manage this transaction then copper markets should turn. All the other scenarios that I come up with are worse than that for copper.” 

  At least somebody is taking action. Gold and Silver mining community are not raising their voices enough about the ongoing market manipulations, only GATA continues to raise alarms, but without any mainstream support. First majestic CEO has proposed last year to withhold any sale of Silver from mines for one month, but almost nobody among other silver miners has even supported his action. 

Mining CEO Calls on Fellow Miners to Halt Physical Silver Sales to End the Paper Manipulation.

"How to end silver manipulation: "Let's pick up the month in 2015 and Stop Selling Silver for a month and see what happens" It will be interesting! Can the mining industry come together one day? Will miners ever repeat Rob McEwen's strategy to withhold Gold from selling at lower prices at Gold Corp?"

Bill Murphy: The Man Banned From CNBC For Telling The Truth About Manipulation Of Gold.

"Now the manipulation of Gold market is the case for the court hearing, but just a few short years ago it used to be a conspiracy theory. China moves with AIIB and Yuan SDR addition will bring Gold topic to the world's headlines."

GATA:

First Majestic Silver CEO complains to CFTC about market manipulation

Submitted by cpowell on Wed, 2015-06-03 14:37. Section: Daily Dispatches

10:37a ET Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:

Keith N. Neumeyer, president and CEO of First Majestic Silver, just about the only executive in the monetary metals mining industry who complains openly about market manipulation that suppresses the price of gold and silver, has heeded market analyst Ted Butler's latest call to write to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a call noted by GATA last week:

http://www.gata.org/node/15406

Neumeyer's letter is posted in PDF format at GATA's Internet site here --

http://www.gata.org/files/FirstMajesticLetterCFTC-06-01-2015.pdf

-- and investors in the monetary metals mining industry who are not hopelessly demoralized might do well to bring it to the attention of the companies in which they have invested.

CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.

Kitco:

First Majestic Silver CEO Dings CFTC On Silver Market Manipulation

By Kitco News
Thursday June 04, 2015 08:22

(Kitco News) - Senior silver producer First Majestic Silver Corp.’s (TSX:FR)(NYSE:AG) Keith Neumeyer, president and chief executive officer, openly questioned the U.S. futures and options watchdog regarding silver market manipulation earlier this week.

In a letter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) chairman Timothy Massad, Monday, Neumeyer raised his concerns with the regulator’s Commitment of Traders Report (COT), dated May 19, 2015.

He noted “a record position change of more than 28,200 net contracts of COMEX silver futures being purchased by traders in the managed money category, the equivalent of 141 million ounces of silver and 61 days of world mine production.

“The COT report also indicates nearly 24,400 net contracts were sold by traders classified as commercials and the equivalent of 122 million ounces and 53 days of world mine production,” he said. “In addition, the report indicated that 8 traders in COMEX silver futures held a net short position of 376 million equivalent ounces of silver, by far the most of any commodity in terms of world production (163 days).”

Neumeyer said in the letter that he’s confused why a concentrated short position would be so large. 

He added that the murkiness of who’s trading the contracts and what they are labeled as further muddies the process.

“Since the Commission classifies traders in the managed money category as speculators (as opposed to hedgers) and because there is little evidence from public financial reports that silver producers are represented in the commercial category, it appears the big changes in positions on the COMEX are by speculators and commercials acting as speculators and not by those engaged in bona fide hedging.”

Neumeyer went on to conclude that the CFTC was not working within the confines of commodity law and said that there is an issue with the discovery price process as “real producers and consumers of silver don’t appear to be represented.”

He ended the letter stating that based on what he outlined, silver market manipulation by the CFTC is apparent.

“As one of the largest primary silver producers in the world, we feel that an effective and fair pricing mechanism is critical for the healthiness of our industry and for the millions of people impacted by what appears from the outside, to be manipulative practices by a concentration of players.”  

By Alex Létourneau of Kitco News aletourneau@kitco.com
Follow Alex Letourneau @alex_letourneau"

Goldcorp: Confident In Argentina; Eyeing Free Cash Flow – Chuck Jeannes.

  Argentina is coming back to radar screens now, elections this coming Fall will bring the new catalyst. Now Goldcorp is talking about its investments in the country. Chuck Jeannes tale about The Peak Gold  in 2015 as well now.

Los Azules Copper: "Argentina's Mining Landscape Improving, Cerro Morro A Go – Yamana CEO."

 "More and more good news are coming from Argentina these days. Country will face elections this year and smart money are already positioning themselves in the best undervalued projects. Nothing should be taken as an investment advise on this blog, please always do your own DD and read my full disclosure. 

  TNR Gold is very fortunate to have McEwen Mining as its partner at the world-class Los Azules Copper project. With lower copper prices and perception of the investment risk in Argentina all valuations were driven into the ground. The return to the mean could be potentially dramatic as well. Gold Corp will put its new mine into production in Argentina this month, Yamana is moving forward with Cerro Morro and China is solidly on the track to secure supply of commodities from Latin America. I do not know when, but Los Azules Copper will be back on the radar screens of the investors one day and its fundamentals will speak for themselves.

  Now you can more appreciate the step by step approach in the development of Mariana Lihium by our J/V with top Lithium producer from China - Ganfeng Lithium. Please stay tuned for the update on our next phase development programmes. You can check more information on the links provided below and in our latest presentations on this blog. Please always consult you financial adviser before making any financial decisions, all latest financial information for TNR Gold and International Lithium can be found in the SEDAR filings and websites of the companies. Read more."

Kitco:

Confident In Argentina; Eyeing Free Cash Flow – Chuck Jeannes

(Kitco News) - Goldcorp Inc.’s (TSX:G)(NYSE:GG) belief in operating its assets in Argentina has not wavered after the company absorbed a $2.3 billion non-cash impairment charge on its newest mine in the country.

Reporting its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings last week, the company’s Cerro Negro mine was dinged pretty hard, which set off a few alarm bells in the sector regarding Goldcorp’s willingness to look further into operating in Argentina.

Chuck Jeannes, President & CEO Goldcorp Inc.

Speaking with Kitco News at the BMO Metals & Mining Conference in Florida, Chuck Jeannes, president and chief executive officer of Goldcorp, said that the company will get through the issues in Argentina.

“Cerro Negro will be a long-term cornerstone mine for us,” Jeannes said. “I think about it the way I do our Alumbrera mine, in Argentina. 

“When it was built there was the financial crisis in 1999 and 2000 with Argentina, there was a lot of angst about what that might mean and over the long term Alumbrera’s been a very successful, profitable asset,” he said. “So, we have to look at these things with the long term in mind and we’ll get through these issues in Argentina.”

Jeannes also touched on the company’s other new mine, the Eleonore mine located in northern Quebec, which he said has the potential to be Canada’s top producing mine, once it hits full production in a few years.

“We’ve got a high-grade, vertical dipping ore body – so it takes a while to ramp up, we won’t be in full production there until 2018, but it’s a beautiful mill, it’s running well,” he said.

These two new mines will add significantly to Goldcorp’s production profile in the future as the company is well positioned to generate free cash flow in 2015.

“In terms of our actual earnings, and cash flow, for the quarter, we made $350 million in cash, and the operations are doing very well,” Jeannes said. “I’m very excited about the future, as we look in 2015, we’ll be having lower cash costs and higher production. 

“Combine that with basically the end of all of our capital spending and building these new mines, and we’ll be generating free cash flow.”  

Click HERE to listen in on Chuck Jeannes' full interview.

By Alex Létourneau of Kitco News aletourneau@kitco.com
Follow Alex Letourneau @alex_letourneau"

Rick Rule & Richard Maybury On Macroeconomics And Geopolitics.

  

 One can argue that junior miners are holding the best value now in years … those of them which will not go bankrupt. Assets are there, safely in the ground, but valuations are gone with investors running to the hills. Let's find out Rick Rule views on the commodities cycles and why "Greece is Non event", while Ukraine could be the very serious one. Argentina could be the one country benefiting from all these trends. China's hunger for resources will drive this trend with announced 250 Billion investment in Latin America.

Los Azules Copper: "Argentina's Mining Landscape Improving, Cerro Morro A Go – Yamana CEO."

 More and more good news are coming from Argentina these days. Country will face elections this year and smart money are already positioning themselves in the best undervalued projects. Nothing should be taken as an investment advise on this blog, please always do your own DD and read my full disclosure. 

  TNR Gold is very fortunate to have McEwen Mining as its partner at the world-class Los Azules Copper project. With lower copper prices and perception of the investment risk in Argentina all valuations were driven into the ground. The return to the mean could be potentially dramatic as well. Gold Corp will put its new mine into production in Argentina this month, Yamana is moving forward with Cerro Morro and China is solidly on the track to secure supply of commodities from Latin America. I do not know when, but Los Azules Copper will be back on the radar screens of the investors one day and its fundamentals will speak for themselves.

  Now you can more appreciate the step by step approach in the development of Mariana Lihium by our J/V with top Lithium producer from China - Ganfeng Lithium. Please stay tuned for the update on our next phase development programmes. You can check more information on the links provided below and in our latest presentations on this blog. Please always consult you financial adviser before making any financial decisions, all latest financial information for TNR Gold and International Lithium can be found in the SEDAR filings and websites of the companies.

Commodities: China To Boost Investment In Latin America To $250 Billion Within Decade.

Los Azules Copper: Canada's Goldcorp To Inaugurate Argentine Gold, Silver Mine In February.

TNR Gold: Los Azules Copper And M&A in Argentina - First Quantum Minerals to Acquire Lumina Copper For $470 Million.

 "My expectations have not let me down this time. Lumina Copper is gone for 470 million. Proud people of Argentina can be expecting now the re-rating of risk and increased valuations for other mining projects respectively. My Team at TNR Gold and I will continue to write our story about Los Azules Copper M&A and Mariana Lithium project for our International Lithium.

  Los Azules Copper is the next prized asset to be talked about in the industry from today. Read more."

TNR Gold Receives Royalty From McEwen Mining On "One Of The Largest Undeveloped Copper Projects".

Please read our full legal disclaimer in our presentation and on our website: http://www.tnrgoldcorp.com/

International Lithium Corp. Update on Avalonia (Ireland) and Mariana (Argentina) Lithium Projects.