Copper May Rise in London on Inventory Drop, Mexico Mine Strike
Copper may rise to a record in London on speculation that supply will lag behind demand after inventory declined and a strike at Mexico’s largest producer continued for a fourth day.
Stockpiles stored in London Metal Exchange-monitored warehouses fell 2.4 percent to 120,925 metric tons, the LME said today in a daily report. That’s less than three days global consumption. Workers at Grupo Mexico SA’s La Caridad mine in northern Mexico continued a protest, demanding better safety conditions. Reduced supply may lift prices by as much as $200 a ton, said Maqsood Ahmed, an analyst at Calyon Global Trading in London, one of the 11 companies trading on the LME’s floor.
“With LME stocks coming down, that momentum should carry on,'’ Ahmed said.
Copper for delivery in three months on the LME rose $2, or 0.04 percent, to $5,312 a metric ton at 10:16 a.m. in London. It reached a record $5,332 a ton yesterday. The metal, used to make wires, has soared 64 percent in the past year.
More: bloomberg.com
Copper Reaches a Record as Grupo Mexico Fails to End Strike
Copper reached a record high in London as Asarco LLC, responsible for about 1 percent of world copper supply, failed to end a strike at mines, refineries and smelters in Arizona and Texas now entering its seventh week.
Asarco, the U.S. copper-mining unit of Grupo Mexico SA, and the United Steelworkers of America made no progress on ending the strike at mines in Arizona and a Texas smelter and no new talks are scheduled, said Pete Cinquemani, commissioner of the Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service, on Aug. 13.
Copper for
Grupo Mexico Urges Authorities to End 24-Day Copper Mine Strike
Grupo Mexico SA, the worlds seventh-largest copper producer, said it is urging authorities to arrest union members blocking work at a copper mine and concentrator in Mexico after a 24-day strike threatens to leave the company short for May copper deliveries.
Mexico City-based Grupo Mexico is losing daily production of about 1,100 metric tons of copper content in concentrate from what the company calls illegal work stoppages, said Juan Rebolledo, Grupo Mexicos spokesman, in a telephone interview. The company said last week it notified customers it may not make May
BASE METALS UPDATE: Grupo Mexico: Cananea Talks Going Well
Workers at La Cananea, a copper mine located in northern Sonora state, said Tuesday that talks were advancing well with parent company Grupo Mexico SA (GMEXICO.MX) over annual contract revisions.
Union Committee Plans To Discuss Asarco Offer Wednesday
The union bargaining committee representing workers striking against Asarco Inc. (ASX.XX) is planning to meet Wednesday to discuss a one-year contract offer that has been made by the company, as well as other issues, a union official reported Tuesday morning.
Mexico Steel Talks End Without Deal, No Strikes Seen Tue
Mexico OKs Request to Close Copper Mine
Mexican labor authorities approved Grupo Mexico SAs request to close the La Caridad copper mine and cancel the collective contract after a three-month strike, a company official said Friday.
Juan Rebolledo, vice president for international affairs for Grupo Mexico, said the labor arbitration board approved the closure of the mine in northwestern Sonora state, and that the company can now cancel the contract which involves at least 1,200 unionized workers.
About 700 nonunion staff and 800 contract workers also will be affected, although the company can later reopen the mine with other workers once the
Grupo Mexico Shuts San Martin Mine as Strike Lingers
Grupo Mexico closed its San Martin zinc mine because of a strike that has halted production since March, signaling labor disputes that have crimped world metal supplies wont end soon.
Its impossible to even hope that this is going to be resolved, spokesman Juan Rebolledo said in a television interview on TV Azteca. Thats why we closed it.
Lost production from San Martin and Grupo Mexicos La Caridad mine helped push copper to record prices on the London Metal Exchange this year, as some analysts forecast 2006 production will lag behind
Mexico's Penoles Workers Postpone Strike Date to Vote Offer
Miners at Industrias Penoles SA, Mexico's largest silver miner, deferred a strike date scheduled for yesterday at a silver-and-lead mine to vote on a salary offer, the union said in a statement.
The strike at the mine in Naica, Chihuahua, was delayed until Jan. 27 at 2 p.m. New York time while the vote is organized, local union leader Sergio Chavira said in the statement. The terms of the Penoles offered weren't disclosed.
More than 350 union miners work at Naica, the largest lead mine in Mexico. The mine in 2005 produced
Royal Gold buys royalties in Nevada, Mexico
Mineral royalty company Royal Gold Inc. said Thursday it will buy two royalties on mining operations in Nevada and Mexico from Kennecott Minerals Co. for $25 million.
Royal Gold (NASDAQ: RGLD) is based in Denver. Kennecott is based in Salt Lake City.
Royal Gold doesn't operate mines itself, but provides money for projects in return for royalties -- or percentage-based payments -- on the value of the minerals produces.
Royal Gold said it bought a 3 percent net smelter return on the Robinson gold, copper and molybdenum mine in eastern Nevada. The mine is operated
Grupo Mexico official says Asarco strike settlement possible
Officials from Mexican copper mining concern Grupo Mexico SA were meeting with union representatives Friday to try to resolve a three-week-old U.S. strike at the company's Asarco unit, an official said Friday.
In a conference call with analysts to discuss Grupo Mexico's second-quarter results, chief financial officer Eduardo Gonzalez said he believed a solution to the strike was possible.
Friday's meeting was the first between management and the union since more than 1,500 workers went on strike in Arizona and Texas to protest the company's proposed wage freeze and reductions in health and pension
Oil climbs as storm approaches Gulf of Mexico
Oil prices surged more than $1 on Wednesday as concerns about possible hurricane damage in the Gulf of Mexico added to fears about the conflict in Lebanon and the weekly US crude oil inventory report showed a drop in crude and petrol stockpiles.
IPE Brent for September delivery gained $1.45 to $77.35 a barrel in late afternoon London trade, putting the European benchmark oil price within sight of last months record of $78.18. The Brent price has risen $4 in the past three sessions.
Tropical Storm Chris threatened to turn into a hurricane and enter
VW Mexico workers may strike Thursday for 12.5 pct pay hike
Volkswagen AG workers at its Puebla plant in Mexico may go on strike on Thursday to support demands for a 12.5 pct pay hike, Financial Times Deutschland reported, citing a trade union spokesman.
The spokesman said while VW has not made an offer yet it has rejected a 'spectacular salary adjustment'.
Workers at the plant last staged a three-day strike one year ago and pushed through a 4.5 pct wake increase.
The Puebla plant makes the New Beetle and Jetta and employs 12,000 workers.
More: forbes.com
