Geodex Minerals Ltd. (TSX-V:GXM), Canadian based resource company with a focus on the exploration and development of tungsten and molybdenum, has announced that they have started the second stage metallurgical program on the tungsten-molybdenum Sisson Brook deposit located in New Brunswick. Press release is quoted saying: “This additional metallurgical work is the next important step [...]
China Represses Illegal Mining of Tungsten, Antimony, and Fluorspar according to the Ministry of Land and Resources (www.mlr.gov.cn). Ji Wenlin, director of ministry’s general office said that this action will put a stop on all exploration and mining operations without licence to operate. Click here to access the entire news
Exploration company Ormonde Mining has declared a pre-tax losses of €2.5m for the year to December 2008 compared to losses of €580,00 the previous year. For full story, click here
The tungsten market has been quiet for ’09. Ferro-tungsten prices have been slowly creeping up due to short supply, so it is exploration as usual for the tungsten business. Tungsten exploration outside of China is critical, as the country has a monopoly on the metal used for military and aeronautical equipment.
European Ferro tungsten prices crept up for the week as buyers drew down inventories in Rotterdam. For a second week in a row, the Lunar New Year Holiday in China meant lack of supplies were coming out of the country.
Shenzhen, the Chinese city that accounts for 60 per cent of China’s total annual exports, is witnessing declining demand for tungsten. In 2007, the latest year for which industry data is available, it shipped $23 million worth of tungsten carbide powder and alloy jewelry.
Tungsten, like all the other metals, has seen a large amount of its value lost in the 2008 market crash. However, some stability has been lent to tungsten due to the fact that China has a monopoly on the market.
Mineral drilling companies could name their prices just months ago when the world was hungry for metals. But as commodity prices continue to drop, so does mineral exploration, and New Brunswick’s drillers are watching share prices tumble as a result. For full story, click here
The tungsten market is witnessing consistent growth as development around the globe in national defense, civil and war industries are using up all the tungsten supplies they can get their hands on.
Tungsten prices have managed to hold steady while all the other base metals dive. In 2004, tungsten was worth US $60 per kilo, and now it oscillates around $260 per kilo. Tungsten’s value is due to its exceptional properties.
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