Commodity Traders: Is There Still Value?
During boom times when commodity prices were high compared to mining costs, producers had no qualms about giving up some margin for the use of third party traders to act as middle men in brokering the deals between producer and end-user. Since the 2008 global financial crisis, companies having become more discerning over their cost […]
South African Ferrochrome Capacity Shows Consistency
South Africa’s ferrochrome industry used 85% of its capacity in the first quarter, more or less in line with the fourth quarter of 2013, says consultancy services provider Core Consultants MD Lara Smith. The company estimates that the first quarter realised 760 000 t in ferrochrome, slightly lower than the 773 000 t produced in […]
Consultancy Launches Fully Customised Subscription Reports Service
Mining consultancy Core Consultants launched its fully customised subscription reports service at the Investing in African Mining Indaba, which was held in Cape Town earlier this month. Core Consultants MD Lara Smith tells Mining Weekly that while the company has always had research reports available on a subscription basis, such as ‘Monthly Trends in the […]
Power Infrastructure Key For Botswana Mining
Those aiming to invest in Botswana as a mining destination need to consider installing power lines and improving transport, says mining consultancy Core Consultants MD Lara Smith, who says the landlocked country faces significant infrastructure challenges that affect its mining sector. She tells Mining Weekly that TSX- and BSE-listed Hana Mining, a prospective copper producer […]
Summary of Lara Smith’s 2014 Mining Indaba Presentation: An Outlook for Dysprosium, Tantalum, Tungsten
The Core Consultants Mining Indaba presentation always considers three commodities which are pertinent to Africa and discusses the market outlook for each of them. This year we will focus on the markets for dysprosium, tantalum and tungsten. With respect to tantalum, we note the tendency of the market to be characterised by periods of vast […]
Latest Developments At Core Consultants
2013 was another exciting year for Core Consultants. We are happy to report that despite the macroeconomic conditions surrounding the mining industry, we were able to show strong growth from 2012. Our projects included feasibility studies across a broad spectrum of commodities. These included coal, iron ore, fertilizers, ferrochrome and sulphur. These projects also took […]
Company Optimistic About 2014 African Mining Indaba
Mining consultancy Core Consultants will be discussing its new service offerings, particularly focusing on the launch of fully customised subscription reports and the ability to undertake metallurgical testwork on behalf of clients, at the Investing in African Mining Indaba, in Cape Town, which will run from February 3 to 6, says Core Consultants MD Lara […]
Core Consultants Presents At 2013 Junior Mining Conference
Lara Smith, MD of Core Consultants’ will present at the 2013 Junior Mining Conference in Johannesburg, South Africa. The topic is “what drives mining investment” The focus of the presentation will be two-fold. The first part will focus primarily on what drives mining demand. The latter part of the presentation will consider what makes an […]
Tungsten, Tantalum, Rare Earths Emerging As ‘Critical’ Global Metals
This article first appeared in Mining Weekly. To view the original article, click on this link: Tungsten, tantalum and rare-earth elements (REEs) have started to emerge as “critical” global metals and are expected to become highly scarce from 2015, Core Consultants MD Lara Smith said on Wednesday. “While the European Union and the US Department […]
Lara’s Interview with SAFM on the Amplats Crisis
“Those companies put profit first and humanity last.” Lara Smith’s discussion with South Africa FM on the Amplats Crisis in 2013. Read more commentary from Lara here.