Frik Els, Author at MINING.COM

SA gold miners face repeat of 2014's brutal platinum strike

SA gold miners face repeat of brutal 2014 platinum strike

The union that led 2014's bitter five-month strike in South Africa's platinum belt has brought the same demands – doubling of wages – to the gold sector.

Frik Els | May 13, 2015 | 2:08 pm

Iron ore price rally gains steam

Chinese import prices surge more than 3% to 10-week high after Beijing's surprise rate cut boosts industry prospects.

Frik Els | May 11, 2015 | 11:28 am

Iron ore price 16% rally off decade low comes to abrupt halt

Copper, iron ore prices hold up despite China trade shock

Overall Chinese imports plummeted 16% in April as coal enters free-fall, but iron ore's decline was modest and copper shipments jumped 5%.

Frik Els | May 8, 2015 | 1:33 pm

Iron ore price blasts past $60

Steelmaking raw material now up 28.7% from decade lows hit last month.

Frik Els | May 6, 2015 | 10:24 am

These two charts show plenty upside for gold price

Outside money starts to pour into mining M&A

Mick Davis hasn't spent a cent of his $6bn, but private money and non-mining players' share of M&A has already doubled in less than three years.

Frik Els | May 4, 2015 | 4:43 pm

Church of England $14 billion investment fund bans coal, oil sands

Church of England $14bn fund blacklists coal, oil sands

Only primary producers like Peabody will be excluded from investment portfolio so a BHP or Glencore could still make the grade. Met coal also fine.

Frik Els | April 30, 2015 | 2:47 pm

Gold price slides as Fed rate hike draws nearer

The US Federal Reserve remains on track to raise interest rates for the first time since 2006 later this year, hurting gold's allure as an investment.

Frik Els | April 29, 2015 | 3:30 pm