Reports of mineral wealth in Afghanistan exceeding $1 trillion may seem like terrific news for the war torn nation; however, when faced with the political realities, seem less attractive to international mining companies. Is the release of internal Pentagon memo’s just days before a Senate hearing a political ploy or a mining reality?
Australia’s new “Super Profit” tax on mining companies may scare off investment and hurt the profitability of mining operations, say analysts. However, economists and government officials disagree. After billions of dollars worth of investments into molybdenum operations in Australia, how will this proposed tax affect the mining industry?
Ferro-molybdenum and molybdic oxide continued their rally this past week, as frightening low stockpiles have traders worried that if the purchases accelerate, there simply won’t be enough moly to go around.
Demand from Asian markets has boosted molybdenum over the past weeks, in spite of lagging North American demand. The strategic metal is currently trading in the range of $10.60 to $10.80 a pound, up from $10 to $10.50 a pound less than two weeks ago.
As a minor metal, molybdenum is prone to rapid price fluctuations; in the past this had generated huge returns on investment. Molybdenum was one of the last metals to feel the effects of the economic downturn, but has failed to match the recovery experienced by many metals since the start of the New Year.
Molybdenum has crashed from $33 per lb in mid ’08, to its Friday closing value $8.70 per lb. Analysts predicts the metal is in for a slow recovery this year, and is anticipated to average $11.00 per lb.
MAX Resource Corp. is a Canadian based exploration company with a diversified portfolio of mineral exploration projects in Canada and the Western United States. Our properties include “Molybdenum” in Alaska and Nevada, “Gold” in Alaska, Nevada and British Columbia and “Uranium” in New Mexico, Arizona and northern Canada.
When economic growth resumes, there will be a critical shortage of strategic metals. The rapid collapse in metal’s prices has forced many miners to mothball operations; when demand for these metals resumes, there will be a lag time for production online. This means that as quickly as prices collapsed, we can expect an upswing with more impetus.
The steel sector has been deeply impacted by the global economic climate; with an approximate 50% decline in production. Moly, as an important alloy, is following suit.
Molybdenum prices took a considerable tumble in the fourth quarter of ’08, falling from USD 30 per pound in September 2008 to USD 9.50 at the end December 2008. Despite unprecedented demand for the metal, molybdenum prices crashed as crisis permeated the financial markets.
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