Surging Chinese gold imports and the case for the world’s next reserve currency
"For the first time in history China has imported twice as much gold as it has 'imported' US Treasuries."
Frik Els , Editor
Frik has 20 years’ experience as a business journalist across a range of industries including automotive, technology and entertainment markets. Frik has an entry in Global Mining Observer’s Who’s Who of Mining 2018, and contributions to publications and conferences including Business Insider, Investing.com, Mines & Money London and New York, Vancouver Resources Investment, Progressive Mine Forum in Toronto and Canadian Mining Symposium in London, UK. He’s been interviewed on CBC Radio and Korea State TV and quoted in the Financial Post.
Posts by Frik Els:
More trouble for Glencore in Bolivia
Three managers from Bolivia's state-owned mining company were taken hostage by residents of a village in the region of Potusi, who are demanding a 15% stake in the region's silver mine part-owned and operated by Glencore.
Why a former metals trader is leaving China for good after 16 years
"The result is the biggest property bubble in history, which when it pops will sound like a thousand firework accidents."
Copper will benefit from Chinese stimulus, but iron ore problems run deeper
Julian Zhu, analyst at investment bank Goldman Sachs, said that increased government infrastructure spending in the final quarter of the year will […]
Xstrata scoffs at new Glencore offer as merger of equals becomes hostile takeover
The new Glencore offer is "significantly lower than would be expected in a takeover" and the intention to replace Mick Davis represented “a significant risk” says Xstrata's board.
We build it! China sparks copper surge
Copper's 13c bounce on Friday comes after the Chinese government approved a raft of new building and rail projects this week.
Glasenberg grabs top job from Davis in new Glenstrata deal
Even before building up Xstrata through a series of billion dollar transactions, Big Mick was a formidable dealmaker who with fellow South African Brian Gilbertson created Billiton before selling it to BHP in 2001.
Meet the Israeli middleman said to have ‘stripped and flipped’ First Quantum’s DRC mine
Gertler, 38, used his relationship with DRC president Joseph Kabila and Kabila's now late adviser Augustin Katumba Mwanke to bag mining projects "by stripping from others if necessary, only to sell them on at great profit."
Turquoise Hill paid $61 million to departing Friedland and co
Severance packages for management, early vesting options and cancelling contracts with Friedland-owned companies for aircraft rental and other office services quickly added up.
Lonmin strikers given 24 hour reprieve
Only about a third of a 28,000-strong workforce reported for their shifts at Lonmin's Marikana platinum operations in South Africa. The London-based miner said workers who did not show up today would not face the sack – the deadline has been moved to tomorrow (Tuesday).
US rare earth stock cracks top 50 mining companies for the first time
Non-Chinese rare earth producers have been conspicuously absent from mining’s top tier, now worth a collective $1.5 trillion, up $200 billion year to date.