‹ Minerals

Counter-intuitive

October 20, 2014

Quebec’s three most important minerals (iron ore, nickel,gold) have been hard hit by declining prices. One would expect the mining industry in the province to be depressed and in a severe slump. Yet, the opposite is true.

There are plenty of grounds for pessimism. Since April of this year the price of nickel has dropped 26%. Gold is off by 20%. Iron ore prices have plummeted by 40% since the start of the year. Iron-ore producer Cliffs Natural Resources has written down $6B in investment, largely in Quebec. Cliffs expanded into Canada when it bought Consolidated Thompson Iron Mines Ltd. in 2011 for $4.3 billion. 

The optimistic news:

Commentary

There is plenty of positive news coming from Quebec, as exploration and production activities have increased.

Sources