#Cobalt, #EV's & #DRC: What will the bonanza mean for the #Congo? @FT

The move to ban petrol & diesel cars in France & UK will have a huge impact on the demand for #Cobalt. The #DRC as the main producer better find a way to clean up its act.



Clean electric cars are built on pollution in Congo: The country’s cobalt bonanza looks set to benefit only elites and mining companies



The MasterMetals Blog

@MasterMetals

#Barrick #Gold $ABX: 63.9% equity interest in #AcaciaMining with problems in #Tanzania, leads to Share price weakness

#Gold: #HongKong #HKEX & #LME New contracts & trading systems

Two #HKEX platforms trade 24 hours a day; could turn HK into a global #gold trading hub

#Gold US$1,210/oz vs US$1,207/oz yesterday –

From SP Angel: Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing (HKEX) has said 3,000 of its new gold contracts traded on their launch day

London Metal Exchange traded a third of this volume on its system which also went live today.

The two HKEX platforms trade 24 hours a day and could turn HK into a global gold trading hub while allowing Chinese currency RMB deposits to trade in gold

The idea is to attract trading and investment away from the much larger OTC market, to increase market visibility and enable better regulation

The HKEX gold contract is available for trading in offshore renminbi 'CNH' and US dollars enabling the arbitrage between CNH futures and the other currency gold contracts

Physical delivery in Hong Kong is also available which should lead to price convergence and help prevent manipulation

#Gold #ETF holdings in June up from May: World @GoldCouncil

Weak currencies are #Gold's best friends! 

In the U.K., with the weaker Pound, UK's Source Physical Gold Trust added 12.2 tonnes of gold or 12% to 111.72 tonnes in June 2017.

 

·         At the end of June, total holdings in gold-backed ETFs and similar products stood at 2,313.1t (74.4moz), 22.2t higher from May. These holdings were valued at US$92.4bn, 1% lower compared to a month earlier.

·         North American and European Funds led the way: the former gained 12.8t to 1,227.1t while the latter added 10.5t to 977.7t. Asian funds lost 1.3t (-2%) to 61.9t and funds in the Other region increased marginally (+0.2t) to 46.4t. 

·         In North America, gains by iShares Gold Trust (+7.4t) outpaced that of SPDR Gold Shares (+5.0t). Their holdings at the end of June were 210.3t and 852.5t respectively.  

·         In Europe, it was UK's Source Physical Gold P-ETC that witnessed the largest inflow across the universe in the month. Its holdings increased a whopping 12.2t (+12%) to 111.7t.

·         In Asia, decline of the Chinese fund holdings slowed in June. After falling below the 20t mark during June, holdings of the Hua'an Yifu Gold ETF rebounded and ended the month at 20.0t.