World @GoldCouncil, #LME and key banks launch #LMEprecious

New suite of exchange-traded and centrally-cleared precious metals products.

World Gold Council, LME and key market participants to launch LMEprecious

The World Gold Council and the London Metal Exchange (LME), together with Goldman Sachs, ICBC Standard Bank, Morgan Stanley, Natixis, OSTC and Societe Generale, today announce their intention to introduce a suite of exchange-traded and centrally-cleared precious metals products.

The initiative has been driven by the need for greater market transparency, to support and aid ongoing regulatory change,  provide additional robustness to the precious metals market, broaden market access, make trading more capital efficient and trade lifecycle management easier. LMEprecious will be developed to accommodate the interests of the full range of market stakeholders and to reinforce the strengths of the London market.

Today's announcement follows an extended process of engagement with major market participants and users, and the LMEprecious service has been designed based on extensive consultation with core market players. Advanced discussions are taking place with a number of other leading institutions that have indicated their strong support for this initiative.

Aram Shishmanian, the Chief Executive of the World Gold Council, said: "This is another important step in the modernisation of the gold market. It will strengthen London's position in the global gold market, enabling it to meet the needs of all participants, attract new players and satisfy the highest standards of regulatory compliance.

"We are proud to have been the catalyst for this process, defining the new trading capabilities and driving market engagement. We are confident that the new offering will be successfully implemented and supported by the market."

LMEprecious will comprise spot, daily and monthly futures, options and calendar spread contracts for gold and silver. Future developments will include platinum and palladium contracts.  All trading will be centrally cleared on LME Clear, the LME's cutting-edge, real-time clearing house, and leverage the London market's existing delivery infrastructure. The new product suite will complement the bilateral over-the-counter (OTC) market, offering market participants similar levels of execution flexibility, including the ability to bring bilaterally negotiated (phone-based) trades into clearing. Market participants will also benefit from tight on-exchange price discovery and a product model designed to maximise capital efficiencies.

Garry Jones, the Chief Executive of the LME, said: "We are delighted to be working with the World Gold Council and a group of leading banks, to now take this project forward towards an enhanced market structure. LMEprecious opens up trading opportunities for existing LME members and their clients, as well as for new participants wishing to take advantage of optimised precious metals trading."

The banks participating in this initiative will act as liquidity providers for the precious contracts to ensure efficient price discovery and establish market depth. Additional market participants are openly invited to participate in supporting and sharing in the success of the new contracts. LMEprecious will launch in the first half of 2017, following a comprehensive process of integration and testing with participants and subject to regulatory approvals.

The press release is online here: http://www.gold.org/news-and-events/press-releases/world-gold-council-lme-and-key-market-participants-launch-lmeprecious

ENDS

For further information please contact: Melissa McVeigh World Gold Council T   +44 207 826 4701 E   Melissa.mcveigh@gold.org	Dan Adkins Edelman T   +44 203 047 2310 E   gold@edelman.com
Miriam Heywood London Metal Exchange T   +44 7554 667846 E   Miriam.Heywood@lme.com
Note to editors: World Gold Council The World Gold Council is the market development organisation for the gold industry. Our purpose is to stimulate and sustain demand for gold, provide industry leadership and be the global authority on the gold market. We develop gold-backed solutions, services and products, based on authoritative market insight and we work with a range of partners to put our ideas into action. As a result, we create structural shifts in demand for gold across key market sectors. We provide insights into the international gold markets, helping people to understand the wealth preservation qualities of gold and its role in meeting the social and environmental needs of society. The membership of the World Gold Council includes the world's leading and most forward thinking gold mining companies. The London Metal Exchange The London Metal Exchange, a member of HKEX Group, is the world centre for industrial metals trading. More than three quarters of global non-ferrous metals business is conducted on the LME's three trading platforms: LMEselect (electronic), the Ring (open outcry) and the 24-hour telephone market. The world's metal community uses the LME to trade futures and options, and to hedge against adverse price movements. Prices that are discovered on its markets are used as the global reference prices. Participants can trade aluminium, aluminium alloy, copper, tin, nickel, zinc, lead, molybdenum, cobalt, steel billet, steel rebar and steel scrap, and four regional aluminium premium contracts. In 2015, 170 million lots were traded on the LME, the equivalent of 4 billion tonnes and $12 trillion in notional value. At the close of the year, approximately 4.2 million tonnes of material was held on LME warrant in more than 600 storage facilities across 37 locations internationally.

31 Interesting Facts about #Gold #Infographic

No metal can claim a legacy comparable to gold.


From VisualCapitalist.com:


Gold has been used to show affectionate love, but it has also represented power, status, and riches for the greatest kings of antiquity. Gold’s history is truly legendary, ripe with colorful tales and anecdotes from people ranging from William Shakespeare to Christopher Columbus.

But gold doesn’t just “talk the talk”.

Gold also walks the walk, because its grandeur is backed up by impressive chemical properties and uses. As we documented in our extensive Gold Series, it’s been used as a monetary metal for thousands of years by ancient civilizations such as the Lydians, Greeks, Chinese, and Romans. It’s the most malleable and ductile metal, and it doesn’t tarnish or corrode. Over time, these properties have helped people to associate gold with concepts such as immortality or royalty.

Even today, people are still finding new uses for gold that are impressive in their own right. For example, scientists recently discovered a gold alloy that is four times tougher than titanium.

Without further ado, here are 31 incredible facts about gold.


31 INCREDIBLE FACTS ABOUT GOLD

The following infographic puts the rich history of gold into perspective.





See the post online at Visual Capitalist here: http://www.visualcapitalist.com/31-incredible-facts-about-gold/

#Djibouti improves #mining code to target investment

At present, mining accounts for between 1% and 3% of Djibouti's GDP 

Djibouti improves mining code to target investment

The new mining code for Djibouti, in East Africa – which, once implemented, will replace the current regulations implemented in 1994 – aims to update the framework for exploration, surveying and land titles and increase enforcement measures, including rolling out new penalties for non-compliance.

In mid-April the National Assembly’s committee on legislation and general administration met to review a draft law to revise the country’s mining code. 

At present, mining accounts for between 1% and 3% of Djibouti's GDP - World Bank and AfDB

The deputies agreed to continue working on the legislation prior to submitting the bill at the next sitting of the National Assembly.

According to the authorities, the development of the sector will go hand-in-hand with the country’s major infrastructure projects, which total $14 billion and include port facilities specialising in mineral exports, new road projects and improvements to the electrical grid.

At present, mining accounts for between 1% and 3% of Djibouti's GDP, according to estimates from the World Bank and the African Development Bank.

Government efforts to improve the mining investment environment are part of a concentrated effort to diversify the economy and improve the broader investment climate - a central part of the Djibouti Vision 2035 strategy for economic development and inclusive growth.

Global publishing, research and consultancy firm the Oxford Business Group, summed up some of the highlights and implications that the revamped mining code could have for investment in the country's resource sector.

Mapping Djibouti’s natural resources

The consultation on the new mining code follows the government’s completion in late 2015 of a nationwide survey of the country’s mineral resources.

The “Inventory of Industrial Minerals in Djibouti”, whose results helped inform the updated regulations, found new deposits of sandstone, limestone and ornamental stones in Ali Sabieh in the south; corallian limestone, clay and pumice in Tadjourah; and ilmenite sand, corrallin limestone and ornamental stones in Obock in the north.

Rural dividend

Development of the mining sector is being used to improve local content participation in large-scale industrial value chains, encouraging the establishment of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and promoting local processing and refining for mineral products used in construction and agriculture.

“These industrial minerals and rocks are necessary for the development of sectors like construction, public works, agriculture and the ceramics industry,” says Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Ali Mahmoud Yacoub.

According to the Minister, a robust mining sector will also encourage the growth of SMEs in related industries as the mining sector brings greater investment to rural communities.

This aligns with government efforts to address rising unemployment and persistent poverty, with 42% of the population living in extreme poverty and 48% unemployed, as well as attempts to reduce rural migration, which is straining urban infrastructure.

With more than 500 000 Djiboutians living in the capital and more than three-quarters of the population residing in urban centres, the country also has a high urbanisation rate.

Gold and “white gold” in Djibouti

The revised mining code, and its focus on new sources of industrial minerals, comes as Djibouti works to develop some of its other existing mineral deposits.

Authorities identified salt – historically known as “white gold” and the main mineral produced in Djibouti – as the first priority for development.

Salt production, sourced from the hypersaline Lake Assal in central Djibouti, has fallen in recent years after the discovery of salt deposits in the Afar region of neighbouring Ethiopia.

At 155 m below sea level, Lake Assal is believed to have the largest unexplored salt reserves in the world, totalling around 100 Mt.

A new port dedicated to salt exports is expected to help shift focus back to Lake Assal, and Salt Investment, formerly a subsidiary of US-based Emerging Capital Partners, but now Chinese-owned, is developing a project to market the area’s salt resources.

Goubet Port, located some 40 km south of the Gulf of Goubet, close to Lake Assal, is scheduled for completion this year with an export capacity of 6 Mtpa. The $63 million project includes a new ore terminal and product storage area, and will help redevelop the road linking the lake and the port.

Meanwhile, the country’s first gold mining operation located near the Port of Djibouti is also projected to come on-line this year, providing further stimulus to extractive industries.

Located near the Port of Djibouti, the gold vent – which UK-based Stratex International aims to begin mining in September – is part of the company’s efforts to identify more than 2 Moz of gold deposits in the country.

Stratex International believes the mine’s location will lay the groundwork for eventual inland expansion and the infrastructure improvements needed to transport mining equipment and machinery.

See the article online here: http://www.miningreview.com/news/djibouti-improves-mining-code-to-target-investment/