Supply constraints boost long-term copper projections

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Copper Price ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Dollar Bill ◽  
Rio Tinto ◽  
Downward Pressure ◽  
Market Outlook ◽  
Near Term ◽  
Río Tinto ◽  
Weak Dollar

Subject Copper market outlook. Significance The combination of solid Chinese growth and the weak dollar drove the copper price 32% higher in 2017 and the metal has held on to its gains this year, oscillating around 7,000 dollars per tonne. Global consumption has been falling in recent months, and major customers have been paying lower premiums over benchmark prices to secure long-term contracts. This downward pressure on the price has been offset by supply concerns as the leading mines struggle to replace reserves. This leads miners towards lower grades, where they must process higher volumes of material, raising costs. Impacts Adding to near-term supply constraints, First Quantum will expand its Cobre Panama project by 15% but delay initial output to after 2018. Boosting supply, Peru is set to allow the Tia Maria project, recognising Southern Copper’s efforts to solve its legal dispute. Rio Tinto will negotiate a tax settlement with Mongolia after the company was hit with a 155-million-dollar bill for its Oyu Tolgoi mine.

Demobilisation will be a long-term challenge in Libya

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Near Term ◽  
The Many ◽  
Financial Arrangements

Significance Although a ceasefire has been in place since October 2020, very little has been done during that time to integrate or demobilise the many armed forces and groups that exist across the country. The obstacles are formidable. Impacts Significant demobilisation and reintegration will not happen in the near term. Local security will continue to rest on fragile political and financial arrangements between armed groups and governing authorities. The current high levels of oil and gas revenue will tend to discourage unrest.

Multiteam systems as integrated networks for engaging ambidexterity as dynamic capabilities

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin P. Dean
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Capabilities ◽  
Dynamic Environment ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Integrated Networks ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Systems Model ◽  
Near Term

PurposeThis inquiry aims to determine the features and mechanisms that specially enable a multiteam system (MTS) to develop ambidexterity that can deal effectively with rapid changes in dynamic environments. The MTS is an emerging organizational unit comprised of tightly integrated networks of teams that may originate from one or more firms. The inquiry also considered how an MTS can engage those features and mechanisms to maximize ambidexterity as dynamic capabilities for increased innovation and long-term adaptation under complex, volatile conditions.Design/methodology/approachThis conceptual inquiry integrates the emerging research on MTSs with theory and studies relating to ambidexterity and dynamic capabilities. This inquiry focuses on the attributes and linkages that specially characterize an MTS. It analyzes these to determine the key mechanisms and interactions enabling and engaging ambidexterity at MTS unit level.FindingsMTSs can engage powerful mechanisms for ambidexterity functioning as dynamic capabilities at meso-organizational level. The attributes and linkages that distinguish an MTS from other units enable it to deal effectively and efficiently with near-term task demands by simultaneously balancing the essential tasks of exploration and exploitation, and by being able to rapidly adapt by reconfiguring taskwork and reallocating resources as required for sustainable innovation and long-term success within a dynamic environment.Practical implicationsThis inquiry provides valuable insights for designing MTSs that are equipped with selected teams, flexible memberships, specialized skills and permeable interfaces. Autonomy for an MTS allows the unit to span internal and external organizational boundaries to gain access to new discoveries and to exchange information and material resources for increased innovation. Ambidexterity as dynamic capabilities facilitates exploitation of current resources by efficiently reconfiguring taskwork and reallocating materials for adaptation and competitive advantage.Originality/valueThis inquiry appears to represent the most integrative effort to examine the underexplored potential of MTSs for developing and engaging ambidexterity functioning as dynamic capabilities. The inquiry appears to be a first effort at articulating a concept of MTS ambidexterity distinct from organizational ambidexterity. The analysis synthesizes a systems model that guides organizational leaders and opens new opportunities for future research.

Trusting records: is Blockchain technology the answer?

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 110-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria Louise Lemieux
Keyword(s):  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Records Management ◽  
Infrastructure Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Blockchain Technology ◽  
Registry System ◽  
Original Analysis ◽  
Management Controls ◽  
Near Term

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the value of Blockchain technology as a solution to creating and preserving trustworthy digital records, presenting some of the limitations, risks and opportunities of the approach. Design/methodology/approach The methodological approach involves using the requirements embedded in records management and digital preservation standards, specifically ISO 15,489, ARMA’s Generally Accepted Recordkeeping Principles, ISO 14,721 and ISO 16,363, as a general evaluative framework for a risk-based assessment of a specific proposed implementation of Blockchain technology for a land registry system in a developing country. Findings The results of the analysis suggest that Blockchain technology can be used to address issues associated with information integrity in the present and near term, assuming proper security architecture and infrastructure management controls. It does not, however, guarantee reliability of information in the first place, and would have several limitations as a long-term solution for maintaining trustworthy digital records. Originality/value This paper contributes an original analysis of the application of Blockchain technology for recordkeeping.

Inventory overhang will cap uranium price gains

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Investor Sentiment ◽  
Power Demand ◽  
Power Capacity ◽  
Power Station ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Downward Pressure ◽  
New Entrants ◽  
Near Term

Subject Global uranium market. Significance Uranium prices have been under downward pressure since the Fukushima power station accident in Japan in 2011; they ended 2019 at 25.6 dollars per pound (0.454 kilograms), down from 28.8 dollars per pound a year earlier. This is significantly lower than prices between 2006 and 2015. In the near term, plentiful inventories and modest nuclear power demand in many regions will limit the prospects for price gains. Impacts The conversion market will consolidate in Russia and see new entrants in China; both trends benefit from surplus supplies from Kazakhstan. Investor sentiment remains poor with regard to investing in stockmarket-listed uranium firms. China aims to double its nuclear power capacity by 2035 and its policies will shape the global uranium market.

Tech advances will bolster long-term copper demand

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Copper Price ◽  
Metal Exchange ◽  
London Metal Exchange ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Copper Producer ◽  
The Us

Subject The copper market. Significance The copper price has picked up by nearly 9% this year after weakening unexpectedly through 2018, losing 17.5%. Unusually, the slide was accompanied by metal inventories dropping steadily on the London Metal Exchange, Comex and Shanghai Metals Exchange. Stocks peaked at 900 kilotonnes (kt) in March 2018 before plummeting by 65% to start the year at the lowest since 2014. This rare combination of falling inventories and weakening prices has yet to find a viable explanation. Impacts Zambian import duties on concentrate has prompted 366 kt of capacity to be shutdown, reducing supply on the market. Boosting the outlook for US output, the US Environmental Protection Agency has approved Hudbay’s 112-kt-per-year Rosemont mine in Arizona. Chilean miner Codelco is spending 4.9 billion dollars to mine underground at Chuquicamata, aiming to extend operations by 40 years. Indonesia, the ninth largest copper producer, is to redirect output towards local smelters; it has cut annual export quotas by 25-75%.

Middle East regimes will survive lasting instability

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Civil Wars ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Status ◽  
Near Term ◽  
The Government ◽  
Regime Resilience

Subject Regime resilience in the Middle East. Significance The Middle East's political order has been shaken at the start of the 21st century by the sudden and violent removal of long-standing authoritarian rulers in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Iraq and Yemen; mass protests against the government in Tehran; and the collapse of regime authority in large parts of Syria. Far from paving the way to an era of more democratic and stable rule in the Middle East, most countries have instead experienced increasingly dysfunctional governance, reinforced authoritarianism, sectarian tensions, or civil wars. This raises questions about the sustainability of the status quo and the long-term direction of political systems across the region. Impacts Some countries may yet transition to more representative and accountable forms of government over the next ten years (Tunisia, Morocco). Deteriorating economic conditions and escalating proxy conflicts will see volatility rise across the region. The United States will resist pressure to step up its intervention in the region to help restore stability. Political Islam is unlikely to make a serious comeback in the near term, but will be active in Morocco, Tunisia, Bahrain and Kuwait. Regime repression and security force brutality will radicalise political opposition and increase recruitment to jihadist groups.

Disconnect will grow between Fed policy and yields

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Yield Curve ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Volatility Index ◽  
Bond Yield ◽  
Downward Pressure ◽  
The Us ◽  
Us Government ◽  
European Banks ◽  
Near Term ◽  
Price Distortions

Subject US market dynamics. Significance The flattening of the US government bond yield curve -- the process in which yields on short-dated bonds converge with, or exceed, those on long-dated debt -- is fuelling debate about monetary policy and the outlook for global growth, especially US growth given the determination of the Federal Reserve (Fed) to raise rates steadily. Financial markets fear the Fed is being overly hawkish, but price distortions and technical factors appear to be driving the flattening more than economic weakness. Impacts The VIX volatility index, Wall Street’s 'fear' gauge, is signalling near-term stability. The Bank of Japan’s July policy tweaking led to the sharpest 10-year bond yield rise in two years, highlighting fears of stimulus ending. The Fed is raising rates, but China is loosening policy to boost GDP amid rising trade costs, putting downward pressure on the renminbi. Turkish borrowers owe European banks nearly 170 billion dollars, half to Spain and over 35 billion dollars to France, worrying the ECB.

Copper prices will edge higher due to labour disputes

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Power ◽  
Fourth Quarter ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Bear Market ◽  
Supply Disruptions ◽  
Rio Tinto ◽  
The Government ◽  
Labour Disputes ◽  
Río Tinto ◽  
Capital Reserves

Subject The outlook for copper prices. Significance Having seen prices halve over five years, the copper market has stabilised since the fourth quarter of 2016. The long bear market forced the industry to cut exploration and capital reserves, and demand rebounded in 2016, growing by 1.8%. This year the market has started to tighten as there have been supply disruptions. Impacts Chile’s output could rise in coming years as the government will inject 975 million dollars to bolster state-owned Codelco’s growth. In six years, Rio Tinto and Chinalco found no copper in China and have stopped looking, so China will remain the world’s largest importer. Chile’s miners, reliant on costly coal and gas, are reviewing bids from wind and solar power producers, which may dramatically cut costs. To increase its stake in two Congolese mines, Glencore spent more than 500 million dollars to buy out Israeli financier Dan Gertler.

Prospects for climate change in 2021

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Paris Agreement ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Climate Policies ◽  
Net Zero ◽  
Near Term ◽  
Better Than

Significance US re-entry into the Paris Agreement will signal renewed climate engagement by Washington. Prospects for climate cooperation are better than they seemed a year ago, with net-zero targets being more widely adopted, alongside long-term ambition statements. Credibility will depend on substantial changes in near-term climate policies and the pursuit of ‘green recoveries’.

Rio Tinto enters lithium production in Argentina

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Content Type ◽  
Rio Tinto ◽  
Río Tinto

Headline ARGENTINA: Rio Tinto enters lithium production

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