Last week saw many positive articles concerning Nickel prices and stainless steel demand:

The International Stainless Steel Forum forecast at its annual meeting last week in Kyoto, Japan. that “global stainless crude steel production will reach 29.8 million metric tons in 2007. This represents a rise of 5.1 % on 2006 production.”

The forum sees growth in production this year in China, Japan, India, Africa and throughout Western, Central and Eastern Europe.

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Forbes.com reported on behalf on Numis that, “Nickel prices look likely to exceed 50,000 usd per ton in the coming days or weeks on strong global stainless steel production, particularly in China, with nickel supply struggling to match consumption”

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Bloomberg.com noted that “Nickel gained the most in four weeks in London after production from the Voisey’s Bay mill in Canada was shut because of a dispute over safety.”

“Nickel, used in Stainless Steel,  has gained 40 percent this year, the best performer among six industrial metals traded on the LME. The metal traded at a record $51,800 a ton on May 9, prompting steelmakers including ThyssenKrupp AG to say they would make more nickel-free products to cut costs.”

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Brilliant Mining Corp. hit an all time high of $2.85 on May 4th, reflecting strong gains in base metal prices last week.

 Nickel rose 10.6 per cent to $51,550 a tonne, after hitting a record at $51,600 Friday.
 Available stocks are still critically low at 3,354 tonnes while continued supply tightness is expected after disruption at the Voisey Bay nickel mine in Canada.

 Michael Widmer of Calyon  reported to  FT.com that stainless steel producers will cut output this year but this will not have a significant impact on nickel demand. He continues to say  that Calyon raised its 2007 average nickel price forecast from $34,580 to $44,080 and expects prices to average $50,000 in 2008

Base metals strength also inspired gains for gold, up 1.1 per cent to $688.50 a troy ounce this week.
Source: FT.com Financial Times
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Uranium Exploration: Understanding Mineralization types and Interpreting Assay Results

Discovery Group is hosting its third seminar of the Educational Series meant to simplify the technical aspects of Mineral Exploration, give you the tools to read news releases, understand maps and fully evaluate what’s happening in the exciting uranium exploration sector.

When: December 5th, 2006, from 2:00PM until 3:00PM

Where: 4th floor of the YWCA at 535 Hornby Street, Vancouver, BC (more…)

Here is some information related to the global supply and demand of nickel from the Daily Report on October 19 

o Nickel prices are currently trading at $15.40 per pound, just shy of the all time high and nickel inventories are near historic lows.

o A presentation by Macquarie Research at this year’s LME Dinner indicated that this year’s nickel deficit is 27,000 tonnes.

For 2007, despite nickel being projected to be in a surplus position of 7,000 tonnes, nickel inventories will remain low.

(more…)

Here is some interesting data on capital raised by Canadian listed public companies during the month of October for mineral exploration and development around the world. 

Total Amount Raised:   C$434,476,604.00
Total Flow Through:   C$129,846,024.00
Total for Base Metals:   C$244,589,721.00 (Between 35 companies)
Total for Precious Metals:   C$307,397,075.00 (Between 46 companies, 26 specializing in Gold)
Total for Diamonds:    C$11,923,582.00 (Between 5 companies)

Top Brokers by Value Raised:  Pacific International with C$34,073,125.00 and Sprott Securities with C$30,000,435.00
Top Regions:    Canada (with 74 companies, 29 of which have operations in BC) Latin America (Between 14 companies, 3 projects?or companies? in Argentina and 3 in Chile)

Source: http://www.canadianfinancing.com/