Issue link: http://resourceworld.uberflip.com/i/759903
D E C E M B E R / J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 7 www.resourceworld.com 17 Eldorado is a leading low cost gold producer with mining, development and exploration operations in Turkey, Greece, Romania and Brazil. TSX: ELD | NYSE: EGO eldoradogold.com The Company's success to date is based on a low cost strategy, a highly skilled and dedicated workforce, safe and responsible operations, and long-term partnerships with the communities where it operates. November, the price of fuel burned in power stations had doubled, while the coal used in steel making had more than tri- pled. Production cuts imposed by Chinese regulators earlier this year precipitated a production drop of 11% in the first nine months. Apparently, China is now scram- bling to reverse the rally and stabilize prices. diaMOnds Diamond mining companies continued to register strong growth in 2016 with sales volume for De Beers rising 90% in the third quarter while sales by Russia's ALROSA increased 69%. The longer-term picture remains bright and is supported by robust supply-demand fundamentals. Limited opportunities for further growth in rough diamond production are avail- able and diamond production is forecast to decline after 2020. Meanwhile, diamond jewellery demand is predicted to grow at up to 3-5% compound annual growth rate for the next 10 years and beyond, driven mainly by the US and a recovery in the emerging markets. ManGanese Manganese had a tough time in 2015 largely due to China's economic slowdown. The Asian nation generally requires large amounts of the metal for steelmaking but with slow economic growth an excess of supply has weighed on the market. South Africa is the world's largest producer of manganese in addition to hosting the larg- est reserves at 200 million tonnes. liThiUM Lithium, a light, reactive metal, is found in salt deposits in Nevada, South America, Australia, and China. It is central to the production of lithium-ion batteries which are used in smartphones and electric cars. Lithium prices have responded to the growing demand for electric cars. Prices have spiked sharply in the past two years with prices projected to peak in 2018. Since 2015, lithium carbonate has more than doubled with lithium hydroxide more than tripling. Analysts project that lithium could become the principal mate- rial in the coming green revolution of storable energy. However, the pricing mech- anism for lithium is highly opaque given the fact there are a huge number of products that can be made from lith- ium, ranging from lithium stearate (industrial grease) to lithium fluoride (alu- minum smelting) to butyllithium (organic compounds). For pricing purposes, these products are normally converted into lithium car- bonate which is largely used for battery manufacturing. According to Macquarie Bank, this opacity is a direct result of the way the lithium market is structured. Only four producers control about 85% of sup- ply, Macquarie says. A few companies are targeting spodumene, the hardrock ore of lithium.