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Nasdaq-listed company Marathon Patent Group is forming a new joint venture with a U.S. power provider that will bring a supply of cheap energy for its bitcoin mining operations.

  • In an announcement Tuesday, Marathon said it’s teamed up with Maryland-based Beowulf Energy for the venture. Beowulf develops and operates power generation and industrial infrastructure facilities internationally.
  • The arrangement will see Marathon co-locate a bitcoin mining facility within Beowulf’s Big Horn Data Hub at its 105-megawatt power station in Hardin, Montana.
  • Beowulf will supply electricity for the mining farm at a production cost of $0.028 per kWh, according to the announcement.
  • That’s 38% below Marathon’s current aggregate power cost for mining and facility operations, $0.034 per kWh.
  • The company says this, in turn, will cut its breakeven costs to mine one bitcoin from approximately $7,500 currently to $4,600.
  • Under the deal, Beowulf is also becoming an equity shareholder in Marathon, while
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By Jeff Lewis

TORONTO, Oct 2 (Reuters) – Brazilian miner Vale SA VALE3.SA is in talks with Tesla TSLA.O and others in the electric vehicle (EV) supply chain about securing nickel from its Canadian operations, the head of the miner’s base metals unit said on Friday.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk in July urged miners to produce more nickel, a key ingredient in the batteries that power the company’s electric cars. Musk offered a “giant contract” if supplies could be produced in an environmentally sensitive way.

While EVs are expected to help reduce global carbon emission, environmentalists are concerned that production of EV parts and increased mining may damage the environment.

Analysts have also warned of a supply deficit for nickel, which makes batteries energy dense so cars can run further on a single charge.

Tesla and other automakers need

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Thesis

Resolute Mining’s (OTCPK:RMGGF) recently withdrawn FY 2020 production and cost guidance (following a 10-day strike notice from mineworkers’ union at the company’s Malian operations) has hit the share price hard. Considering the current prices, one may assume that the stock is technically attractive; but I disagree. In my view, RMGGF’s business performance is tainted by a plethora of issues relating to its operations, financials, as well as overall business management.

This article will highlight the key red flags in RMGGF’s balance sheet and income statement. Broadly, these issues relate to the company’s liquidity and debt profiles, outstanding share count, revenues, and profitability (including EBITDA margins). We’ll also discuss the operational challenges that hinder the company from taking maximum advantage of the prevailing high gold-price environment. Finally, we will discuss RMGGF’s pricing and considerations for potential investors who wish to expand their gold miners’ portfolio by investing in a geographically-diversified

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Welcome to the August 2020 edition of the “junior” lithium miner news. I have categorized those lithium miners that won’t likely be in production before 2022 as the juniors. Investors are reminded that most of the lithium juniors will most likely be needed in the mid and late 2020s to supply the booming electric vehicle [EV] and energy storage markets. This means investing in these companies requires a higher risk tolerance and a longer time frame.

August was another good month of news and progress for the lithium juniors despite the low current lithium prices.

Lithium spot and contract price news

During August, 99.5% lithium carbonate China spot prices were up 0.22%. Lithium hydroxide prices were down 0.85%. Spodumene (5% min) prices were down 1.21%.

Fastmarkets (formerly Metal Bulletin) reports 99.5% lithium carbonate battery grade spot midpoint prices cif China, Japan & Korea of US$7.25/kg (US$7,250/t), and min 56.5% lithium

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The S&P 500 Index (SNPINDEX:^SPX) gained 9.1 points, or just under 0.3%, on Monday. This marks another relatively quiet day for the index, which makes up about 80% of the entire U.S. stock market capitalization. 

Notable gainers today included General Motors (NYSE:GM), as shares closed up 7.5% after an analyst continued to bang the drum on spinning off GM’s electric vehicle business; and Newmont Goldcorp (NYSE:NEM), the S&P 500’s only gold mining stock, up 7% following the news that Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A)(NYSE:BRK.B) bought shares of Barrick Gold last quarter. Shares of NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) also gained almost 7% after an analyst’s comments. 

On the downside, airline stocks and cruise stocks were some of the biggest losers. Shares of American Airlines Group, United Airlines, and Carnival fell 5%, leading their subsectors lower.

And while Buffett’s buy of Barrick Gold sent Newmont higher, Berkshire’s decision to off-load all

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Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Fortune/Time Inc

  • Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway bought shares in a gold miner last quarter, despite the billionaire investor dismissing gold as a subpar asset for more than 20 years.

  • Berkshire added 20.9 million shares of Barrick Gold worth about $564 million to its portfolio, its only new position in the period.

  • Buffett has repeatedly blasted gold for being an unproductive asset that has underperformed stocks in the long term.

  • “If you bought gold at the time of Christ and you figured the compound rate on it, it may be a couple tenths of 1%,” he said at Berkshire’s annual meeting in 2018.

  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway made its first investment in a gold miner last quarter, even though the famed investor has warned against betting on the precious metal for at least two decades.

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MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian state-controlled diamond producer Alrosa said on Friday that its second-quarter net profit fell by 98% year on year to 300 million roubles ($4 million) as the novel coronavirus outbreak hit demand for precious stones.

The global diamond supply chain has been convulsed by the pandemic, prompting Alrosa and its peers to carry on with critically low sales for months. Alrosa’s second-quarter sales in carats shrunk by 92%.

The world’s largest producer of rough diamonds said its free cash flow turned negative in the second-quarter, leaving its shareholders without a dividend payment for the first half of 2020.

It created a $1.7 billion liquidity cushion by the end of June, providing it with a basis for operations and meeting debt liabilities, Alrosa said in a statement.

Alrosa’s July diamond sales dropped 79%, it said earlier this week, but the state help may be on its way as

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