Read this from a news article yesterday.
Mining companies require large investments, and a strong U.S. economy will provide money for investors, Silver said.
Silver said the price of silver, which is around $4.60 per ounce, is too low given the worldwide supply and demand. Silver approached $7 an ounce earlier this year.
''It's going to double or triple in the next 24 months,'' Silver said. That echoed predictions by other analysts.
But gold prices of around $290 per ounce are likely to keep dropping, Silver predicted. Mining companies should resist the urge to increase production, and instead look for new large deposits, he said.
Copper prices will also remain low, and major producers must cut production, Silver said.
While predicting that Russia and Japan will solve their economic woes, Silver said Latin America is saturated with mining companies. Mining investment in Africa is dangerous because of local political disputes, he said.
''I don't believe in China and I don't see a future for it,'' Silver added.
Doug Hurst, a mining consultant from Nelson, British Columbia, is predicting that 1999 will be a strong year for mining companies.
But analyst Mark Anderson of Behre Dolbear & Co. is more pessimistic.
Copper prices remain under 70 cents per ounce, while it costs 90 cents per ounce to produce, he said.
''We don't see big increases in copper next year,'' Anderson said. ''Next year we will see a high of 73 cents. There's too much stuff around.''
He advised copper companies to stop mining and wait for prices to improve. |
