The company has appointed the former CEO of BP PLC (NYSE: BP), Tony Hayward, as its interim chairman. Hayward is the senior independent director and deputy chairman of Glencore Xstrata.

Bond, who is 70 years old, had already said he would step down as chairman after a search for a new chairman had been completed. Shareholders did not want to wait that long apparently.

Shareholders rejected the original terms of the merger agreement between Glencore and Xstrata, which Bond had negotiated. They were especially unhappy with the generous retention packages being recommended for Xstrata executives. Bond’s decision to step down came following that rejection.

A second director, Steve Robson, was also rejected by shareholders in a proxy vote, and he resigned before today’s annual meeting.

Hayward presided over BP at the time of the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon, which claimed the lives of 11 workers and dumped millions of barrels of crude into the Gulf of Mexico. Hayward took a lot of heat for the seemingly cavalier manner in which he responded to the disaster, and he resigned under pressure in July 2010. He is currently the CEO of a small oil company with operations in Kurdistan.

Among the detail released by the Council:

• Global first quarter gold demand of 963.0 tonnes was valued at US$50.5bn. India and China accounted for 62% of Q1 global jewellery demand, generating year-on-year growth of 15% and 19% respectively.

Global jewellery demand of 551t was worth a record US$28.9bn, surpassing the previous quarter’s record. Q1 ETF outflows of 176.9t, equating to a 7% decline in total gold ETF holdings obscured the strong rise in investment for gold bars and coins at the retail level.

Chinese demand in gold bars and coins grew to 109.5t, and more than double the five-year quarterly average of 43.8t.

Demand for gold in the technology sector declined by 4% year-on-year to 102.0t. In value terms, demand was 7% lower at US$5.4bn. The sector contracted on further losses in bonding wire and continued erosion of dental demand.

Central banks added 109.2t of gold to their reserves in Q1 2013, the ninth consecutive quarter of net purchases. The sector accounted for 11% of demand in the first quarter, worth a value of US$5.7bn.

At 1,051.6t, total gold supply was little changed in the first quarter. Mine production in Q1 2013 generated 688.0t of supply, 4% more than Q1 2012.

The central bank data should come as no surprise. An earlier analysis of 2012 central bank activity by 24/7 Wall St. showed that:

Central bank buying for 2012 rose by 17% over 2011 to some 534.6 tonnes. As far as central bank gold buying, this was the highest level since 1964. Central bank purchases stood at 145 tonnes in the fourth quarter. That is up 9% from the fourth quarter of 2011, and the eighth consecutive quarter in which central banks were net purchasers of gold.

The World Gold Council provided an in depth look at the trends:

Palladium prices are driven by demand for catalytic converters in light-duty trucks and passenger cars, and in 2012, demand totaled more than 6.6 million ounces, more than double the 3.24 million ounces of demand for platinum which is more extensively used to clean the exhaust from diesel-powered engines. Some 88% of available palladium was used for catalytic converters, compared with 81% of platinum.

Combined with demand for palladium, supplies have declined. In 2012 the deficit was 1.07 ounces. Newly mined supply was down 11%, with recycled supply also down slightly. A third factor contributing to palladium demand was investment, which rose from a negative 565,000 ounces in 2011 to a positive 470,000 ounces in 2012.

There are three ETFs that offer a play on palladium: the ETFS Physical Precious Metal Basket Shares (NYSEMKT: GLTR), the PowerShares DB Precious Metals Fund (NYSEMKT: DBP), and the ETFS Physical Palladium Shares (NYSEMKT: PALL). The two funds from ETFS seek to track the price of the physical commodities, while the PowerShares fund tracks a commodities index.

The ETFS Physical Precious Metal Basket Shares (NYSEMKT: GLTR) currently trades at $78.22 in a 52-week range of $74.24 to $102.05, down about 16% year to date.

The PowerShares DB Precious Metals Fund (NYSEMKT: DBP) trades at $47.61 in a 52-week range of $45.10 to $63.80, a drop of nearly 17% so far in 2013.

The ETFS Physical Palladium Shares (NYSEMKT: PALL) trades at $70.45 in a 52-week range of $54.74 to $77.20, up 0.1% year to date.

U.K.-based chemicals company Johnson Matthey plc, which recently published its Platinum 2013 report, also expects 2013 demand for palladium to outstrip supply. The company notes that sales from Russia’s stockpiles will continue to decline. Supply from South Africa was down 9.3% last year as well and mine closures and continuing labor unrest could rein in supply here as well.

North American Palladium Ltd. (NYSEMKT: PAL) and Stillwater Mining Co. (NYSE: SWC) are the two North American companies actively mining platinum and palladium, but neither is a major source of global supply.

As new car production increases, not just in the U.S., but everywhere around the globe except perhaps Europe, demand for palladium could continue to rise. It’s worth watching.

Platinum prices have fallen to around $1,488 an ounce, down from nearly $1,600 a month ago and over $1,700 at the beginning of the year. Over the past 12 months, platinum prices are down about $100 an ounce.

The only U.S. platinum miner, Stillwater Mining Co. (NYSE: SWC), saw its share price rise more than 60% in the nine months through early February, but shares have declined by about 20% since then. Some of that was the result of a proxy battle led that ended up making a major change in the company’s board. But rising global stockpiles of platinum and the declining price of the white metal likely played a bigger role.

Here’s a look at how platinum and palladium ETFs have done over the last 12 months. In all but one case, the year-to-date high has dropped from its level in January, when we last looked at these funds.

The ETFS Physical Platinum Shares (NYSEMKT: PPLT) currently trades around $145.95 in a 52-week range of $135.80 to $170.78, off about 15% from a February high.

The UBS E-TRACS Long Platinum Total Return ETN (NYSEMKT: PTM) trades today at $16.64 in a 52-week range of $15.61 to $21.00, down about 21% from an October peak.

The iPath DJ-UBS Platinum Total Return Sub-index ETN (NYSEMKT: PGM) trades at $34.09 in a 52-week range of $30.55 to $39.33, down around 13%since February.

The ETFS Physical Precious Metal Basket Shares (NYSEMKT: GLTR) currently trades at $77.58 in a 52-week range of $74.24 to $102.05, down nearly 25% from an October high.

The PowerShares DB Precious Metals Fund (NYSEMKT: DBP) trades at $47.53 in a 52-week range of $45.10 to $63.80, a drop of 25% since the stock’s October peak.

The ETFS Physical Palladium Shares (NYSEMKT: PALL) trades at $69.34 in a 52-week range of $54.74 to $77.20, down 10% since a peak in March. This fund’s 52-week high improved since January, the only one of this group to achieve that.

Stillwater’s shares are down about 1.5% today at $12.21 in a 52-week range of $7.47 to $14.87. Stillwater posted its high in February, when platinum prices rose above $1,700 an ounce.

On a GAAP basis, Molycorp posted a loss of $0.33 a share, which does not include “operational expansion items, out-of-ordinary business expenses, and certain other non-cash items.” The largest single exclusion was $37.21 million, which the company noted is an inventory write-down. The price of rare earths continues to remain low and demand is also down, and that’s bad news for Molycorp.

The company’s CEO said:

Our ongoing production ramp-up at Mountain Pass remains on course, and our increasing production is allowing us to produce for end-use customers as well as provide greater feedstock to our downstream, value-added processing facilities. On the demand side, we are beginning to see signs of a return to more normal levels of demand as the year progresses.

Molycorp reiterated last night that the first half of this year will be weaker than the second half of last year. The second half of the year is forecast to improve as low sales in the first quarter are chalked up to seasonality and, perversely perhaps, “the expectation that [the] Molycorp Mountain Pass facility will not achieve full-scale commercial production until mid-year 2013.”

Somehow it doesn’t seem logical that all Molycorp’s troubles will be behind it when the mine is producing at full capacity. That should drive prices down, no?

For today, though, the revenue beat and the smaller-than-expected loss per share is giving the company’s shares a lift. Shares are up more than 9% in after-hours trading, at $5.59 in a 52-week range of $4.70 to $26.10. Thomson Reuters had a consensus target price for the shares at around $9.30 before today’s report.

Stillwater’s eight-person board will now be split evenly between four candidates loyal to chairman and CEO Frank McAllister and the four members supported by The Clinton Group. Prior to the election, the hedge fund had turned down an offer to accept four seats on Stillwater’s board, and Schweitzer said that an even split offered “the worst governance you could imagine.”

Following yesterday’s vote, Schweitzer said that the election was a “huge victory.” That’s a good politician for you.

McAllister will remain chairman and CEO of the company, but expects a new CEO to be appointed at some unspecified future date. He also acknowledged that Stillwater’s shareholders want the company to remain focused on its Montana operations.

The fight for control of Stillwater pitted Schweitzer and his side arguing that recent acquisitions in Argentina and Canada threatened the viability of Stillwater’s Montana platinum and palladium operations. McAllister and his side countered that the hedge funders and the ex-governor wanted to take over the company for a song and had no idea how to run a mining business.

Schweitzer has now won three consecutive elections and most people think he is setting up to take a run at the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Max Baucus, who is not seeking re-election to a seventh term.

Stillwater’s shares are up more than 4% today, at $12.55 in a 52-week range of $7.47 to $14.87.

Glencore Xstrata CEO Ivan Glasenberg told The Wall Street Journal that he has found widespread duplication of some tasks and that he expects to fire a “big amount” of Xstrata’s middle managers. Of the 17 top management positions at Glencore Xstrata only 2 are filled by former Xstrata managers — one in coal and one in iron ore.

According to a new presentation, the new company will close Xstrata corporate headquarters in Zug, Switzerland, and in London, and expects to “comfortably” meet its $500 million synergies savings.

More savings are expected as the new company’s major capex commitments cease in 2015, as Xstrata projects for 2013 and 2014 reach their end. Glencore Xstrata may also divest the Las Bambas copper project in Peru which was inherited with Xstrata and is slated for another $3 billion in capital spending through 2014.

Another interesting note in Glasenberg’s interview with the WSJ is that he called the merger “a big play on coal,” and said, “To really screw this up, the coal price has really got to tank.” A big bet on coal at this particular time is, at best, counterintuitive, but except for a one-third stake in a working Colombian mine, all the rest of the company’s working mines are in Australia or South Africa. Projects in Canada could be scrapped.

Coal made up 25% of Glencore Xstrata’s proforma earnings as measured by 2012 EBIT. Copper accounts for 33% or earnings and zinc provides 15%. Trading in metals raked in 17% of earnings, while energy and agricultural commodities trading brought in 5% each.

On the revenue side, based on 2012 proforma calculations, Glencore Xstrata’s trading activities accounted for $189.71 billion in revenues and industrial activities contributed $46.75 billion. Getting those numbers up could be difficult this year with commodities prices softening on just about every mineral and grain you could name. Cutting costs will help Glencore Xstrata, but it’s not a long-term fix.

The Glencore Xstrata presentation is available here.

Precious metals reserves on properties subject to Royal Gold’s interests (net of depletion) were approximately 82.8 million ounces of gold and 1.15 billion ounces of silver. This is lower than the 84.5 million gold ounces and 1.2 billion silver ounces from a year earlier.

During the third quarter of fiscal 2013, the gold interest owner showed a 7% increase in its royalty revenue to $74.2 million, while operating cash flow rose by 43% to $68.1 million. A noncash loss was realized on its available-for-sale securities of $12.1 million associated with the common shares of Seabridge Gold Inc. (NYSE: SA) that were acquired as part of the June 2011 transaction regarding the Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell Project. The company’s SEC filing shows its project by project updates.

It has been a very tough time for Royal Gold. Many of its gold investments were made when gold was higher, although it has many legacy projects from much lower gold prices on the books as well. The stock has drifted down to $53.69 from a 2012 peak of $100.84, and the stock is down almost 34% year-to-date in 2013.

Seabridge Gold Inc. (NYSE: SA) also has fallen on hard times, as its $11.07 price compares to a 52-week range of $9.63 to $20.34. Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX) is down at $53.47, and its 52-week range is $17.51 to $43.30.

Glencore Xstrata will be the fourth largest mining company in the world, trailing Vale S.A. (NYSE: VALE), BHP Billiton PLC (NYSE: BHP) and Rio Tinto PLC (NYSE: RIO). Glencore Xstrata also will be the largest commodities trading company in the world.

There already is speculation that Glencore Xstrata will look for another acquisition very soon, while many of its rivals struggle with lower commodities prices and higher costs. A prime candidate appears to be London-traded Anglo American, which currently carries a market cap of around $20 billion, less than half what it was worth less than two years ago.

Glencore has also come under fire recently for hoarding copper at its LME-bonded warehouses, where stockpiles sit at 10-year highs. Glencore and another huge trading house, Trafigura, are said to control about 70% of global supplies of copper, and both have been accused of paying a premium of $100 a ton to the market price of copper to attract more deliveries to their warehouses. The idea, of course, would be to choke off the availability of copper until the price rises and the traders can sell for a substantial profit.

Glencore Xstrata shares begin trading in London tomorrow and on the Swiss Stock Exchange on Monday.

On GAAP basis, the company posted EPS of $0.38. Adjusted EPS excludes the positive impact of currency exchange rates and mark-to-market gains on the conversion of convertible senior notes. However, adjusted EPS does include a negative impact of $0.02 per share for noncash stock-based compensation.

The company’s CEO, said:

I believe the long term fundamentals supporting a strong gold price remain firmly in place, but in light of recent volatility in gold and other metals prices we have completed a review of capital spending, exploration and general and administrative costs. A contingency plan is now in place that would defer spending should market conditions warrant …

Goldcorp reaffirmed its guidance for the full year, calling for production in a range of 2.55 million to 2.8 million ounces of gold at a total cash costs of $1,000 to $1,100 per ounce on an all-in sustaining cost basis.

Shares of Goldcorp are down about 1% in pr-market trading this morning, at $28.58 in a 52-week range of $27.11 to $47.42. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of around $442.05 before today’s report.