Mining News Archives

Several companies submitted bids for U.S. copper miner Asarco on Wednesday as it tries to sell its way out of bankruptcy protection, a company lawyer said.

BHP Billiton Ltd has approved $US1.9 billion of spending to expand the Worsley Alumina project in Western Australia.

Fang Fenglei, Goldman Sachs Group Inc's China partner, is investing US$300 million in the owner of a Mongolian iron ore mine together with Singapore's Temasek Holdings Pte, his first deal since starting a ...

Gold Reserve Inc. announced the Venezuelan Ministry of Environment has communicated its plan to rescind the March 2007 permit for the commencement of the construction phase of the Brisas Project .

Crystallex International Corp. said Venezuela has denied the company's permit to continue exploration at the Las Cristinas deposit, which would become the country's largest gold mine.

Miner Grupo Mexico`s plans to ramp up output at its giant Cananea copper pit have been delayed indefinitely after a labor board declared a 9-month-long strike there legal, the company said on April 28.

As China's voracious demand for iron ore rises, the country demands a more stable, long term pricing policy from India.

The head of Rio Tinto's aluminium division said today the miner is open to working with Chinalco on projects and pointed to the Weipa and Aurukun projects in Queensland as one possibility.

De Beers in a letter to clients last week said it had increased prices by an average 8.5% since the start of the year, including this week's Sight or sale.

Rio Tinto Group, the world's third- largest mining company, is looking at expanding output by 26 percent at the Queensland Alumina Ltd.

Cornerstone Capital Resources Inc , a strategic partner of Newmont Mining Corp , said Wednesday it has suspended gold exploration work of its Macara Project in southern Ecuador.

Reported in the Wall street Journal : Two court cases in Texas are set to begin Wednesday that will help determine the future of Mexican conglomerate Grupo Mexico SA and that of its former U.S. mining unit Asarco, a company the Mexican firm bought amid controversy a decade ago and later placed in bankruptcy protection. In Corpus Christi, a U.S. bankruptcy court will receive bids to buy Asarco out of bankruptcy protection. Any bid will have to be rich enough to satisfy more than $1 billion in outstanding cleanup claims by federal and state governments against Asarco for environmental damage associated with a century of mining across the United States.

Rio Tinto has hit back at claims by takeover suitor BHP Billiton that the additional $US33 billion in value Rio now sees in last year's $US38 billion acquisition of Alcan smacks of voodoo economics.

Mitsubishi Corp. , Japan's largest trading company, said profit may rise 25 percent this year as soaring oil and coal prices bolster revenue from its energy and commodities businesses.

Robert Pease, President and CEO of Terrane Metals Corp. , is pleased to announce that Wardrop Engineering Inc.

Antofagasta Plc , the copper producer controlled by Chile's Luksic family, said first-quarter output of the metal expanded 8.2 percent after it mined softer ore at its Los Pelambres site.

Shares in Crystallex International Corp. plunged 46 per cent Wednesday after the miner said it had been denied a permit for exploration work at its key Las Cristinas project in Venezuela.

China, the world's largest consumer of iron ore, won't accept demands from BHP Billiton Ltd and Rio Tinto Group for a freight premium on iron ore prices, the China Iron and Steel Association has said.

Committee Bay Resources Ltd. today announced the conclusion of the transaction whereby Focus Minerals Ltd , will acquire Committee Bay's 50% interest in the Coolgardie Gold Project, Western Australia.

' Essar Steel Holdings Ltd. of India has reached an agreement to buy Esmark Inc., parent of Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp., for $17 a share, according to a statement released shortly after 9 a.m. today.

Two days after Barron's magazine sent shares of potash makers lower with a March 18 article predicting a sell-off, India's largest importer agreed to more than double the price it pays for the fertilizer.

De Beers, the world's biggest undersea diamond miner, said its geologists in Namibia found the wreckage of an ancient sailing ship still laden with treasure, including six bronze cannons, thousands of Spanish ...

De Beers rough diamond production fell 6.8 percent to 11.774 million carats in the first quarter of 2008, as South Africa's power shortages affected the company's operations.

Inmet Mining Corporation announced today that it is extremely disappointed by Petaquilla Copper Ltd.'s decision yesterday to dispute Teck Cominco Limited's ownership of 26 percent of the Petaquilla Copper ...

Sherritt International Corp said on Wednesday its first-quarter profit was flat amid a 41 percent drop in realized nickel prices and marginal revenue growth.

Sinosteel Corp. , China's second- largest iron ore trader, raised its takeover bid for Midwest Corp.

Rio Tinto, the world's third largest mining company, says it has reached an agreement on tax clauses for the company's proposed $US2 billion nickel project in Sulawesi.

Long the redheaded stepchild of the diamond world, earth-tone diamonds in varying shades are now emerging as a favorite son.

Inmet Mining Corp. is being forced to mothball a copper project in Turkey after a court in that country rejected the company's appeal of an injunction against development activities at the site.

Southern Copper Corp. (PCU) plans to offer a $60 million severance package to striking workers at its Cananea mine in Mexico.

Mexican miner Grupo Mexico posted a 3.4 percent rise in its first-quarter net profit on Monday as high metals prices offset production losses from a nine-month strike at its Cananea copper mine.

Although copper prices have not really risen as a result of the current labour disruptions at the world's largest copper producer, Codelco of Chile, the cut in supplies has helped support the price just below ...

With price negotiations with Australia's mining giants stalled, China is turning its attention to another major supplier of the iron ore it badly needs to power its manufacturing might: India.

The world's largest steel maker, ArcelorMittal, will invest up to US$8 billion in Indonesia in a deal aimed at securing key supplies of iron ore and reducing its reliance on big suppliers such as Vale, BHP ...

Reuters reported that international unions, including a leading US labor organization, have accused Mexican authorities and Grupo Mexico of using violence to break up union ...

Mine operator Patriot Coal says its first-quarter loss narrowed 74% due largely to soaring prices.

Net income this quarter of $2.21 per share was higher than in the first quarter of 2007, mainly because copper and gold prices were higher. We realized record copper prices ...

Canadian gold explorer Aurelian Resources Inc. has dramatically slashed its work force and suspended drilling operations in Ecuador as a result of the Latin American nation's recent move to freeze exploration ...

Gold Fields Limited deeply regrets to report that four mineworkers were fatally injured in two separate underground accidents at its Driefontein and South Deep gold mines on the West Rand today.

"Yukon Zinc Corp. said yesterday it has received an unsolicited takeover offer from a group of Chinese companies for more than $100 million in cash.

Steel giant ArcelorMittal said on Tuesday it had signed record long-term contracts with Companhia Vale do Rio Doce for the ...

Anglo American, the mining and natural resources group, has reported production cuts of up to a third in key commodities as a result of power shortages in South Africa.

Opponents of a planned nickel and copper mine in Michigan's Upper Peninsula want an administrative law judge to invalidate permits for the project that were awarded by the state Department of Environmental ...

Uranium Holding ARMZ, Russia's state-owned mining company, may spend $8.6 billion to triple output with help from billionaire Oleg Deripaska , Canada's Cameco Corp.

First Metals Inc. is pleased to report that it achieved commercial production as of March 1, 2008 at the Fabie Bay Mine.

Apollo Gold Corporation announced today that a maintenance issue occurred over the weekend at its Montana Tunnels' mill processing facility.

Anglo American has ramped up its programme to achieve zero deaths in accidents at its mines with an initiative to tie manager's promotion ...

The world's second-largest stainless steel maker, Outokumpu Oyj, announced Monday that it has sold its last copper assets, in a move to further concentrate on core stainless production.

Domestic Energy Corp. , an independent oil and gas exploration and development firm, announced here today it plans to become one of the early participants in the new Chattanooga Shale natural gas development in ...

Independent Nickel Corp. today announced the discovery of a new zone of shallow high grade nickel mineralization on its property at Lynn Lake.

Biothermica announces today it has received authorization from the U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration to proceed with the implementation of an ...

Selenium pollution from a Boone County mining operation is poisoning fish in the Mud River, leading to serious deformities, according to a biologist's report.

Quarterly Production Drops at Ekati 27.04.08, 10:22 / Mining BHP Billiton announced that diamond production at Ekati diamond mine fell by 30% in the quarter ended March 2008, compared to the same quarter last ...

It was reported in the Australian Investment Review that :

Oxiana had good news for shareholders ahead of the AGM in Melbourne today that will no doubt be dominated by the planned merger with Zinifex.

That merger will make the company a $12 billion a year miner which is the second biggest zinc producer in the world, and a rising force in copper and gold, plus perhaps the best prospect in Australia: Prominent Hill in South Australia which is now due to start production by the end of the year.

via aireview.com.au

An Australian official denied Sunday that the government was secretly urging Chinese companies to hold off on investing in local mining and energy companies, amid growing concern about ...

Officials from Coal India Ltd., a state-owned monopoly, will next month visit Mozambique to examine a coking-coal mine the company plans to acquire along with Steel Authority of India Ltd.

Ecuador wants villagers living near mines to be shareholders in large projects as part of a new mining law that is key for the development of the country's nascent sector, President Rafael Correa said on ...

Diversified industrial trading group Marubeni Corporation will acquire a 30-per cent stake in leading copper producers Antofagasta Plc to acquire a 30-per cent stake in two of its Esperanza and El Tesoro mining ...

LIMA, Peru : Peru's Southern Copper Corp. said Friday that net profits rose 2.4 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period a year ago, buoyed by high metal prices.

A man survived a 500-foot fall into a strip mine Friday, astounding rescuers who spent hours on a risky descent into the abyss to bring him back out.

Companies such as Iamgold Corp. and Aurelian Resources Inc. have been scrambling for answers since Ecuador issued a decree last week revoking hundreds of mining concessions and freezing exploration.

Southern Copper , a leading global metals producer, said on Friday its first-quarter net profit rose 2.4 percent from the same period a year ago, as copper output fell but prices rose.

Mexico's mining union rejected on Friday liquidation offers for workers at one of Latin America's biggest copper mines, decrying efforts to shut the pit and end an eight-month-long strike.

... The company sent a letter to workers this week saying the mine was effectively closed and offered higher severance packages to those who chose to leave their jobs, the union said.

"They are threatening to close the mine, but they can't do that," union official Carlos Pavon told Reuters.

Following review of the recently completed Definitive Feasibility Study , Oxiana's Board approved development of the Martabe gold and silver project in December 2007.

..The most significant and best defined of these is the Purnama deposit, where a resource of 66.7 million tonnes containing 1.74g/t Au and 21.5g/t Ag for a total of 3.7 million ounces of gold and 46 million ounces of silver has been defined by diamond drilling.

A potentially costly game of chicken over the fate of the $32-billion restructuring plan for frozen asset-backed commercial paper market will play out for another week.

Lawyers for corporations stuck with frozen asset-backed commercial paper packed a Toronto courtroom to implore a judge overseeing the $32-billion restructuring plan for the seized up market not to take away ...

Massey Energy isn't expecting significant problems from a delay in an appeal of a ruling that threatens mountaintop removal coal mining.

Salazar Resources Ltd. along with seven other mining companies and the Canadian Ambassador to Ecuador, Christian LaPointe, held a joint meeting with the President of Ecuador Rafael Correa and other senior ...

Grupo Mexico, S.A.B. de C.V. and its subsidiaries today announced that the Company intends to propose a sponsored reorganization plan through the Court-approved auction procedure to ensure the company ' s ...

The Chinese steel industry has indicated it will concede to BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto's demands for a price premium on Australian iron ore.

...Mr Zou said the Chinese steel industry might refuse to buy Australian iron ore if BHP and Rio insist on scrapping the long-term contract system.

Delays in permiting threaten output at the PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara copper and gold mine in Batu Hijau, Indonesia.

The Getchell Underground Mine, operated by the Barrick/Newmont-owned Turquoise Ridge Joint Venture, reported its third fatality in nine months, perhaps the second to be attributed to ground control issues.

Harmony has chosen Australian gold group Newcrest Mining to be its joint venture partner in its Papua New Guinea (PNG) gold and copper mining projects.

According to a SENS announcement Newcrest will earn a 50% interest in the JV by contributing up to US$525m in two stages.

Co-ordinator of Newmont Akyem Project, last weekend said management would invest more than 700 million dollars in the project.

Federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson has bluntly warned BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto to negotiate with Fortescue Metals Group over access to their Pilbara rail networks.

The way is still not clear for Kennecott Minerals to begin building a nickel and copper mine on the Yellow Dog Plains of Marquette County.

The cabinet today allowed the auction of coal mines to steel mills, power plants and cement units for their captive use.

Massey Energy says its first-quarter profit jumped 28.5% on the strength of soaring coal prices.

Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. today announced that the Board of Directors of its managing general partner has approved the opening of a new mine for the immediate development of the River View ...

Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, one of the world's top three miners, said Thursday first-quarter net profit fell 9 per cent from a year ago to $2.02-billion , as a drop in nickel prices and a strong local currency ...

Rising levels of demand will be mainly due to growth in Asia said the report, with usage in China forecast to rise by a further 10.4% primarily as a consequence of further investment in domestic infrastructure ...

Russia's OK Rusal, the world's largest aluminum company, announced Thursday that it has bought a 25-percent blocking stake MMC Norilsk Nickel, the world's largest nickel and palladium company.

This week Cynthia Carroll, the head of Anglo American, warned that platinum production for Angloplats was likely to fall by 150,000 oz this year due to power problems; Lonmin also admitted this week that it had ...

Lundin Mining Corp. was as surprised as anyone when it found out that the capital cost estimate on the mammoth Tenke Fungurume project has jumped more than 90% in just six months.

Copper futures rose after a strike led to the shutdown of three mining divisions at Chile's state- owned Codelco, the world's biggest producer of the metal.

BHP Billiton's South African coal producing subsidiary is seeking to re-negotiate its coal supply contracts with South African state utility Eskom, mining and power industry sources said.

Tucson-based copper producer Asarco LLC has won bankruptcy-court approval of two environmental settlements, over objections from parent company Grupo Mexico SAB, Bloomberg News reported.

International unions, including a leading U.S. labor organization, accused Mexican authorities on Wednesday of using violence to break up union strikes, including one at the country's biggest copper mine.

The government on Thursday said there is no move to transfer lease of parts of Chiria mines to Mittal Steel as state-run ...

Scorpio Mining Corporation is pleased to announce the commencement of production mining from the first stope in the Hoag Zone at its 100% owned Nuestra Senora project, ...

This release should be read in conjunction with Newmont's First Quarter 2008 Form 10-Q filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on April 24, 2008 .

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. said Thursday first-quarter profit almost tripled, as surging demand for grains around the world triggered higher fertilizer prices.

Mitsubishi Corp. , Japan's largest trading company, is expected to post a 40 percent increase in full-year net profit because of higher coking-coal and crude-oil prices, Nikkei English News said, without citing ...

First Quantum Minerals may have competition in its bid for nickel producer Scandinavian Minerals , according to analysts and also investors who pushed the stock up above the offer price on Wednesday.

Quanex Corporation , an industry-leading manufacturer of value-added engineered materials and components for the vehicular products and building products markets, announced today the completion of the spin-off ...

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has accepted a bid from Cordero Mining Co. for a coal tract in the Powder River Basin some five months after rejecting the company's first bid for the same tract.

Timminco Ltd. , the Canadian solar- grade silicon maker that has risen fourfold in the past year, fell for a fifth session in Toronto trading on concern its low- cost method of purifying silicon may not meet ...

Three coal companies have agreed to temporarily limit operations at three mountaintop removal mines opposed by environmentalists.

Canada's Teck Cominco, a potential spoiler of the planned $12 billion merger between Zinifex and Oxiana, has indicated it could sell some of its coal assets to give it more acquisition firepower.

Coalcorp Mining Inc. announced today that it has completed negotiations with Masering S.A., as lead operator, to partner with the existing mine contractor to support the expansion of ...