sharenet

China's top utilities protest plan to ban low-grade coal imports

Posted on May 30, 2013

The big utilities have only just begun to see their thermal power businesses turn profitable after hemorrhaging billions over the past five years due to soaring coal prices.

Copper dips to 18-month low after dim China growth data

Posted on April 23, 2013

London copper fell to a fresh year-and-a-half low on Tuesday after China's first economic report for the second quarter underscored fitful growth

Fatal Brazil pier accident halts Anglo American iron ore shipments

Posted on March 30, 2013

The collapse of a river bank where a floating pier was moored has halted shipments by global miner Anglo American from its iron ore operation in Amapa state in Northern Brazil, the company said on Saturday.

Copper market expects squeeze, big holding appears

Posted on July 2, 2012

Traders are bracing for a replay of the April squeeze that made copper expensive to obtain quickly, saying major trader Glencore controls almost half the inventories of the commodity held in London Metal Exchange-registered warehouses worldwide.

LME copper falls after China factory activity shrinks

Posted on March 22, 2012

London copper futures turned negative on Thursday, after manufacturing data on China that showed factory activity in the world's top metals consumer shrank for a fifth month.

Copper gains for 2nd day as Greece default woes ease

Posted on March 20, 2012

London copper edged higher for a second straight session on Tuesday after an orderly auction of Greek default insurance eased concerns about Greece's threat to the euro zone and eroded safe-haven support for the dollar.

Australia trade dives into deficit on China, gold

Posted on March 9, 2012

Australia's trade account unexpectedly dived into the red in January as exports to China were hit by the Lunar holiday and shipments of gold took a steep drop, making a soft start to the year for one of the country's success stories.

LME copper slips on slow China demand, EU debt woes

Posted on February 2, 2012

London copper slipped on Thursday as gains in the past month kept Chinese buyers at bay and the euro zone debt crisis continued to weigh on sentiment, but upbeat global manufacturing data is expected to keep a floor under prices.

LME copper hits near 4-month high on IMF hopes

Posted on January 19, 2012

London copper hit a four-month high on Thursday after news that the International Monetary Fund was seeking to raise funds to tackle the euro zone debt crisis tempered worries over European funding troubles and boosted risk appetite.

E.ON in $34 billion Brazil power deal with MPX

Posted on January 11, 2012

Giant German utility E.ON said on Wednesday it will team with Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista to build the largest privately held network of power plants in Brazil, as it bets on emerging markets amid stagnant growth in Europe.

China to impose local coal consumption caps -report

Posted on November 4, 2011

China is planning to cap coal consumption in a number of pilot regions as part of its plans to increase the use of clean energy and cut air pollution, the 21st Century Business Herald newspaper reported on Friday.

China Coal-Buyers cautious even as port stocks drop

Posted on October 1, 2011

By SHANGHAI, Sept 30 (Reuters) – China's thermal coal prices climbed for a third week, breaking through 830 yuan a tonne, as stocks at the largest port tumbled by over 16 percent. Inventories were shaved by rail maintenance and the closure of some

African Minerals cuts iron ore sales forecast

Posted on October 1, 2011

Mining firm African Minerals Ltd cut its estimate of iron ore sales for 2011, as mine equipment at its Sierra Leone project was redeployed to build port and railway infrastrucure.

Rio Tinto battles to win over Mongolian public

Posted on October 1, 2011

By ULAN BATOR, Sept 30 (Reuters) – Global miner Rio Tinto is fighting a legacy of bad publicity as it tries to persuade the Mongolian public a $10 billion copper deposit it took over from Ivanhoe Mines last year is in safe hands. Some Mongolian

CBG restarts Guinea bauxite exports: source

Posted on September 18, 2011

Guinea's CBG restarted bauxite exports early on Sunday after a one-week halt that was caused by damage to a conveyor belt used to load ships, a source at the company told Reuters.

Burkina Faso's first zinc mine to start up

Posted on September 11, 2011

SYDNEY (Reuters) – A new zinc mine in west Africa is due to start up in mid-2012, just as some of the world's largest deposits are winding down, creating the first window in years for new suppliers in a chronically over-supplied market. The Glencore

Copper steady as China buys eclipse growth concerns

Posted on September 6, 2011

Copper steadied on Tuesday as an earlier price correction enticed buying from top consumer China, but concerns about slowing growth in the world's top economies muddied the metal's demand picture. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) traded at $8,9 50 a tonne in rings , little changed from Monday's close of $8,960 a tonne.

China's 2011 coal imports seen off 2010 record

Posted on September 6, 2011

China's coal imports this year are expected to pull back from the record level in 2010 despite strong domestic demand, as growth in local production and transportation capacity help meet overall demand, an industry official said on Tuesday.

Dong Yueying, secretary-general of China Coal Transport and Distribution Association (CCTD), told a coal conference in Beijing that he expected about 150 million tonnes of coal will be imported this year. The volume would be lower than the record 164.8 million tonnes China imported in 2010.

Copper falls on China exports, Europe factory data

Posted on September 1, 2011

Copper fell on Thursday due to weak export orders from big metal consumer China and a survey showing a contraction in manufacturing activity in the euro zone, but supply concerns kept a floor under prices.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was $9,130 a tonne in official rings, down from a close of $9,275 on Wednesday.

Gold edges down; eyes on Fed cues on stimulus

Posted on August 31, 2011

Spot gold edged lower on Wednesday as investors waited for more clues to economic conditions and watched to see if the U.S. Federal Reserve would deploy more stimulus measures, but the metal is poised for its biggest monthly gain since Nov. 2009.

Optimum Coal says Glencore unit has 14.1 pct stake it

Posted on August 29, 2011

South Africa's Optimum Coal said on Monday that a unit of Glencore, the world's largest commodity trader, had bought a 14.1 percent stake in it.

The announcement comes after Optimum, South Africa's sixth-largest coal producer, confirmed on Friday that it had received takeover approaches.

Gold Fields closes four percent down as gold skids

Posted on August 23, 2011

Shares in South Africa's Gold Fields, the world's fourth-largest gold producer, fell over four percent on Tuesday in its biggest one-day drop in 18 months as bullion's latest rally looked overdone.

China wants to break grip of iron ore big three with West Africa projects

Posted on August 18, 2011

China, the world's largest consumer of iron ore, aims to develop and control resources, especially in west Africa, to gain a foothold on supply and tackle the hegemony of three iron ore suppliers – Rio Tinto , BHP Billiton and Vale.

Chinese firms have signed a number of iron ore deals in Africa, which at their peak could contribute nearly 250 million tonnes of iron ore when they come on stream in the medium to long term.

Australian shares stage fight back, buoyed by gold stocks

Posted on August 14, 2011

Australian shares rallied in late morning trade on Thursday, fighting their back to positive territory and outperforming offshore markets in the face of renewed euro-zone debt fears.

Gold bounces as Asian stocks dive; premiums steady

Posted on August 5, 2011

Gold edged up on Friday as investors used bullion to shelter from the storm engulfing financial markets on concerns that the United States may be facing another recession and Europe's debt crisis is spreading to some of its largest economies.