After a technical study by the International Seabed Authority, the UN body managing the new industry, said companies could apply for mining licences as soon as 2016.

To date, ISA has issued 17 exploration permits and another seven are in the works. A spokesman told the BBC there has been an unprecedented surge in interest from both private and state-owned companies.

ISA also said that deep sea mining is on the threshold of a new era. It is in the process of deciding how to handle the licencing for actual mining as well as how to share the proceeds, a portion of which are to go to developing countries.

Previous testing by companies has shown large numbers of small rocks on the ocean's floor that are rich in gold, copper, nickel, cobalt and rare earths.

An assessment of the Clarion-Clipperton zone in the Pacific Ocean suggests more than 27 billion tonnes of rocks could be lying on its floor, including 290 million tonnes of copper and 340 million tonnes of nickel.

Related: Britain plunges into deep sea mining with American company

Image: littlesam / Shutterstock.com

The post United Nations publishes first plan for deep sea mining appeared first on MINING.com.

"[It] has become apparent to the directors of the company (the "Directors") that at the current time the investment appetite for the development of nickel laterite projects is limited and the Directors have been unable to identify any source of funding for the Company and its subsidiary undertakings (the "Group") pursuant to these discussions," wrote the company in a news release.

The company will begin winding up Red Hill Nickel, the project company established for the development of Dutwa but does not hold licenses.

Asset disposals are being sought to provide funding and senior management departures are expected to reduce operating costs, says Edison Investment Research. The equity research firm says the company has cash of £1.15m, which is expected to provide working capital for six months.

Dutwa nickel project in Tanzania.

To further control costs, the company funding made available to the company's remaining subsidiaries will be considered by the African Eagle's directors on a case by case basis.

Discovered by African Eagle in 2008, the Dutwa nickel laterite project was at the feasibility study stage.

Nickel LME price is at a current level of 15672.95, down from 16724.93 last month and down from 17939.79 one year ago. This is a change of -6.29% from last month and -12.64% from one year ago.

Nickel LME Price data by YCharts

The post African Eagle winding up Dutwa project, disposing of gold assets appeared first on MINING.com.

Mackenzie has been doing the rounds in Pilbara over the past 24 hours, "meeting some of the estimated 13,000 people who work for BHP in the region," reported Peter Ker Friday morning from Sydney.

The post BHP's new CEO Mackenzie takes charge amid mining austerity appeared first on MINING.com.

As the minister for FedNor — the regional development organization for northern Ontario — Tony Clement was speaking to representatives at the annual convention of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum.

He said the government would work closely with First Nation communities to ensure they receive their share of the economic benefits. As well, he said the government would  implement efficient governance, environmental protection and consultation with First Nations.

The Ring of Fire, located approximately 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, is potentially the largest mining development in northern Ontario.

Image: By World Economic Forum from Cologny, Switzerland (Annual Meeting of the New Champions Tianjin 2010) [CC-BY-SA-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
North America's single largest deposit of chromite, used in stainless steel, is found there, along with major deposits of nickel and copper.

Mining the region could create 5,000 jobs in the area with the estimated minerals worth about $30 to $50 billion.

Image: World Economic Forum, via Wikimedia Commons

The post Canada's federal government urges collaboration in Ring of Fire appeared first on MINING.com.

The better than expected US jobless figures out early Friday built on gains sparked by the EU cutting interest yesterday, but a growing consensus that the sell-off in commodities over growth fears in China may have been overblown did the most to buoy the sector.

China has been the main driving force of the so-called commodity supercycle of the last decade and forecasts of tepid growth in the country has made commodity investors nervous this year.

But recent numbers from the world's second largest economy  suggest a brighter outlook:

• Electricity consumption growth which many believe may be a better indicator of economic expansion than China's official GDP figures (which are open to manipulation by politicians) is set to accelerate to as much as 8.5% growth year on year.
• The country's steel industry – a proxy for the health of the country's infrastructure investment dependent economy – has upped crude steel output 9% this year against forecasts of 4%–5% growth
• Land sale revenues have soared this year with plots in China's 306 largest cities fetching 84% more than last year while for the 240 so-called top tier cities registering a 282% rise.

China dominates the global trade in just about every commodity including iron ore (representing over 60% of world trade), copper (42%), coal (47%), nickel (36%), lead (44%) and zinc (41%).

The spot copper price surged almost 7% in heavy volumes to change hands at $3.31 a pound or just under $7,300 a tonne on Friday, bouncing back strongly from 18-month lows set on Wednesday while lead, tin and nickel also gained.

The stronger metals prices fed through to mining stocks with the diversified majors making strong gains without exception.

World number one miner BHP Billiton (LON:BHP) jumped 2.9%, Brazil's Vale (NYSE:VALE) added over 2%, while Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) climbed 4.2%.

Newly merged Glencore Xstrata (LON:GLEN) had a positive first day of trading, ending up 1.3% after earlier jumping as much as 3.3% affording what is now the world's number four miner a $70 billion market value.

Anglo American (LON:AAL) shares moved 4.3% for the better, while Canada's Teck Resources (TSX:TCK) managed a more modest gain of 3%.

Copper giant Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) added 2.7% after workers ended a three-day strike at its flagship Grasberg mine in Indonesia.

Southern Copper Corp (NYSE:SCCO) was a major gainer, up 4.5% while fellow South American copper producer Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) was the top performer, jumping 7.6%. Beaten down ENRC (LON:ENRC) also increased its value, bouncing 5.7%.

While iron ore continued to drift lower with benchmark 62% fines at the Chinese port of Tianjin ending the week below $130 for the first time since December, iron ore stocks also got in on the action.

ADRs of South Africa's Kumba Iron Ore (NYSE:KIROY) was unchanged in New York, but Fortescue Metals Group (ASX:FMG) of Australia, US-based Cliffs Natural Resources and Ukraine's Ferrexpo (LON:FXPO) climbed 5.5%, 3.9% and 6.2% respectively.

World number one uranium miner Cameco Corporation (TSE:CCO) added 2.2% despite a uranium price languishing in the low $40s.

Precious metals trading was noticeably more subdued with gold for June delivery ending flat for the week at $1,464 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. July silver ended the week slightly lower at $24.10 an ounce.

Newmont Mining Corp's shares traded up 1% thanks to the US-based miner's relatively high exposure to copper, global number one Barrick Gold Corp added 2.2%, but is still down more than 40% since the start of the year while fellow Canadian gold counters Goldcorp (TSX:G) and Kinross Gold (TSX:K) were both static.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) fell less than a percent, but Johannesburg-peer Harmony Gold (NYSE:HMY) was hammered down 9.6%.

The post Miners rally after finally catching up with good news from China appeared first on MINING.com.

By early afternoon in New York spot copper was changing hands at $3.31 a pound or just under $7,300 a tonne, up 6.8% on the day in heavy volumes.

The red metal was also boosted by a weaker dollar, short-covering and a drawdown in London Metal Exchange warehouse stocks.

LME inventories – a good indicator of overall demand – have almost tripled since October 2012 to above 600,000 tonnes; levels last seen in 2003 on fears of a slowdown in China.

China is responsible for 42% of total global demand of 20.5 million tonnes and its infrastructure investment-led growth has been a major factor in driving the copper price. In 2003 copper was worth 75c a pound.

Copper is still down 8% year to date, but is up sharply from 18-month lows of $3.06 hit on Wednesday.

Anywhere below $3 a pound has huge implications for the industry – the marginal costs of most producers  are in the $6,000 – $7,000 a tonne range or roughly $2.75 – $3.15 a pound.

Copper has stayed at relatively lofty levels thanks to largely static supply in global markets for a number of years.

But a slew of new mines in Indonesia, Peru and Mongolia coming on stream and expansion at existing mines in number one producer Chile this year will result in a 6.4% jump in mine output the International Copper Study Group estimates.

Judging by Friday's move not everyone is convinced that the market is facing a  massive surplus this year.

Copper was the star performer but nickel also rallied, climbing to more than $15,000 a tonne, while zinc, lead and aluminum also managed gains.

The post RED HOT: Copper price rallies 6.8% appeared first on MINING.com.

The post SLIDESHOW: Mining billionaires 2013 appeared first on MINING.com.

Goods sold included aluminum oxide as well as other commodities.

The US and other countries accuse Iran of running a secret nuclear program and using aluminum centrifuges to enrich uranium. Trade restrictions with Iran have been tightening.

Glencore claims it has been in compliance with these trade restrictions as they have widened.

Glencore said it "ceased transactions" with Iralco immediately when it learned of its links with Tesa, and the last trade was in October 2012. "Prior to EU sanctions in December 2012, we were not aware of a link/contract between Iralco and Tesa," the company said in a statement.

Glencore said it is "reliant on the relevant regulatory bodies/governments to advise us on developments in who we can/can't do business with"

Read more

Image of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad by Beshef

The post Glencore sold $659 million of goods to Iran appeared first on MINING.com.

Sixty Australian workers will be let go at Lake Johnston. The company says they will receive the "legally mandated severance packages."

Nickel prices have dropped 10% this year and analysts are cutting their estimates.

Reuters found company documents showing that Norilsk may also suspend its Tati Nickel mine in Botswana.

Falling nickel prices are hurting the viability of some its mining operations.

"Under current nickel market trends the Company implements a policy of optimizing production site operations ensuring maximum effective utilization of in-house capacities," writes the company.

"Enterprises that are not fully integrated in the Company’s production chain (as Lake Johnston) do not provide sufficient profitability levels."

Early this month the company said profits were down 37%.

Both Lake Johnston and Tati Nickel were obtained from Norilsk Nickel's acquisition of LionOre Mining International in 2007.

Lake Johnston could re-open if nickel recovers or geological investigations in the area are positive.

Since the start of the year LME nickel prices have slid from US$17,400 per tonne to US$15,080 per tonne.

The post Sixty Australian nickel miners let go appeared first on MINING.com.

Canada is currently a top-five producer of aluminum, diamonds, nickel, platinum, potash, steel-making coal, uranium, and zinc.

Gratton warned that in today's mining world "investment dollars are highly mobile and global competition is fierce."

If Canada is to retain its place as a "global mining powerhouse," it must focus on the following key areas, according to Gratton:

• Maintaining low inflation
• Reducing debts
• Preserving and improving competitive tax levels
• Staying as a strong free trader/resisting protectionism
• Deepening engagement in emerging markets, especially in China
• Improving the regulatory framework for mining projects, while keeping environmental protection a top priority
• Addressing the looming skills crisis in the mining sector (145,000 new workers needed over the next decade to replace retirees and to fill new positions)
• Investing in critical infrastructure to support new mining projects, such as ports, all-weather roads and rail

Sources: The Mining Association of Canada; Bloomberg

The post How Canadian mining can maintain its global competitive edge appeared first on MINING.com.

Rusal reported in December of last year that it expected up to $9 billion in Norilsk dividends over a three-year period, a projection that has begun to look increasingly unlikely.

Norilsk profits were hit hard by nearly $1 billion in 2012 write-offs including impairment losses on property and equipment in Botswana and Australia and on its 50% joint venture project Nkomati in South Africa.

 Sources: Financial Times; Fox Business; Dow Jones Newswires

The post Norilsk profit decline to hurt Rusal appeared first on MINING.com.

The finding at the Succoth prospect sits to the north-northeast of BHP's massive but low-grade Babel-Nebo nickel-copper discovery, which remains undeveloped since it was first identified by WMC Resources 13 years ago.

In February the company allegedly found a massive high-grade nickel deposit —Venus—, which may help to reshape the future profitability and direction of BHP’s struggling Nickel West business.

Unlike Venus, the Succoth find is not close to any existing mining infrastructure, which would demand a high investment. But the world’s biggest resources company by market value said Monday it is prioritizing copper in its exploration budget.

(Image by Edler von Rabenstein/Shutterstock.com)

The post BHP said to have discovered vast copper deposit in Western Australia appeared first on MINING.com.

With domestic production of key resources including copper and particularly iron ore far below demand levels, China has been forced to look overseas to lock in supplies.

But the country's lumbering state-owned and large private firms have been met with little success abroad.

Numerous foreign takeover bids have fallen through and many acquired projects and companies turned out to be bad investments.

Bloomberg calculates that Hanlong Group’s  $1.2 billion bid for Australia’s Sundance Resources (ASX: SDL), which collapsed today, brings the tally of failed mining bids undertaken by Chinese companies to an eye-watering $45 billion.

Sichuan-based Hanlong's pursuit of Sundance — the value of which was duly slashed in half on the Sydney bourse after it was dropped — centred on the $5 billion Mbalam iron ore project straddling Cameroon and Congo-Brazzaville in Central Africa, but has the added twist that Hanlong's billionaire founder and chairman Liu Han has disappeared from view.

Liu is the subject of a police investigation, which is connected to his brother's arrest on triple murder charges, and hasn't been heard from since mid-March. Hanlong's deals seek to develop an iron ore and copper-molybdenum mine with Moly Mines (ASX: MOL) in the Pilbara and another molybdenum project with US-based General Moly (NYSE: GMO), of which it owns 25%, also now appears to hang in the balance.

While Hanlong's failure has many sensational details, the list of botched takeover attempts and precarious projects undertaken by China's miners is long and dear:

• Sinosteel managed to tie up Australia’s Midwest Corp for a hefty premium at $1.5 billion in July 2008 — then the first successful hostile takeover undertaken by a Chinese mining company — but so far Midwest has only been able to bring to production a single project, the insignificant 1.5 million tpa Koolanooka & Blue Hills mine.
• In September 2009 state-owned Chinalco's $19.5 billion proposed injection into Rio Tinto, which was suffering under a $40 billion debt load at the time and appeared ripe for the taking, collapsed after prolonged courting of the world's second biggest miner. A bitter Chinalco claimed a $195 million breakup fee, but lost out on a stake in the world richest iron ore fields and access to the world's biggest copper mine by picking up Rio's 30% stake in Chile's Escondida.
• Zijin Mining Group dropped its $482 million bid for Indophil Resources NL in June 2010, losing out on a chance to develop Southeast Asia's largest untapped gold and copper deposit, Tampakan in the Philippines. The $5.9 billion Tampakan project, now in the hands of Xstrata, received environmental clearance against expectations in February.
• In April 2011 Minmetals Resources, a unit of China’s largest metals trading company, abandoned its $6 billion offer for Perth-based copper-gold company Equinox Minerals, which eventually ended up in the arms of Canada's Barrick Gold (TSX: ABX).
• A $938 million offer from Chalco, another Chinese state-run aluminum company, for SouthGobi, a coal producer, was accepted by parent Turquoise Hill, but Mongolia blocked the deal and Chalco officially abandoned the bid in September.
• China is the world's number one gold producer by some margin, but it did not stop its National Gold Group Corp. talking to Barrick Gold about buying its African subsidiary. With its main assets in Tanzania, African Barrick had been struggling and the $2.2 billion offered seemed rich but negotiations went nowhere and in January the parties walked away.
• Chinese billionaire Yu Yong’s Cathay Fortune Corp. together with the China-Africa Development Fund wagered $850 million on Australia’s Discovery Metals in October last year, but the bid for the Africa-focused copper miner fizzled out last month.

Apart from corporate takeovers, when going it alone on greenfields projects outside of its borders China also has a patchy history:

• Citic Pacific's massive Sino Iron project in the Pilbara region of Australia first came off the drawing board in 2006. High-profile backers, including the China Development Bank, forecast the project to cost under $2 billion. Fast forward seven years and Sino Iron has already sucked up $8 billion. Production schedule for H2 2012 has now been delayed for the umpteenth time and the final bill for the magnetite mine could top $10 billion.

Showing a flair for understatement Bloomberg quotes industry veteran Xu Zhongbo, chief executive officer of Beijing Metal Consulting, as saying: “It would be great news to cool down the mania for rushing for overseas deals. We don’t have the ability yet to create a globally powerful mining company.”

RELATED: Here is China's Bridge to Nowhere. It also happens to be the world's longest

The post $45bn and counting: China's foreign mining misadventures appeared first on MINING.com.

New York-based Alcoa (NYSE: AA) yesterday surprised the market when it reported better than expected profits on the back of solid end market demand growth.

The leader – of what is a very beaten down industry – also expects global demand for the metal to rise 7% in 2013 thanks to increased orders from vehicle and aircraft manufacturers, another sign of a healthier global economy.

Also buoying the mining and metals sector was news from China that inflation in the world's second largest economy came in lower than expected.

China has been the main driving force of the so-called commodity supercycle of the last decade and the benign numbers make it easier for monetary authorities there to further stimulate its investment-driven economy.

China dominates the global trade in just about every commodity including iron ore (representing 60% of world trade), copper (42%), coal (47%), nickel (36%), lead (44%) and zinc (41%).

The country is expected to overtake India as the largest importer of potash in the near future and last year became the world's number one importer of gold. China boasts the world's largest car industry so its imports of platinum and palladium used to reduce vehicle emissions is crucial to the PGMs market as well.

The good news sent metals prices soaring across the board on Tuesday.

Copper jumped 2% to $7,599 a tonne or $3.45 a pound in New York futures dealings. Zinc advanced 1.7% to $1,923 a tonne or $0.87 a pound in London, while lead, tin and nickel also gained.

Precious metals joined the rally with gold for June delivery adding over 1% or $16 to $1,590 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, its best level in a week.

Always volatile silver was the star performer with May contracts adding over 3% to $28 an ounce, coming close to a 2-week high. July platinum futures gained 1% to $1,555 an ounce, while palladium for June delivery managed a slight improvement to $734 an ounce.

Iron ore continued to defy predictions of a sharp correction in the price with benchmark 62% fines at the Chinese port of Tianjin continuing to strengthen adding another $1.50 to $139.10, an almost 4-week high.

The stronger metals prices fed through to mining stocks with the majors making strong gains without exception.

World number one miner BHP Billiton (LON:BHP) jumped 4.5%, Brazil's Vale (NYSE:VALE) added 4.4%, while Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) climbed a whopping 5.6%.

Of the top diversified miners XStrata's ADRs listed in New York traded up 5.8% and merger partner Glencore International (LON:GLEN) bounced 4.6%, Anglo American (LON:AAL) shares moved 3.6% for the better, while Canada's Teck Resources (TSX:TCK) was a major gainer adding more than 6%.

Copper giant Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) added 4.6%, Southern Copper Corp (NYSE:SCCO) managed a more modest gain of 2.6% while fellow South American copper producer Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) increased 3.9%.

US-based copper-gold miner Newmont Mining Corp's shares traded up 3.3%, global number one Barrick Gold Corp added 2.4%, while fellow Canadian gold counters Goldcorp (TSX:G) and Kinross Gold (TSX:K) both added more than 3%. AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) was the best performing gold miner with a 4.8% jump.

Major iron ore miners also fared well with South Africa's Kumba Iron Ore (NYSE:KIROY) up 3% and both Fortescue Metals Group (ASX:FMG) of Australia and US-based Cliffs Natural Resources climbing more than 7.5%.

Image of Wall Street traders by thetaxhaven on flickr.

The post Alcoa, China spark massive rally in miners and metals appeared first on MINING.com.

According to the press release Transition and HTX are both based in Sudbury, Ontario and hold a combined 30 exploration assets across Canada and into the United States.

These include prospective gold properties in Ontario's Abitibi Greenstone Belt and in British Colombia; nickel-copper-platinum properties in Northern Ontario and Minnesota; sedimentary-hosted copper in Northern Saskatchewan; and gold and diamond properties in Nunavut.

HTX also owns the Aer-Kidd project, located ~20 km southwest of Sudbury, along the Worthington Offset Dyke, an area with a rich mining history, dating back to the 1800s. Mineralization was first discovered on the Aer-Kidd property in the late 1880’s and near-surface mining occurred periodically from 1916 to 1968, from three zones. Other, similar near-surface mines were developed to the west and east of Aer-Kidd by Vale/Inco (Totten mine) and KGHM/Quadra-FNX (Victoria mine).

According to the statement, the project generator business model employed by Transition Metals and HTX Minerals maximizes shareholder exposure to discovery, while minimizing shareholder equity dilution by relying on partners to fund more expensive drilling and exploration.

The acquisition brings together an experienced management and exploration team led by Transition CEO Scott McLean, who previously worked as a senior member of the exploration team at Falconbridge Limited.

In 2004, Scott was named co-recipient of the PDAC Prospector of the Year Award for the discovery of Falconbridge's Nickel Rim South mine, in Sudbury. (Nickel Rim is now the flagship mine of Xstrata Copper, Sudbury.)

HTX Minerals currently enjoys a strategic alliance with Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. (Implats), the world's second-largest producer of platinum, to explore the Mid Continent Rift region in Ontario for platinum group element deposits. HTX also enjoys a strategic alliance with the Nunavut Resources Corp. for mineral project generation and exploration, including precious, base and strategic metals, and diamonds in the Kitikmeot Region of the Territory of Nunavut.

The post Transition Metals ties up with Sudbury's private HTX Minerals appeared first on MINING.com.