Dow Jones Newswires reports Brazil’s steel sector has been shaken up since mining giant Vale SA started building its first steel mill, […]

Mining Weekly reports Zambia is keen to diversify its mining sector and wants more exploration in iron-ore, manganese, coal and uranium, Vice-President George Kunda said on Wednesday. Speaking at a mining conference in Lusaka, Kunda said that the Zambian economy was too dependent on copper. Zambia aims to be the third-largest uranium producer in Africa in the near future, Kunda said, adding that this would depend on exploration and investment.

Prophecy Coal Corp. announced on Tuesday it has entered into an arrangement with the Port of Sovgavan in the State of Khabarovsk, Russia whereby Prophecy will have initial access to port allocation of 25,000 tonnes per month starting in June, potentially expandable to 50,000 tonnes per month. Prophecy's Ulaan Ovoo mine commenced production in 2011 and year to date the mine has produced a total of 200,000 tonnes of coal, currently being stockpiled. In total, over $25 million has been committed or invested in the equipment and commissioning of the mine.

Helio Resource Corp. on Monday reported the first diamond drill results from the current drill programme at the Gold Kop Target, on its 100%-owned Damara Gold Project in Namibia. The Gold Kop Target is situated 45km northeast of AngloGold Ashanti's Navachab gold mine. On Monday, Helio which also owns gold projects in Tanzania was trading up almost 5% on the TSX Venture Exchange on the news. The tightly-held company is worth some $44m with 104m shares outstanding.

Central Europe’s biggest hard coal mining company OKD says it is sticking to a low-risk production portfolio in spite of ‘booming demand’ for coke to make steel. General Manager Klaus-Dieter Beck told a press conference on Monday that two years ago the company could hardly sell its coking coal, largely used for steelmaking. Now, it can barely keep up with demand. OKD last year produced jut over 6 million tonnes of coking coal, or 52% of total production.

Northam CEO Glyn Lewis says that the JSE-listed platinum-group-metals (PGM) producer is taking the step to provide its “growing” US shareholder base with a more visible profile. Recent corporate developments have resulted in improved liquidity in the Northam stock, with the free float increasing to 64%.

Dow Jones reports a recovery in global auto and aerospace demand and continued strength in emerging markets should underpin a sharp rise […]

The Canadian Press reports a group of shareholders in copper, nickel and platinum junior miner Ursa Major Minerals is looking to gather support for a bid to oust the company's board over the underperformance of its stock on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Merchant bank Forbes & Manhattan Inc. and Inspiration Mining Corp., which is Ursa Major's largest shareholder, said Tuesday they have filed a dissident proxy circular seeking backers for a move to elect new directors at an annual meeting June 23. Ursa Major was trading up 7.4% on the TSX by mid-day Tuesday.

Columbus Gold Corporation announced on Friday the acquisition of three new projects in the Greater Mahogany Hills, bringing its total gold property portfolio in Nevada to 26, covering approximately 37,000 acres. Columbus Gold plans to complete mapping and further sampling with plans to drill target areas in late 2011 and 2012. Columbus Gold is a gold exploration and development company operating in French Guiana and Nevada. In French Guiana, Columbus Gold recently acquired an option to earn a 100% interest in the Paul Isnard gold project, which has a 43-101 compliant 1.9 million ounce inferred gold resource and substantial expansion potential.

London Stock Exchange Group and its takeover target, TMX Group, said Friday Canadian competition authorities won't challenge the proposed combination of two exchange operators. The issuance of the no action letter satisfies a condition of a Feb. 9 agreement by LSE and the company that operates the Toronto Stock Exchange to join forces in a $3 billion deal. A consortium of nine major Canadian banks and investment funds called Maple Group Acquisition Corp has made a hostile offer for TMX worth C$3.6 billion ($3.7 billion). The LSE proposal was not expected to raise any red flags from Canadian competition authorities, unlike the Maple bid.