March 9, 2012

Xstrata pays top dollar for BC met coal field

Xstrata's relentless appetite for coal, particularly the metallurgical variety, was again evident on Thursday after it bought Talisman's Peace River deposit for $500 million.

March 9, 2012

Pike River mine sold to Solid Energy

Pike River Coal has been sold to state-owned enterprise Solid Energy New Zealand under a conditional agreement, receivers for the mine said today. The company went into receivership after a…

March 9, 2012

Mongolian politics pushes stake sale of massive coal mine further out

Mongolia's plans, first mooted in 2010, to sell a stake in its Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi coal-mining company  to the public faces more delays over politics and regulatory problems while talks with…

March 8, 2012

When it rains, it pours for BHP: leaked e-mail heats up battle with coal mine unions

BHP Billiton would not be willing to negotiate with the unions on strike at its coal mines in Australia and had said the battle is "likely to get tougher before…

March 7, 2012

Electricity prices will jump 400% without smart meters: analyst

Dr. Guido Bartels, chairman of the Global Smart Grid Federation, told Israeli business publication Globes that an investment in smart meter technology can't be avoided, otherwise electricity prices will skyrocket.

March 7, 2012

Indonesia rule change rattles foreign mine owners

Indonesia will take more of the profits from its vast mineral resources by limiting foreign ownership of mines in a move likely to scare off new investment in the world's…

March 7, 2012

Glencore raising new $6bn loan – extending existing too

Swiss commodities trading powerhouse Glencore is raising a $6 bn syndicated loan in connection with its Xstrata merger and also extending an existing $11.85 bn of existing loans.

March 6, 2012

Noble Group to get A$412m in Gloucester Coal merger

Noble, which owns nearly two-thirds of Gloucester Coal, will vote all its shares in the company in favour of a merger with Yancoal Australia, expecting A$412 million under the deal…

March 6, 2012

Greenpeace push for “scandal research” to end mining

A coalition of environmental activists lead by Greenpeace has developed a secret plan to fund "scandal research" in the hope of shutting down the coal industry.

March 5, 2012

Body blow for mining heavyweights as China growth expected to slow to near decade low

The mining sector's bellwether companies were all beaten down on Monday after China's premier Wen Jiabao delivered a downbeat outlook for the world's second largest economy adding that there were…