Glencore International plc (LON:GLEN), seeking access to the growing coal market in India and China, announced on Thursday an estimated $1 billion plan to acquire Optimum Coal Holdings (JNB:OPT), a significant thermal coal producer in South Africa. Glencore will value the ordinary shares of Optimum at 34 ZAR (4.8 USD), a 35% premium over the 30-day volume weighted average. “Optimum’s high quality, long life coal assets and significant presence at Richards Bay Coal Terminal would be an attractive addition to our existing South African coal business," said Tor Peterson, director of the Coal/Coke commodity department.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) announced on Wednesday that it signed signed a memorandum of agreement with its partner, Kazatomprom, to increase annual uranium production at the Joint Venture Inkai Limited Liability Partnership (JVI) from 3.9 million pounds to 5.2 million pounds. The Inkai in-situ recovery uranium mine and processing plant is located in central Kazakhstan and is operated by JVI, 60% owned by Cameco and 40% owned by Kazatomprom, the Kazakhstan government owned national atomic company. Under the memorandum of agreement, Cameco's share of Inkai's annual production will be 2.9 million pounds with the processing plant at full capacity.

Charter rates for the route surged 12 percent to the highest level in almost 10 months as Rio paid $10.30 for each metric ton of ore hauled on a capesize, a booking list published by the Baltic Exchange showed. The Baltic Dry Index, a broader measure of commodity shipping costs, advanced 3.9 percent to 1,682, the highest level since Jan. 4.

The Thebarton Senior College in Torrensville, South Australia, opened last month, and aims to kick-start careers in mining, metal, engineering and construction, the Portside Messenger reports.

Principal Kim Hebenstreit said pupils were learning welding and metal fabrication techniques. “(Students) will get the opportunity to become familiar with what they will see when they move into the workforce and have the confidence and the skills to apply for jobs in high-tech manufacturing industries,” Mr Hebenstreit said.

Australian Mining reports that Jay Weatherill, the next premier of South Australia, has unveiled a new strategy to up-skill workers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to fill jobs in the mining and defence industries.

According to Weatherill, there is a continuing rise in demand for people with STEM skills in the mining and defence industries. The SA government has mapped all the STEM work being done in South Australia by government, industry and the community sector so that more than 55 programs can be harnessed to deliver the greatest possible benefit for the economy.

BASE Resources says it is close to announcing offtake deals for Kenya's biggest mining project, the $US256 million ($239m) Kwale mineral sands operation. Base managing director Tim Carstens said Dupont and Cristal Global, the world's two largest titanium dioxide producers, were among parties interested in offtake. One deal "that I hope to announce next week, will account for about 35 per cent of our revenue and they are a big name", Mr Carstens said yesterday at the Africa Downunder mining conference in Perth.

NHK World reported that Japanese researchers have created a new design for wind turbines that doubles and even triples the power of conventional models. The wind lense turbines, currently operating at Kyushu University, were developed by Professor Yuji Ohya at the university's Research Institute for Applied Mechanics. A lense fits around the outside of the blades which creates a low pressure region beyond the blades and causes the wind to surge through the turbine increasing the the blades speed and the power generated.

The increased investor interest and rebound in prices for Silver have made it the new favorites in Asian commodity exchanges. In China's Hunan Province, a new precious metals exchange focussed on silver began trading from late June while the Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange has started offering a new silver futures contract from July 22.

Delayed for several years owing to the discovery of historical artefacts at the project site, Metallurgical Corporation of China expects to start production at its Aynak copper mine by the end of 2014 Metallurgical Corp of China Ltd (MCC) , China's major