News reports on Saturday say Rio Tinto's Zimbabwe subsidiary Murowa Diamonds has ceded 51% of its equity to comply with a new law that requires Zimbabweans to own the majority of foreign companies.
Rio Tinto says on its website it has completed a feasibility study and received environmental go-ahead to expand Murowa production 8-fold at a cost of $200 million. Saturday's report cast serious doubts on whether the investment, which requires foreign capital, would now be made. It appeared in recent weeks as if Zimbabwe was soft-pedalling the indigenization laws, but Rio Tinto's capitulation has now put pressure on Impala Platinum, struggling to hold onto its $20 billion worth of reserves in the country.
Senator Lindsey Graham, a senior Republican senator representing South Carolina, urged the Obama administration to support the Keystone XL oilsands pipeline.
Graham, who was speaking at a political event on Wednesday, said that if the U.S. rejects the pipeline, it would be ". . . one of the biggest energy policy blunders in our history."
The senator said that the pipeline has the potential to create thousands of jobs, and rejecting the development would have serious consequences for Obama's chances at re-election.
Canasia Industries Corporation ("Canasia" and the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:CAJ)(PINK SHEETS:CANSF)(FRANKFURT:45C) wishes to announce that it has increased its rare earth acreage in the vicinity of the Eldor Discovery in Quebec. 3,600 additional acres were acquired through Gestim, which now brings Canasia's total to 7,198 contiguous acres prospective for rare earth.
On September 28, 2011, Canasia announced that the bulk sample program on the Clone Gold Prospect had been completed for the 2011 season.
Cline Mining Corporation ("Cline Mining" or the "Company") (TSX:CMK) is pleased to announce that Xstrata Coal has agreed to acquire 100% of the Company's metallurgical coal deposit within Cline Mining's Lossan property ("Lossan") for CDN$40 million, subject to customary conditions. Closing is expected to occur on or about October 12, 2011.
Lossan is located in the Peace River Coalfield of north eastern British Columbia, Canada and has an NI 43-101 compliant resource of 240 million tonnes. Lossan covers an area of approximately 3,800 hectares.
Cameco (TSX:CCO) (NYSE:CCJ) announced today that the Canadian Competition Bureau has issued a "no action letter" in connection with Cameco's offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Hathor Exploration Limited for cash consideration of $3.75 per share.
The issuance of the no action letter, which provides that the Commissioner of the Competition Bureau does not intend to challenge the proposed acquisition, satisfies one of the conditions of the offer.
Metso will supply railcar dumper technology to Westshore Terminals Limited Partnership, which operates a coal storage and loading terminal located at Roberts Bank, Delta, British Columbia, Canada.
Cameco (TSX:CCO) (NYSE:CCJ) announced today it has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with its joint venture partners to mill all Cigar Lake ore at the McClean Lake mill.
The new milling arrangement is expected to result in a significant reduction in the operating cost of the Cigar Lake project, which is 50% owned and operated by Cameco. The other Cigar Lake joint venture partners are AREVA Resources Canada Inc. (37%), Idemitsu Resources Canada Inc. (8%) and Tepco Resources Inc (5%).
Even if both Keystone XL and Enbridge's Northern Gateway pipelines are built, bitumen is expensive to extract and cannot compete with the many new shale oil plays – particularly in the Bakken oil basin where studies put the recoverable oil at 24 billion barrels – which have pushed US production to its highest level in a decade. No wonder Enbridge – busy building out its capacity in Bakken while Northern Gateway wallows in the approval process – said "it's the wild west out there at the moment."
Global diversified miner Anglo American announced Wednesday it has cquired the remaining 25%, along with rights to royalties it didn't already own, in BC-based Peace River Coal Partnership (PRC), for a combined $166 million.