mineral exploration project – commodity prices – mining stock- trade and market

Fights about proper ownership of natural resources, especially mined product, have been a feature of Australian public policy debate since early settlement. Lack of consultation, arbitrariness and an overweening and greedy government famously caused the Eureka rebellion.

Fast forward to today, we have all these ingredients minus the muskets, plus retrospectivity, sovereign risk, slavering international competitors such as Brazil, Indonesia and South Africa, and a growing capital strike.

Much of the future impact of the Rudd government’s new mining tax is thought to fall on...

Essar Group said its purchase of Trinity Coal Corp., the Indian company’s first overseas coal mine acquisition, will help lock in raw materials with...

Marathon Oil Corporation today announced a $5.1 billion capital, investment and exploration budget for 2010, a 17 percent decrease from 2009 capital spending.

“Marathon’s 2010 capital program will focus on Upstream activity, with an emphasis on the development of sanctioned projects, potentially significant exploration wells and advancing our growing resource plays,” said Clarence P. Cazalot, Jr., Marathon president and CEO.

Middle East Coal (MEC) is a joint venture between the coal companies United Arab Emirates, RAK Minerals and Metals...

Brazilian mining company, Vale Group is conducting a feasibility study for investing in the Moatize coal mines in Mozambique. The agreement between the governments of Mozambique and the Vale Group, in addition to investing in coal mines, Vale Group is also investing in copper mines in the North Konkola, Zambia.

Mixed trading was witnessed among the major markets across Asia on Friday as traders preferred to lock in gains following recent rally while the underlying sentiment is buoyant on increased optimism about higher earnings from companies for the recently concluded quarter and the worst for the global economy is over. While the markets in Australia, Hong Kong, China, Singapore and South...

Rio Tinto Group, the third-largest mining company, raised its 2009 forecast for iron ore output by as much as 7.5 percent as demand from steelmakers recovers.

Rio will produce 210 million to 215 million metric tons from operations in Australia, Canada and Brazil after a “strong performance” in the second and third quarters, the London-based company said today in a statement.

The UK’s blue chip index was fluctuating around the opening level today as energy and financial sector were mixed, while miners were strong, helped by increases in metals prices. The market failed to get much of a boost from the Markit Purchasing Managers’ Index, which rose at the strongest pace in two years in September, improving to 55.3 from 54.1, which was also higher than the expected 54.4. The FTSE 100 finished about 20 points higher, getting buoyed by an early rise on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones industrial average tacked on 0.7% shortly after trading commenced.