Frik Els , Editor

The Manawatu Standard reports giant Chinese state-owned Shanxi Coal is understood to be in the running to buy New Zealand's Pike River Coal as part of a joint bid with local miner Solid Energy. Bids closed a week ago, with four players making offers, sources said. One Indian company is believed to have pulled out and another Indian company was still understood to be in the running. The state-owned mine operated by Solid Energy was put up for sale as part of a privatization programme by the New Zealand government and after an enormous methane explosion ripped through the mine near Greymouth on November 19 last year killing 29 men.

A new minimally-invasive procedure that can safely and effectively treat brain aneurysms without open surgery by implanting an FDA-approved device consisting of a flexible braided mesh tube made of platinum and nickel-cobalt chromium alloy directly into the artery has been chosen by research facility Cleveland Clinic as one of the top 10 medical innovations for 2012. The 90-year old multispecialty academic medical center which has pioneered among others coronary artery bypass surgery and performed the US's first face transplant also included a new Concussion Management System for Athletes, Genetically Modified Mosquitoes to Reduce Disease Threat and Wearable Robotic Devices in the top 10.

Safety in the US mining industry has made significant progress over the decades. However, the early 2010 disaster in West Virginia was the worst since 1970 and will potentially have a significant impact on mine safety legislation, similar to the MINER Act of 2006, which was a response to the Sago Mine disaster and other mine fatalities in early 2006. Generally, based on the historically elevated fatality rate, safety experts in the industry believe that the small mines have a relatively poor safety record as compared to the large mines; however, the results of a new study by the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration indicate that the opposite is likely true.

Reuters reports Romania has launched the sale of its biggest copper mine Cupru Min SA Abrud via a tender, the government's industry privatisation office said on its website. The deadline for bids is Jan. 17 deadline. Romania wants to sell 100% of the mine which sits on about 60% of the European Union member's copper reserves equal to roughly 900,000 tonnes. Cupru Min is based in Abrud, Alba County, Romania and operates the Roşia Poieni copper mine. The company says deposits amount to more than 1 billion tons ore with an average of 0.36% Cu and 1.8% S. Copper production began in 1983 and the designed capacity of the mine is 9 million tons of ore extracted and processed per year with expansion to 15 million tons per year.

BBC footage shows arrest being made in a campaign to crack down on dealers who buy stolen metal that has been launched by the Transport Police in Yorkshire, England. Copper theft on railways has led to thousands of hours of delays to passengers every year. Yorkshire authorities say the problem is costing them millions a month.

Klondike Silver has been acquiring over 80% of the Sandon, BC silver camp over the past 20 years and its land position is now at 23,000Ha. Historical output from Sandon area mines starting in 1890s is over $35 billion (at today's mineral value) of lead zinc and silver. Klondike owns a 100 TPD fully operational flotation mill in Sandon which processes material from local mines. In its prime Sandon had 29 hotels, 28 saloons, 3 breweries, theatres, opera houses, cigar factory, soft drink plant, 3 sawmills, 3 churches, x2 newspapers, a schoolhouse, hospital, numerous lodges, clubs, organizations and a curling rink and bowling alley (in addition to one of the largest ‘red light’ districts in Western Canada). Klondike Silver is also reviving the Gowganda and Elk Lake silver camps in Ontario.

The Courier-Journal reports the Kentucky surface coal mine where two workers were killed on Friday was cited earlier this year over the stability of a highwall. The two workers were employed by a blasting crew and they were trapped in or near their truck by falling rock and earth. Several other miners at the site were injured by falling rock and debris. Armstrong, which began mining operations at Equality in the fall of 2010, utilizes two draglines and the truck-and-shovel mining methods. The mine has been closed pending an investigation.

Reuters reports Peru's government on Friday brokered the first in a series of talks between townspeople and Newmont Mining in a bid to solve a conflict over water supplies at the $4.8 billion Minas Conga project, adjacent to South America's largest gold mine Yanacocha. Newmont was forced to shut down operations for two days at Yanacocha after protesters blocked access to the mine. Minas Conga, partly-owned by Peru's number one precious metals miner Buenaventura, would be the biggest investment ever in Peru's mining sector. Buenaventura reported a 6% drop in quarterly gold output on Friday.

Keystone XL should bring Canadian crude, which at the moment sells at a $30 discount, in line with global prices. At the same time a huge slice of the record profits announced this week by Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil will we wiped out. Here's why.

Barely a week after Anglo American announced that the $2.8 billion they splashed on expanding their flagship Los Bronces mine will start to bear fruit before year end, Chile's state-owned Codelco decides to exercise an option to acquire half of it. Codelco has passed on neighbouring Los Bronces, a smelter and a second mine before, but Chile's finance minister on Friday warned Anglo that it must honour the deal that dates back to 1978. Codelco has put together $6 billion but analyst say that short changes Anglo by billions. What must really gall Anglo, which seems to have been taken by surprise, is that they will have to pay around $1 billion in taxes on the transaction.