Anglo American laying off up to 20% of its staff as investors press for further savings

Energy-starved Bangladesh is sitting on a huge deposit of coal without any effective exploration plan for its use in generation of electricity, experts said on Wednesday.

Macusani Yellowcake Inc. (the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:YEL) (FRANKFURT:QG1) is pleased to announce additional assay results from the drilling program on two platforms, PT-CH17 and PT-CH2, at the Chilcuno Chico area on the Kihitian Property on the Macusani Plateau in Puno, Peru. The exploration program, which targeted the deeper Manto "B" zone, intersected 11 m with a weighted average grade of 2,042 ppm U3O8 (or 4.084 lbs/ton) from 85 to 96m. This intersection represents the high-grade portion of a larger 27 m intersection (from 74 to 101m) with a weighted average grade of 862 ppm U3O8 (or 1.724 lbs/ton).

BHP Billiton is confident about sustained growth in China despite the worldwide market turmoil, Chairman of the world's biggest miner said on Wednesday. Speaking at a business lunch in Sydney, BHP Billiton Chairman Jacques Nasser said the global market turmoil has not changed the company's view of sustained growth in China. China buys about 30 percent of BHP's exports, and Nasser says the company is positive about China's future.

AUSTRALIAN miner Cockatoo Coal has put its Taabinga thermal coal project in Queensland up for sale, an informed source said today, in the latest sign that deal-flow in the coal sector is accelerating. Sydney-based Cockatoo - one of a handful of listed Australian companies with producing coal mines - has appointed advisory firm RFC Corporate Finance to handle the sale of the Taabinga project, which has an estimated 252 million tonnes of undeveloped coal resources.

Economic jitters continue to drive gold higher, which hit $1,782.50/oz on Tuesday. Stock markets bounced back after yesterday's gut wrenching fall. The S&P/TSX Composite index was up nearly 3% from yesterday. The S&P/ASX 200 did not perform as well and rose 1.22%, making most of the gains later in the day. The oil and gas sector, which suffered some of the worst losses on Monday, rebounded strongly. The Dow Jones U.S. Oil & Gas Index was up 3%.

Brazilian mining titan Vale SA (VALE) said Tuesday the first coal train arrived Monday at the Mozambican port of Beira. The first train carried 2,200 metric tons of coal from Vale's Moatize coal mine in the northwest province of Tete.

SinoCoking Coal and Coke Chemical Industries, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOK) (the "Company" or "SinoCoking"), a vertically-integrated coal and coke processor, today announced that Hongchang and Xingsheng coal mines have been cleared to resume operations at full capacity. The Hongchang mine has been operated by Baofeng Hongchang Coal Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Henan Pingdingshan Hongli Coal & Coke Co., Ltd. ("Hongli"), which the Company controls through contractual arrangements. Baofeng Xingsheng Coal Mining Co., Ltd. ("Xingsheng"), of which 60% equity interest is now registered to Hongli, has been operating the Xingsheng mine.

The price of crude slid more than six per cent Monday, dropping to a level experts say makes future oilsands mining projects look unprofitable if it persists.

Gold investors could reap record windfall benefits from the economic uncertainty that crashed global stock markets Monday, say J.P. Morgan commodity analysts Colin Fenton and Jonah Waxman. The analysts predicted bullion could rise to $2500/ oz by the end of 2011, compared to an earlier J.P. Morgan prediction of $1800/oz, made before Standard and Poor downgraded the US debt.