Australia faces increased blackout risks this summer as coal plants age

Environmentalists argue the approval will see 3 million tonnes of dredge spoil will be dumped in the Great Barrier Reef.

It has extended Drummond port improvement deadline, but it will charge the company daily fines.

The miner and commodities trading giant acquired an additional 14.5% interest in Mutanda, a copper mine in the province of Katanga, Congo.

The price of iron ore slumped to a 7-week low and metallurgical coal traded at its lowest level since August on predictions of a massive spike in exports from top producer Australia.

Over the next decade, US power companies have planed to permanently retire nearly 28,000 megawatts of coal-fired generating capacity.

Confidence levels in the sector have improved dramatically over the last 12 months, reaching a two-year high.

Analysts say the situation is nothing but a reminder of the thin dividing line between China’s banks and its “shadow” lending industry.

The CEO of world number two miner Rio Tinto said the quality of Chinese mining equipment is catching up and in some instances surpassing that of the major US manufacturers.

Mainly thanks to improvements in the techniques of horizontal drilling and fracking, says the EIA.