Underground mining equipment market to reach US$30.5 billion by 2023

China plans to dramatically consolidate the number of mines in its country, according to Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) and a study by MCCM. And China also wants its mines to be a lot more productive. Caterpillar released the results of a study in August. In 2004 China had 25,000 operating mines. By the end of 2013 China wants to get that number down to 4,000 mines. A minimum production of 300,000 tonnes per annum will be required for mine approval.

The Australian reports BHP Mitsubishi's decision to bypass a thoroughly resistant troika of unions by seeking a direct employee ballot on a new three-year enterprise agreement takes the world's number one miner into deeply uncharted industrial relations waters. The move comes after nine months of fruitless negotiations and 11 different offers – including annual pay rises of 5% and a $15,000 bonus – all of which were rejected by the unions which will now resume strikes. The six mines operated by BHP Mistubishi have a combined output capacity of more than 58 million tonnes per year of mostly metallurgical coal, representing about a fifth of annual global trade.

The United States boasts over 260 billion short tons of recoverable coal reserves, or roughly 28% of the planet’s total coal reserves, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Based on these estimates, the EIA concludes that the U.S. will not exhaust its recoverable coal reserves at current mining levels for 222 years.

Ukraine always has been and always will be a reliable partner for transit of energy to Europe, stated the Ukrainian Minister of Energy and Coal Industry Yuriy Boyko during his meeting with the representatives of the foreign diplomatic corps in Ukraine. "Ukraine has demonstrated its commitment to integration with the European Union in the energy sector by becoming a full member of the Energy Community and carrying out comprehensive work to bring its energy sector in accordance with European requirements," stressed the Ukrainian energy minister.

Amid dire predictions about job losses and the drying up of investment in the sector due to a proposed carbon tax come more bad news for Australia's coal miners. Platts reports New South Wales plans to increase the royalties it receives from coal companies to offset some $400 million in extra costs to the state's coal-fired electricity generators due to the very same federal government carbon levy. Around 95% of NSW's royalty revenue comes from coal mines where rates currently top out at 8.2% of the value of production and is forecast to rise to $2.1 billion in the year ending June 2013 after the hikes come into effect.

Australians believe that the mining industry is much larger than it actually is, according to a study by the Australian Institute. In the study released on Thursday, Australians were asked to estimate what percentage of the nations workers are employed by the mining industry. The average response was around 16 per cent, when according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) the actual figure is 1.9 per cent. The survey also found Australians believe that mining accounts for more than one third (35%) of economic activity. However, ABS figures show that the mining industry accounts for around 9.2 per cent of GDP.

The Canberra Times reports Australia's proposed emissions trading scheme – which will evolve from the carbon tax being implemented next year – has won praise from Beijing, where it will be the model for one of six Chinese pilot programmes to be introduced in 2013. Earlier this week the EU also endorsed the controversial Australian plans and announced the start of talks for the eventual linkage of carbon trading by 2015. The carbon tax is vociferously opposed by Australia's coal export industry, the world's largest, which will be forced to pay a levy of $25 per metric tonne of carbon pollution next year.

AAL - Anglo American Latest Prices LONDON (SHARECAST) - Multi-metal mining giant Anglo American is rumoured to be considering an offer for US coking coal miner Walter Energy. According to The Times, the FTSE 100 miner could pitch an offer price at $120

The deal-making frenzy in the global mining sector during the first half of the year was followed by a dramatic drop in activity in July and August, according to a new report by consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers. Figures from the report titled Riders on the Storm show that in July and August the value of global mining deals fell by 49% and deal volumes declined by 25%. The sharp reversal came after a record first half when 1,379 deals worth $71bn were announced even though Chinese entities, firmly focused on value, retreated from iconic western takeovers. Buyers were also willing to pay over the odds for large publicly listed targets – for $500 million+ acquisitions, the average premium was 37%. For sub-$500 million deals, premiums averaged a mere 8%.