Rio Tinto to ship less iron ore despite increased demand from China

The state of Montana and Arch Coal, Inc. will line up together in state court Tuesday against environmental groups seeking to derail the company's plan to mine a 1.3 billion ton reserve within the most productive coal region of the country. St. Louis-based Arch has paid $159 million to the state and Great Northern Properties to lease the Otter Creek coal tracts, located near the Northern Cheyenne Reservation.

Job growth in mining and mining-related work in Australia is expected to increase by over 100% by 2031, outpacing other sectors of the economy, The Courier-Mail is reporting. The website says the total mining workforce is tipped to more than double in the next 20 years, from an estimated 693,000 who are now directly and indirectly employed to 1.45 million staff Australia-wide:

As commodities prices including precious metals were plummetting Thursday on more bad economic news, the Premier of British Columbia provided a glimmer of hope for the BC mining industry. In unveiling the province's job-creation strategy, Clark said the government plans to capitalize on high demand for minerals, especially in Asia, by opening up eight new mines in the next four years and expanding nine more by 2015.

Alliance Resource Partners LP said Thursday it will invest $400 million to $525 million over three or four years in a coal-mining operation under construction in Illinois. The deal includes coal producer Alliance taking an ownership stake in White Oak Resources LLC and buying and leasing back reserves and surface rights. Alliance is investing $69.5 million at closing.

GVK group, of which GVK Power & Infra is a part, is in talks with Indonesia's PT Kideco Jaya Agung for divesting part of its stake in the coal mines that it bought last week from Australia's Hancock Group for $1.26 billion, business daily Mint said citing two sources. On September 17, GVK agreed to pay $1.26 billion for a majority stake in three Australian coal mines and a port and rail project owned by Hancock Group to secure long-term coal supplies for the Indian group's power projects.

Rio Tinto has shortlisted nine parties in bidding for a South African coal mine that it acquired through its near-$US4billion takeover of Riversdale Mining, and hopes to conclude a sale by the year-end, said Steve Mallyon, a special advisor to the Anglo-Australian miner. Any deal for the Riversdale Anthracite Colliery in KwaZulu Natal province, which is producing about 750,000 tonnes of coal a year, could value the asset at around $US150 million ($149m), he said.

Coal miner Alpha Natural Resources Inc (ANR.N) cut its 2011 shipment forecast, citing reduced demand from the key Asian steel market among other things, sending its shares down 10 percent and dragging down the whole sector. The news came as another major coal producer, Walter Energy (WLT.N) (WLT.TO), lowered its sales forecast for the second half of this year, because of weather and problems at some of its mines. Walter's stock dropped 10.1 percent to $67.42 and Alpha shares were down 12.1 percent at $23.65 on Wednesday afternoon on the New York Stock Exchange. Arch Coal (ACI.N) shares were down 8.8 percent at $16.44 and Peabody Energy (BTU.N) stock was down 4.6 percent at $40.91.

Mercator Lines has acquired 50 per cent stake in a coal mine in Indonesia's Kalimanthan province for about USD 30 million (Rs 145 crore), a top company official said today.

Without international agreements to limit greenhouse gas emissions, a new energy report sees world coal consumption taking off, rising from 139 quadrillion Btu in 2008 to 209 quadrillion Btu in 2035. The U.S. Energy Information Administration released its International Energy Outlook 2011 on Monday. While OECD countries, like the U.S., Canada, Australia and Japan, show a flat to declining consumption in coal, the non-OECD countries, namely China and India, show the demand for coal-powered energy exploding.