Australia’s miners ‘missing in action’ in Colombia

Coalspur Mines Limited (ASX: CPL, TSX:CPT) is pleased to announce that it has successfully completed its public offering of 24 million ordinary shares of the company at an issue price of C$1.85 per ordinary share for gross proceeds of C$44.4 million. This was announced to the market on April 13, 2011. In addition to the public offering, the previously announced private placement of 6 million ordinary shares at C$1.85 each to raise a further C$11.1 million, before costs , is expected to be completed in June 2011. The private placement is being made to the Highland Park Group, a strategic shareholder of the company.

Fourteen miners in northern Mexico are trapped underground after a gas explosion, BBC News reported Tuesday. According the story, rescuers have been unable to contact the men due to high levels of methane gas in the mine shaft. The accident happened close to the U.S. border at a small artisinal mine in the northern state of Coahuila.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts coal to remain the dominant fuel for power generation until 2035 despite projected strong increases in natural gas and renewable fuel use over the same period. EIA’s revised Annual Energy Outlook, released last week, shows coal’s share of the market dropping to 43% in 2035 from 45% in 2009, but remaining the largest fuel source as gas use is forecast to rise to 25% from 23%.

Sandvik Mining and Construction and Shandong Energy Machinery in Xintai, Shandong Province, China, have signed an agreement to form a 50/50 owned joint venture for the production and sales of coal mining equipment. The joint venture is expected to be established within six months, following customary regulatory approvals.

Arch Coal (ACI.N) will buy smaller peer International Coal Group Inc (ICO.N) for $3.4 billion to create the second-largest U.S. producer of steel-making coal, the companies said on Monday. The deal is the latest in the coal industry, following Alpha Natural Resources' (ANR.N) $6.6 billion plan to buy Massey Energy (MEE.N) and Walter Energy's (WLT.N) $3.3 billion agreement to buy Canada's Western Coal.

Business in Vancouver reports: In a labour negotiation that has avoided the kind of strikes seen at the company’s Elkview and Coal Mountain mines in recent months, Teck Resources Ltd. (TSX:TCK.A, TCK.B; NYSE:TCK) announced this morning that it has arrived at a tentative collective agreement with the workers at Fording River – B.C.’s largest mine.

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (CLF.N:Quote) reported more than a five-fold increase in first-quarter profit as demand and prices for its iron ore and steel-making coal soared.Net earnings were $423 million, or $3.11 per share, compared with $77 million, or 57 cents per share in the quarter a year earlier. Revenue rose 63 percent to $1.2 billion, the Cleveland-based company said on Thursday.

Sherritt's Q1 earnings rose 116% over the same quarter a year ago. The company reported net earnings on Thursday of $63.6 million or 22 cents a share. A year ago, the company reported only $29.4 million in net earnings or 10 cents a share. The company's sales volumes were up slightly. Sherritt's sales volumes of nickel, reported in thounsands of pounds, was 9,438 in 2011 and 9,392 in 2010, less than a one per cent increase.

Russia's two main rail lines into Asia and, in particular China, are increasingly overburdened which is causing a headache for metals firms looking to increase exports.