Hong Kong exchange to launch dollar-denominated mini contracts for base metals

Bloomberg reports that in London, Copper inched up for a second day as banks from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to JPMorgan Chase & Co. backed the metal’s prospects. The market news is quoted as saying: Three-month delivery copper on the London Metal Exchange rose as much as 1.1 percent to $8,958 a metric ton and traded at $8,949.75 at 3:12 p.m. Singapore time. Stockpiles of the metal in Shanghai Futures Exchange warehouses declined to the lowest in more than seven months last week, a sign that demand may be picking up in the world’s biggest consumer.

Vancouver-based copper mining company Capstone Mining Corp. reported Tuesday a $18.9m profit for the first quarter, up from the Q1 2010 figure of $14.76m. Cash flow from operating activities was $6.7m, helping the company end the quarter with cash on hand of $181.2m. Darren Pylot, Capstone President and CEO said in a statement that the proposed acquisition of Far West Mining is expected to give the company 200% growth in anticipated copper production from 2011 to 2016 from its Santo Domingo project in Chile. The transaction, if approved by Capstone and Far West shareholders, is expected to close in mid-June.

BHP Billiton has dissolved a partnership with Blackthorn Resources to develop a mine in Zambia, according to a report in The Post Online: World's largest mining company BHP Billiton has finally withdrawn from the Mumbwa Iron Oxide Copper Gold project, aborting expectations that Zambia was to herald a new era of top tier miners. Its joint venture partner, Blackthorn Resources, announced that BHP Billiton had pulled out of a copper venture but would retain the right to a two per cent production royalty on any metal mined from the area.

Indian controlled and London listed diversified miner, Vedanta is reported to be poised to float off Konkola Copper Mines, its major Zambian copper producer for around US$7.3bn. Vedanta bought an initial 51% stake in Konkola Copper Mines in 2004 for a paltry US$261m, and subsequently increased its holding to the current 79.4% with the Zambian Government holding the balance, so an IPO valuing the company at over $7bn represents a huge gain for the multinational, founded and controlled by Indian entrepreneur Anil Agarwal.

Indonesia will audit over 8,000 existing mining permits to make sure they are in line with mining and environmental laws, the country's finance minister said on Monday, days after the country passed new regulations on environmental protection. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono last week signed a two-year moratorium on permits for logging and another decree allowing underground mining in protected forests if conditions such as an environmental assessment had been met.

The Santiago Times reported that Sebastián Pinera, president of Chile, signed a bill which if approved by Congress, would eliminate a substantial source of revenue for Chile’s armed forces and at the same time relieve a massive burden on the country’s state mining company. Under current legislation dating back to the Second World War, 10% of revenues from Chile’s National Copper Corporation, Codelco, are directed to the nation’s armed forces. Codelco is the world’s largest copper mining company and accounts for some 11% of global copper production, but the tax has contributed to years of underinvestment and the prospect of falling output at the miner just as copper prices hit record highs.

Bard Ventures Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:CBS)(FRANKFURT:BVU) is pleased to announce that the drill program on its Lone Pine Property has commenced. The property is located 15 kilometers north-northwest of Houston, BC and is situated in the Omineca Mining Division. The drill program is planned to further evaluate exceptional drill hole results received from all three zones on the property, being the Alaskite Zone, the Quartz Breccia Zone and the 61 Zone.

Toronto stock exchange listed Minera Andes announced on Friday the proposed spin-out of its copper assets, including the 100%-owned Los Azules project, has been deferred. The gold, silver and copper exploration company cited weaker financial markets, financing uncertainties, and a delayed legal decision regarding its dispute with TNR Gold over claims on the Argentinean property, as contributing to the board’s decision.

Pan Pacific Copper Co, Japan's top smelter, said on Friday it and BHP had agreed to a 29 percent rise in copper treatment and refining fees for ores to be delivered in July-December, reflecting higher fees on the spot market. Pan Pacific, a unit of JX Holdings Inc , agreed to $90 a tonne for treatment fees and 9 cents a pound for refining for the six months, a company executive said.