Revitalizing its copper mines may not be sufficient to keep Chile at the fore

NW Tech Capital Inc. (PINK SHEETS:NWTT) has executed an option agreement that grants the company 100% interest in a prolific platinum, copper and nickel-bearing property located in McConkey Township, Ontario. After successfully completing the negotiation process, management decided to enter into an agreement that gives the company unrestricted rights to explore resources and reserves on what is known as the Caribou Property.

Minera Andes (MAI.TO: Quote) said on Thursday it plans to spin out its Los Azules copper project in Argentina into a new publicly traded company. The Toronto-based exploration company said the move will let it unlock value from Los Azules and allow it to focus on developing its San Jose gold-copper project, which is located in the vicinity of Goldcorp's (G.TO: Quote) recently acquired Cerro Negro project in Argentina.

Two mining companies announced Thursday that their respective dealings with Japanese smelters and steel manufacturers have not been impacted by the devastating Japanese earthquake and tsunami at this time.

Taseko Mines has implemented plans to increase mine production at its flagship Gibraltar Mine to 180,000 pounds of copper and one million […]

Shanghai-listed Western Mining Co Ltd said it plans to build a 100,000-tonne-per-year copper smelter in the northern western Chinese province of Qinghai, Reuters reported: The cost of the project was estimated at 2.28 billion yuan ($347 million), the company said in a statement on Friday, adding that it would seek a partner to build the smelter with the Western Mining holding a majority stake. "The project is going to add pressure to the local supply of copper concentrate," said senior copper analyst Yang Changhua at state-backed research firm Antaike.

OZ Minerals is pleased to advise that the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has issued a Class Ruling which advises that the proposed capital return by OZ Minerals is solely sourced from capital and so no part of the return will be treated as a dividend for Australian income tax purposes.

First Quantum Minerals posted a US$455 million profit in the third quarter, the Vancouver-based company reported on Tuesday. That compares with $227 million in earnings in the three months ended December 31, 2009. Sales of copper in Q3 were down from the same period last year, from 98,171 tonnes in Q3 2009 to 76,290 in the third quarter of 2010. However, the company ended the year with $1.385 billion in its treasury compared to $959 million in the previous year's Q3.

Capstone Mining made a dramatic move into the black last year, earning a US$72.6 million profit compared to a loss of $18.3 million in 2009. Revenues grew from $250 million in 2009 to $310 million last year. The Vancouver-based company had US$192.4 million in the bank at the end of the year, up from $118.4 million the year previously.

Northern Tiger Resources Inc. (TSX-V:NTR) has closed a brokered private placement of 8.622 million flow-through common share at a price of $0.55 per share for proceeds of $4.742 million. The private placement was initially announced on February 14, 2011 and contemplated raising gross proceeds up to $3 million.