Capstone Mining will acquire all the issued and outstanding shares of Far West Mining. Total transaction value will be Can$725 million. Capstone released details of the agreement in a press release on Sunday. On Monday morning, Capstone shares (TSE:CS) were down about 7% to $3.93 a share.

GFMS says that investment demand will continue to drive gold higher, and analysts at the firm would not be surprised to see gold break through $1,600 before the end of the year. The findings were published in GFMS's Gold Survey 2011 that were released today. "Investors continue to be concerned about the outlook for inflation, with governments in general showing little appetite to tighten monetary policy significantly," says Philip Klapwijk, chairman at GFMS, in a news release.

Orocobre Limited (TSX:ORL)(ASX:ORE) is pleased to report that it has produced battery grade lithium carbonate from Salar de Olaroz brines. Orocobre's analysis shows that the lithium carbonate is of greater than 99.9% purity* and of higher purity than the specifications for battery grade material sold by existing producers. This material was produced by refining a lower purity product previously produced at the company's facilities at Olaroz with recirculated brines. As such, the Company considers the material to be representative of what could be expected in commercial production.

U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman's rare earth legislation may have lit a fire under Molycorp's stock price, which rose 10.3% on Thursday trading. Coffman, Republican congressman representing Colarado, introduced legislation on Wednesday calling for a variety of measures that would better ensure that the United States has secure access to rare earth metals. Molycorp stock finished Thursday at $68.45. The stock's 52-week range is $12.10 to $68.79.

As copper prices reach greater highs, Forbes says that manufacturers are looking at substitutes and choosing aluminum. After the financial crisis in […]

Teck announced on Saturday that it had reached a settlement deal with Local 9346 of the United Steelworkers of America to end the strike at the company's Elkview operation. According to a company statement, the parties will recommend the memorandum of settlement to their respective groups. The union ratification vote is scheduled for Thursday, April 7, 2011. If the agreement is ratified, production at the mine could resume by Friday, April 8, 2011.

The uranium spot market will experience increased volatility over the next three to nine months, according to a study released today by Resource Capital Research. "The impact of the damaged nuclear reactors in Japan to the outlook for nuclear energy will likely take 12 months to fully unfold. However, mid to long term, growth in the sector is expected to remain buoyant, albeit on a flatter trajectory than previously thought, driven by strong fundamentals, including the global need for low carbon, base load electricity generating capacity," said John Wilson, Managing Director of Resource Capital Research, in a statement.

In a worrying report for copper bugs, FT/Alphaville looks more closely at a practice in China whereby copper is warehoused and used […]

FLSmidth has today signed a contract in Jakarta worth in excess of USD 135m (DKK 700m) with PT Adaro Indonesia, a subsidiary of PT Adaro Energy Tbk., to supply material handling equipment to its coal mine in the Tanjung district of South Kalimantan, some 1000 km from the Indonesian capital, Jakarta. The material handling equipment will be part of Adaro's expansion of its mining operations and will decrease the average hauling distance of the overburden trucking operations as well as reduce the company's dependency on oil. The contract comprises an out-of-pit overburden crushing and conveying system, consisting of FLSmidth ABON sizers, RAHCO overland conveyors, and RAHCO mobile stacking conveyors. The system has a capacity of 12,000 tonnes per hour and an annual overburden volume of 40 million bank cubic metres. The contractual elements regarding construction, supervision and management, as well as field service, will be supplied by FLSmidth Indonesia.

The Guardian’s Glenn Hurowitz denounced the Obama administration’s plan to open up new land to coal mining. Secretary of the Interior Ken […]

Crocodile Gold announced today that it closed a Can$85 million bought-deal closing of 81 million units at Can$1.05 per unit. Each unit consists of one common share of the company and one-half of one common share purchase warrant. The syndicate of underwriters was co-led by GMP Securities L.P. and Cormark Securities Inc.

Teck Resources announced today that it expects lowers coal output this year due to bad weather conditions along its rail lines and […]