IRC Ltd, a Hong Kong-listed iron ore company mining in Russia, posted its first profit after starting sales from its Kuranakh mine and prices for the steelmaking raw material advanced. Net income for the six months ended June 30 was $3.6 million.

Copper edged down in late Asian trading hours on Monday, weighed down by lingering concerns about a slowdown in the global economy and debt problems in the Eurozone.

In another sign that leasing new coal tracts in the Powder River Basin is becoming unusually competitive, Alpha Natural Resources' winning bid on Wednesday for a Wyoming coal tract also sought by a subsidiary of Peabody Energy was the highest per mineable short ton the Bureau of Land Management ever received for a Wyoming PRB tract.

Workers at Alfredo ManeiroSiderurgica del Orinoco or Sidor have expressed concern at the low supply of iron ore and poor quality of the input by Ferrominera Orinoco. Through a statement, the workers said the poor supply has affected the production of

Uncertainties with regard to global growth are pressuring the base metal prices. However Nickel especially faces huge downside pressure due to a weakening Steel demand and prospects of new mine operations that will Lead to a supply surplus.

Black Iron (TSE:BKI) is an emerging Canadian iron ore exploration and development company advancing its 100% owned Shymanivske Project in KrivoyRog, Ukraine. While the company’s core focus is currently with Shymanivske, it also holds permits to a 3.36

India’s iron ore exports, which fell for the first time in a decade last year, could halve over the next five years as the country feeds the expansion of its steel industry. Lower shipments from the world’s number three exporter should help bolster

Even though problems with the US economy and Euro zone will persist, Copper demand is unlikely to fall this year, Jon Barnes, principal consultant at UK’s CRU group said. CRU expects copper demand to rise 3.6% at 19.2 million tonnes this year. Copper at the London Metal Exchange (LME) had crashed this week to a low of $8446.25 amidst fear of a global slowdown.

Seeking to allay fears of iron ore supply shortages, state-run miner NMDC today said it is willing to "substantially" increase the raw material availability in this quarter to meet the rising demand. Moreover, the company will take a decision on Tuesday,

Copper prices may remain above $4 a pound in coming months, driven by a recovery in demand from China, according to Codelco, the world's largest producer. Chinese inventories seem to have decreased and now the industry is catching up again," Diego Hernandez, chief executive officer of the Chilean state-owned company, said in an interview on Bloomberg Television. Output from Chile, the world's largest copper producer, may miss a target of 5.6 million metric tons in 2011 by 5 percent because of project delays, weather disruption and strikes at mine sites. Codelco plans to spend about $20 billion this decade to boost annual production to meet forecast rising global demand for copper.

State-run NTPC Ltd, India's largest power utility, is considering a 25-year coal import deal, its chairman said on Friday. The company will also invite bids in the next few days for 4 million tonne coal import, and is aiming to expand its local coal coal mines portfolio.

According to the local customs authorities, in the first half of this year the iron ore imports of China's Heilongjiang Province reached 2.507 million mt, which is 1.2 times the volume recorded in H1 last year. The 2.507 million mt was worth a total of $410 million. The average iron ore import price was $163.4/mt, up 41 percent year on year. Russia remained the leading source of imported iron ore arriving in Heilongjiang.