Copper

The Company recorded first quarter earnings of $168 million or $0.88 per share (basic) compared to earnings of $55 million or $0.55 per share for the previous year. The higher earnings in the current quarter were driven by a $134 million pre-tax gain on the disposition of Gold Wheaton shares, higher average copper prices and the inclusion of the Sudbury operations following the merger with FNX. These factors were partially offset by lower sales volumes at Robinson and Carlota. Adjusted earnings for the first quarter totalled $51.8 million or $0.27 per share (basic) compared to $55.3 million or $0.56 per share (basic) for the previous year.

China's Zijin Mining Group Co Ltd said on Friday it would invest $100 million as a cornerstone investor in the initial public offering of commodities group Glencore. The investment in the up to $11 billion IPO will be subject to a six-month lock up period, Zijin said in a filing to the Hong Kong bourse.

Several hundred miners attacked company security guards with wooden clubs and threw eggs outside the headquarters of mining group KGHM where CEO Herbert Wirth was meeting union leaders over a pay dispute. Unions want more than the 4.6 percent rise offered by Europe's No. 2 copper miner, which sees its profit doubling this year to a record 8.4 billion zlotys ($3.16 billion).

Seabridge Gold Inc. (TSX:SEA)(NYSE Amex:SA) announced today the results of an updated National Instrument 43-101 compliant Preliminary Feasibility Study ("PFS") for its 100% owned KSM project located in northern British Columbia, Canada. Image by Seabridge Gold

India-focused miner Vedanta Resources (VED.L) posted a 29 percent jump in full-year earnings per share, on the back of strong metal prices and a background of robust demand for commodities. Vedanta, with operations in India, Australia and Zambia, said on Thursday basic EPS came in at 283 cents.

Rio Tinto , the world's third-largest miner, expects global markets to remain fragile in the near term and sees itself in a strong position to weather any turbulence, its chairman said on Thursday. The company said that it expected little impact on demand for commodities following the earthquake and tsunami disasters in Japan, and said in the long run demand may increase as Japan moved to rebuild.

Anglo-Swiss miner Xstrata (XTA.L: Quote) reported a 6 percent decline in copper output in the first quarter due to severe weather conditions at its Collahuasi mine in Chile and lower grades at its Alumbrera mine in Argentina. Overall, the miner said adverse weather conditions including flooding in Queensland and Western Australia, tropical cyclone Yasi and heavy rainfall in South Africa, Colombia and other parts of South America impacted production during the period.

Small B.C.-based junior Serengeti Resources (TSX-V: SIR) signed on a sizeable partner to explore territory thick in prospective copper-gold porphyries. Mining giant Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE: FCX) inked an exploration agreement with Serengeti Resources that could see a 51-49-percent joint venture in Freeport's favour formed on Serengeti's Choo and Tchentlo properties, not far from Thompson Creek Metals' Mt. Milligan copper-gold project.

The Pebble Partnership has approved US$91 million of program expenditures this year with the objective of completing a prefeasibility study next year, which will lead to the beginning of permitting for the massive Alaskan copper, gold and molybdenum project under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Activities to be undertaken this year at the Pebble Project include engineering to complete a pre-feasibility project design in 2011, as well as environmental studies to finalize an Environmental Baseline Document in preparation for project permitting.