Copper

A statement put out by Ivanhoe Mines on Monday telling investors that its Oyu Tolgoi project remains on track and pooh-poohing rumours about the Mongolian government reneging on the deal that Ivanhoe and partner Rio Tinto spent five years negotiating did little to ease the fears of investors. By lunchtime Ivanhoe had plummeted more than 21.3%, crashing through the $10 billion market valuation level and taking the week's losses to 33%, with the number of shares changing hands already exceeding the daily average. Ivanhoe also appeared to have patched things up with Rio Tinto on Monday after it said last week it's unhappy that the world's number two miner told investors about possible delays to the mega-project.

Ivanhoe Mines said in a statement today that the investment agreement for the Oyu Tolgoi Project remains a fair and legally binding contract that deserves and requires the unqualified support of all parties. Media reports during the weekend quoted Mongolia's Mineral Resources and Energy Minister D. Zorigt as indicating that Ivanhoe Mines and Rio Tinto would receive a letter from the Mongolian government asking the companies to consider entering into discussions to address a possible change to the investment agreement. A reported potential proposed change would see acceleration of the government's right to increase its current 34% interest in Oyu Tolgoi to 50% by purchasing an additional 16% at fair market value at some future point, after Ivanhoe Mines and Rio Tinto recoup their capital investments in the project.

SPOKANE VALLEY, WASHINGTON--(Marketwire - Sept. 26, 2011) - Revett Minerals Inc. (TSX:RVM) (NYSE Amex:RVM) is pleased to provide an update on its recently initiated 2012 copper hedging program. For 2012, the company has sold forward approximately 25% of forecast copper production at US$4.00 per lb. This transaction, for 100 metric tons per month, is for copper contained in concentrates produced at our Troy mine from January to December 2012.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Sept. 26, 2011) - Empire Mining Corporation (TSX VENTURE:EPC) ("Empire") is pleased to report that an ongoing sampling program at the newly-identified Southwest Zone of the Demirtepe wollastonite-hosted copper-gold-silver and molybdenum project in Turkey, has identified a continuous copper-gold anomalous zone currently about 1.8 km long and up to 800 metres wide and still open to the southwest. The new Southwest Zone is located approx. 1 km to the southwest of the Main Zone.

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Sept. 26, 2011) - Romios Gold Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE:RG)(OTCBB:RMIOF)(FRANKFURT:D4R) ("Romios" or the "Company") is pleased to announce assay results from the initial portion of the 2011 drill program on the Trek Property in northwestern British Columbia. The property is located 12.0 km southeast of the Galore Creek copper-gold-silver porphyry deposit and adjacent to the Galore Creek Mining Corporation's proposed mill and tailings facilities.

Mongolia wants to bring forward the raising of its stake in the Oyu Tolgoi copper project that’s being developed by Rio Tinto Group and Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. to 50 percent from 34 percent, according to the minerals minister. “We have sent the proposal to Ivanhoe to renegotiate the timeframe for us to increase the government stake,” Dashdorj Zorigt told reporters at Oyu Tolgoi yesterday. Such an increase is permitted after only 30 years, according to a summary of the $16 billion project agreement from London-based Rio Tinto.

British Telecom on Friday had to talk down the value of its 75 million miles of copper cables criss-crossing the United Kingdom after an analyst at investment bank Investec calculated that the scrap value of the copper is £50 billion ($77 billion) at today's prices – almost $50 billion more than BT's market cap.

Bloomberg reports the London Metal Exchange which handles some 80% of global trade in industrial metals futures, told members it may get a takeover offer after multiple approaches from potential bidders. The 134-year-old exchange is owned by the trading houses and banks like Barclays and JP Morgan that trade on the market which keeps fees low. Despite talk of an $1.2 billion offer as far back as 2008, it is unclear how receptive they would be to selling out after a senior executive of the exchange told Reuters in March it had no plans to change its independent status despite increasing competition, particularly in Asia.

The election of Michael Sata to president of Zambia is not sitting well with copper miners who fear the 73-year-old, known as "King Cobra" for his aggressive style, will pick the pockets of mining companies, Bloomberg reports. Sata swept to power this week on a promise to create jobs and to extract more money from the mining industry in Zambia, Africa's largest copper producer. His win on Sept. 20 ends two decades of rule by the Movement for Multiparty Democracy.