Copper

Has world top gold miner, Barrick Gold, given up on its principles to remain predominantly a gold producer? While the copper content of Barrick's business has been growing in recent years as the acquisition and development of some of its biggest new gold projects involve the co-mining of copper from big gold/copper porphyry type orebodies, today's announced agreement to acquire copper miner Equinox seems designed to move it even more into the polymetallic production space.

Thompson Creek Minerals has spurned an option with U.S. Energy Corp. to acquire an interest in the Mount Emmons molybdenum project in Colorado's Gunnison County. According to a story in today's Globe and Mail, the Denver-based company has decided instead to focus on exploring its Berg property in British Columbia: Chairman and CEO Kevin Loughrey said the property can potentially expand its molybdenum production while also helping the company's diversification efforts.

Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:ABX)(TSX:ABX) ("Barrick" or "the Company") announced today that it has entered into a support agreement with Equinox Minerals Limited (TSX:EQN)(ASX:EQN)("Equinox") for Barrick to acquire, through an all-cash offer, all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Equinox (including the shares represented by Equinox's CHESS Depositary Interests) by way of a friendly take-over offer (the "Offer"). The Offer is for C$8.15 per Equinox share in cash, or a total of approximately C$7.3 billion. The Offer represents a 30% premium based on Equinox's closing share price on the Toronto Stock Exchange on February 25, 2011 (the last trading day before Equinox announced its intention to make a take-over bid for the common shares of Lundin Mining Corporation).

Rescuers and heavy equipment are picking through the debris in hopes of finding more survivors after a landslide thundered down a mountainside in the Philippines on Good Friday. The avalanche of mud hit the mining village of Panganason around 2:30 am Friday morning, according to a story posted on Inquirer.net. Clad in orange suits, the rescuers sifted through the rubble in the hope of adding more survivors—15 so far—plucked from the mud and rocks. But 21 people remained unaccounted for, according to Maj. Jake Obligado, commanding officer of the 71st Infantry Battalion.

Academy-award winning director, actor and environmental activist, Robert Redford, Thursday became the latest face of those opposed to the development of the massive Pebble copper-gold mining project near Bristol Bay in Alaska. In a blog published on the Huffington Post political website, Redford claimed, "I am not against mining. I am against putting mega-mines where they don't belong."

The cost of developing the huge Wafi-Golpu gold-copper project in PNG could be as much as $4billion according to Harmony CEO, Graham […]

Teck Resources Limited (TSX: TCK.A and TCK.B, NYSE: TCK) announced today that it will pay an eligible dividend of $0.30 per share on its outstanding Class A common shares and Class B subordinate voting shares on July 5, 2011, to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 15, 2011.

World top copper producer Chile sees copper prices staying above the 2010 average during the next three years, Deputy Mining Minister Pablo Wagner said on Wednesday. Copper averaged $3.42 per pound in 2010, according to data compiled by the Chilean government.

Quadra FNX Mining Ltd (QUX.TO) outlined a resource at its Victoria copper-nickel project in Ontario that is equivalent to about 3.4 billion […]