Nickel

China has increased its 2011 rare earth export quota, says an article by International Business Times: China has set its total output of rare earth at 93,800 tonnes this year, 4,600 tonnes more or 5.16 percent higher compared to last year's, the Ministry of Land and Resources said this week.

Vancouver-based Crowflight Minerals (TSX: CML) says it will resume operations at its Bucko Lake Mine in April. The company expects to mine 220,000 tonnes of ore in 2011, with the goal of producing about five million pounds of nickel. With nickel trading at $12 a pound, the operation would yield a $20 million cash flow in 2011, Crowflight stated in a news release Wednesday.

Rosa Elbira Coc Ich and ten other indigenous Mayan Q’eqchi’ women filed a lawsuit today against Canadian mining companies HMI Nickel, and […]

Vladimir Strzhalkovsky, the General Director and Chairman of the Management Board of MMC Norilsk Nickel (the Company) met with the President of the Republic of South Africa Jakob Zuma in RSA. The meeting was held as part of the General Director's business visit to the Republic of South Africa. The parties discussed further development of the Company's projects in RSA.

The ability of mining giant Vale (VALE.N: Quote) to execute on its capital spending plans will be paramount for its stock to rise, according to a Morgan Stanley report on Monday. Analysts Carlos de Alba and Bruno Montanari said that Peru's Bayovar, Vale's first greenfield project outside Brazil, "offers a good example that the company can deliver."

Brazilian mining company Vale has pushed out Chief Executive Roger Agnelli under heavy government pressure and is in discussions to replace him with an executive from within, local media reported on Sunday. President Dilma Rousseff has used the government's influence as a key Vale (VALE5.SA: Quote) shareholder to insist the company remove Agnelli following years of accusations it was not doing enough to bolster Brazil's economic development.

China will increase a tax on rare earths from April 1, the official Xinhua News Agency said on Thursday. The State Administration of Taxation website carried a local media report, saying the resource tax would be raised to 30-60 yuan per tonne, depending on the type of rare earth mineral, a substantial increase from the current level of 0.5-3 yuan per tonne.

Moscow - OJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel (the Company) announces today that RUSAL has once again failed gain an injunction through court. The Krasnoyarsk Territory arbitration court has rejected the request for an injunction in a lawsuit brought by RUSAL against OJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel. The suit challenged the divestment of the OGK-3 generating company for a stake in Inter RAO.

China's exports of rare earth metals burst through the $100,000-per-tonne mark for the first time in February, up almost ninefold from a year before, while the volume of trade stayed far below historical averages. China's squeeze on rare earths, which are used in a wide range of hardware including precision-guided weapons, hybrid car batteries and iPads, has forced prices up dramatically since July last year, when each tonne fetched a mere $14,405 on average.