The University of Queensland (UQ) has developed a new technology to support plant growth at mine sites previously unable to support any vegetation due to heavy metal soil contamination.

With financial support from Xstrata Technology, MetalloTek will manage further development and commercialisation of the technology in partnership with industry stakeholders.

MetalloTek's lead researcher said the new technology had the potential to be a low-cost and effective tool for helping rehabilitate metal-contaminated mine sites.

Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd submit draft merger proposal Tokyo (Reuters) - Nippon Steel Corp, the world's fourth-biggest steelmaker, and Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd submitted a draft proposal for their planned merger to Japan's

In July 2007, one year after the housing bubble peaked and five months before the beginning of the Great Recession, Citigroup CEO Chuck Prince talked to the Financial Times about the health of the housing market. "When the music stops," he said, "things will be complicated. But as long as the music is playing, you've got to get up and dance."

Minera Andes (MAI.TO: Quote) said on Thursday it plans to spin out its Los Azules copper project in Argentina into a new publicly traded company. The Toronto-based exploration company said the move will let it unlock value from Los Azules and allow it to focus on developing its San Jose gold-copper project, which is located in the vicinity of Goldcorp's (G.TO: Quote) recently acquired Cerro Negro project in Argentina.

Australian mining firm Sundance Resources said on Thursday recent finds at its Mbalam iron ore project in Cameroon had more than doubled the amount of indicated resources in the area.

Two mining companies announced Thursday that their respective dealings with Japanese smelters and steel manufacturers have not been impacted by the devastating Japanese earthquake and tsunami at this time.

Taseko Mines has implemented plans to increase mine production at its flagship Gibraltar Mine to 180,000 pounds of copper and one million […]

Shanghai-listed Western Mining Co Ltd said it plans to build a 100,000-tonne-per-year copper smelter in the northern western Chinese province of Qinghai, Reuters reported: The cost of the project was estimated at 2.28 billion yuan ($347 million), the company said in a statement on Friday, adding that it would seek a partner to build the smelter with the Western Mining holding a majority stake. "The project is going to add pressure to the local supply of copper concentrate," said senior copper analyst Yang Changhua at state-backed research firm Antaike.

TSX V-listed IC Potash, which has projects in New Mexico, said on Thursday it had successfully raised $20-million in a bought deal […]