Zinc

Ongoing labour unrest at Freeport-McMorran's Grasberg mine in Indonesia has forced the American company to declare force majeure. The announcement made Wednesday effectively allows Freeport to stop shipments from its gold and copper mine so that it can avoid liability on existing customer orders. About 8,000 workers — a third of the mine's workforce — have been on strike since September 15th and earlier this month vowed to shut down the mine if hourly wages of $1.50 are not upped 8-fold. The strike recently turned ugly with reports of sabotage and injuries.

TORONTO, CANADA--(Marketwire - Oct. 27, 2011) -

Teck Resources (TSE:TCK.B) posted strong third-quarter earnings and rewarded shareholders with a 33% dividend increase. However, the Vancouver-based diversified mining company also lowered its 2011 guidance for copper and coking coal, its principle export commodities. Coal sales volume was lowered to 22.2 to 23 million tonnes (from 23.5 to 24.5 million) due to weakening steel markets. Teck blamed problems at its Quebrada Blanca operation in Chile for lower than expected copper volumes; 2011 copper sales guidance was lowered to 320,000 tonnes from 330,000 to 340,000t. The company had a record quarter, increasing its third-quarter revenues to $3.4 billion from the same period in 2010 — a 40% increase. Adjusted earnings were $742 million compared to $452 million in Q3 of last year.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Oct. 26, 2011) - Teck Resources Limited (TSX: TCK.A and TCK.B, NYSE: TCK) announced today that it will pay an eligible dividend of $0.40 per share on its outstanding Class A common shares and Class B subordinate voting shares on January 3, 2012, to shareholders of record at the close of business on December 15, 2011. This represents a 33 percent increase from the previous dividend.

Washington lawmakers yesterday approved a bill to approve a land exchange clearing the way for what would be North America’s largest copper […]

Bellhaven Copper & Gold (CVE:BHV), a Canadian exploration company operating in Panama and Colombia, received a 10.2% equity interest investment by IAMGOLD Corporation which will subscribe for eleven million units of Bellhaven at C$0.55 per unit. In mid-October, IAMGOLD (TSE:IMG) said it was going start buying new companies that would complement its core strengths, established relationships with foreign governments and working experience in Africa and the Americas. "The private placement will build our treasury to approximately $9.6 million, allowing us to ramp-up the exploration programs at La Mina," said Paul Zweng, Bellhaven's interim CEO and director.

In the last decade spending on exploration in British Columbia has increased 20 fold. It was another bright spot for British Columbia's mining sector, as covered in PricewaterhouseCoopers' industry survey. "The estimated total economic output, value added GDP employment generated from exploration and development activities are $352 million, $168 million and 3,017 jobs respectively," wrote the survey authors.

AP reports one of the four bronze sculptures that included a Jules Dalou, sculptor of the famous Triomphe de la République in Paris (pictured), stolen from the Johannesburg Art Gallery in South Africa since January, were probably melted down and the copper content sold for a paltry $250. The market for scrap metal has grown dramatically in recent years and China alone imports some 400,000 tonnes of scrap copper per month. So called No. 2 copper scrap, which typically consists of a mixture of wire and tubing, sells for roughly 40 cents below the futures prices, which on Tuesday was $3.40/pound.

According to a new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC), direct mining expenditures in British Columbia mining crested $5.2 billion in 2010. An additional $3.7 billion was spent in secondary and support industries and services resulting in a total of $8.9 billion of economic activity across British Columbia. The Economic Impact Analysis report commissioned by the Mining Association of British Columbia (MABC) and compiled by PwC measures direct, indirect and induced economic impacts of mining in terms of output, Gross Domestic Product, employment and government tax revenues.