MINING.COM

As promised Peru’s leftist Humala strong arms miners into forking over profits

Reuters reports Peru's mining firms have agreed to pay higher royalties in an overhaul of the current system, sources on both sides of negotiations between companies and leftist President Ollanta Humala's government said on Tuesday. Under the new system, companies would pay royalties based on their operating profits, not sales and will be be similar to the system used in Chile. The new royalties rates still need to be defined, but they would likely be higher than the current rates of 1% – 3% charged on sales. The initiative comes as mining companies in Peru plan to invest $42.5 billion over the next decade, mainly in copper and gold projects. Peru is the world's largest miner of silver and the second-largest miner of copper.

Frik Els | August 17, 2011 | 4:01 am

Royal Bafokeng plans $1.4 billion platinum expansion

Bloomberg reports the proposed expansion by South Africa's Royal Bafokeng Platinum follows an increase in demand for platinum which has gained 19% in the past 12 months to $1,818/oz. Steve Phiri, RB Platinum CEO said demand is likely to exceed supply in the next three years, while a shortage of palladium, typically mined along with platinum, may rise to 1 million ounces in 2014. South Africa produces more than three-quarters of global supply.

Frik Els | August 16, 2011 | 11:27 pm

Kinross Announces US$1 Million for Alaskan Mining Engineering Students

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Aug. 16, 2011) - Kinross Gold Corporation (TSX:K)(NYSE:KGC) announced today that the Company is providing approximately US$1 million in funding for a three year endowment that will provide advanced training to mining engineering students at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). "Education is a major area of focus for Kinross, and we are pleased to support the next generation of mining engineers in Alaska by providing the UAF with a steady source of research funding over the next three years," said Tye Burt, Kinross Gold President and CEO.

Marketwire | August 16, 2011 | 11:21 pm

Queensland finds new workers for the mining industry from coastal areas

The Queensland state government has made an agreement with resource companies to fill skills gaps in the mining boom with members of coastal communities with high unemployment, Mining Weekly reports.

Premier Anna Bligh said the agreement to hold Work for Queensland jobs expos was reached at a summit between senior resource companies on the Gold Coast, with the expos to be held in Cairns, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, the Whitsunday region and Wide Bay Burnett starting in October. “This is about giving people choice and opportunity. We have significant numbers of Queenslanders, particularly in some regional areas, out of work and yet the mining industry is facing a skills shortage," Bligh said.

Joanna Gaskell - Education Editor | August 16, 2011 | 6:01 pm

These times of tumultuous change will push the price of gold much higher

Global markets were on a roller coaster last week ever since Washington agreed to increase their debt ceiling and S&P downgraded the USA’s AAA credit rating to AA+.

David Levenstein | August 16, 2011 | 4:40 pm

The market dynamics that sent gold past $1800

Given that gold has hit our target of $1800 we feel it is appropriate to review our outlook on the gold market, the state of key factors that influence gold prices and possible trading strategies going forward.

Sam Kirtley | August 16, 2011 | 11:40 am

10 die in China coal mine blast

A blast in a coal mine in China killed 10 people, officials said Monday. The blast, due to accumulation of gas inside the mine, took place Sunday night in southwest Guizhou province, Xinhua reported.

Sify | August 15, 2011 | 12:01 pm

Job openings go begging in Michigan: Caterpillar CEO

Despite the high unemployment rate in the United States, Catepillar's CEO says there is a desparate shortage of skilled workers, and many job vacancies are going unfilled in some of the most depressed regions of the country. "I talked to one of our great customers in Detroit. I spent some time with our distributors. They have 50 job openings today that they cannot fill, and guess what they are. They are service technician jobs," says Doug Oberhelman, chairman and CEO of Caterpillar. He was interviewed by CNBC on Friday.

Michael Allan McCrae | August 14, 2011 | 7:34 pm

Covered-up mine accident kills 5 in NW China

LANZHOU - Five people were killed in a coal mine accident that was kept under wraps up for over 40 days in Northwest China's Gansu province, local authorities said Sunday. The government of Shandan county launched an investigation after receiving a

China Daily | August 14, 2011 | 6:13 pm

The gold standard wasn’t as great as we imagine it: Romer

Christina Romer, former economic advisor to Obama, says that the gold standard was not as great as we imagine it, and it didn't provide economic sability. "As we know in the 1930s gold flows were a big part of what was causing countries to raise interest rates in the middle of a Great Depression for heaven's sakes," said Romer in an interview with the New York Times on Friday. Romer says that unanticipated gold flows that filled the U.S. treasuries at the start of World War II allowed the country to shake off the depression, and says that monetary policy is an unappreciated policy tool that helped the U.S. restart the economy.

Michael Allan McCrae | August 14, 2011 | 10:05 am