Excess capacity in aluminium smelting will drag on for years to come, even while losses weigh on producers, as political pressures in China and Russia to keep jobs and push self-sufficiency prevent or delay plant closures.
American-based heavy equipment maker Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) through its subsidiary Electro-Motive Canada (EMC), said today that it is closing EMC's locomotive production operations at its London, Ontario plant, after several months of unsuccessful contract negotiations with the Canadian Auto Workers union.
A day after violent demonstrations forced the cancellation of the grand opening of its newly minted Independencia Mine in Paraguay, Latin American Minerals (CVE:LAT)(OTCQX:LATNF) announced that it began operations at its Pilot Plant facility, located at the Paso Yobai gold project.
The richest woman in the world, Gina Rinehart, on Wednesday dropped $200 million in "loose change" to more than double her stake in Australian newspaper group Fairfax to add to her shares in a television channel prompting questions about the mining magnate's motivations.
Times of Zambia reports that the Zambian government is planning to increase its share of mining firms from 20% to 35% but is not planning a wholesale nationalization.
With revenues of $60 billion last year and operations at the ends of the earth, few companies are in a better position to take the pulse of the global economy and the resource sector than Caterpillar. But what is it saying about the outlook for 2012?
(Caterpillar News Release) PEORIA, Ill.— Driven by outstanding execution and stronger global demand, Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) delivered record-breaking 2011 sales and revenues of $60.138 billion, an increase of 41 percent from $42.588 billion in 2010. Profit in 2011 was $4.928 billion, an increase of 83 percent from $2.700 billion in 2010.
Mining notices of work applications, one of the pieces of paper a miner must have before a project can proceed, have been reduced from 229 to 85, said BC Premier Christy Clark at Round Up 2012 on Wednesday.
Republicans on the state Assembly's jobs committee approved a bill Tuesday that would streamline Wisconsin's iron mining permit process, brushing aside Democrats' claims that the measure is a license to pollute.
Australian Mining reports: Atlas Iron's chief executive says the miner may need an extra 1000 workers in three years, highlighting once again the severe skills shortage for miners that will continue in Australia into 2012.
Australian Bureau of Statistics data released last week also indicated mining jobs were in demand across Australia. While total job positions in Australia have fallen by 181,000, the new figures showed resources states QLD and WA were still hungry for mining jobs, posting a rise in available positions. Like other companies in the Pilbara, particularly BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, and Fortescue Metals Group, Atlas is pursuing aggressive expansion targets.