Philippines confirms environment minister who supports open pit mining ban

Pan Asia Corporation Limited is pleased to announce that it has now executed a formal agreement with leading underground mining group KOPEX to undertake a Final Feasibility Study on the TCM Coal Project in South Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Pimps man the park across from the historic Ulan Bator Hotel, popular with foreigners. They are keeping an eye on their employees -- about 20 women working in Mongolia's quickly expanding sex trade. Image by Tomascastelazo

Workers at US company Freeport McMoRan's giant gold and copper mine in Indonesia's Papua region agreed on Monday to end a strike that has lasted more than a week. Workers at US company Freeport McMoRan's giant gold and copper mine in Indonesia's Papua

Much has been made of China’s insatiable appetite for the world’s natural resources but demand growth from another Asian giant is changing the dynamics of the global steel market. Indian demand for steel grew 10 percent last year, helping push global demand to a record 1.4 billion tons in 2010. Over the past two years, India’s renewed economic growth has brought a dramatic increase in the country’s steel production as well as domestic consumption.

A strike paralyzing production at Freeport Indonesia's Grasberg mine, one of the world's largest sources of copper and gold, will extend into a second week after talks broke down between the company and workers, a union official said on Friday. The union, which represents 8,000 workers who have been on strike since Monday, asked U.S.-based Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (FCX.N) to send Chairman James Moffett to the remote Indonesian mine to negotiate.

While Western mining multinationals are conspicuous in their absence from any bids for Afghanistan's vast resources of copper and iron ore Tata Steel on Thursday joined other Indian steelmakers to bid for the Hajigak iron ore deposits 130km west of Kabul. So far only China has made any firm commitment to the country's mining sector with state-owned Metallurgical Corp's successful $3.4bn bid to build a copper mine – and a $6bn railway to go with it – that should enter production in 2014.

Shares of Coal India and other mining companies tumbled in morning trade on the Bombay Stock Exchange Friday after a ministerial panel approved a draft bill for the mining sector. Coal India fell to a low of Rs 361 in opening trade on the BSE, but later regained some lost ground and was trading at Rs 374.10, down 5.11 percent.

SEOUL -- Seoul called Thursday for talks with Ulan Bator after a consortium involving South Korean firms was left off a list of groups chosen to develop a huge Mongolian mine, saying the decision was “unclear and unfair.”

Indonesian coal miner Bayan Resources Tbk has signed a deal with India’s Universal Crescent Power Private Ltd to supply 100 million tonnes of coal over 15 years from 2015, the firm’s chief financial officer said on Friday. “It’s an index linked contract based on the Newcastle index (and) is fully compliant with the minimum pricing regulation,” Alastair McLeod told Reuters. “It’s not a fixed price contract, and so it will vary every month on delivery of the contract.”