Gold mining: the world’s cheapest jurisdictions

According to reports more than 7,000 workers from Freeport McMoRan's massive gold and copper mine in Indonesia's western Papua region started a week-long strike on Monday to demand better wages. The Grasberg mine is the richest gold and third largest copper mine in the world and and the US company's local subsidiary is the largest single taxpayer to the Indonesian government.

Mongolia chose U.S. miner Peabody Energy , a venture between China's Shenhua and Japan's Mitsui & Co, and a Russian-led consortium as preliminary winners to jointly develop the prized Tavan Tolgoi coal deposit, a senior government source said on Monday. The project, which may require initial investment of more than $7 billion, is seen as vital to kick-start the land-locked nation's economy. It will also generate billions of dollars in revenue for the companies involved and add tens of millions of tonnes of increasingly rare coking coal used by steel makers.

A team of Japanese scientists have found large quantities of rare earth minerals on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. In a Nature Geoscience article published on Monday, the team said that it looked at 78 sites throughout the eastern South and central North Pacific ranging in depths of 3,500 to 6,000 metres. “We estimate that an area of just one square kilometre, surrounding one of the sampling sites, could provide one-fifth of the current annual world consumption of these elements”

Warning that 80 per cent of the country's power plants face the risk of a default due to coal shortages and environmental issues, a body of power producers has petitioned the government for an expert group to review contracts awarded under through the competitive bidding route.

The total gold reserves of central banks worldwide fell by 9.6 per cent between 2000 and 2008 but has subsequently increased by 2.2 per cent from 29,870 tonnes in 2008 to 30,535 tonnes at the end of 2010. This is mainly a result of rising demand for gold from central banks with surplus liquidity in some emerging markets, such as China, India, Russia and oil producing countries in the Middle East region.

Silver and gold prices fell further at the bullion market on moderate selling by stockists and investors amidst continuing bearishness in the global markets. Silver ready (.999 fineness) declined by Rs 125 per kg to end at Rs 51,585 from Friday's level of Rs 51,710.

Indian Express reports the Environment Ministry today gave its clearance for mining in six coal blocks in Orissa that are planned to feed coal to three crucial power plants, including one ultra-mega power project (UMPP). Five of these six coal blocks fell in ‘No-Go’ areas — a reference to those forest areas which are out of bounds for coal mining —because of which environmental clearance was being held up. The permission came after all the three power projects agreed to substantially reduce the forest area that will be damaged by coal mining.

A Vancouver-based company is behind Mongolia’s first shipment of coal to the Republic of Buryatia in the Russian Federation. On Wednesday, Prophecy Coal (TSX-V:PCY) said it had shipped 650 tonnes, or 10 wagons worth, of coal from the company’s Ulaan Ovoo mine in Mongolia to an energy company in southeastern Russia.

Zijin Mining Group Co Ltd said it plans a $280 million U.S. dollar-denominated bond issue, raising capital to acquire copper concentrate overseas for a smelter project of its unit. In a filing to the Hong Kong bourse on Tuesday, Zijin Mining said the bonds would have maturity of five years and a fixed interest rate of 4.25 percent per year during its term with interest payable semi-annually.