Mining in 2018: Copper price to power on

Tata Steel Ltd will use the $1.12 billion ('5,030 crore) it earned from the sale of its 26.3% stake in Australia's Riversdale Mining Ltd to fund the expansion of its steel-making capacity in Jamshedpur and Kalinganagar, as well as mining operations and capital expenditure in its European operations.

Tata Steel and SAIL's equal joint venture, S&T Mining Company, will set up a 1.8 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) coal washery at Bhelatand, in Jharkhand, through an investment of Rs 200 crore.

Newmont (NEM), the U.S. mining group, is under investigation in Jakarta, where antigraft authorities said they are reviewing claims the group may have breached rules on the foreign ownership of mining assets.

Mongolian-focused coking coal explorer Aspire Mining Limited has lifted production expectations for its Ovoot Coking Coal Project (Ovoot) based on the latest compilation of coal washability test results. Results from recent coal washability testing confirm a very high theoretical yield of 80% to produce a product with 8% ash content and CSNs of 8 to 9, making it potentially the lowest ash coking coal product in Mongolia.

Ivanhoe Mines' Chief Executive Officer Robert Friedland announced today that the company expects to receive US$502 million from Rio Tinto later today following Rio Tinto's decision to exercise all remaining share-purchase warrants that it holds in Ivanhoe Mines.

India, the world's top gold importer, may have just turned net exporter over the last couple of months given the high level of exports of gold jewellery, medallions and coins from the country. Export of items of the yellow metal rose to a staggering $1.24 billion during March and April 2011.

Teck Resources provided an update today to its coal guidance for the second quarter. As a result of the February earthquake and tsunami in Japan, some of Teck's coal customers have deferred shipments due to reduced steel production requirements and Teck now expects coal sales in the second quarter at the low end of its previously announced guidance range of 5.5 to 6.0 million tonnes.

The import of gold and silver by India has risen by a whopping 222% between April and May 2011, as compared to a year ago. In the month of May alone, imports were a staggering $9 billion, with gold demand growing 25%. "Even as inflation and a widening trade deficit to $15 billion in May continues to weigh on the minds of Indian investors, the demand for fresh gold has continued to grow."

Mongolia may share its Tavan Tolgoi coal mining project between a majority of the six bidders shortlisted by the government and ask them to work together, Prime Minister Sukhbaatar Batbold told Bloomberg in an interview adding that the final decision is “very close.” Coal production in Mongolia doubled last year to become the nation’s top export earner, spurring the government to push through development of one of the world’s biggest unexploited deposits of the mineral. Peabody Energy Corp., a Shenhua Group Corp.-Mitsui & Co. venture, Vale SA, a Russia-Japan-South Korea group, ArcelorMittal, and Xstrata Plc were all shortlisted.