OZ Minerals closer than ever to grabbing Brazil-focused Avanco

South African coal miner Exxaro Resources has agreed to pay AUD$123 million for Territory Resources with the goal of producing 10 million metric tonnes of iron ore a year, Bloomberg reported Monday: Exxaro offered A$0.46 a share for the iron-ore miner based in Perth, Western Australia, the companies said in a statement today. The bid, at a 64 percent premium to the closing price on May 20, was recommended by Territory’s board, they said.

Bloomberg reported that a drop in coal exports following Australia’s floods pushed up exports from the US. The market news is quoted as saying: Queensland Resources Council, representing miners in the Australian state, said in January 85 percent of mines were “impaired by excess water.” Further rains delayed a production recovery, RBS Morgans Ltd. said last month.

The Rasp underground mine in the heart of one of Australia' most historic mining centres -- Broken Hill's Line of Lode -- should be operating by April next year. Development of the Rasp mine on Central Mining Lease 7 is in one of the most intensely worked areas between the Perilya Ltd North and South mining leases and it had a stop-start scenario with the big stall being when the zinc price crashed in during the global financial crisis.

Trading Room reports that Melbourne-based Fortis Mining Ltd has agreed to raise $236m by selling new shares and notes to investors in Hong Kong and China to buy and develop two potash mines in Kazakhstan. ASX-listed Fortis, previously a gold and base metal explorer, acquired the rights to purchase the Chelkarskaya and Zhilyanskoe salt deposits in March. The deposits have an exploration target range of 6.5 – 6.6bn tonnes of potassium making them amongst the largest potash salt deposits in the world.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports on Friday that the state of New South Wales announced a 60-day freeze on new exploration licences for coal, coal seam gas and petroleum in a push to resolve the escalating conflict between farmers, miners and conservationists over land use. The need for a moratorium was questioned by the state's mining industry, which said billions of dollars in investment were at stake, but it said it broadly supported the development of a new approach to avoid conflict over valuable land.

"Everyone who has money is rushing to invest in iron ore," Baosteel Group chairman, Xu Lejiang said on Friday, warning that supply may outstrip demand “sooner than expected” pushing prices down in the process. Brazil’s Vale, and Australian heavyweights BHP and Rio Tinto have some $45bn slated for new mines. The cash price of 62%-iron ore shipped to China's Tianjin port has almost tripled from Nov. 21, 2008 when data became available, according to the Steel Index.

Valuations of iron ore companies have been cut in response to Western Australia's controversial royalty increase, with Andrew Forrest's fast-growing Fortescue Metals taking the biggest hit. The valuation hits were despite the protection from state the protection from state royalty increases that the miners negotiated last year with the federal government in the reworked - and less onerous - minerals resource rent tax.

Bloomberg reports on Thursday that GVK Power & Infrastructure, a builder of airports and utilities controlled by Indian billionaire GV Krishna Reddy, is in talks to borrow as much as $850m to fund the purchase of two Hancock Prospecting coal mines according to people with knowledge of the negotiations. GVK will use the money to pay Hancock $500m for equity in the mines and another $350m as compensation for costs incurred by the Australian company for running them.

Wayne Swan has threatened to blow a $2 billion hole in the Barnett Government's plan to lift royalty rates on iron ore miners, with every cent raised by the move likely to end up with other States and Territories.The Commonwealth Grants Commission has