Climbing nickel output to cast shadow on prices

Silvercorp Metals reported in Q4 that net earnings were up 29% to $12.6 million, or $0.07 per share, compared to net earnings of $9.8 million, or $0.06 per share, in the same quarter last year. It also said that quarterly cash flows from operations up 44% to $34.3 million, or $0.20 per share, from $23.8 million in the same quarter last year. Production was 1.05 million ounces of silver in the quarter, resulting in a record annual production of 5.3 million ounces of silver and achieved the fifth consecutive year of production growth.

The Montreal Gazette reports on an Ernst & Young report released this week that points to opportunities for rare earth companies in Canada and elsewhere, as a result of REE export restrictions imposed by China: China’s clampdown on exports of rare earth metals used widely in smartphones and other electronic products, is opening up huge opportunities for the Canadian and international mining industry, consultants Ernst & Young said Wednesday.

Sandvik Mining and Construction and Shandong Energy Machinery in Xintai, Shandong Province, China, have signed an agreement to form a 50/50 owned joint venture for the production and sales of coal mining equipment. The joint venture is expected to be established within six months, following customary regulatory approvals.

No word yet from China's Jinchuan Group as to whether the company is officially in the market for Canada's Lundin Mining. Canadian media reports claim a consortium headed by Jinchuan, which includes sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp., was planning a takeover bid for the Canadian base metals miner.

The months-long saga over the future of Lundin Mining took another interesting twist on Friday, when a consortium of Chinese companies jumped in with a potential bid, according to a story in The Globe and Mail. Lundin has been the target of two takeover bids, the first by Inmet Mining, which recently fell through, and the second by Equinox Minerals, which unveiled a $4.8 billion hostile takeover bid to counter the Inmet offer. That deal was derailed when China's Minmetals Resources tried to acquire Equinox, which has since been acquired by Barrick Gold, which presented a richer offer worth $7.3 billion.

Chinese police said they have shut down a Hong Kong-based diamond-smuggling ring, in three months of arrests and confiscations. Twenty eight people were arrested between January and March and diamonds worth $31 million were confiscated, making it one of the largest busts in diamond history.

Russia's two main rail lines into Asia and, in particular China, are increasingly overburdened which is causing a headache for metals firms looking to increase exports.

Japan's imports of rare earths from China rose 40 percent in March from the previous month, Ministry of Finance data showed, with some observers saying demand is so far unaffected by last month's devastating quake though the outlook remains murky.

TNG Ltd (ASX: TNG), which recently released a positive scoping study review of Mt Peake said today it had a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a major Chinese engineering and development company. It was also now in discussions with other potential funding/development partners.