Iron ore war: BHP to be cheapest supplier, Glencore says it’ll hurt Africa

Taseko Mines (TSE:TKO) estimates its proposed New Prosperity copper-gold mine would generate $9.8 billion in tax revenues for the federal and BC government over the next 20 years. The Vancouver-based company is taking another run at developing the $1.5-billion project after the federal government rejected it last fall. The gold- copper project in northern British Columbia raised the ire of environmentalists and First Nations groups for the proposed destruction of a lake to be used as a tailings impoundment. A provincial environmental assessment process had approved the project, but the federal government’s own review rejected it last November.

Zambia has stopped issuing and renewing mining licences as part of a shake-up of the mining sector by President-elect Michael Sata and his new government. Mining Minister Wilbur Simusa said in a statement that his "ministry has with immediate effect and until further notice suspended the issuance of new applications, renewal and transfer of mining and non-mining rights."

A small South African community 300km north of Cape Town is taking on De Beers over the diamond giant's plans to sell its 970 square km Namaqualand properties to a much smaller outfit already operating in the area. Locals say Trans Hex, which will assume responsibility for rehabilitation, has a poor track record in the area, lacks financial clout and the environmental management programme put together by De Beers already falls far short of what is needed to clean up almost a century of opencast mining in the biodiversity hotspot. In a video (after the jump) community spokesperson David Markus says a diamond may be forever for De Beers, but for his people, "it’s the suffering that’s forever."

NovaGold (TSE:NG) has struck an agreement with a native group in Alaska respecting its Ambler project. The company said the agreement consolidates Nova Gold's land holdings with those of NANA Regional Corporation Inc. into a 18,000-hectare land package, and provides a framework for exploring and developing the polymetallic deposit.

BusinessWeek reports Alrosa says it mined more diamonds than global rival De Beers in 2009, 2010 and the first half of 2011 and is benefiting from prices for rough diamonds of $109 – up 30% over last year. Alrosa accounts for more than a quarter of world output and for 2011 predicts $5 billion in revenue. The secretive firm has been feeding the market more information recently in anticipation of a 2012 public offering, but now says its good financial performance may reduce the size.

Stillwater Mining (NYSE:SWC), the only platinum and palladium miner in the United States, evacuated about 200 workers from its underground mine in Montana yesterday.

A dispute between investment banker Euro Pacific Canada Inc. and Midlands Minerals Corp. (CVE:MEX) is drawing in two of the biggest names in the gold investing industry. The Globe and Mail is reporting that Euro Pacific Canada is seeking damages of $10 million from Midlands over a breach of contract — an amount that is actually larger than the tiny explorer's market cap of $7.21 million based on today's counter.

Gold for December delivery had shed $40 or more than 2% by lunchtime coming close to breaching the $1,600/oz level in New York before before regaining some ground to trade at $1,618 an ounce by early afternoon. Traders said the metal is likely to remain a “dead trade” until it can resume its role as a fear barometer and is able to rally in face of equities weakness and that a "solid downtrend" has now been established. Some analysts are saying gold's precipitous $300 drop in September represented a fundamental market shift and that gold's fall despite market volatility and economic uncertainty means the metal has lost its safe haven status and is being treated like any other commodity.

The rout in industrial metals has claimed another victim: iron ore. On the same day that copper tumbled nearly 7% for its biggest slide in a month, Bloomberg reports that iron ore's largest decline in 15 months is showing no signs of recovery, according to analysts: