Weir abandons $6.1bn bid to buy rival Metso

Eleven firms have been pre-qualified for a concession to manage the Mui Basin coal deposits in Kitui and construct coal-fired power plants as the government steps up efforts to reduce the country's reliance on hydro electricity. The investors, drawn from South Africa, Japan and China are expected to submit proposals to explore and develop the coal resources in four blocks covering an area of 500 square km in parts of Eastern Kenya.

City broker UBS says global mining firm BHP Billiton's (LON:BLT) June production figures were slightly better than expected and gives the stock an unchanged 12 month rating of a 'buy' with a target price of £28.40. The mining giant released the figures yesterday across the spectrum of its resources, including iron ore production up 14 percent year-on-year in the final quarter.

Lonmin PLC (LMI.LN), the world's third largest primary platinum producer, Thursday said it expects to meet its annual platinum sales target, provided there are no work stoppages, and raised its annual unit cost guidance to reflect reduced output in previous quarters. The U.K.-listed, South African miner expects to sell 720,000 troy ounces of platinum in the financial year ending Sept. 30 and expects annual unit costs to rise 11%, up from a previously forecast 8%, due to production setbacks stemming from industrial action and six fatalities during the first six months of the financial year.

Russian gold miner Petropavlovsk’s recorded a 32% rise in total gold production in the first half of the year and said it was on track to achieving its target of 600,000 ounces of gold for the year. During the period between 1 January to 30 June, Petropavlovsk reported total attributable gold production of 219,100 ounces, a 32% jump from 166,300 ounces in the comparable period last year.

The federal government is set to announce Thursday a comprehensive environmental monitoring plan for the oilsands that will boost tests on water, air, animals and plants — and seeks to spruce up the international reputation of the massive bitumen resource. According to government sources, the $50-million "integrated oilsands environment monitoring plan" developed by teams of scientists will spur increased scrutiny of everything from acidification in lakes to the health of fish — across provincial and territorial boundaries.

COAL seam gas protesters have accused the prime minister of being too gutless to talk to them about an industry they say is a threat to Australia's food security. Julia Gillard attended a community forum at Ipswich, southwest of Brisbane today, but avoided 30 rowdy protesters by going in and out a back door. Waving placards reading "Can't eat coal, can't drink gas", the protesters had hoped to pressure Ms Gillard over a moratorium on CSG projects until environmental effects are better understood.

Imperial Oil’s plan to truck huge pieces of oilsands mining equipment through Montana and into Alberta has hit a speed bump. Montana Fourth Judicial District Court Judge Ray J. Dayton issued a ruling Tuesday that prevents the state’s Department of Transportation from granting the permits required to transport the oversized loads.

Paladin Energy, the ASX- and TSX-quoted uranium miner, said on Wednesday that production for the year ended June rose 32% to 5.7-million pounds, but was lower than expected because of heavy rainfall at its Namibian mine and “mechanical issues” at the Kayelekera operation in Malawi.

When news broke Thursday last week that China was raising REE export quotas for the second half of the year, ostensibly in reaction to a WTO ruling, it was greeted with some surprise and a measure of relief by the makers of anything from iPods to lasers to stealth helicopters. But as the implications of the announcement on future pricing of the 17 elements begin to sink in some analysts are pointing out that rather than easing the pressure on manufacturers who need rare earths, China's move was aimed at cutting off at the knees development of mining projects outside its borders.