World Mining Exploration News

Mining Companies in Tokyo on Wednesday, Sumitomo Metal said that the company has purchased 16.5% stake in Nickel Asia Corp. of the Philippines with a price around $ 39 million, because the attempt to improve global competitiveness.

Tokyo-based company into the league formalization of existing relationships with Nickel Asia. This example is the provision of nickel ore by a subsidiary of Asia, Rio Tuba Nickel Miming Corp., to Sumitomo of the Philippines-based nickel refinery joint venture, Coral Bay Nickel Corp.

Earlier this year, Coral Bay Nickel build second factory in the country to double its output of nickel intermediate products to 22,000 tons per year.
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A state-owned companies in Indonesia, PT Aneka Tambang Tbk said sales revenue down 44 percent in the second quarter from a year ago on lower volume and price of nickel is weak.

Antam sales revenue in 2009 was 1.76 trillion rupiah ($ 178.9 million) in the second quarter, from 3.13 trillion rupiah in the same period last year, the firm said in a statement to the ASX, Australian stock market.

Antam’s sales revenue in first six months of 2009 was 4.39 trillion rupiah, down 16 percent from the same period last year.

Price of nickel used in stainless steel industry has been getting about 60 percent during this year to $ 18,770 tons on Tuesday but that there is still about 64 percent below the record high of $ 51,800 a tonne hit in May 2007.
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Cia. Vale do Rio Doce, the world’s second-biggest nickel miner, said it will cut output and suspend some operations in Canada because of falling metals demand.

Suspensions include deep-mining operations near Sudbury, Ontario, which Vale acquired through its $16.7 billion takeover of Inco Ltd. Curtailments also are planned at the Voisey’s Bay nickel and copper plant in Newfoundland and Labrador, Rio de Janeiro-based Vale said today in a statement.

Miners are cutting costs, paring output and closing plants because of an economic slump that has led prices for metals such as copper to fall by more than half since August. Freeport- McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., the world’s largest publicly traded copper company, is firing 20 percent of its U.S. workforce. Vale in October announced nickel output cuts in Indonesia.
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Research and Markets has announced the addition of the “Mining Industry – Global Strategic Business Report” report to their offering.
The global outlook series on the Mining Industry provides a collection of statistical anecdotes, market briefs, and concise summaries of research findings. The report provides a bird’s eye view of the industry, and highlights the implications boded by the consolidation wave, and rising mineral prices. The discussion on the global market is laced with 61 statistically rich, market data tables evaluating demand and consumption patterns by country/region and end-use applications, across market verticals such as, Platinum Group Elements, Bauxite and Alumina, Fluorspar, Feldspar and Nepheline Syenite, Copper, Lead, Manganese, Nickel, Cobalt, Zinc, Tin, Zirconium, Gold, and Iron Ore, among others. The reader also stands to gain an introductory prelude to regional markets such as the US, Canada, Armenia, Russia, Spain, Australia, China, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Africa, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. (more…)

The International Nickel Study Group (INSG) says that the nickel market, which started 2008 on a high note but has experienced softening demand since the middle of this year as stainless steel production declined, is unlikely to see an improvement until well into 2009.

World primary refined nickel production was 1,43-million tons (Mt) in 2007, and is expected to decline to 1,41 Mt in 2008. A “substantial” recovery to 1,55 Mt is expected in 2009, and this tonnage does not include any adjustment factor for possible production disruptions.

However, world primary nickel consumption is expected to increase to 1,38 Mt this year compared with 1,31 Mt in 2007. A slow recovery of nickel con-sumption to 1,44 Mt is expected in 2009. The group says that most of this con-sumption will occur in Asia, and that, as in the last few years, the key factor in the 2009 forecast remains the increase in demand from China for nickel and nickel-containing products. (more…)

Cuervo Resources Inc. is pleased to release assay results from the next 8 diamond drill holes on the Huillque zone of mineralization on its wholly owned Cerro Ccopane iron ore project in southern Peru. The Huillque zone is the second of five known target zones to be drilled and is located 2.5 km to the north of the Orcopura zone; the Orcopura zone currently reports a Mineral Resource Estimate of 60.5 million tonnes “inferred”, grading 51.5% Fe. The Company continues to be impressed by the results from Huillque in comparsion to those from Orcopura.

Results from the Huillque zone appear to be very similar to those encountered in the Orcopura zone and include intersections of 49.10% Fe over 41.90 m in HDH – 07 and 53.66% Fe over 50.85 m in HDH – 12. The majority of the current drill holes were executed in a fan shape from a single platform to minimize environmental impact. Significant intersections that were sampled during the recent work program, location maps and further information for all drill holes can be found at (more…)

The speculative end of the resources sector is being beaten up something shocking. Tales of woe abound, with just a sample of announcements on Friday showing the euphoria of the past five years has been replaced by the harsh new reality of crumbling commodity prices and the start of a prolonged equity funding drought.

Independence Group has pulled out of the Ravensthorpe nickel joint venture, leaving Traka to find a new big brother, while Advance Energy has deferred a planned options and placement issue.

Vital has reduced the pace of work at its Watershed tungsten project in Queensland, and Terramin has had to cope with the news that OZ Minerals wants out of their Menninnie lead/zinc project after spending $8 million.
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Indonesian coal-mining shares have fallen sharply in recent weeks in line with a drop in oil prices. But many analysts suggest the decline offers foreign investors a good chance to pick up stocks cheaply.

Southeast Asia’s largest economy is a major source of commodities such as coal, palm oil and nickel. As resource prices rose steeply last year, propelled by demand from China and India, commodity stocks also jumped. Prices for some coal-mining stocks more than tripled in 2007.

Until recently, Indonesia’s stock market outperformed other Asian markets that were hurt by concerns over a slowing U.S. economy. In early July, for instance, the Indonesia Stock Exchange composite index was down 13% since the start of the year, while India’s Sensex was 33% lower. Now, the Indonesia index is off 23% for the year and the Sensex is down 29%.

Indonesian exports account for only about 30% of gross domestic product — a much lower proportion of GDP than for most other Asian nations. That shelters the country from declining U.S. demand for manufactured goods. (more…)