Demand for minor metals to rise, but supply disruptions a risk

Demand for cobalt, tantalum and rare earth metals – seen as critical minor metals necessary for the continuation of the modern way of life – would continue to increase, but a mining consultancy group said on Monday that there was a risk of...

Global iron-ore demand growth remains robust

Global iron-ore production showed a healthy increase of about 8% in 2011, compared with 2010, but the increase was not as impressive as previous years, Raw Materials Group cofounder and partner, Magnus Ericsson, said on Monday. Speaking at the...

Burnstone FY production falls short of guidance

Great Basin Gold (GBG) continues to face challenges in the production build-up programme at its Burnstone mine in South Africa, it reported on Monday, as production from the mine fell 6 000 oz short of its revised guidance. The mine, near...

Yukon-Nevada restarts gold production at Jerritt Canyon

Canada's Yukon-Nevada Gold Corp said it restarted gold production at its Jerritt Canyon mill in Nevada, United States. Yukon-Nevada, which also owns gold, silver, zinc and copper assets in Canada's Yukon territory and British Columbia, said it...

Quadra FNX says ISS recommends Polish bid

There was no shortage of investors calling KGHM’s near-C$3-billion December bid for Vancouver’s Quadra FNX Mining cheap, but the target said on Monday Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) said shareholders should give it the thumbs up....

Miners have strong appetite for M&A - report

Healthy demand fundamentals, strong balance sheets and an appetite for growth will drive a step-up in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the global mining and metals sector in 2012, Ernst & Young (E&Y) global mining and metals transaction leader...

Macusani agrees to buy Southern Andes in friendly uranium deal

TSX-V- and Frankfurt-quoted Macusani Yellowcake said on Friday it agreed to buy Southern Andes Energy to grow its uranium exploration tenements in south-east Peru in an all-share deal. The friendly takeover will see Macusani’s shareholders...

Gabon and BHP Billiton have Belinga deal - govt official

Gabon and mining firm BHP Billiton have reached a deal over the Belinga iron ore concession in Gabon after it was taken off China's CMEC, a government official from the Central African nation's government told Reuters on Friday. CMEC secured...

Mosaic joins potash-production cutting party on soft demand

Potash dealers are holding back from buying the crop nutrient even more than North America’s second-biggest producer, Mosaic Corp, anticipated they would a month ago, prompting the company to idle up to 20% of its capacity up to May. However,...

Colombia extends ban on requests for mine permits

Colombia has extended a suspension on receiving new requests for mining concessions for two months to handle a backlog of permits, the Andean nation's energy ministry said on Friday. The world's number-four coal exporter has been hit by a series...

Salazar's high-grade copper-zinc project attracts Lundin, Silvercorp

Toronto-based Lundin Mining has bought a 15.4% stake in Salazar Resources, which owns copper-zinc properties in Ecuador, after taking up over 80% of the units on offer in a $3-million equity financing. Silvercorp, the Vancouver-domiciled,...

Iamgold publishes maiden rare earths resource at Niobec

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Midtier precious metals producer Iamgold Corporation on Thursday said it had a 466.8-million ton rare-earth element resource at a deposit just north of its Niobec mine in Quebec. The resource, hosted in carbonatite...