West Africa emerging as the new Pilbara – West African Minerals

West Africa is emerging as the next significant iron-ore province after Australia’s rich Pilbara and is attracting the attention of global majors and the Chinese, says the London-Aim-listed West African Minerals. Major diversified miners are...

Simandou mega iron-ore project, Guinea

The current plan for the Simandou project, in south-east Guinea, includes the construction of a mine with a capacity of 95-million tons a year of high-grade iron-ore.

Chalco, Ivanhoe say Mongolia plan new investment rules

The Aluminium Corporation of China (Chalco) has stated its intention to move ahead with the acquisition of a majority stake in Mongolian miner SouthGobi, but stressed it would not take up any shares in the coal company until it had all the...

Rio says Simandou JV formed, Chalco makes $1.35bn payment

Diversified mining group Rio Tinto and a consortium led by Chalco, a subsidiary of State-owned Aluminium Corporation of China, have completed the Simandou joint venture (JV), after receiving Chinese regulatory approval. The Chinese approval...

State capitalism: Is it a rival to market capitalism?

Since the start of the current global economic crisis in 2008, there has been renewed interest in the concept of ‘State capitalism’, as distinct from ‘market capitalism’. (The term ‘liberal capitalism’ is shorthand for ‘liberal...

Is it a rival to market capitalism? And how does it affect the natural resources industries?

Since the start of the current global economic crisis in 2008, there has been renewed interest on the concept of “state capitalism” as distinct from “market capitalism”.

Brazilian group ranks West African project highly

The CEO of the world’s second biggest (in terms of market capitalisation) mining group, Brazil’s Vale, Murilo Ferreira, has asserted that the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea “is a very important initiative” for his company – “it is...

Chinese miners active globally to feed economic growth at home

In its recently released report on the state of the global mining industry – ‘Mine – Back to the Boom’ – PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) reported that, in 2009, the Chinese had been in the forefront of mining mergers and acquisitions (M&A)...

Chinese miners active globally to feed economic growth at home

China continues to need for natural resources to feed its economic growth, which remains essential because the country is still, on a per capita basis, very poor. The country has many minerals & metals resources of its own, but many are...

Chinese mining giant on the prowl 
for copper investment opportunities

China’s largest diversified mining company, the State-owned Aluminium Corporation of China (Chinalco), is looking worldwide for investment opportunities in copper, a metal which now has greater demand growth potential in China than aluminium....

China arrests four Rio Tinto employees for stealing secrets –Xinhua

China arrested four employees of the mining major Rio Tinto Group for allegedly stealing China’s state secrets, the official Xinhua news agency reported earlier this month, citing the Shanghai state security authority.

Brazilian, Chinese groups deny 
Anglo American talks

THE CEO of major Brazilian diversified mining group Vale (formerly Companhia Vale do Rio Doce), Roger Agnelli, has denied that his company is interested in making a bid for Xstrata or would make a joint bid, with China’s Chinalco, for Anglo...