New fronts open in aluminium storage battle

New fronts are opening up in Europe and Asia in the battle between banks and trading houses to expand their storage hubs for aluminium, a metal meant for use in manufacturing but increasingly viewed as a store of value. Until recently, the battle...

Fear not the 'Glenstrata' giant, say coal customers

Big coal buyers should not fear the merger of miner Xstrata and trader Glencore into a dominant trading force, say customers who already rely on the two for supplies of coking coal for steel and thermal for power generation. They say the tie-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...

Glencore's Katanga names new chief executive

Democratic Republic of Congo-focused Katanga Mining has promoted COO Jeffrey Best as CEO, after incumbent John Ross last month resigned. The copper and cobalt producer said on Thursday Ross would remain available to assist Best in the transition.

Xstrata's Davis has not had proposal on merger from Glencore

Xstrata CEO Mick Davis has not seen any proposals from biggest shareholder Glencore on a potential merger of the two companies, he told analysts and investors on Tuesday. Privately-held commodities trader Glencore, which owns 35% of Xstrata, is...

Xstrata/Anglo: what a difference a year makes

Almost exactly a year since Swiss miner Xstrata proposed a merger with the UK’s Anglo American, the Anglo board's decision to reject the deal seems to have been validated. Over the past year, Anglo’s share price has climbed 44% to £25,17,...

Katanga reports Q4 profit as output ramps up

TSX-listed Katanga Mining earned $15,3-million in the fourth quarter of 2009, compared with a net loss of $12,6-million in the third quarter, the copper- and cobalt-miner announced on Monday. Shares in the company jumped more than ten percent on...

Katanga names CEO

TSX-listed Katanga Mining has appointed COO John Ross to the position of CEO, effective January 4. Ross replaces Steven Isaacs who stepped into the post on an interim basis in October, following the resignation four months earlier of Arthur Ditto.

Katanga will ramp up DRC project faster than planned

TSX-listed Katanga Mining will accelerate the ramp up of its project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the firm announced on Tuesday. The ramp up, to 150 000 t/y of copper and 8 000 t/y of cobalt, will now be completed by mid-2011,...

Katanga posts Q2 loss, refurbishment on track

TSX-listed Katanga Mining on Friday posted a second quarter net loss of $57,5-million, compared with a $9,9-million loss in the same period last year. Sales for the quarter were $62,3-million, comprising $47,9-million for copper cathode,...

Katanga turns to Glencore again for bail-out

TSX-listed Katanga Mining will receive a $50-million bridge loan from shareholder Glencore Finance,to address "critical" solvency concerns, the company reported on Tuesday. Katanga shares slid 9,23% on Tuesday, to 29,5 Canadian cents apiece by...

Xstrata shareholders take up 99,42% of rights issue

Shareholders in diversified resources group Xstrata accepted 99,42% of the new shares offered by the firm in a rights issue, which closed on Tuesday morning, the firm reported later in the day. Xstrata announced in January that it planned to...