1. Reuters: Brazil’s Vale opens 7 mln tonne/yr pellets plant
Vale opens the Itabiritos project, a $1.3 billion iron ore pellet plant. The plant is located near two of the miner’s iron ore projects and is expected to process around 10 million tonnes of iron ore per year.
2. The Sydney Morning Herald: Miners trapped in underground cage for more than 18 hours rescued
A power blackout trapped two miners in a cage for more than 21 hours. Severe weather cut power to the Broken Hill mine, located in far western New South Wales, resulting in the accident. The cage was located between 800 and 900 meters underground.
Rio Tinto announces the finalization of its Corumba iron ore mine sale to Vale on Monday. The sale also includes a potash project in Argentina and Canadian exploration assets. Vale purchased the assets for a cash consideration of $750 million.
4. The Canadian Press: B.C. mining proposals threaten U.S. environmental jewel, enviros will tell UN
Environmentalists warn that proposed coal and gold mining developments could harm Montana’s Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. The British Columbia government has approved gold mining exploration and a coal mining development near the Albert, British Columbia, and Montana boarders. The environmentalists plan to ask the United Nations to help stop the developments.
5. The Australian: China demand lifts iron and coal export outlook
The Australian Bureau of Resource Economics increases its 2009-2010 iron ore and thermal coal export forecasts by more that 10%. Global iron ore import forecast increased to 1 billion tonnes from June’s estimate of 885 million.
6. Reuters: UPDATE 2- Newmont temporarily halts work at Indonesian mine
Work temporarily suspended in Newmont Mining Corp’s Batu Hijau mine after a rockslide occurred in the pit’s west wall. The open pit mine produces the majority of Newmont’s copper along with some gold. The company reported the slide on September 18.
7. Bloomberg.com: China Overseas Iron May Meet 20% of Needs by 2015, Goldman Says
Goldman analyst predicts Chinese-owned mining assets abroad to increase to fulfill 20% of the country’s demand in the next five years. Currently China receives about 10% of its iron ore from mines in other countries that are owned by Chinese steelmakers.
8. Economic Times: Bidding for NTPC coal import resumes
Five companies express interest in importing 12.5 million tonnes of non-coking coal for India’s power company NTPC. The winning bidder is expected to be announced within two weeks. The large majority of NTPC’s coal requirements is sourced from Coal India.
9. The Australian: BHP’s coking-coal growth ambitions further delayed
Longer than expected government approvals push back BHP’s Queensland coking coal developments by up to two years. The miner plans to expand its Hay Point Coal Terminal. Stage one of the expansion has been pushed back to 2010, while its long-term expansion plans could be pushed back to 2017.
10. Reuters: UPDATE 1- CGA Mining to raise C$25 mln in private placement
CBA Mining officials seek additional funding to further its exploration activities at its Masbate gold project and for general corporate use. The Toronto listed miner is offering shares for its C$25 million private placement.
