Base & Precious Metals News

Aug 23 - BHP Billiton to replace two directors in board shake-up

Global miner BHP Billiton on Wednesday unveiled a board shakeup that will see controversial director Grant King step down six months after joining the company amid concerns among investors over oil investments. King, a former chief executive of Origin Energy, was once tipped to succeed Jac Nasser as chairman of the world's biggest mining company, but was passed over earlier this year for fellow board member Ken MacKenzie. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 23 - Indonesian Energy Minister Jonan expects mining deal with Freeport this month

Indonesia expects to strike an agreement this month to allow Freeport McMoRan Inc to keep operating its huge copper mine in Papua in the coming decades, the country's mining and energy minister said on Tuesday. The U.S. mining giant has been locked in a lengthy dispute with the government over the rights to mine at Grasberg, the world's second-biggest copper mine, costing both sides hundreds of millions of dollars. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 23 - China steel price surge unsustainable as shortage unlikely -industry group

The China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) said it saw little likelihood of a big shortage in steel supply, despite a crackdown against polluting industries and producers of low-quality steel, limiting the prospect of further price surges. "Environmental restrictions during the winter heating period will have a certain impact," the CISA said in a statement on its website late on Tuesday. But the industry body said, "there will not be any big production shortage and steel product prices are unlikely to see a rapid increase." Click here to read full stories.

Aug 23 - Glencore's Zambian unit may shed 4,700 workers on power shortages

Mopani Copper Mines, Glencore's Zambianunit, said on Tuesday it may lay off nearly 5,000 workers due to a dispute with its electricity supplier over prices that has led to reduced power supply to its operations. Copperbelt Energy Corp. (CEC), which buys power from the state-owned electricity company and sells to mines, slashed supply to Mopani to 94 MW from 190 MW following a dispute over new, higher tariffs. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 23 - BHP says Escondida mine output normal, wage talks may resume

BHP Billiton's, Escondida copper mine in Chile has recovered from a six-week strike faster than expected, with output now running at normal levels, an executive with the company said on Tuesday. The strike at Escondida, the world's largest copper mine, sent shockwaves through the market in February and March. It ended when the union representing the striking workers opted to return to work under the old contract, effectively pushing talks on a new deal into next year. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 23 - China rare earths association proposes stock release to ease price volatility

China's Rare Earth Industry Association has proposed releasing some of the country's reserves and suspending the purchase and storage of additional volumes to ease price volatility for the raw materials that are crucial to mobile phones and electronics. China is the world's biggest rare earth's producer. Rare earths are 17 elements including metals such as scandium, yttrium and lanthanum. They are prized for their usage as components in electronic devices including phones and computers and other communication devices. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 23 - Miner Antofagasta hikes dividend as profits surge

Chilean miner Antofagasta more than tripled its interim dividend on Tuesday after a rally in copper prices boosted first-half earnings, lifting its shares to a four-year high. The shares jumped as much as 5.5 percent to 1,007 pence, their highest since May 2013. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 23 - Nickel deficit narrows in June as China ramps up output- INSG

The global deficit of refined nickel narrowed in June from May as stainless steel plants in China ramped up production, the latest data from the International Nickel Study Group (INSG) showed on Tuesday. Refined production of the metal in June was 170,200 tonnes, almost matching consumption of 170,600 tonnes, leaving a deficit of 400 tonnes, according to INSG. The May deficit was revised to 6,700 tonnes from 2,200 tonnes. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 22 - BHP to quit U.S. shale business as annual profit surges

Global mining giant BHP Billiton committed to quitting its underperforming U.S. shale oil and gas business on Tuesday, as it posted a surge in annual underlying profit to $6.7 billion. The world's biggest mining house, which was buoyed by a recovery in industrial commodities markets, pleased shareholders by cutting net debt by nearly $10 billion to $16.3 billion and tripled its final dividend to $0.43 a share. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 22 - Zinc on a bullish tear but just how high can it go?: Home

Zinc on Monday morning hit a fresh decade high of $3,180.50 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange (LME). Zinc bulls have been waiting a long, long time for this moment. A slow-fuse narrative of a looming supply crunch has been simmering for years but has finally burst into explosive price action. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 22 - Conservative steel mills warming to LME steel contracts

Many steel mills, which had largely shunned using steel futures, are becoming more open to hedging and have been experimenting with London Metal Exchange contracts in recent months, an LME executive said on Monday. The LME's steel scrap and rebar contracts have steadily gained volumes since their launch in November 2015, but traders and merchants had been the most active users. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 22 - Indonesian police name six suspects after labour unrest at Freeport's Grasberg mine

Police in the eastern Indonesian province of Papua have named six people as suspects among 17 arrested on Saturday after a violent demonstration by former mine workers at Freeport McMoRan Inc's Grasberg copper mine, a police spokesman said. Trouble erupted when the demonstrators blocked an access road to Grasberg, the world's second-biggest copper mine, in a protest over employment terms. At least seven people were injured and dozens of vehicles and buildings torched, and traffic through the area was restricted amid safety concerns. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 22 - Australia's Seven Group to sell Chinese mining machinery business

Australia's Seven Group Holdings said on Tuesday it would sell its Chinese mining machinery division WesTrac China to Chinese firm Lei Shing Hong Machinery for A$540 million ($428.33 million). Lei Shing Hong Machinery is a subsidiary of Chinese conglomerate Lei Shing Hong Limited which distributes Caterpillar earthmoving, mining and construction equipment throughout eastern China and Taiwan. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 22 - Chile rejects $2.5 bln copper and iron project; company vows appeal

The Chilean government rejected on Monday a controversial $2.5-billion copper and iron project proposed by privately-held Andes Iron, though the company vowed to appeal. Chile's Ministers' Committee, a gathering of high-ranking political officials who decide on the fate of controversial projects, pointed to numerous alleged flaws with the Dominga project, which would have produced 12 million tonnes of iron annually and 150,000 tonnes of copper. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 22 - AngloGold Ashanti swings to H1 loss on job cuts, lawsuit

South Africa's AngloGold Ashanti reported a first-half loss on Monday on costs related to layoffs and money set aside for litigation, but stuck to its full-year targets. Shares in Africa's biggest gold miner were down 3.2 percent to 130 rand at 0903 GMT, while the wider sector was off 1 percent. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 22 - Mozambique to set up independent fund to invest mineral sales income

Mozambique's government plans to set up a sovereign investment fund where taxes paid on sales of the country's minerals will be used to finance development projects, state-run AIM news agency said on Monday quoting the finance minister. Minister of Economy and Finance Adriano Maleiane said the new fund would have capital gains taxes paid on the sales of shares in the country's mineral resources as the main source of funding. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 21 - The victor, the spoils? Trump eyes Afghanistan's elusive mineral riches

U.S. President Donald Trump is eyeing Afghanistan's mineral wealth to help pay for a 16-year war and reconstruction efforts that have already cost $117 billion. Investors who have studied the country, one of the world's most dangerous, say that is a pipe dream. Ever since a United States Geological Survey study a decade ago identified deposits later estimated to have a potential value of as much as $1 trillion, both Afghan and foreign officials have trumpeted the reserves as a likely key to economic independence for Afghanistan. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 21 - China Minmetals to invest 10 billion yuan to upgrade smelters in Hunan province

China Minmetals Corp (CHMIN.UL) plans to invest 10 billion yuan ($1.50 billion) to upgrade its copper, lead and zinc smelting facilities Hunan province, a spokesman confirmed on Monday, after a recent rebuke from the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP). The company will invest in new smelting technology starting this month that eliminates the discharge of industrial wastewater, Huasheng Online, a website run by the Hunan provincial government, reported on Friday, citing Huang Guoping, chairman of China Minmetals Nonferrous Metals Co. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 21 - Freeport Indonesia copper mine access to resume after clashes

Limited access to the giant Grasberg copper mine in eastern Indonesia is expected to resume on Monday, its operator said, after hundreds of former workers blockaded the site and clashed with police. Trouble erupted at the mine, which is operated by the Indonesian unit of Freeport McMoRan Inc, during a demonstration over employment terms on Saturday afternoon. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 21 - Miner Fortescue returns record dividend as profit leaps

World number 4 iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group said on Monday it will pay a record-high final dividend after more than doubling its annual profit, and plans to give more of its profits to shareholders in the future. The Australian mining company also signaled it was diversifying outside its core Chinese market to sell iron ore to buyers in emerging Asian countries and Europe. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 21 - China's Chalco increases aluminium output as rivals retreat

Aluminium Corp of China Ltd (Chalco) increased its primary aluminium production by 250,000 tonnes in the first half of 2017, its president said on Friday, as the state firm takes advantage of capacity cuts by private rivals. There will be further investment in raising output in the second half of the year, Ao Hong, president of Chalco, said on an earnings call. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 21 - Speculators up bullish COMEX gold bet for 5th straight week - CFTC

Hedge funds and money managers hiked their net long position in COMEX gold futures and options for a fifth straight week in the week to Aug. 15, as geopolitical worries sent prices to a two-month high. The speculators also upped a bullish stance in silver and again raised their net long position in copper to a fresh record, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 21 - Anglo American swims against the current in backing fuel cells

Anglo American is placing a contrarian bet on hydrogen fuel cell vehicles as it tries to squeeze more profit from its platinum reserves, but risks being left behind as rival miners look to cash in on battery-powered cars. A push, particularly in Europe and China, for lower-emission transport raises the prospect of weaker demand for platinum, whose biggest industrial use is in diesel vehicles. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 21 - WTO mixed ruling in Indonesia steel import duties case

Duties imposed by Indonesia on imports of certain flat-rolled iron or steel products do not constitute WTO safeguard measures, a World Trade Organization (WTO) panel said on Friday, rejecting the key argument of complaints brought by Taiwan and Vietnam. Safeguard duties are emergency tariffs that a country can impose temporarily to shield a specific sector from a sudden and damaging surge in imports. The panel found that Indonesia's duty did not amount to a safeguard measure because it did not result in suspending, withdrawing or modifying any of Jakarta's commitments under the GATT 1994 Agreement on Safeguards. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 21 - Zimbabwe tightens screws on miners' export earnings in forex crunch

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has ordered platinum and chrome miners to surrender 80 percent of their export earnings to the central bank as the country struggles to contain a crippling dollar note shortage. Previously miners in the southern African nation were required to retain 50 percent of their earnings. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 18 - BHP to spend $2.5 bln on extending life of Chilean copper mine

Mining major BHP, said on Thursday it was spending $2.46 billion to extend the life of the Spence copper mine in northern Chile by more than 50 years, creating up to 5,000 jobs and bringing new output online from 2021. BHP Chief Executive Officer Andrew Mackenzie, under pressure from activist investors Elliott Advisors to increase shareholder returns, said the project supported BHP's strategy of delivering near-term, valuable copper production. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 18 - Lead gets unforeseen boost from North Korean sanctions: Home

Lead has been an unlikely and unforeseen beneficiary of the North Korea missile crisis. A new round of U.N. sanctions includes North Korean exports of lead concentrate. China, which signed up to the U.S.-drafted resolution, will lose an increasingly significant flow of raw materials to its lead smelters. The news has reinvigorated a market that had lost its bull narrative thread. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 18 - Glencore coal miners return to work in Australia but vow more strike action

Coal mine workers from seven Glencore collieries in Australia returned to work on Thursday after a four-day work stoppage, with many voting to keep up pressure on the company over wages and job security. More than 1,400 workers met in the mining hub of Singleton, New South Wales, about 200 km (125 miles) north of Sydney, this week and voted to continue industrial action that began in June against the Swiss-based company, according to a statement from the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 18 - EU sets duties on Chinese cast iron products to counter dumping

The European Union has levied provisional tariffs as high as 42.8 percent on some Chinese cast iron products after an eight-month investigation found unfairly low prices hurt the bloc's producers. The European Commission, the EU executive body, said while it had detected no dumping by India, the investigation would continue until definite findings were made. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 18 - China's Chalco increases aluminium output as rivals retreat

Aug 18 - Samarco should be punished but not closed - Brazil mining minister

Samarco, a joint venture between BHP Biliton Ltd and Brazil's Vale, should be punished but not closed over the 2015 collapse of a tailings dam that killed 19 people, Brazil's mining and energy minister said on Thursday. "Mistakes may have been made, but it was an accident," Fernando Coelho Filho said at an event in Sao Paulo. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 18 - South Africa's Sibanye Gold flags H1 earnings per share loss

South Africa's Sibanye Gold flagged up a first-half earnings per share loss on Thursday, citing provisions worth 1.1 billion rand ($84 million) for a possible settlement with miners who contracted lung diseases at work. A class action suit, mostly relating to the fatal lung disease silicosis, was filed on behalf of miners in 2012 and has led to mounting provisions in an industry that has been battling for years with rising costs and generally depressed prices. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 18 - Polish miner KGHM's first-half profit rise lags forecasts

Polish-based copper miner KGHM reported a 66 percent rise in first-half net profits on Thursday but failed to meet analysts' estimates as currency effects and increased costs offset rising copper and molybdenum prices. The state-controlled firm posted a consolidated net profit of 491 million zlotys, up from 296 million zlotys in the same period last year. However it fell short of the average of analysts' forecasts of 637 million zlotys. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 18 - Ex-Integra Gold executives launch new mining exploration company

Three former executives of Integra Gold Corp, a small Canadian miner that was acquired last month for C$590 million ($467.51 million), have launched a new precious metals exploration company, the new venture's chief executive said on Thursday. The company, to be named Integra Resources Corp, plans to acquire an advanced-stage gold-silver project in Canada or the United States in the next two months, and then apply to list on the TSX Venture Exchange, CEO George Salamis said. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 17 - Zinc rush: China construction spree, alloyed with steel fee hike, diverts money flow

Chinese traders are diverting money from steel to zinc on the Shanghai Futures Exchange after a hike in trading fees on Monday cut the appeal of steel itself even as booming construction activity fuels demand for steel-making essentials like zinc. Steel and steel-making material prices have soared this year amid strong Chinese construction growth, and as the world's largest metals producer ramped up reform of bloated industries by closing outdated capacity. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 17 - As stocks fall, LME warehousers turn east in search of metal: Home

The warehouse load-out queues that exposed the London Metal Exchange (LME) to the harsh glare of both media and regulatory scrutiny have gone. The original queue to get aluminium out of exchange warehouses in Detroit disappeared in April 2016. The even longer queue at the Dutch port of Vlissingen finally dissipated last month. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 17 - North Korea sanctions extend China lead price rally

Sanctions on North Korea have spurred concerns about tightness in the physical lead concentrate market in China, the world's top miner and producer, extending a months-long rally in prices for the heavy metal, traders and analysts said. The U.N. Security Council unanimously passed a resolution on Aug. 6 banning North Korea's exports of coal, iron, iron ore, lead, lead ore and seafood, in a bid to choke off a third of Pyongyang's $3 billion in annual export revenue. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 17 - Peru declares emergency to end protest near Las Bambas copper mine

Peru declared a 30-day state of emergency in a remote Andean region to end a protest by residents who have blocked a road used by miner MMG Ltd to move its copper concentrate to port for shipping, the government said on Wednesday. Residents in the area have refused to allow trucks from the Las Bambas mine transit a local road unless MMG or the government pays them for the usage, said Artemio Solano, a regional director of the ombudsman's office, which monitors social conflicts in Peru. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 17 - India bans exports of gold products above 22 carats

India has banned the export of gold products with a purity above 22 carats in a move a trade group said was a bid to curb a practice known as "round tripping".The Directorate General of Foreign Trade issued a notification dated Aug. 14 that stated exports of jewellery or medallions, containing gold of 8 carats and above up to a maximum limit of 22 carats shall only be permitted, without giving a reason. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 17 - Thyssenkrupp says it has no timeline on Tata Steel joint-venture deal

Thyssenkrupp has no timeline to make a final decision on a potential merger of its European steel operations with those of peer Tata Steel, a spokesman for the group said. He was commenting on a report in German daily Boersen-Zeitung, which cited sources at Thyssenkrupp as saying no decision would be made until at least Sept. 8 following a deal regarding Tata Steel's UK pension liabilities. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 17 - China's Hebei province to meet capacity cutting targets by end of September

China's top steel-making province has pledged to fulfil capacity cutting targets for this year in steel, cement, coal and glass by the end of September, under efforts to tackle air pollution ahead of winter, an environment official said on Wednesday. Hebei, close to the capital Beijing, has eliminated 12.26 million tonnes of ironmaking capacity and 10.53 million tonnes of steelmaking capacity in the first seven months of the year, Yin Guangping, a spokesman for the province's Environmental Protection Bureau, told a press conference on Wednesday. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 17 - China to exclude some scrap metal from waste import ban

China said on Thursday it will still allow imports of some kinds of steel and non-ferrous scrap as the world's largest commodities consumer outlined the first concrete details of its plan to curb waste imports as part of its war on pollution. The Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) published a list of banned waste imports that excluded some scrap metals - such as steel, copper, nickel, aluminium, zinc and tin - from the restriction. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 17 - Australian state lets South32 resume limited digging at Appin coal mine

Government regulators in an Australian state on Tuesday cleared South32 to partially restart its Appin coal mine after workers were evacuated in June following a gas-leak scare. "We've worked closely with the mine operator and we're now comfortable that the mine has put systems and controls in place to deal with the immediate safety issues and has a robust plan to address longer-term issues," New South Wales state chief compliance officer Anthony Keon said in a statement. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 17 - Congo reinstates miners' VAT exemption on imports in U-turn

Congo's finance ministry has provisionally reinstated mining companies' exemption from a value added tax on imports, the Chamber of Mines said on Wednesday, days after miners complained customs authorities were planning to impose VAT on them. Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa's top copper producer, agreed to suspend the tax in July 2016 to help companies during a commodity price downturn and to pay down hundreds of millions of dollars in VAT reimbursements owed to the companies. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 17 - China's Chalco plans $500 mln investment in Guinea bauxite project

Aluminium Corp of China (Chalco) plans to invest $500 million in a project to produce bauxite, used to make aluminium, in Guinea starting next year, the mines ministry said. The deal comes after a trip by the Guinean mines minister, Abdoulaye Magassouba, to China and follows other major Chinese investments in the resource-rich West African nation. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 17 - Gold Fields H1 earnings fall 25 pct on exchange rate impact

Gold Fields Ltd posted a 25 percent drop in first-half normalised earnings on Thursday due to stronger exchange rates in South Africa and Australia, but maintained its full-year targets. The gold miner said normalised earnings fell to $77 million in the six months to June from $103 million a year earlier. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 16 - Elliott Management raises stake in BHP to 5 pct

Hedge fund Elliott Management has raised its stake in BHP Billiton to 5 percent, stepping up a campaign to make the top global miner quit all or part of its petroleum business, boost returns and ditch its dual listing. New York-based Elliott launched its effort in April, at which point it held a 4.1 percent "economic interest" in BHP's UK-listed shares, and later increased that to 4.5 percent. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 16 - Vedanta explores ways to produce cobalt for batteries

Vedanta Resources is studying how to produce cobalt for use in batteries as the diversified miner becomes the latest company to seek exposure to an anticipated electric vehicle boom. Tom Albanese, who steps down as CEO of Vedanta at the end of August, said the excitement around electric vehicles had prompted the company to looking at producing cobalt suitable for batteries from its Zambian copper mines, rather than just treating it as a copper by-product. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 16 - Freeport Indonesia says flash floods damage mine power plant

Flash floods have left one worker missing and caused extensive damage to a power plant at U.S.-owned miner Freeport Indonesia's operations in the eastern-most province of Papua, company officials said on Wednesday. Mining operations were continuing as normal, but power and water outages were expected in the coming days, the Indonesian unit of U.S. mining giant Freeport McMoran Inc. said in a statement. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 16 - Explosion kills two at Gerdau steel plant in Brazil

An explosion at a Brazilian steel plant operated by Gerdau SA killed two people and injured 10 others on Tuesday, the company and local metalworkers union said. The blast occurred at a coke oven at Gerdau's plant in the center-south state of Minas Gerais around 10 a.m. local time, according to the Metalworking Union of Ouro Branco (Sindob). Click here to read full stories.

Aug 16 - EMR Capital to take 80 pct stake in Zambia copper mine

Private equity house EMR Capital has purchased an 80 percent stake in a Zambian copper mine from African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) and its partner for $97.10 million, ARM said on Tuesday. The 80 percent indirect interest in Lubambe Mine, held equally by ARM and Vale International includes the equity holding in Lubambe Mine as well as loans to the mine, and will be settled in cash contingent on certain conditions being met, ARM said in a statement. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 16 - ArcelorMittal South Africa considers job cuts, restructuring

ArcelorMittal South Africa is considering job cuts and restructuring to save costs in a challenging global steel market and recession at home, it said on Tuesday. Job cuts are a thorny issue in South Africa were unemployment is at a 14-year high and key sectors of the recession-hit economy, such as trade and manufacturing, are struggling. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 16 - Global nickel deficit narrows to 2,200 T in May - INSG

A global deficit of refined nickel narrowed in May to 2,200 tonnes from a revised deficit of 5,200 tonnes the month before, data from the International Nickel Study Group showed on Tuesday. Global refined nickel demand fell 3 percent in May from the previous month to 170,000 tonnes, while output moderated by 1.4 percent to 167,800 tonnes. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 16 - Miner Hochschild's H1 pretax profit falls 33.8 pct on higher costs

Precious metals miner Hochschild Mining Plc's pretax profit fell 33.8 percent in the first half of the year, hurt by higher costs. Attributable silver production rose 8.9 percent to 8.9 million ounces in the six months ended June 30, and the company said it was on track to deliver attributable production of 37 million silver equivalent ounces for 2017. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 16 - Oman's Sohar Aluminium assessing restart after interruption

Oman's Sohar Aluminium plant said on Tuesday it was assessing how soon production could resume from the 350,000-tonnes-per-year smelter after an "incident" interrupted operations this month. "On Friday August 4, an incident occurred at the Sohar Aluminium plant which interrupted normal operations and resulted in no injuries recorded," Chief Executive Said Al Masoudi said in a statement. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 15 - China pressed iron ore traders to halt business even before U.N. sanctions

China was pressuring its iron ore traders to stop buying the commodity from North Korea even before a United Nations Security Council vote this month to ban the trade as punishment for Pyongyang's missile tests, two traders said. The U.N. Security Council unanimously passed a resolution on Aug. 6 banning North Korea's exports of coal, iron, iron ore, lead, lead ore and seafood, in a bid to choke off a third of Pyongyang's $3 billion annual export revenue. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 15 - Repricing aluminium's supply risks is a chaotic work in progress: Home

Aluminium was the standout performer among the major industrial metals last week.

On the London Metal Exchange (LME) three-month metal jumped by more than 7 percent to reach its highest in nearly three years at $2,048 a tonne. China outdid even that, with the most actively traded contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) hitting a five-year high of 16,480 yuan a tonne amid an explosion in trading volumes and open interest. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 15 - China's record steel output in July shows summer lull never arrived

The typical summer lull across China's steel sector never arrived this year as mills have churned out record volumes in a rush to fill a supply gap caused by government-mandated closures and to cash in on high margins. China typically sees a slowdown in steel output because construction demand slows as building activity drop during the high temperatures in summer. The country's output may rise higher as construction activity picks up in the autumn. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 15 - Vale works to speed up listing in strictest Brazil market

Bigger-than-expected shareholder backing for Vale SA's stock conversion plan could lead the world's No. 1 iron ore producer to speed up the listing of common shares in Brazil's strictest market to lure a broader investor base. Chief Executive Officer Fabio Schvartsman told investors in a Monday conference call that the conversion plan, which ended last week, was "a success." A total 1.66 billion Vale preferred shares, or 84.4 percent of that class of stock in circulation, joined the plan, topping a minimum 54.09 percent threshold. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 15 - China trade body confirms challenge to U.S. aluminium foil tariffs

A Chinese metals industry association confirmed on Monday that the nation's aluminium sector would mount a legal challenge to the U.S. Department of Commerce's preliminary decision to impose antidumping tariffs on imports of Chinese aluminium foil. The aluminium sector will "take the necessary measures to safeguard the industry's interests," the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association said in a statement, adding that it was organising a joint defence by foil-exporting companies. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 15 - India to import 25 T gold from South Korea, avoiding duty - industry officials

Indian traders are likely to import 25 tonnes of gold from South Korea in July and August, taking advantage of a recent tax change that allows importers to ship in gold without paying a 10 percent customs duty, industry officials told Reuters. The cheap imports are putting pressure on local refiners and banks who cannot match the steep discounts being offered on bullion sales from the duty-free gold from South Korea. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 15 - Tougher than steel: Japan looks to wood pulp to make lighter auto parts

The global push among carmakers to make ever lighter vehicles is leading some auto suppliers in Japan to turn to what seems like an unlikely substitute for steel - wood. Japanese researchers and auto component makers say a material made from wood pulp weighs just one fifth of steel and can be five times stronger. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 15 - Russian gold producer Polyus earnings rise, says Natalka on track

Russia's largest gold producer Polyus on Monday reported a 10 percent increase in first-half core earnings as higher sales volumes compensated for a flat gold price. Polyus, controlled by the family of Russian tycoon Suleiman Kerimov, also said that it was on track to start production at its main greenfield project - the Natalka gold deposit in Russia's far east - by the end of this year. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 15 - Mitsui to book $810 mln after-tax profit in Q2 on Vale's stock conversion plan

Japanese trading firm Mitsui & Co Ltd said on Tuesday it would book an after-tax profit of about 89 billion yen ($810 million) in the July-September second quarter on Brazil's Vale's stock conversion plan. Mitsui said the profit was not included in its profit forecast for the year to March 2018 and it would revise the forecast as needed. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 15 - Russia's Alrosa says can't reach an area of 4 missing miners

Rescuers have been unable to reach the area of an underground mine in Siberia where four of eight missing miners might have been working during a partial flood this month, Russian diamond producer Alrosa said on Tuesday. State-controlled Alrosa has been searching for the eight missing miners since Aug. 4 when its Mir mine in the remote Yakutia region of eastern Siberia was partly flooded by water from an open-pit mine above it. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 15 - Glencore Zambia unit says halts all output due to reduced power supply

Glencore's Zambian copper mining unit said on Monday it had suspended all operations at its two mines there due to restricted power supply. Mopani Copper Mines Plc said output at its Kitwe and Mofulira mines would resume output once it resolves a dispute over tariffs with energy supplier, Copperbelt Energy Corp. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 14 - Gold rally is fuelled by Trump's tweets, but that's not enough: Russell

Gold's rally in recent weeks may be its first boosted by Twitter, but for the gains to sustain it will likely take more than just the ramping up of global geopolitical tensions amid bellicose tweets from U.S. President Donald Trump. Spot gold has jumped 7 percent from its recent intra-day low on July 10 to close at $1,288.81 an ounce on Aug. 11, it's highest in two months. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 14 - India's gold imports to rebound in 2017 on restocking, good monsoon - top refiner

India's gold imports are likely to jump by a third in 2017 to 750 tonnes on restocking by jewellers and as good monsoon rainfall is expected to boost demand in rural areas during the upcoming festive season, a leading refiner told Reuters. Higher imports by the world's second biggest consumer will support global prices, which are trading near their highest level in two months, but could widen the country's trade deficit. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 14 - Brazil's Vale says 84.4 pct of shareholders join share swap

Brazilian mining company Vale SA on Friday said 84.4 percent of current shareholders agreed to swap their preferred stock into common shares, guaranteeing the success of the country's largest ever corporate reorganization, at $21 billion. In a securities filing, Vale said a total of 1.660 billion preferred shares -- which comprise company stock traded in Brazil and the United States -- joined the plan. The company had set a minimum 54.09 percent threshold to approve the share conversion, whose deadline for shareholders was Friday. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 14 - Tata Steel gets regulatory approval for UK pension deal

India's Tata Steel Ltd has received regulatory approval for a deal to cut its UK pension scheme liabilities, it said on Friday, paving the way for a possible merger between its British and European steelbusinesses and those of Germany's Thyssenkrupp. The pensions deal "represents the best possible structural outcome for the members of the British Steel Pension Scheme and for the Tata Steel UK business," Koushik Chatterjee, Tata Steel's group executive director, said. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 14 - Speculators up bullish bets on COMEX gold to near 2-month high - CFTC

Hedge funds and money managers boosted their net long position in COMEX gold for the fourth straight week to a near two-month high in the week to Aug. 8, and raised it slightly in silver, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Friday. The speculators also lifted their net long position in copper futures and options further to a fresh record, the data showed. Copper prices hit two-year peaks as soaring steel and iron ore prices in China brightened the outlook for growth and industrial demand in the world's largest metals consumer. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 14 - Chile's Codelco preparing investment in Mongolian copper

Chilean state miner Codelco, the world's second largest producer of copper, is preparing to invest in far afield Mongolia as the copper market improves, the company's chief executive told Reuters on Friday. In an interview as part of the Reuters Latin American Investment Summit in Codelco's copper-coated offices in downtown Santiago, Nelson Pizarro said the company was aiming for medium-term investments in the isolated Asian nation, which appears to have significant untapped copper potential. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 14 - China steel output hits record in July at 74 mln tonnes - stats bureau

China's steel output hit a monthly record in July at 74.02 million tonnes, up 10.3 percent on a year ago as mills in the world's top producer continued to ramp up production even as Beijing intensified its war on smog. July's figure was ahead of the previous monthly record of 73.23 million tonnes set in June, official data showed, underlining concerns about oversupply in the market. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 14 - China Hongqiao confirms 2.68 MT aluminium capacity closure

China Hongqiao, the world's top aluminium producer, on Monday confirmed it had closed 2.68 million tonnes of illegal smelting capacity after being ordered to do so by the government of its home province of Shandong. The illegal capacity was split over five projects but neither the company nor any of its subsidiaries was fined by the authorities, according to a statement issued to the Shenzhen stock exchange by Hongqiao subsidiary Shandong Weiqiao. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 14 - Cornish Lithium project secures 1 million pounds for exploration

British mining company Cornish Lithium has secured 1 million pounds ($1.30 million) to explore for lithium in Cornwall, southwest England, its CEO said, taking the country a step closer to a domestic source of the strategic mineral. Lithium plays an essential role in electric car batteries, and is produced by evaporation in Latin America, which has been considered the cheapest source. But new technology to extract lithium from brine is helping to make other options more viable. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 11 - A false dawn for Chinese aluminium? Some think so

Chinese aluminium prices have skyrocketed amid a crackdown on overcapacity, but traders say final demand is weak and cuts may not be as big as expected. Trading data shows some are bracing for a correction. China, the world's largest producer of the metal, is forcing illegally built plants to close and pursuing others that have not met environmental targets as it pushes to clear its skies and shore up loss-making industries. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 11 - Mitsui, Cobra in talks with BHP over desalination plant - sources

A consortium made up of Mitsui & Co and Grupo Cobra is in exclusive talks with BHP Billiton Plc to build an $800 million desalination plant at its Spence copper mine in Chile, two sources with knowledge of the process told Reuters this week. This means BHP, the world's biggest mining house, is advancing the contracting process for a planned $2.5 billion expansion at Spence, a project that has been on ice for years. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 11 - Vale investors overwhelmingly join share conversion plan

Investors in Brazil's Vale SA have overwhelmingly agreed to swap their preferred stock into common shares, handling the world's No. 1 iron ore producer a victory in a plan that will give equal votes to all shareholders and limit government meddling. In a Thursday securities filing, Vale said a total 1.421 billion preferred shares, or the equivalent of over 72 percent of that class of stock in circulation, joined the plan, topping the minimum 54.09 percent threshold set to approve a share conversion plan. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 11 - You have been warned. Risks mount for China steel, iron ore: Russell

Anyone betting that the rally in China's steel and iron ore prices is going to continue unabated can't say they haven't been warned. The threat isn't explicit, but the signs are mounting that the authorities in Beijing are growing increasingly concerned about the strength in one of the economy's key sectors. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 11 - Thyssenkrupp won't be rushed on European steel tie-up with Tata

Thyssenkrupp will not be rushed into any deal with Tata Steel to merge their European steel businesses, its chief financial officer said, pouring cold water on investor hopes for a quick agreement. The German steel-to-elevators group is facing pressure from investors to deliver on the tie-up, after talks have been going on for over a year. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 11 - Union federation accuses copper miner Freeport of treating 'fired' workers 'with contempt'

IndustriALL Global Union, a federation of global workers unions, said on Friday that the Indonesian unit of copper miner Freeport McMoRan Inc and copper smelter PT Smelting treated "fired" workers "inhumanely and with contempt", urging both to reinstate the workers. Following export restrictions related to a permit dispute, Freeport furloughed some 3,000 workers in Indonesia earlier this year, which prompted a strike and high levels of absenteeism. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 11 - EU imposes import duties on some Chinese steel to counter subsidies

The European Union has imposed provisional import duties of as much as 28.5 percent on certain Chinese corrosion-resistantsteels after an eight-month investigation found that the products benefited from unfair subsidies. The Aug. 9 decision by the European Commission followed a complaint by steel association Eurofer whose members include ArcelorMittal, ThyssenKrupp and Tata Steel Europe. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 11 - China steel association blasts price speculation

China's Iron and Steel Association said on Thursday the recent sharp rise in steel futures prices was due to "speculative" behaviour and had nothing to do with fundamentals or the reality of government-mandated capacity cuts. Chinese steel futures rose to a fresh 4-1/2-year high in Shanghai earlier on Thursday . The world's largest steel producer's bid to curb output by as much as half in major producing areas such as Hebei province this winter spurred a rally this week. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 10 - China's smog crackdown roils niche commodities markets

China's push for blue skies is roiling supplies and boosting prices of key raw materials from soymeal to ferroalloys as the government ramps up smog checks and forces some factories in the world's top commodities market to close or suspend operations. With soymeal and gasoline prices surging, Shandong, China's industrial and agricultural heartland, offered a snapshot into the impact in the market as environmental inspectors started to crisscross the eastern province. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 10 - Nippon Steel expects high China steel prices throughout 2017

Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp, Japan's biggest steelmaker, expects China's steel prices to remain elevated throughout the year as Beijing's infrastructure spending boosts local construction demand, a senior company official said. Chinese steel rebar futures surged to their highest since March 2013 this week, lifted also by worries over tighter supply in the coming winter due to Beijing ordering low-quality mills to shut down to curb pollution. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 10 - Vale Indonesia struggles to find nickel smelter partners after rule change - CEO

Nickel producer Vale Indonesia said Indonesia's recent policy shift to allow ore exports is helping keep global prices of the metal low, and complicating efforts to establish partnerships for new smelter investments. Nickel miners globally have been grappling with persistent weakness in the market, partly the result of moves by Indonesia and the Philippines to pull back on restrictions targeting their mining sectors. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 10 - First Quantum to shutter Australia nickel mine in September

First Quantum Minerals Ltd said on Wednesday it plans to suspend operations at its Ravensthorpe nickel mine in Western Australia at the beginning of next month due to persistently weak nickel prices, affecting around 450 employees and contractors. The mine will be placed on care and maintenance, which is expected to take effect in early October, it said. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 10 - Glencore raises earnings guidance, sees electric vehicles boosting demand

Mining and commodities trading group Glencore raised its earnings guidance on Thursday and said it expected the increased take-up of electric vehicles and demand for storage to boost demand for its products. The company increased its full-year forecast for a profit measure called marketing adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) by $100 million to a range of between $2.4 billion and $2.7 billion. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 10 - Steel recovery lifts Thyssenkrupp as market awaits Tata tie-up

Thyssenkrupp posted higher-than-expected third-quarter group orders andprofits at its steel business in Europe, which CEO Heinrich Hiesinger is hoping to merge with its counterpart at Tata Steel. Helped by a recovery in steel prices, the company posted a 14 percent rise in third-quarter order intake to 10.7 billion euros ($12.6 billion) and adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of 620 million. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 10 - BHP turns to electric car batteries to recharge its nickel business

The rise of electric vehicles is driving the world's biggest mining house, BHP, to switch gears and invest heavily in its long-suffering nickel business. Eduard Haegel, division chief of BHP Nickel West, said the company planned to spend more than $43 million building a nickel processing plant near Perth, Australia as part of a broader plan to reposition the business around batteries. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 10 - British mineral explorer in Africa lists in London

A British explorer for mineral resources in Africa will on Thursday become the first venture of its kind to be listed on London's AIM market for growing companies, its CEO said. Following the recovery of the mining sector from a commodity price crash in 2015-16, a handful of new companies have listed. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 10 - Bullish funds' return to copper a taste of things to come? Andy Home

London copper on Wednesday morning touched a high of $6,515 per tonne, a price level last seen in December 2014. This is an extension of the rally that began so dramatically on July 25, when London Metal Exchange (LME) three-month copper punched through $6,200, the top end of a long-standing trading range. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 10 - Aurubis Q3 earnings surge 165 pct, upbeat for full year

Aurubis AG, Europe's biggest copper smelter, posted a 165 percent surge in fiscal third-quarter operating earnings on Thursday as it maintained high production levels, and stood by its positive outlook for the full year. Aurubis said operating pretax profit (EBT) rose to 93 million euros ($109.74 million) for the quarter to end-June from 35 million euros in the year-ago period when earnings had been depressed by a smelter shutdown. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 10 - Patrick Evans to be new CEO of Canada's Dominion Diamond

Patrick Evans, the former chief executive of Mountain Province Diamonds, will become the new CEO of Dominion Diamond Corp once a deal to purchase the Canadian diamond company closes later this year, he said on Wednesday. Dominion, the world's third largest diamond producer by market value, has been looking for a CEO since January when its former head, Brendan Bell, quit. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 10 - Russia's Evraz core profits almost double on higher prices

Evraz, Russia's second-biggest steelmaker, said on Thursday its core earnings almost doubled in the first half of 2017 on the back of higher coal and steel prices, meeting market expectations. The company, which is also Russia's top producer of coking coal, said its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) totalled $1.15 billion in the first six months of the year, up from $577 million a year earlier. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 10 - Peru's Buenaventura CEO says no near-term Conga gold mine revival

Buenaventura, Peru's largest producer of precious metals, has no plans to restart its Conga gold mine this year or in 2018 and will instead focus on efficiency gains at four of its fully owned operations in the country, the company's top executive said on Wednesday. The company also plans to extend the working life of the Yanacocha gold mine, in which it has a minority stake, through 2025, Chief Executive Officer Victor Gobitz said in an interview at the Reuters Latin America Investment Summit. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 09 - Good, bad or ugly? China's commodity imports conundrum: Russell

Were China's commodity imports in July a continuation of the trend of robust growth, a pause from the recent strength, or early signs of a slowdown? When numbers aren't unequivocally pointing in the same direction it often becomes possible to interpret them in different ways. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 09 - Vale CFO Siani sees share conversion plan luring more global investors

A plan to merge Vale SA's different classes of stock into a single, common one should help the world's No. 1 iron ore producer lure more Asian investors and specialized mining and metals funds as shareholders, Chief Financial Officer Luciano Siani told the Reuters Latin American Investment Summit. The plan, approved by shareholders in June, will be key to raising awareness among global investors of the benefits of a company with dispersed share ownership, no controlling bloc and with increased transparency over decision-making, Siani said. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 09 - Beijing summons steel execs, regulators, bourse to discuss price surge - sources

China has summoned regulators, a major exchange and steel company executives to a meeting on Wednesday to discuss steel prices, people familiar with the matter said, as a surge in markets due to output cuts draws scrutiny from authorities. The meeting, to be hosted by the National Development & Reform Commission (NDRC), will discuss futures and physical steel prices, an official at China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) said, speaking on conditiona of anonymity. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 09 - U.S. finds China aluminum foil subsidized, imposes duties

The U.S. Commerce Department said on Tuesday it made a preliminary finding that imports of aluminum foil from China are subsidized, and it imposed countervailing duties ranging from 16.56 percent to 80.97 percent. U.S. aluminum foil producers had filed petitions with the U.S. government accusing Chinese producers of receiving subsidies and of "dumping" the product in the United States market, the first such case since President Donald Trump took office. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 09 - Voestalpine beats expectations on strong demand seen to last into Q2

Austrian specialty steelmaker Voestalpine on Wednesday reported an expectations-beating increase of 96 percent in first-quarter operating profit, boosted by strong demand for itsautomotive, aviation and consumer goods products. "In terms of earnings, following the excellent first quarter, we expect the second quarter to be characterized by continued strong demand as well as by seasonal effects," it said, referring to summer plant closures. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 09 - China's top aluminium region Shandong orders 3.2 mln tonnes of capacity shut

China's Shandong province has ordered 3.21 million tonnes of smelting capacity to be shut in the world's top producer of the metal, more than previously expected, as Beijing intensifies efforts to curb pollution in its bloated heavy industries. News of the cuts - affecting China Hongqiao, the world's biggest aluminium supplier - extended a rally in aluminium prices into a second day, with Shanghai futures hitting their highest levels in more than 4-1/2 years on Tuesday. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 09 - Chile short-lists seven companies for value-added lithium projects

The Chilean government has short-listed seven companies to develop value-added lithium projects in the country, state development agency CORFO said on Tuesday, the latest move in Chile's push to diversify its exports. Chile is part of South America's "lithium triangle," home to more than half the known global reserves of the mineral, which plays an essential part in electric car batteries. Lithium currently must be sent abroad to be developed into consumer products, and Chile's government wants to change that. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 09 - India's Jindal Steel and Power narrows June-qtr loss, beats estimates

Jindal Steel and Power Ltd, one of India's biggest steelmakers, beat estimates with a narrower first-quarter loss, boosted by higher revenue from its iron and steel business. Revenue from Jindal's iron and steel segment rose about 26 percent to 47.13 billion rupees ($740.61 million). Click here to read full stories.

Aug 08 - Lithium processors prepare to meet demand in era of electric car

Producers of processed lithium - an essential element for batteries used in electric cars - are agreeing long-term contracts with their customers to fund the investments needed to address a looming shortfall. Demand for battery-grade lithium compounds is expected to skyrocket in the next decades in tandem with soaring demand for electric cars as governments and individual consumers try to reduce their carbon footprint. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 08 - Port stocks the growing elephant in the room for iron ore prices: Andy Home

Chinese steel and iron ore prices continue to rise in lock-step. In Shanghai today the most active steel rebar contract went limit-up, surging 7 percent to 4,013 yuan per ($597) per tonne, its highest level since April 2013. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 08 - China July copper imports rise over 8 pct as credit woes ease

China's imports of copper and copper products rose around 8 percent in July from last year as the availability of credit improved, even as concerns lingered about manufacturing activity in the world's No.2 economy, according to Reuters calculations. For July, arrivals of unwrought copper totalled 390,000 tonnes, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs on Tuesday. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 08 - Iron ore futures curve shows confidence in rally starting to slip: Russell

Some of the confidence in iron ore's recent rally may be starting to seep out of the market, with the discount for longer-dated futures widening over the past month. Iron ore futures traded on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) have seen increasing backwardation, when prices for contracts further out along a market's curve are lower than those for settlement in the current month. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 08 - Trafigura wins Red River's Australian zinc, lead offtake

Australian miner Red River said on Tuesday that commodity trader Trafigura has won an offtake agreement for zinc and lead concentrate production from its Thalanga mine in the north of the country. The Thalanga zinc project in Queensland state, which had been under 'care and maintenance' since 2012, has been ramping up since last year and is on track for production in the fourth quarter, Red River said in a statement. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 08 - China's Dongbei Steel restructuring plan gets creditor approval

Creditors of Dongbei Special Steel Group Co Ltd have approved a draft plan to restructure the stricken northeastern Chinese steelmaker, the company said on Tuesday. An official with the company's public relations office told Reuters the plan was passed at a creditors' meeting on Tuesday morning. He gave no further details. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 08 - Iron ore exports to China from Australia's Port Hedland drop 12 pct in July

Iron ore shipments to China from Australia's Port Hedland terminal dropped 12 percent to 32.03 million tonnes in July from 36.6 million tonnes in June, port data released on Tuesday showed. Overall iron ore shipments from the world's biggest export terminal for the steelmaking raw material dipped to 37.9 million tonnes from 43.1 million tonnes in June, according to the Pilbara Ports Authority. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 08 - Brazil suspends murder trial in Samarco disaster over possible illegal evidence

A judge in Brazil has temporarily suspended criminal proceedings against 22 people and four companies accused of killing 19 people in the 2015 Samarco mine disaster, over the legality of phone intercepts between executives involved and other evidence. Vale SA and BHP Billiton, joint owners of the Samarco iron ore mine, are among those accused of crimes related to a burst tailings dam that unleashed a torrent of waste in what is considered to be Brazil's worst-ever environmental disaster. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 08 - India's Tata Steel swings to profit in first quarter

Tata Steel Ltd returned to profit in the first quarter of this year after a loss a year ago, helped by the ramp up of its Kalinganagar plant in the Indian state of Odisha. Revenue in the quarter jumped 19 percent, aided by increased capacity in India and Tata's restructuring efforts in Europe, said Koushik Chatterjee, group executive director (Finance and Corporate). Click here to read full stories.

Aug 08 - Chile expects sharp increase in mine investment over 10 years

Mining companies are planning to invest about $65 billion in Chile over the next 10 years, almost one-third more than previously estimated, the government of the world's top copper producer said on Monday. More than 90 percent of the projects are in copper, Chilean Mining Minister Aurora Williams said in a presentation. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 08 - Russia's Alrosa searches for 8 workers missing after flooding at diamond mine

Rescue teams were still searching on Monday for eight workers missing in a flooded underground mine owned by Russian diamond miner Alrosa after one miner was rescued over the weekend. Parts of the "Mir" ("Peace" or "World") mine in the remote Yakutia region of eastern Siberia flooded on Friday when water seeped in from an open-cast mine above it. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 07 - LME seeks consensus to cut rents for storing metal

The London Metal Exchange is seeking agreement from its network of metal warehouse owners to cut the rents charged for storage, which could boost the amounts of metal registered under LME warrant and improve transparency. Rents for aluminium on warrant, which gives the material LME backing, currently averages around 54 U.S cents a tonne. Of that the exchange earns 1.1 percent. Rent for metal not under LME warrant is typically 10 cents or below. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 07 - Top gold fund SPDR marks steepest monthly fall in more than 4 yrs

SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest physically-backed gold fund, saw its holdings drop more than 7 percent in July, as investors dumped bullion for other assets like equities and led it to its biggest monthly decline since April 2013. Holdings in the exchange-traded fund (ETF) dropped about 55 tonnes in July, leaving volumes at 791.88 tonnes of bullion worth about $32 billion. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 07 - South Africa's mines minister withdraws plan to suspend rights

South Africa's mineral resources department has withdrawn its plan to suspend the issuance of new mining and prospecting rights, a move critics said could hamper growth and investment. Mines Minister Mosebenzi Zwane also met with Sibanye Gold on Friday to express his concerns about layoffs at the company, which is restructuring its operations in a move that could affect 7,400 of its employees. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 07 - China's Shenhua suspends two coal mines, Mongolia set to benefit

China Shenhua Energy Co. Ltd has suspended operations at two large open-pit coal mines in northern China, it said late on Thursday, a move that could benefit producers across the border in Mongolia. Shenhua Energy, the listed unit of the state-owned Shenhua Group, China's biggest coal producer, announced on Thursday that the Ha'erwusu and Baorixile mines in Inner Mongolia had been temporarily suspended as a result of "land requisition" delays. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 07 - Bullish bets on copper hit record, COMEX gold at 7-wk high - CFTC

Hedge funds and money managers boosted their net long position in COMEX gold for the third straight time to the highest in seven weeks in the week to Aug. 1, and raised it to a record high in copper, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Friday. Speculators upped their bullish stance in copper futures and options by 18,645 lots to a record 104,268 lots, according to the data going back to 2006. The price of copper hit a two-year peak this week on upbeat manufacturing data in top consumer China. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 07 - Lonmin to sell surplus platinum capacity to raise cash

Platinum miner Lonmin Plc said it would cut costs and monetise select assets, including the sale of excess processing capacity of up to 500,000 platinum ounces per year, to maximise cash from processing operations and preserve cash. The measures are in response to a subdued South African economy and inflationary pressures on the platinum mining industry, the company said on Monday. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 07 - EPA to review previously denied claims from Colorado mine spill

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt vowed on Friday to review $1.2 billion in previously denied claims for economic losses from a 2015 EPA-triggered toxic waste spill at a dormant Colorado gold mine. The Obama administration "failed" the public when it rejected damages sought by local governments, businesses and others affected by the spill at the Gold King Mine, Pruitt said in a statement. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 07 - BHP presses for cheaper power ahead of Olympic Dam mine expansion

BHP Billiton is looking for ways to shore up power supply and bring down power costs at its Olympic Dam copper mine in Australia, as it plans to expand following a string of electrical outages, the mine's head said on Friday. The mine has been badly hit by an energy crisis in Australia stoked by the rapid rise of wind power and closure of coal-fired power plants. This has destabilised the national grid and soaring natural gas prices have driven up power tariffs. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 07 - Lucara Diamond mulls partnership to sell world's largest uncut stone

Nearly two years after unearthing a tennis ball-sized 1,109-carat rough diamond, Lucara Diamond Corp is considering forming a partnership to sell the stone if it still does not have a deal in the next six to eight weeks. Lucara, which failed to sell the world's largest uncut stone at Sotheby's auction house in June 2016, continues to receive offers, Chief Executive William Lamb said on a conference call with analysts on Friday. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 07 - Russia's Alrosa searching for 9 miners missing after accident

Rescue teams are searching for nine workers missing in an underground mine owned by Russian diamond miner Alrosa after water flooded in on Friday, the company said. A total of 133 miners were brought to the surface after the flood started, Alrosa said in a statement citing its chief executive Sergey Ivanov. There were 142 workers underground when the accident happened and nine more were preparing to go down to the mine. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 04 - Nickel rallies but still seeking a coherent narrative: Home

The nickel price has rallied by almost 18 percent over the last month. London Metal Exchange (LME) three-month nickel was trading below the $8,900-per tonne level on July 10. It has this morning recorded a five-month high of $10,445. Fund managers who fled the market in April and May have returned. The LME's Commitments of Traders Report shows them holding a net long position of 32,363 lots, compared with a net short of 887 lots on May 15. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 04 - Asian battery makers eye nickel top-up as cobalt price bites

Soaring cobalt prices are prompting Asia's top battery makers to tweak the recipe for lithium-ion batteries used to power electric cars and mobile phones - reducing the amount of cobalt and adding more nickel. With forecasts for electric vehicle (EV) battery demand to jump 20-fold over the decade to 2025, manufacturers are looking to cut back on more expensive components. Cobalt has more than doubled in price over the past year on strong demand and a supply shortage. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 04 - U.S. businesses fear Trump mishandling of China IP, trade probe

U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to investigate China's intellectual property and trade practices is valid, but his administration may not be up to the delicate task of carrying out a new China probe without sparking a damaging trade war, U.S. business lobbyists told Reuters on Thursday. The lobbyists' fears that Trump could mishandle such an inquiry came as he searched for ways to increase pressure on China to do more about reining in North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, with trade policy viewed as a useful lever. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 04 - Sibanye Gold planning job cuts in S.Africa mines revamp

South Africa's Sibanye Gold will restructure operations in its domestic market, a move that could affect 7,400 of its employees, the gold and platinum miner said on Thursday. Sibanye follows Anglogold Ashanti, which said in June it could cut 8,500 jobs as it restructures its South African mines. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 04 - Union to press for Freeport mine worker rights on Indonesia visit

A trade union said on Wednesday that it will press Indonesia's government to reinstate thousands of striking workers at Freeport-McMoRan Inc's Grasberg mine when union officials visit the Southeast Asian country next week. IndustriALL Global Union said in an emailed statement that it would formally announce plans on Thursday for its mission to support striking workers at Grasberg, the world's second-largest copper mine, and a smelter jointly owned and operated by Freeport and Mitsubishi Materials. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 04 - Japan's Itochu sees iron ore, coking coal prices falling later in 2017 - CFO

Japanese trading house Itochu Corp's Chief Financial Officer (CFO) said on Friday the firm is maintaining its earlier assumption that natural resource prices such as iron ore and coking coal will weaken later this year, despite a recent rally. Higher prices of iron ore and coking coal boosted the company's first-quarter earnings, but prices of the steel-making ingredients are likely to fall as supply will increase and China's steel output may be capped, said CFO Tsuyoshi Hachimura, speaking at an earnings news conference. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 04 - Randgold reports 53 pct rise in H1 profit, cash pile mounts

African gold miner Randgold on Thursday reported a 53 percent rise in half-year profit and a mounting cash pile, and said it was well on the way to developing projects that will position it for an eventual increase in demand. The company, with operations in Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali and Senegal, has stood out for its lack of debt and continued strength even when other miners struggled during the commodities downturn of 2015-16. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 04 - Greece says Eldorado mine arbitration to start in August

Greece plans to start an arbitration process in August to settle its differences with Canada's Eldorado Gold Corp over its gold mine development plans, the energy ministry said on Thursday. Energy Minister George Stathakis met Eldorado's management in Athens on Wednesday and the two sides discussed the issue, the ministry said in a statement. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 04 - South Africa's Gold Fields selling Darlot mine in Australia

Gold Fields is in the process of disposing its Western Australia mine to Perth-headquartered Red 5 Ltd for A$18.5 million ($15 million), the South African miner said on Thursday. Gold Fields is selling the mine through a subsidiary and will receive A$12 million in cash and 130 million Red 5 shares in exchange for its Darlot mine, it said in a statement. The sale is expected to close at the end of September. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 03 - Global demand for gold drops 14 pct in first half of 2017 - WGC

Global demand for gold fell 14 percent in the first half of this year due mainly to a sharp decline in purchases by exchange traded funds, the World Gold Council said in a report on Thursday. Central bank buying also fell slightly in the first half but purchases of bars, coins and jewellery grew thanks to strong demand in India and Turkey, the industry-funded WGC said in its latest Gold Demand Trends report. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 03 - China's coal imports soar as India's stumble: Russell

China's imports of coal from the seaborne market surged again in July, providing a stark contrast to a fourth consecutive monthly decline for India. It's possible that the market should be paying more attention to China's growing imports rather than India's downturn. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 03 - Hydro-powered smelters charge premium prices for "green" aluminium

Producers of "green" aluminium - made using renewable energy rather than fossil fuels - are starting to charge premium prices thanks to rising demand from industrial customers under pressure to reduce their carbon footprints. Operators of smelters powered by hydro-electricity in the likes of Norway, Russia and Canada are promoting their environmental credentials - and stealing a march on others that rely on coal or gas, notably in China and the Gulf. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 03 - China aluminium capacity cuts boost market leaders, prices

China's crackdown on its bloated aluminium industry is driving up the share price of the country's major producers and raising the spectre of a tighter global market that could buoy prices. China is forcing the suspension of aluminium plants that have not obtained proper permits to build or expand, or that have not met strict environmental standards, as Beijing pushes to clear its skies and shore up loss-making industries. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 03 - Thyssenkrupp works council chief says not pushing for a break up

Thyssenkrupp's works council is not pushing for a break up of the group, its leader said on Wednesday, after a newspaper reported trade union IG Metall was keen to explore such a move as an alternative to a steel merger with Tata. "I'm not aware of any such deliberations," Wilhelm Segerath told Reuters after the report in the Boersen-Zeitung newspaper said the German industrial group was mulling a break up. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 03 - Union to press for Freeport mine worker rights on Indonesia visit

Aug 03 - Mitsui Q1 profit soars 81 pct on firmer iron ore, coking coal prices

Japanese trading company Mitsui & Co said on Thursday its first-quarter net profit jumped 81 percent as higher prices for iron ore and coking coal buoyed earnings. Mitsui, Japan's second-biggest trading house by assets, said net profit for April-June was 110.76 billion yen ($1 billion), up from 61.15 billion yen in the same period a year earlier. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 02 - Rio Tinto H1 earnings more than double, hands back extra $1 bln

Global miner Rio Tinto reported a more than doubling of its first-half profit on Wednesday and rewarded shareholders with a record interim dividend and an additonal $1 billion share buyback. Underlying earnings for the six months to June 30 of $3.94 billion missed forecasts for $4.19 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, but were well above last year's $1.56 billion on a recovery in iron ore and other commodity prices. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 02 - Odebrecht to exit Angola diamond mine, sources say

Odebrecht SA, the Brazilian conglomerate selling assets in the wake of a corruption scandal, has agreed to sell a 16.4 percent stake in the world's No. 4 diamond mine to a partner, a person with direct knowledge of the transaction said on Tuesday. According to the person, Odebrecht exited Sociedade Mineira de Catoca Lda to meet terms of a 12 billion-real ($3.84 billion) asset sale goal. State-run Empresa Nacional de Prospecção, Exploração, Lapidação & Comercialização de Diamantes de Angola EP, commonly known as Endiama, bought out the stake with the help of other partners in Catoca, the person added. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 02 - Japan steelmakers see solid profit growth on product price hike

Japanese steelmakers are upbeat on their earnings for this fiscal year as they are passing heavier raw materials costs on to customers by raising product prices, betting on solid demand at home and abroad. The main risks to their earnings outlook would be any impact on the economy in China, the world's biggest steel producer and consumer, from policy changes after the 19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party later this year, or any action taken by the U.S. government to curb its steel imports. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 02 - Scientists turn to big data in hunt for minerals, oil and gas

Scientists searching for everything from oil and gas to copper and gold are adopting techniques used by companies such as Netflix or Amazon to sift through vast amounts of data, a study showed on Tuesday. The method has already helped to discover 10 carbon-bearing minerals and could be widely applied to exploration, they wrote in the journal American Mineralogist. "Big data points to new minerals, new deposits," they wrote of the findings. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 02 - Brazil's Vale calls 'speculative' news it plans to buy stake in Samarco

Brazilian mining company Vale SA dismissed as speculative a news report saying it planned to buy a stake in Samarco Mineração SA from Australian partner BHP Biliton Ltd, according to a securities filing on Tuesday. The news item referred to in the filing appeared on July 30 in a blog hosted by O Globo newspaper, Vale said. Samarco, responsible for Brazil's worst environmental disaster in history, is a 50-50 joint venture of Vale and BHP. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 02 - India's JSW Steel quarterly profit plunges 44 pct, but beats estimates

India's biggest steel producer, JSW Steel Ltd, said on Tuesday net profit fell 44 percent in the quarter ended June, but outperformed analysts' estimates, as sales volumes were hit by the nationwide rollout of a Goods and Services Tax. Overall steel sales volumes stood at 3.51 million tonnes during the quarter with some accumulation of inventory, the company said. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 02 - Trump close to decision on addressing Chinese trade practices

U.S. President Donald Trump is close to a decision on how to respond to what he considers China's unfair trade practices, a senior Trump administration official said on Tuesday. Trump is considering encouraging U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to initiate an investigation of Chinese trade practices under the 1974 Trade Act's section 301, the official said. An announcement could come as early as this week, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 02 - Argentina Supreme Court to hear case on Barrick Veladero mine

A federal court in Argentina has ruled that the country's Supreme Court should take up a case related to a government request to suspend operations at Barrick Gold Corp's Veladero mine, a court filing showed. Argentina's environment ministry in April asked a federal court to suspend operations at Veladero until Barrick can guarantee there will be no environmental damages following a spill of cyanide solution in March, its third such incident in 18 months. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 02 - Fresnillo hunts for overlooked silver in copper giant Chile

Mexican miner Fresnillo hopes to begin exploring in Chile later this year as it believes the country, the world's biggest copper producer, is overlooking its potential for silver, its CEO said on Monday. A weak Mexican peso relative to the dollar has helped to shelter Fresnillo from costs as about 45 percent of its expenses are in its local currency, while a relatively strong dollar has boosted its gold and silver revenues. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 02 - Zimbabwe court halts mining at state diamond firm over environment permit

Zimbabwe's High Court on Tuesday ordered a state diamond company to stop all mining activities because it had not received a permit from the environmental agency allowing it to operate. The Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) was formed in March last year after President Robert Mugabe's government evicted all diamond mining firms in the Marange fields in the east of the country saying their licences had expired. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 02 - Russia to auction giant 51-carat polished diamond online

Russian miner Alrosa said on Tuesday it plans to sell at an online auction in November a rare collection of polished diamonds produced domestically, including a giant 51.38-carat gem. This huge, traditional round-cut diamond, whose 2.5 cm (1 inch) diameter isequal in size to the visible part of a human eye, bears the same name as theentire Dynasty collection. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 02 - Nyrstar beats H1 profit estimates on higher zinc prices, mining resurgence

Zinc producer Nyrstar on Wednesday reported a core profit above estimates for the first half of 2017, aided by higher zinc prices and a resurgence in profitability at its remaining mining operations. Nyrstar has sold all of its mines in South America, but it has invested in its North American raw material assets and will restart operations at a Canadian site in August 2017.Click here to read full stories.

Aug 01 - Iron ore may eventually have to leave China's steel party: Russell

China's surging steel sector is pulling iron ore along for the ride, but the strong gain in prices raises the risk that marginal supply of the raw material will start to flow into what is already a well-supplied market. Steel prices in Shanghai received another boost on Monday on the back of an increase in China's Purchasing Managers' Index for the sector, which climbed to 54.9 in July from 54.1 in June, marking the third consecutive month that the indicator was above the 50-level that demarcates expansion from contraction. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 01 - BHP denies it has agreed to sell Samarco stake to Vale

BHP Billiton on Tuesday denied commentary in a Brazilian newspaper that it has agreed to sell its stake in the Samarco iron ore mine to its partner Vale. The Samarco mine has been shut since November 2015, when a dam burst, unleashing a deluge of mud that killed 19 people and destroyed nearby towns. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 01 - China's threatened scrap import ban jolts copper into life: Home

Copper has finally emerged from its extended winter hibernation, breaking out of an eight-month trading range to hit two-year highs. London Metal Exchange three-month copper broke through the top of that range at $6,200 last Tuesday and hasn't looked back since. This morning it touched $6,430 per tonne, a level not seen since May 2015. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 01 - LBMA shines a light on the gold in London's vaults

London's precious metals vaults held 7,449 tonnes of gold worth $298 billion and 32,078 tonnes of silver worth $19 billion as of March 31, the London Bullion Market Association said on Monday, publishing such data for the first time. These holdings underpin the world's largest gold trading centre, with an average $18.1 billion in gold trades cleared per day in London in March, according to the LBMA. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 01 - Tanzania and Barrick start talks to resolve Acacia row

The Tanzanian government and Barrick Gold have started talks to resolve a tax dispute involving the Canadian company's subsidiary Acacia Mining, the president's office said on Monday. The government accuses Acacia, which is 63.9 percent owned by Barrick, of evading taxes for years by under-declaring exports and has banned exports of gold and copper concentrates. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 01 - South Africa mining union calls for mines minister to be removed

South Africa's biggest union in the gold sector called on Monday for Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane to be removed from office, saying his move to freeze new mining rights threatened employment in an industry already bleeding jobs. The call by the National Union of Mineworkers, a key ally of the ruling African National Congress, highlights growing political divisions in the party months ahead of a key conference where it will elect a new leader to succeed President Jacob Zuma. Click here to read full stories.

Aug 01 - Russia's Nornickel confirms 2017 output forecast due to strong Q2

Russia's Norilsk Nickel (Nornickel), the world's second-largest nickel and the largest palladium producer, has confirmed its previous 2017 output forecast on Monday after a strong second quarter. Nornickel planned to increase its nickel and palladium output from Russian raw material this year. However, after first-quarter output fell it said it could miss its 2017 production forecast for nickel and platinum group metals by up to 3 percent. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 31 - Philippines' environment minister says ban on open-pit mining to stay in place

The Philippines' environment minister Roy Cimatu said on Monday he would not lift a ban on open-pit mining imposed in April in an anti-pollution crackdown, as an inter-agency mining council reviews how miners are taxed in the Philippines. Cimatu, a former general, was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte in May after Duterte's previous choice as environment minister, firebrand Regina Lopez, failed to secure congressional confirmation after a drive to implement radical environment protection measures that raised mining industry hackles. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 31 - All eyes on China's aluminium sector but little clarity: Home

It's all about China. This has been the mantra of the industrial metal markets for over a decade. The country's industrialisation and urbanisation programmes have been the core driver of demand growth across the metallic spectrum. In the case of aluminium, however, China's influence on the global supply chain is double-edged. As well as being the biggest user of aluminium, China is by some margin the largest producer, accounting for over 50 percent of global output. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 31 - U.S. coal exports surge, but thank China, not Trump: Russell

U.S. coal miners are almost certainly cheering the sharp rise in exports of their product, but their good fortune is mainly the result of Chinese domestic policies that have driven up global prices for the polluting fuel. While U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration would no doubt like to claim credit for reviving the coal industry, it's likely there has been virtually no structural change that will ensure a sustained boost for U.S. coal exports. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 31 - Speculators lift bullish COMEX gold bets to 4-week high

Hedge funds and money managers sharply increased their net long position in COMEX gold to a four-week high, in the week to July 25, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data showed on Friday. The speculators switched to a net long position in silver futures and options,after holding the bearish stance for two weeks, and added to their net long position in copper futures, the data showed. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 31 - Chile's Antofagasta 'very keen' to move forward on investment plans

Chilean mining company Antofagasta could green-light a major, $1.1 billion revamp of its Los Pelambres copper mine in the first months of 2018, as rising copper prices buoy spirits in the sector, the company's CEO told Reuters on Friday. In a brief interview after the inauguration of Antofagasta's Antucoya mine, Ivan Arriagada said the company was "very keen" to move forward on the long-delayed upgrade plan there, as well as expand its smaller Centinela mine. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 31 - China steel PMI rises to 15-month high in July on strong demands

Activity in China's steel industry expanded in July at the fastest pace since April 2016, industry data showed on Monday, fuelled by strong demand and low levels of inventory. The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for the steel sector rose to 54.9 in July from 54.1 in June, holding for a third month above the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction, data from the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing (CFLP) showed. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 31 - Six killed in explosion at illegal gold mine in Colombia

Six security contractors working for Canadian-listed miner Continental Gold were killed after an explosion at an illegal gold mine in central Colombia, the company said on Saturday. The explosion took place on Friday in the Buritica municipality of Antioquia province when the contractors surprised a group of illegal miners in a shaft they were inspecting, Continental said. One of the seven contractors survived. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 31 - China's Hesteel sets up special fund to aid restructuring

Hebei Iron and Steel Group (Hesteel), China's second biggest steelmaker, has set up a 10 billion yuan ($1.48 billion) special fund with the Great Wall Asset Management Corp to help finance its restructuring efforts, the firm said on Monday. Hesteel will contribute 51 percent of the financing for the fund, according to a notice published on Monday by the Hebei provincial government, which owns the firm. The notice said the fund would be the first of its kind in China. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 31 - Codelco sees slightly lower copper output in second quarter

Chile's Codelco, the world's No. 2 copper producer, expects second-quarter output to decrease about 1 or 2 percent from the year-ago period, its chief executive said Friday. "Our production is a little below last year's," Nelson Pizarro told journalists at the opening of Antofagasta's new Antucoya mine in Chile's northern copper belt. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 31 - Brazil's Usiminas posts unexpected Q2 profit on steel rebound

Usinas Siderúrgicas de Minas Gerais SA, Brazil's largest listed maker of flat steel products, on Friday posted an unexpected second-quarter profit, boosted by higher steel prices and sales volumes, according to a securities filing. Net income at Usiminas jumped 62 percent from the prior three months to 176 million reais ($56 million), contrasting with a consensus estimate of a 32 million reais net loss. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 28 - Miner Vale to look toward copper after 2nd-quarter miss

Brazilian miner Vale SA said on Thursday it would seek out fresh copper mining options and stop expanding nickel production capacity after second-quarter net income plunged on forex losses, rising costs and weaker iron ore prices.Net income tumbled 99 percent to $16 million from $1.1 billion a year earlier, far below an average estimate of $421 million. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 28 - China's aluminium capacity cuts may be reversed -consultant

Cutbacks by Chinese authorities of illegal capacity at aluminium smelters, which have lifted prices this year, are slowing and may be reversed, a consultant said on Thursday.Aluminium is one of the best performing industrial metals this year, with the benchmark price rising 15 percent, largely driven by worries about shortages due to a crackdown in China on illegal and polluting aluminium plants. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 28 - China says willing to work with U.S. on aluminium market issues

China's Ministry of Commerce on Thursday called for a global approach to tackling problems in the aluminium market as it noted the findings of a probe by the United States into the sector.The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) released a report in June that examined China's aluminium market from 2011 to 2015. The report said the country encouraged aluminium production "through low tariffs on imports of raw materials, as well as a variety of programs that provide direct support to aluminium smelters". Click here to read full stories.

Jul 28 - China's first-half gold output falls, consumption up

China's gold output fell by 9.85 percent from a year ago to 206.542 tonnes in the first half of 2017, state media said on Friday, citing data from the China Gold Association.The country's consumption, however, was up by 9.89 percent to 545.23 tonnes over the same period, said the People's Daily, leading to higher imports by the world's top gold consumer as indicated by data out of Hong Kong on Thursday. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 28 - Sierra Gorda to turn profit in 3-4 years as copper output rises - KGHM CEO

Polish miner KGHM's flagship international asset, the Sierra Gorda copper mine in Chile, should produce more than 100,000 tonnes of copper this year and could be profitable in three to four years, the chief executive said Thursday.The mine produced 94,000 tonnes last year, CEO Radoslaw Domagalski told Reuters in an interview in Santiago. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 28 - Glencore lowers 2017 output targets after first half dip

Glencore cut its 2017 output targets on Thursday after changes in what it extracts at some of its mines, rainfall and maintenance hit production in the first half of the year.The global miner and trader said copper output for the six months fell 9 percent and nickel was down 10 percent, while zinc production jumped 13 percent and coal rose 4 percent. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 28 - Gold miners make provisions for possible settlement in lung disease lawsuit

Mining companies Gold Fields and Anglo American have set aside over $130 million between them for a possible settlement with miners who contracted lung diseases at work.A class action suit, mostly relating to the fatal lung disease silicosis, was filed on behalf of miners in 2012 and has further unnerved an industry that has been battling for years with rising costs and generally depressed prices. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 28 - Peru president names new minister to shape mining policy

Peru's President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski swore in Cayetana Aljovin as the new Energy and Mines Minister on Thursday, tasking the former business manager and journalist with shaping mining policy in the world's No.2 copper, zinc and silver producer.Aljovin, who spent the past year overseeing social programs in the South American nation as Development and Social Inclusion Minister, replaces Gonzalo Tamayo, a former economic consultant. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 28 - Chile's Cochilco revises copper price forecast upward

Chilean state copper commission Cochilco on Thursday forecast average global copper prices of $2.64 per pound in 2017, a slight upward revision from its previous estimate of $2.60, due to greater demand in China, a key market.The commission also predicted 2017 copper production in Chile of about 5.6 million tonnes, a 0.8 percent rise from the previous year and roughly in line with its previous forecast in April. In 2018, Cochilco added, Chilean copper production should rise to 5.9 million tonnes. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 28 - Canadian miner Goldcorp may sell royalties portfolio

Goldcorp Inc is looking to sell royalties it owns on a number of mining projects it has sold in recent years, its chief executive said on Thursday, as the Canadian gold miner nears the end of a series of non-core asset sales.Goldcorp, which is the world's fourth-biggest gold miner by market value, has sold $500 million of non-core assets in Mexico and Guatemala this year, investing the funds into its pipeline of bigger mine development projects. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 28 - Canada's Teck Resources keen to expand coal sales to India

Teck Resources Ltd is interested in expanding its sales of steelmaking coal to India, company officials said on Thursday, as the Canadian miner reported quarterly earnings that beat market expectations, lifting its shares.Coal sales to India, the world's largest growth market for seaborne high-grade steelmaking or coking coal, represent about 10 percent of Teck's book, Teck's vice president of coal marketing said. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 28 - Barrick president says 'very positive' on Tanzania talks over ban

Barrick Gold Corp, the world's largest gold miner by production, has an "open mind" and is "very positive" about talks getting underway with Tanzania to resolve an export ban, President Kelvin Dushnisky told Reuters on Thursday.Barrick subsidiary Acacia Mining Plc has two mines affected by a ban that Tanzania introduced in March, accounting for some 6 percent of Barrick's 2017 gold production forecast. Barrick maintained its forecast for output of 5.3 million to 5.6 million ounces of gold, but cautioned that could change. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 28 - Nippon Steel forecasts 2018 annual profit rising 72 pct on higher product prices

Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp, Japan's biggest steelmaker, forecast on Friday its recurring profit would rise 72 percent for the year ending in March 2018 as it passed on higher material costs to customers by raising prices.The world's fourth-largest steelmaker by crude steel output said that recurring profit - pre-tax earnings before one-off items - will increase to 300 billion yen ($2.70 billion) from 174.5 billion yen the previous year. That was roughly in line with a mean estimate of 303.7 billion yen among 15 analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 27 - Thyssenkrupp CEO keen for Tata steel merger deal before end-Sept - sources

Thyssenkrupp's chief executive is pushing for a deal to fold its steel operations into a joint venture with India's Tata Steel as early as September, after two years of talks, sources told Reuters. The talks are more advanced than previously thought, the sources said. sound and those at the steel unit weak due to structural overcapacity in the sector, Chief Executive Heinrich Hiesinger is facing pressure from investors to deliver the merger. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 27 - Booming lead imports the surprise in China's H1 metals trade: Andy Home

China's appetite for imports of refined industrial metals was generally subdued in the first half of the year. Those of copper, for example, fell by 26 percent, or over 500,000 tonnes, relative to the first half of 2016. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 27 - Glencore sees rise in H1 zinc output, lowers full-year target

Global miner and trader Glencore reported a 13 percent jump in zinc production in its first half on Thursday due to improved mine performances but nudged down its target for the year. Output for the first six months totalled 570,800 tonnes, up 13 percent on the same period a year ago. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 27 - Fortescue beats guidance; iron ore price discount widens

Fortescue Metals Group on Thursday reported higher than expected fiscal 2017 iron ore shipments and said it cut costs by 15 percent in the fourth quarter amid a widening price discount for its ore. Cash production costs averaged $12.16 per wet tonne in the last quarter, 15 percent less than in the same period a year ago and 7 percent below the previous quarter, the company said. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 27 - Japan aluminium industry fears U.S. trade action may prompt retaliation

Japan's aluminium industry is worried that any U.S. trade action to block imports of the metal may result in surplus supply elsewhere and prompt a chain-reaction of retaliation by other nations, the head of a trade body said on Wednesday. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is determined to curb imports of aluminium, along with steel. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 27 - Brazil mining reforms seen passing Congress despite opposition

Mining reforms decreed by Brazilian President Michel Temer are likely to pass Congress, a legislative leader told Reuters on Wednesday, despite opposition from an industry trade group. The revisions to the mining code, announced on Tuesday, would raise government mining royalties. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 27 - Yancoal gets OK to on-sell 16.6 pct of some Rio coal assets

Yancoal Australia has been cleared by its Chinese parent, Yanzhou Coal Mining, to sell 16.6 percent of the key assets of Rio Tinto's Coal & Allied division, once its completes the $2.69 billion Coal & Allied acquisition. Yanzhou said in an announcement to the Hong Kong stock exchange late on Wednesday that its board had approved a resolution to allow Yancoal to transfer a 16.6 percent interest in the HVO (Hunter Valley Operations) joint venture to a "third party" following its acquisition of Coal & Allied. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 27 - Peru to extend liquidation deadline for La Oroya smelter again

The government of centrist President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said Wednesday that it plans to extend the liquidation deadline for the aging polymetallic smelter La Oroya in hopes of finding a new operator despite six failed attempts to sell it this year. Kuczynski extended the previous liquidation deadline for La Oroya shortly after taking office a year ago, vowing to do his best to revive the nearly 100-year-old complex that has been largely shuttered since the 2009 bankruptcy of its most recent operator Doe Run Peru. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 27 - China reviewing copper scrap imports; may call halt in 2018 - notice

China may ban imports of some scrap metal, including copper, from the end of 2018, according to an industry association notice, which may lead to higher refined copper imports into the world's largest consumer of the metal. London copper surged to its highest in two years on Wednesday in reaction to the news and Chinese futures climbed to their highest in more than five months. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 27 - Barrick says will start Tanzania talks next week as earnings beat

Barrick Gold Corp , the world's largest gold miner by production, reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings on Wednesday as its mining costs fell and said it would begin talks with the Tanzanian government next week about an export ban. Barrick subsidiary Acacia Mining has three mines in Tanzania, which introduced an export ban on concentrates of gold and copper ore in March. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 27 - India relaxes rules of Gold Bond Scheme to attract more investors

India eased the restrictions for its Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme after failing to secure the targeted investment, the government said on Wednesday. India is the world's second biggest consumer of the precious metal and meets almost all its demand from imports. In 2015, India's government launched the bond scheme as an alternative to buying the metal and trimming the demand for physical gold. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 26 - London Metal Exchange to publish gold, silver reference prices within weeks

The London Metal Exchange (LME) will start publishing gold and silver reference prices, the exchange told Reuters on Tuesday, potentially challenging the dominance of benchmarks administered by Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). Precious metals producers and consumers around the world use benchmarks owned by the London Bullion Market Association to price contracts. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 26 - Indonesia, Freeport agree on term of new copper mine permit - official

Indonesia has reached an agreement with U.S. miner Freeport McMoRan Inc that any new operating permit for its Grasberg copper mine will only be valid until 2021, an energy and mining ministry official said on Wednesday. Freeport would be able to apply for two 10-year extensions to this, but the new permit will only be valid once signed and both sides are still negotiating, Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry Secretary-General Teguh Pamuji told reporters. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 26 - Brazil hikes mining royalties to ease budget deficit

Brazil unveiled plans on Tuesday to raise revenue from mining royalties by 80 percent, the latest measure to shore up government finances, and cut red tape in attempt to attract more foreign investment amid a weak economic recovery. President Michel Temer, at the policy launch in the presidential palace, said that this fit into his broader plans to modernize regulation across sectors to draw investment and boost the economy. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 26 - Antofagasta H1 copper output up 7.1 pct, keeps guidance

Chilean copper producer Antofagasta said on Wednesday production in the first half rose 7.1 percent and kept its full-year cost and output guidance after talks to avert strike action. Copper prices have rallied this month as the global market is increasingly seen close to balanced, compared with expectations of a surplus at the start of the year, after an Indonesian strike and contract negotiations at Chile's Escondida interrupted supply from the world's top two mines. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 26 - Vedanta says zinc production at Indian unit almost doubles

Diversified miner Vedanta Resources said mined metal production at its Indian zinc unit almost doubled in the first quarter due to higher volumes at all of its mines and better ore grades. The company, which mines zinc in the western Indian state of Rajasthan, said mined metal content jumped 84 percent to 233,000 tonnes for the quarter ended June 30. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 26 - Rising gold production pushes Newmont past profit estimates

Newmont Mining Corp handily beat quarterly profit estimates on Tuesday as production improved, more than offsetting the impact of lower realized gold prices, lifting the miner's shares as much as 7.7 percent to a five-month high. The company also raised the lower end of its full-year production forecast on better yield from its mines in North America and Africa. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 26 - Tanzania tax row knocks Acacia Mining shares

Acacia Mining's shares fell for a sixth straight session on Tuesday, a day after the gold miner was hit with a tax bill of more than $190 billion by the Tanzanian government. Shares in the London-listed miner closed 8.5 percent lower at 169 pence, having had more than two-thirds wiped of their value since a ban on the export of gold and copper concentrates was imposed in Tanzania on March 3. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 26 - Steel distributor Kloeckner sees prices falling after boosting sales

German steel distributor Kloeckner & Co said strong prices lifted its sales in the second quarter of the year but said core profit would fall sequentially this quarter "due to the less favourable price situation observed recently". Second-quarter sales rose 8 percent to 1.64 billion euros ($1.91 billion), just beating the average estimate of 1.6 billion euros in a Reuters analyst poll, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation fell 12 percent to 63 million euros, in line with estimates. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 26 - Polish miner JSW's 2nd-quater coal output falls to 3.8 mln tonnes

Polish state-run miner JSW said on Tuesday that its total output, including coking and thermal coal, fell to 3.8 million tonnes in the second quarter from 4.3 million a year ago as it closed its troubled mines. JSW, the European Union's biggest producer of coking coal used in steel making, also said it sold 3.6 million tonnes of coal in the second quarter compared with 4.1 million tonnes a year earlier. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 25 - UK fraud regulator says probing Rio Tinto's Guinea operations

Britain's anti-fraud regulator has opened an investigation into suspected corruption in Australian-British miner Rio Tinto Plc's business conduct in the Republic of Guinea, the agency said. In a statement on Monday, the Serious Fraud announced the probe into the company, one of the world's largest metals and mining corporations, its employees and others associated with it. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 25 - Brazil to raise mining royalties, set up new regulator

Brazil's government will announce an increase in mining royalties and the creation of a new agency to regulate the industry in a bid to inject new life in Brazilian mining, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Monday. The new rules will increase the limit on the stake that foreign companies can have in mining ventures in Brazil, currently set at 40 percent, one of the sources said. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 25 - If the U.S. has a steel problem, it isn't China: Russell

Anybody looking at the United States' import data would wonder why the Trump administration is bothering making a big deal out of its steel trade with China. U.S. President Donald Trump said last week that he is considering imposing tariffs on steel imports, while talks between the commerce secretaries of the United States and China ended without any concrete measures. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 25 - Aluminium maker Norsk Hydro's Q2 profit up, Qatar impact limited

Aluminium producer Norsk Hydro met forecasts with a jump in second-quarter underlying profit on Tuesday and said sanctions imposed on Qatar had had a limited effect on its activities there. Norsk Hydro and Qatar Petroleum co-own the Qatalum smelter where shipments were disrupted last month as a result of sanctions imposed by the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 25 - India sets up panel to revive loss-making state steelmaker - minister

India has set up a panel to turn around loss-making Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) and help the state-owned company increase production, Minister of State for Steel Vishnu Deo Sai said in the lower house of Parliament on Monday. Reuters reported in March that an expert panel was set up to revive SAIL after a government review found the company to be far less efficient than its rivals despite spending more than $10 billion in the past eight years. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 25 - Russia's Polymetal says Q2 revenue up 26 pct y/y to $385 mln

Russian gold and silver producer Polymetal said on Tuesday its second-quarter revenue rose 26 percent year-on-year to $385 million due to an increase in production and higher sales of gold. The company, part-owned by businessman Alexander Nesis, said its gold equivalent production, a mixture of gold and other metals, rose by 6 percent over the same period to 278,000 troy ounces. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 25 - Zaldivar mine strike threat in Chile averted as deal is reached

Copper miner Antofagasta has signed a wage deal with workers at its Zaldivar deposit in Chile, the company and the union said on Monday, averting threatened labor action. The union of about 700 members said in a statement that the contract could come into effect from Tuesday and the company said it would last for three years. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 25 - Acacia Mining hit with huge demand for unpaid taxes by Tanzania

Tanzania has issued a notice demanding $190 billion in unpaid taxes, penalties and interest from Acacia Mining, the gold mining company said on Monday, adding it did not believe it owed the money. "Acacia refutes each set of findings and re-iterates that it has fully declared all revenues," the company said. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 24 - Copper mine disruptions cut supply, treatment charges

Disruptions to copper shipments from Canada and Chile have undermined expectations for rising global copper supplies in the second half of the year, cutting the charges that smelters charge miners to process metal. Treatment and refining charges copper (TC/RCs), a closely watched indicator of copper supply, have turned lower in recent weeks. A drop in TC/RCs signals that smelters have been forced to drop their rates to attract feed, an indication of a scarcity of mine supply. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 24 - If the U.S. has a steel problem, it isn't China: Russell

Jul 24 - Miners call off strike in Peru after deal with government

Striking mining workers in Peru agreed to return to work by Monday after the government of President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski promised to name a task force to discuss labor laws with them, the Labor Ministry said on Friday. Unionized miners started the nationwide strike on Wednesday to protest what they described as proposed labor reforms that would make firing easier and workplaces less safe. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 24 - Philippines plans new law to ensure responsible mining

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Friday the government will draft a new law for the country's mining industry, which he said pays too little in tax and not enough in compensation for any environmental damage. The fate of more than half of 41 mines in the Philippines, the world's top nickel ore supplier, has been uncertain since February when then Environment Secretary Regina Lopez ordered their closure for causing environmental damage and violating laws. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 24 - China June coal imports from Mongolia, Russia rise - customs

China's coal imports rose in June from Mongolia and Russia as utilities and steel mills sought out more cheap raw material even as the government tried to curb purchases of foreign fuel. Coal-fired power demand rose last month during a prolonged heatwave in the north ahead of the peak consumption period. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 24 - Cuba seeks to revive mining sector with new lead and zinc mine

A new lead and zinc mine in northwestern Cuba is on track to start production in October as part of the Caribbean island's attempt to breathe fresh life in its mining sector, the joint venture Emincar overseeing the project said this week. While nickel exports are already one of Communist-run Cuba's main foreign currency earners, the cash-strapped country has untapped potential in other mineral deposits, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 24 - Newcrest Mining meets 2017 gold, copper output targets

Newcrest Mining Ltd said on Monday its fourth quarter gold production fell 7.7 percent from a year ago after its flagship Cadia mine was hit by an earthquake, but output was just enough to meet its full-year target. Production of 551,815 ounces of gold in the quarter helped Australia's biggest gold miner by market capitalisation reach annual output of 2.38 million ounces, at the low end of its target of 2.35 to 2.60 million ounces, in line with a warning in April. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 24 - U.S. makes final finding rebar exports from Taiwan dumped

The U.S. Commerce Department said on Friday it had made a final finding that exports of steel concrete reinforcing bar (rebar) from Taiwan were dumped. The U.S. International Trade Commission will announce in August whether Taiwan's rebar exports hurt U.S. producers, which would prompt an order to keep anti-dumping duties in place. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 24 - South Africa's Amplats posts 55 percent drop in H1 profit

South Africa's Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) interim profits fell 55 percent on lower sales, a stronger rand and tax impairments, the company said on Monday. Amplats headline earnings per share (HEPS), the main profit measure in South Africa that strips out certain one-off items, fell to 285 cents for the six months ended 30 June from a restated 629 cents per share in the previous period. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 24 - Speculators lift bullish COMEX gold bets for first time in 6 weeks

Hedge funds and money managers increased their net long position in COMEX gold for the first time in six weeks in the week to July 18, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Friday. The speculators raised their net short position in silver futures and options, taking it to the biggest in nearly two years, and added to their net long position in copper futures, the data showed. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 21 - China says U.S. talks covered joint efforts on excess steel capacity

Seeking a more positive spin on U.S.-China economic talks viewed as ending in discord, China said on Thursday that the two sides agreed to "active and effective measures" to reduce global excess steel production capacity. The statement issued a day after the talks by the Chinese embassy in Washington did not elaborate on the measures discussed by U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Chinese Commerce Minister Zhong Shan on Wednesday. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 21 - EU steel body criticises steel tariff plan to counter dumping

European steel association Eurofer criticised on Thursday measures set out by the European Commission to counter dumping of hot-rolled steel from Brazil, Iran, Russia and Ukraine. The Commission, which oversees trade policy in the 28-member European Union, has set out plans to levy tariffs of up to 33 percent on the steel grade, used in construction and machinery, from the four countries. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 21 - Australian court rules in favour of indigenous group in Fortescue mining land case

Australia's Federal Court has ruled in favour of an indigenous Aboriginal group's claims over land used by Fortescue Metals Group to mine millions of tonnes of iron ore in Western Australia's Pilbara region. The ruling gives the Yindjibarndi people exclusive native title rights over land covering the iron ore giant's Solomon mining hub, a vast mineral-rich project capable of yielding up to 70 million tonnes of iron ore a year. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 21 - Brazil's Vale eyes 2017 iron ore output at low end of forecast

Brazil's Vale SA, the world's largest iron ore producer, said on Thursday that iron ore output would close the year near the bottom of its forecast of 360 million to 380 million tonnes, despite record second-quarter production. Vale, said iron ore production reached 91.849 million tonnes in the April to June period, a record for a second quarter, up 5.8 percent from 86.823 million tonnes in the same period last year. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 21 - Zaldivar copper mine workers extend wage talks with company

Union-represented workers and management at Antofagasta's Zaldivar copper mine failed to reach a wage deal on Thursday and they agreed to extend government-mediated talks into next week, the union said. Last week, the union voted to strike, prompting the mediated talks and a new contract offer. But workers rejected that offer Thursday, union president Raul Torres told Reuters. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 21 - South Africa intends to suspend issuing mining rights

South Africa intends to suspend the granting of applications for prospecting and mining rights as well as any renewals pending a court case to review new mining laws, the Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane said on Thursday. Such a move could seriously hamper growth and investment in South Africa's mining sector, already beset by policy uncertainty, depressed prices, soaring costs and often violent social and labour strife. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 21 - Copper market in 53,000 tonnes deficit in Apr 2017 - ICSG

The global world refined copper market showed a 53,000 tonnes deficit in April, compared with a 18,000 tonnes deficit in March, the International Copper Study Group (ICSG) said in its latest monthly bulletin. For the first 4 months of the year, the market was in a 80,000 tonnes surplus compared with a 185,000 tonnes deficit in the same period a year earlier, the ICSG said. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 21 - India's Paytm aims to sell gold worth $200 mln this year

India's Paytm plans to sell 5 tonnes of gold valued around $200 million this year, the digital payments firm said on Friday, as it strives to develop a viable business from its e-wallet platform. E-wallets like Paytm, Citrus Pay and MobiKwik, which allow users to transfer money into virtual wallets via smartphone apps, have proliferated thanks to venture capital backing, but many are struggling to find a long-term profitable model. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 21 - POSCO Q2 profit jumps 44 pct from year ago on improved profit margins

South Korea steelmaker POSCO reported on Thursday that operating profit for the April-to-June period rose 44.3 percent from the same time a year ago because of higher profit margins for its steel sales. POSCO, the world's fifth-largest steelmaker, said consolidated operating profit climbed to 979.1 billion won ($870.95 million) in the second quarter, compared with 679 billion won a year earlier and a 940 billion won average estimate of 20 analysts polled by Reuters. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 20 - US steel tariffs likely to trigger swift EU "safeguard" - sources

U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to impose steel import tariffs for national security reasons would likely trigger a swift "safeguard" action by the European Union, political and industry sources said. Resorting to a Cold War-era law, Trump has initiated a 'Section 232' review of the U.S. steel industry that allows for the imposition of tariffs or quotas on imports if they are found to threaten national security. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 20 - Lithium supply pipeline is filling but will it be enough? Andy Home

The electric vehicle revolution is gathering momentum. Barely a week goes by without a fresh, starting revelation, whether it be Sweden's Volvo promising to phase out traditional internal combustion engines from 2019 or France aiming to end the sale of gasoline and diesel vehicles by 2040. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 20 - Australia's South32 Q4 coking coal output slumps on outage at main mine

Australian miner South32 Ltd said on Thursday its fourth-quarter coking coal production slumped 32 percent from a year ago following an extended outage at its main Appin mine over concerns about gas leaks. South32, made up of non-core assets spun off by mining giant BHP in 2015, also missed its guidance on several other commodites due to bad weather and challenging conditions, and said it would continue to buy back its shares. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 20 - Peru miners start nationwide strike, gov't sees little impact

Unionized workers at mines in Peru, the world's second biggest copper producer, started a nationwide strike on Wednesday to protest the government's proposed labor reforms, the head of a federation of mining unions said on Wednesday. Workers at 56 mining unions in the Andean country, including the top copper mines, are striking, said Ricardo Juarez, head of the National Federation of Mining, Metallurgical and Steel Workers of Peru (FNTMMSP). Click here to read full stories.

Jul 20 - Anglo American increases iron ore targets for the year

Global miner Anglo American posted higher second quarter iron ore production on Thursday, leading it to raise its annual targets for the steel-making ingredient. Iron ore production at the company's South African unit, Kumba Iron Ore rose 28 percent to 11.4 million tonnes, it said in a statement. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 20 - Activist fund Elliott adds potash to list of BHP grievances

Activist shareholder Elliott Management said it has deep concerns over a proposal by BHP to enter the currently over-supplied fertiliser market, reiterating its call for change at the mining giant. BHP has signaled it may push ahead with its long-dormant Jansen potash mine in Canada in a counter-cyclical play to capture part of what it sees as a $50 billion-a-year market by the mid 2040s. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 20 - Russia's Severstal says Q2 core earnings up 9 pct Q/Q

Russia's Severstal, one of the country's largest steelmakers, said on Thursday its core earnings rose 9 percent quarter-on-quarter in the second quarter on the back of higher sales and prices. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) totalled $629 million, the company said, while revenue increased 9 percent quarter-on-quarter to $1.9 billion. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 20 - U.S., China fail to agree on trade issues, casting doubt on other issues

The United States and China failed on Wednesday to agree on major new steps to reduce the U.S. trade deficit with China, casting doubt over President Donald Trump's economic and security relations with Beijing. The annual economic dialogue session in Washington ended with canceled news conferences, no joint statement and no new announcements on U.S. market access to China. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 20 - Alcoa trims forecast for earnings measure

Aluminum producer Alcoa Corp on Wednesday trimmed its annual forecast for a measure of profitability, citing market trends. The company said it now expects adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $2.1 billion to $2.2 billion, compared to an earlier forecast of $2.1 billion to $2.3 billion. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 20 - Chile approves expansion at BHP's Spence mine - paper

Chilean authorities have approved a $2.5 billion expansion of BHP Billiton's Spence copper mine, a local newspaper reported on Wednesday, though the company has not yet decided whether to go ahead with the project. Chile's Environmental Evaluation Service (SEA) has unanimously approved the project, which is the second largest mining investment under evaluation in the South American country, the El Mercurio newspaper said. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 20 - Canadian miner Sabina gets project go-ahead, shares jump 7 pct

Shares of Sabina Gold & Silver Corp rose as much as 7 percent to a four-year high on Wednesday, a day after the Canadian miner got the green light for its Back River gold project in the northern territory of Nunavut. The company said on Tuesday that the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB), which assesses potential impact of developmental projects in the area, gave it the go-ahead to advance to the licensing phase. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 19 - Over halfway into the year, steel outshines oil markets

Over halfway into 2017, China's steel market has been the best performer among key Asian commodities because of cuts in low-grade steel production capacity that have reduced supply as demand has remained surprisingly strong. However, oil markets have been the worst performer despite a pledge by global producers to cut supply in order to prop up prices. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 19 - BHP to spend $277 mln to modernise Australian copper smelter

BHP said it will spend A$350 million ($277 million) to boost capacity by about 6 percent at its underperforming Olympic Dam copper smelter, cutting production during the upgrade. The smelter, one of the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, has been hampered by insufficient power supplies and maintenance work since a major power outage last year shut operations for two weeks. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 19 - Zinc falters as market appears better supplied than expected

Zinc prices are running out of steam, with shortages in China appearing to be less severe than expected, inventories rebounding and producers selling the metal to take advantage of current market levels. Benchmark zinc prices on the London Metal Exchange surged 60 percent last year after the shutdown of major mines around the world and suspensions at others raised the prospect of deep deficits. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 19 - China eyes merger of metals giants Minmetals and China National Gold - sources

China is considering a merger between China Minmetals Corp, one of the country's largest miners and metals traders, and China National Gold Group, as Beijing pushes consolidation of its state-run firms, sources with knowledge of the matter said. Three sources with knowledge of the discussions said the two state-owned firms have been in negotiations for months, though any agreement could still be some time away. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 19 - Workers at Chile's Zaldivar mine to vote on new contract offer

Workers at Chile's Zaldivar copper mine, owned by Antofagasta PLC, will vote on a new contract offer later this week, the union said on Tuesday, after a vote to strike last week prompted government-mediated negotiations. The union invited its members to assemblies on Wednesday and Thursday to learn about the new contract proposal and vote. Chile is the world's largest copper producer, and the threat of a strike at the mine, a partnership between Antofagasta and Canadian miner Barrick Gold Corp, has affected prices. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 19 - Miner Vale says Brazilian judge suspended lawsuit against companies for Samarco accident

Vale SA on Tuesday said a Brazilian judge suspended a lawsuit over the miner Samarco Mineração SA's dam collapse in November 2015. In a securities filing, the company said the judge's decision on Monday did not change the terms of a court decision that extended the deadline for Samarco parent companies Vale SA and BHP Billiton PLc to negotiate a settlement to Oct. 30. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 19 - Anglo Asian's Azerbaijan gold output fell 31 pct yr/yr in H1

Azerbaijan's top gold producer Anglo Asian Mining said on Tuesday its first-half output fell 31.4 percent year-on-year to 23,218 ounces, but it was keeping its 2017 production target unchanged at 64,000 to 72,000 ounces. In 2016, the company's gold output fell by 9.2 percent to 65,394 ounces, less than targeted. The London-listed firm said copper production at Azerbaijan's Gedabek main mine and the Gosha mine rose to 1,322 tonnes in the first half of this year from 969 tonnes a year earlier. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 19 - Congo central bank sets penalties for miners that fail to repatriate revenue

Democratic Republic of Congo's central bank has announced new financial penalties for companies that fail to repatriate at least 40 percent of their revenue from mineral exports, a decree seen by Reuters on Tuesday showed.Africa's top copper producer, Congo has been hit hard by low commodity prices over the last two years and is seeking emergency financial support from international donors to contain inflation expected to top 30 percent this year. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 18 - Canada's Dominion Diamond accepts sweetened bid from U.S. billionaire

Canada's Dominion Diamond Corp, on Monday agreed to a sweetened takeover offer of $1.2 billion from U.S. billionaire Dennis Washington that will take private the world's third biggest diamond company by market value. U.S.-listed shares of Dominion leapt 4 percent to $14.04, while its Toronto-listed shares rose nearly 5 percent, afterDominion said Washington Companies will acquire all of shares for $14.25 per share in cash. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 18 - Record Chinese steel output rests on record speculative interest: Andy Home

Another month, another Chinese steel production record. China's giant steel sector churned out 72.78 million tonnes of the stuff in June. That was equivalent to annualised production of 891 million tonnes. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 18 - Palladium prices seen hitting record average high in 2017 - poll

Palladium is expected to hit its highest annual average price on records going back three decades this year after tightness in the lending market pushed prices to 16-year highs last month. A poll of 26 analysts and traders conducted by Reuters this month returned an average palladium price forecast of $811 an ounce for this year, 5 percent above an average view of $770 returned by a similar poll conducted in early April. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 18 - China scrap buying, low demand may spur U.S. copper stockpiles above 13-year high

COMEX copper stockpiles in the United States are set to rise from their current 13-year highs because China is buying more scrap metal and as anticipated infrastructure spending by the Trump Administration is yet to appear. The expected inventory growth highlights the lacklustre demand for the metal, used primarily in white goods and for power transmission, and should cap prices through 2017. The U.S. is the world's second-biggest copper user after China. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 18 - Rio cuts 2017 iron ore guidance as rail work hits shipments

Global miner Rio Tinto on Tuesday lowered its forecast for shipments of iron ore in calendar 2017 by up to 10 million tonnes due to bad weather and ongoing work to modernise its rail haulage lines. Iron ore shipments were expected at 330 million tonnes, down from an earlier range of 330 million to 340 million tonnes, the world's number two producer of the steel making raw material said in its second-quarter production report. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 18 - Canada's Mount Polley mine operations suspended due to wildfires

Canadian miner Imperial Metals Corp had suspended its Mount Polley mine operations on Saturday due to restrictions arising from wildfires in the province of British Columbia, the company said on Monday. Vancouver-based Imperial said the mine was "not under any immediate threat" and will resume operations once the situation stabilizes. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 18 - 80 tonnes of gold traded on LMEprecious in first week

The London Metal Exchange said on Monday that 2.6 million ounces (79.6 tonnes) of gold and 12.8 million ounces (397.5 tonnes) of silver was traded through its LMEprecious contracts in their first week of trading. LMEprecious, which includes spot, daily and monthly futures, launched on July 10 with backers including banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley who committed to provide liquidity as part of a 50:50 revenue-sharing deal with the LME. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 18 - Tennis ball-sized 'diamond in the rough' too big to sell

In the mysterious world of diamond mining, it turns out that some stones are too big to sell. Canada's Lucara Diamond Corp will have to cut its tennis ball-sized rough diamond to find a buyer, industry insiders say, following Sotheby's failed auction for the world's largest uncut stone last summer. It's not the ending that William Lamb wanted for his 1,109-carat stone, named 'Lesedi La Rona', or 'Our Light' in the national language of Botswana where it was mined. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 18 - India court dismisses Essar Steel appeal against bankruptcy proceedings

India's Gujarat High Court on Monday dismissed Essar Steel India Ltd's appeal against a central bank order that asked creditor banks to start insolvency proceedings against the steelmaker, lawyers on the case said. The ruling is a boost to the government, which in May tweaked Indian banking laws to empower the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to tackle the country's bad debt issue, allowing the RBI for the first time to direct lenders to force defaulters into insolvency courts. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 17 - China's steel, aluminium output at record as U.S. mulls penalties

China churned out record amounts of steel and aluminium in June as producers rushed to cash-in on rallying prices in the wake of a drive by Beijing to crack down on output of low-grade metal. That could fuel concerns the world's top steel producer will export more metal, stoking global oversupply and fanning tensions with the United States after it accused the nation of flooding international markets with cheap aluminium and steel. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 17 - Behind the scenes, companies fight Trump on US steel tariffs

American manufacturers, energy companies and retailers reliant on cheap steel are quietly lobbying against President Donald Trump's desire to impose tariffs on steel imports ahead of possible decision by the U.S. Commerce Department next week. Honoring a promise made in the 2016 election campaign, in April this year Trump initiated a “Section 232” review of the steel industry, a provision in the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 allowing for the imposition of tariffs or quotas on imports if they threaten national security. The provision has only been used to review imports twice before. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 17 - ICE selected to run LBMA silver auction

ICE Benchmark Administration, a unit of Intercontinental Exchange, was confirmed on Friday as the new operator of the London Bullion Market Association silver benchmark. The LBMA said it expected IBA to take over the LBMA Silver Price in autumn this year, confirming a Reuters report. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 17 - Trudeau says Trump told him he does not think Canadian steel a tariff target

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday said U.S. President Donald Trump told him that he did not expect to subject Canadian steel and aluminum to face tariffs on national security grounds. The U.S. administration is probing whether foreign-made steel and aluminum imports pose a risk. The investigation is almost complete, officials say. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 17 - Chile's Codelco to post earnings above $1 bln this year - CEO

Chile's state-run mining company Codelco, one of the world's largest copper miners, will post earnings of "much more than $1 billion" this year, chief executive Nelson Pizarro told local newspaper El Mercurio in an article published on Sunday. The company will also revive a workers' severance compensation plan in August with the aim of reducing headcount at its Andina and El Teniente mines by about 300, as part of its plans to reduce costs, Pizarro said. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 17 - Washington Companies in talks to buy Canada's Dominion Diamond - sources

Canada's Dominion Diamond Corp, the world's third-largest diamond producer by market value, is in advanced and friendly talks with The Washington Companies on a sweetened cash takeover bid, sources told Reuters this week. Negotiations are focused on the two sides settling on a price, said the sources, who declined to speak publicly on the matter. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 17 - Speculators cut bullish gold bet, switch to silver net short - CFTC

Hedge funds and money managers cut their net long position in COMEX gold to the smallest since January 2016 in the week to July 11, as they switched to their first bearish stance in silver in nearly two years, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Friday. The speculators reduced their net long position in copper futures and options, the data showed. They cut their net long in bullion by 10,676 contracts to 27,100 contracts, according to the CFTC. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 17 - South Africa puts new mining charter on hold - Chamber of Mines

South Africa has suspended implementation of a new mining law, which includes raising the level of shares blacks should own in mining firms, pending a court ruling, the Chamber of Mines industry body said on Friday. Mining shares fell to more than one-year lows when Mines Minister Mosebenzi Zwane released the revised mining charter last month, giving resource firms 12 months to meet a new 30 percent minimum for black ownership, up from 26 percent. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 14 - LME to re-boot electronic metals storage system after weak uptake

The London Metal Exchange is trying revamp its digital metal storage system LMEshield, which registers material stored in non-exchange warehouses to guard against fraud, after scant uptake since it was launched over a year ago. The LME has been holding meetings with several major players in the industry, the latest in Singapore on Tuesday, proposing to place its digital storage system at the heart of a new set of self-imposed regulations. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 14 - Australia in final stages of mulling loan for India's Adani

Adani Enterprises' $4 billion Carmichael coal mine in Australia's north is one of five projects that have been shortlisted for potential government funding, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Friday. Adani's proposed Carmichael mine in Queensland state has faced years of delays amid opposition from environment groups who argue it will contribute to global warming and damage the Great Barrier Reef, leading some banks to rule out any role in funding. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 14 - Trump says he is considering quotas, tariffs on Chinese steel dumping

U.S. President Donald Trump said he is considering quotas and tariffs to deal with the "big problem" of steel dumping from China and others. "They're dumping steel and destroying our steel industry, they've been doing it for decades, and I'm stopping it. It'll stop," he told reporters on Air Force One during a flight from the United States to France. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 14 - Can Trump resurrect U.S. aluminium, and who killed it anyway? Home

Alcoa is bringing one of its U.S. aluminium smelters back from the dead. The Warrick smelter in Indiana has annual capacity of 269,000 tonnes, its own coal-based power source and is integrated with a rolling mill. None of which saved it from Alcoa's scramble down the cost curve in the face of falling prices, culminating in its permanent closure in January 2016. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 14 - Russia's Sberbank begins physical gold trading on Shanghai exchange

Russia's biggest bank Sberbank said on Thursday its Swiss subsidiary had begun trading physical gold on the Shanghai Gold Exchange. Sberbank was granted international membership of the Shanghai exchange in September last year and in July completed a pilot transaction with 200 kg of gold kilobars sold to local financial institutions, the bank said. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 14 - Workers at Chile's Zaldivar copper mine to resume labor talks

Workers at the Zaldivar copper mine in Chile, owned by Antofagasta Plc and Barrick Gold Corp, will resume talks with Antofagasta after voting to strike earlier this week, the union said on Thursday. Government-mediated talks will begin on Friday and last until July 20 before a strike can begin. In a message to its members, the union said it hoped the negotiations would result in a "fair agreement" for all parties. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 14 - no report available due to French National holiday, Bastille Day.

Jul 13 - China June iron ore imports rise as demand gained as prices climbed

China's iron ore imports rose 15 percent in June from a year ago as higher steel prices led to greater demand, according to Reuters calculations based on Chinese customs data released on Thursday. Imports of iron ore last month reached 94.43 million tonnes versus 81.63 million a year ago. The June figure was calculated based on the half-year figure of 539 million tonnes released by the General Administration of Customs. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 13 - Massive copper mine tests Trump's push to slash regulation

Rio Tinto's proposed Resolution Copper Mine in Arizona would tunnel 7,000 feet underground, where rocks radiate heat from the earth’s molten core. It would suck up enough water to supply a city and leave a crater a mile and a half wide and 1,000 feet deep. Planned for more than a decade, the project would be a prototype for a looming era of more invasive U.S. mines as companies run out of easy-to-reach deposits, geologists say. It is also the project President Donald Trump's Commerce Secretary, Wilbur Ross, had in mind as he began crafting a "hit list" of regulations that should be killed to speed industrial permitting. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 13 - LME favourite to clear for new base metals platform NFEx - sources

The London Metal Exchange is the favourite to clear trades for the new base metals platform NFEx as it would be the most efficient option for those wanting to use both venues, sources familiar with the matter said. The new exchange, which will offer trading in base metals such as copper and aluminium, is aiming to go live by the end of the first quarter of 2018 with contracts that mimic the LME's. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 13 - Rusal resumes Taishet aluminium project, sees deeper global deficit

Russia's Rusal has resumed construction of its long-stalled Taishet aluminium smelter project in Siberia in expectation of a widening global aluminium deficit, the company said on Wednesday. The world's second-largest aluminium producer behind China's Hongqiao needs a further $700 million to complete the project, having invested about $800 million in Taishet before it was halted because of falling aluminium prices. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 13 - Saudi Ma'aden to develop Mansourah, Massarah gold mine - sources

State-controlled mining firm Saudi Ma'aden plans to develop the Mansourah, Massarah gold mine, industry sources told Reuters. Ma'aden operates six gold mines in the Central Arabian Gold Region, western Saudi Arabia which contains much of the Kingdom's gold rich ore deposits. It has recently started operating the Ad Duwayhi gold mine. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 13 - Chile's Collahuasi copper mine cuts 115 jobs

Chilean copper mine Collahuasi, a joint venture of Anglo American and Glencore, said on Wednesday it will cut 115 jobs, including executives, as part of a plan to boost efficiency amid low prices for the metal. Collahuasi, one of the world's largest copper mines, said in a statement that its staff had been structured when the mine was planning an expansion that never came about, necessitating the cutbacks. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 12 - London Metal Exchange copper stocks become noise not signal: Home

Stocks of copper registered with the London Metal Exchange (LME) jumped by a net 72,625 tonnes, or 30 percent, in the space of just four days starting June 29. That was courtesy of whoever warranted 86,950 tonnes of metal in LME sheds. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 12 - Australia to pay China's Shenhua $200 mln to buy back mining licence

Australia's New South Wales state said on Wednesday it would buy back half of a coal exploration licence from China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd, bowing to pressure from farmers and environmentalists opposed to mining on prime agricultural land. The government of Australia's most populous state said it had agreed to pay A$262 million ($200 million) to buy back 51.4 percent of Shenhua's exploration licence on the Liverpool Plains 400 kms (250 miles) northwest of Sydney. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 12 - Tata Steel sells UK pipe mills to Liberty House - Reuters News

India's Tata Steel said on Tuesday it had agreed to sell its pipe mills in the north of England to UK-based metals and industrial group Liberty House for an undisclosed sum. The mills in Hartlepool employ 140 people and have a production capacity of over 250,000 tonnes a year. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 12 - India's June gold imports spike as buyers tried to beat higher sales tax

India's gold imports in June more than tripled from a year ago as retail demand jumped ahead of the start of a new sales tax that prompted jewellers and bullion dealers to replenish stocks, provisional data from consultancy GFMS showed. June gold imports climbed to an estimated 75 tonnes from 22.7 tonnes a year ago, GFMS said. For the first half of the year, imports rose to 514 tonnes, up 161 percent from a year ago. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 12 - Argentina court orders suspension of Glencore's Alumbrera mine

A federal court in Argentina has ordered the suspension of activities at Glencore Plc's Alumbrera gold and copper mine as part of a pollution complaint, according to court documents seen by Reuters on Tuesday. The mine, in the northwestern province of Catamarca, had been scheduled to shut down next year. Glencore owns 50 percent of the unit, Goldcorp Inc 37.5 percent, and Yamana Gold Inc 12.5 percent. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 12 - Polyus to buy further 25 pct of Sukhoi Log gold deposit

Russia's largest gold producer Polyus is buying an additional 25.1 percent in Sukhoi Log, one of the world's largest untapped gold deposits, in an all-share deal worth $145.9 million, the company said on Tuesday. Polyus will pay state-owned Russian conglomerate Rostec in five tranches of its shares within the next five years. The first is expected to be in the form of existing Polyus treasury shares worth about $21.9 million within 30 business days from July 11, it said. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 12 - Alcoa to partially restart Warrick smelter in Indiana

Aluminum producer Alcoa Corp said on Tuesday it would partially restart its Warrick smelter in Indiana, more than a year after closing the then largest operating smelter in the United States. Alcoa expects the aluminum smelting capacity from the restart to supply its rolling mill at Warrick ahead of an expected increase in production, said Tim Reyes, the president of Alcoa's aluminum business. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 12 - Russia's Severstal Q2 steel output down 1 pct q/q

Russia's fourth-largest steel producer Severstal on Wednesday reported a 1 percent fall in its second-quarter crude steel production to 2.83 million tonnes from the previous quarter due to planned maintenance works at its Russian mill. Severstal, controlled by Russian billionaire Alexei Mordashov, also said in a statement that its second-quarter steel product sales grew 9 percent from the first quarter to 2.75 million tonnes as it sold off stocks of high value-added products accumulated in previous quarters. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 11 - LME launches bid for slice of $5 trillion London gold market

More than two tonnes of gold were traded through the London Metal Exchange's new LMEprecious spot contract by late afternoon on its first day as the exchange began its bid to take a slice of the world's biggest over-the-counter (OTC) gold market. The LMEprecious suite of gold and silver contracts was developed with a group of backers including banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, which then set up EOS Precious Metals to promote trade in the contracts and benefit from a 50:50 revenue-sharing deal with the LME. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 11 - Norway's Hydro in $3.2 bln deal for aluminium firm Sapa

Norwegian metals firm Norsk Hydro will take full ownership of aluminium products maker Sapa by buying a 50 percent stake from conglomerate Orkla, the companies said on Monday. The transaction values Sapa, at 27 billion Norwegian crowns ($3.24 billion) on a debt-free basis. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 11 - Eurofer ups EU steel demand forecast, warns on "disastrous" U.S. tariff plan

European steel association Eurofer raised its 2017 EU steel demand forecast on Monday but said isolationist measures such as a U.S. plan to levy steel tariffs on national security grounds could be disastrous for global trade flows. Eurofer said apparent EU steel demand, which includes inventory changes, will rise 1.9 percent this year to 159 million tonnes. It previously forecast demand, seen as a gauge of regional economic health, would rise 1.3 percent in 2017. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 11 - Workers at Zaldivar copper mine in Chile approve strike

Workers at the Zaldivar copper mine in Chile, owned by Antofagasta and Barrick Gold Corp, voted to approve a strike on Monday after talks with the company failed, a union leader told Reuters. While the official balloting had not been completed, union officials said the vote count so far had made the outcome certain. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 11 - Tanzania's president signs new mining bills into law

Tanzanian President John Magufuli said on Monday he has signed into law new mining bills which require the government to own at least a 16 percent stake in mining projects. The laws, which also increase royalties tax on gold and other minerals, were passed by parliament last week despite opposition from the mining industry body. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 11 - Canada wildfires disrupt industry, force 14,000 from homes

Rapidly spreading wildfires in Western Canada's British Columbia on Monday disrupted timber and mining operations, damaged equipment at a regional electric utility and forced thousands from homes in the interior of the province. Authorities said at least 10 of more than 200 fires burning across the province were close to residential communities. Some 38,000 hectares (93,900 acres) had been ravaged as of midday on Monday. No deaths or serious injuries have been reported, but some 14,000 people have been forced from their homes. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 11 - China's Jiangsu Shagang to be largest shareholder of Dongbei Special Steel

China's Jiangsu Shagang Co Ltd said on Monday it is expected to be the biggest shareholder of debt-strapped Dongbei Special Steel Group after a bankruptcy restructuring process. Owned by the Liaoning provincial government in the country's "rustbelt" northeast, Dongbei entered into the bankruptcy restructuring process in October aimed at recovering a reported $10 billion in debt, and said it faces "uncertainties" about paying interest on medium-term notes in April. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 11 - China's Shandong Iron & Steel Group shuts production lines of subsidiary

China's state-owned Shandong Iron & Steel Group Co Ltd has shut all production lines of its subsidiary Jigang Group Co Ltd, as one of China's largest steelmakers completes a year-long production upgrade, state-owned media Xinhua reported on Monday. Of the 5.7 million tonnes steel capacity at Jigang, around 4 million tonnes will be transferred to a new site at its Rizhao Quality Steel Products Base on the east coast, said two people, who are familiar with the move. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 10 - Merkel expects debate on steel overcapacity to remain tough

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said it was important to stick to aggressive deadlines for addressing overcapacities in the global steel market, or the United States could resort to unilateral action by imposing fines or tariffs. Merkel said leaders from the world's 20 leading economies set an August deadline for an OECD-led global forum to compile information about the problem, with a comprehensive report on potential solutions to be presented by November. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 10 - Funds return to zinc as LME stocks plunge: Andy Home

The zinc funds-fundamentals pendulum has swung again. Back in May funds were beating a collective retreat from the London zinc market after a second failed attempt at the big-number $3,000-per tonne resistance level. The London Metal Exchange (LME) three-month price troughed at $2,427.50 on June 7, since when it has bounced back to a current $2,783.00. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 10 - China to carry out steel inspections as cracks down on low-grade metal

China will carry out inspections on the quality of construction steel and machinery steel from July to September as it pushes to crack down on production of low-grade steel. The move comes after the world's top metals consumer said at the start of the year that it aimed to eliminate output of highly-polluting low-end steel products made in small low-tech furnaces by the end of June. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 10 - Norway's Hydro in $3.2 bln deal for aluminium firm Sapa

Norwegian metals firm Norsk Hydro has agreed to take full ownership of aluminium products maker Sapa by buying a 50 percent stake from conglomerate Orkla, the companies said on Monday. The transaction values Sapa at 27 billion Norwegian crowns ($3.24 billion) on a debt-free basis. Hydro predicted it would see annual synergies of 200 million crowns, and that the deal would immediately be accretive to earnings and secure strong cash generation. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 10 - Options traders bet on U.S. steel stocks ahead of tariffs decision

Traders in the options market are betting that shares of U.S. steel makers will get a boost when the U.S. Commerce Department unveils findings from its investigation into cheap steel imports, according to data and analysts on Friday. The investigation was ordered by President Donald Trump in April under the rarely used section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and could clear the way for restrictions on steel imports. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 10 - India in talks with Canada's Teck Resources to buy coking coal - sources

India is in talks with Canada's Teck Resources Ltd , the largest North American producer of coking coal used to make steel, for long-term purchase agreements after a cyclonic disruption in Australia cut supplies earlier this year. India has joined top buyers China and Japan to scour new markets after a powerful cyclone hit Australia that knocked out rail lines carrying coking coal to ports for export, causing a surge in prices. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 10 - Speculators slash bullish bets on COMEX gold, silver - CFTC

Hedge funds and money managers in the week to July 3 reduced their net long positions in COMEX gold and silver for the fourth straight week, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)data showed on Friday. The speculators raised their net long position in copper futures and options, the data showed. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 10 - Cuba sees 2017 nickel, cobalt sulfides output at 54,500 tonnes

Cuba plans to produce 54,500 tonnes of nickel and cobalt sulfides this year, state-run television said at the weekend. Nickel is one of the cash-strapped Communist-run country’s most important exports, but revenue from it has suffered in recent years due to a decline in production and prices. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 07 - Glencore makes large cobalt deal, securing EV battery supplies for VW

Mining giant Glencore has signed a major deal to sell up to 20,000 tonnes of cobalt products to a Chinese firm, a move that in turn helps Volkswagen secure car batteries for its shift to electric vehicles, four sources said. The four-year agreement between Glencore and Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL), struck last October, comes as global carmakers race to lock in battery supplies and move away from traditional combustion engines. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 07 - No immediate respite for historically low LME tin stocks

A large price premium for the cash tin contract over the three-month forward on the London Metal Exchange should theoretically attract large amounts of metal to LME approved warehouses. But that isn't happening this time. Asia-based traders are holding back from delivering to LME warehouses because they expect the premium to rise further, tin industry sources said. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 07 - Tax hike could dampen Indian gold demand in short term - WGC

An increase in taxes on gold sales in India could curb short-term demand from the world's No. 2 consumer of the metal, the World Gold Council (WGC) said. Faltering appetite in a country where gold is used in everything from investment to wedding gifts could further drag global prices, already trading near their lowest level in eight weeks. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 07 - Australia cuts resources export revenue forecast on iron ore outlook

Australia has revised down the value of its resources and energy export earnings in the year to end-June 2017 by 4.6 percent, or nearly A$10 billion ($7.6 billion), due largely to falling prices for iron ore, its most valuable export. The downward revision to A$205 billion mainly reflects an earlier than expected decline in iron ore prices since the previous forecasts were published three months ago, the Department of Industry, Science and Innovation said. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 07 - Iron ore exports to China from Australia's Port Hedland edge down in June

Iron ore shipments to China from Australia's Port Hedland terminal dropped to 36.6 million tonnes in June from 38 million tonnes the month before, port data released on Friday showed. Overall iron ore shipments from the world's biggest export terminal for the steelmaking raw material dipped to 43.1 million tonnes from 44.08 million in May, according to the Pilbara Ports Authority. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 07 - Philippine minister lifts restriction on environmental permits

The Philippines' new environment minister has lifted a restriction on issuing environmental permits to projects, including mine exploration and development, reversing a previous order by his controversial predecessor dismissed in May. Roy Cimatu said on Thursday that the power of issuing such permits is no longer limited to the environment minister, giving back the authority to officials of the Environmental Management Bureau, an agency under him. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 07 - Guatemala court confirms suspension of Tahoe mining licenses

Guatemala's Supreme Court on Thursday confirmed a preliminary decision to suspend two mining licenses belonging to the local unit of Canadian miner Tahoe Resources Inc, citing violation of indigenous people's rights to be consulted. The decision affects the Escobal mine, Tahoe's flagship mine and one of the world's largest silver mines, as well as the company's smaller Juan Bosco unit. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 06 - G20 to discuss steel overcapacity as tensions simmer over U.S. tariff plan

G20 leaders will discuss steel overcapacity at this week's summit in Germany, European officials said, as tensions rise over U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to use a Cold War-era law to restrict steel imports for national security reasons. Trump launched an investigation into the matter in April, in a move that diplomats and trade experts say risks undermining the global rules-based trading system and sparking retaliatory action around the world in products beyond steel. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 06 - Malaysia's bauxite exports rise despite mining ban

A year and a half after banning bauxite mining to force miners to meet environmental standards, Malaysia's exports to main customer China are again growing, raising public anger over illegal mining. Residents and politicians in the east coast bauxite mining region are calling for a total export ban of the aluminium raw material, but industry figures and analysts say shipments are likely to continue. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 06 - Psst...wanna buy some cobalt? Just don't tell the auto guys ! : Andy Home

Wanna buy into one of the hottest commodities in town? No, it's not lithium. That's so much last year's thing. We're talking about cobalt. And this one's really hot. On the London Metal Exchange (LME) the price for three-month cobalt has leapt from $32,750 per tonne at the start of January to a current $58,500. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 06 - Getting scrappy: China iron ore demand may falter as steel recycling grows

China's supply of steel scrap is surging as aged buildings, bridges and cars produced over decades of rapid economic growth are knocked down, dismantled or crushed. That should push Chinese steelmakers to use more of the material in coming years, potentially sapping demand for steel ingredient iron ore from the world's biggest metals consumer. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 06 - Britain's GFG Alliance says signed binding agreement to buy Australia's Arrium

British consortium GFG Alliance said on Wednesday it had signed a binding agreement to acquire deeply indebted Australian steel company Arrium Ltd, trumping a South Korean group backed by steel giant Posco. The British group plans to modernise the ageing steelworks, together with Arrium's mining and steel distribution businesses, after it collapsed last year following a downturn in steel and iron ore markets. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 06 - Congo to punish mining firms that fail to repatriate revenue

Democratic Republic of Congo plans to impose harsher punishments on mining companies that fail to repatriate at least 40 percent of their revenue from mineral exports, central bank governor Deogratias Mutombo said on Wednesday. Mutombo told reporters at a news conference that the bank would start inspecting companies' bank accounts abroad as part of the new push and would also seek to verify their ore output to eliminate fraud. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 06 - Private equity firm considers sale of Germany’s Oetinger Aluminium

A sale of German aluminium producer Oetinger Aluminium is being considered by its owner, the private equity investor Special Situations Venture Partners III, Oetinger's chief executive said on Wednesday. Oetinger produces about 180,000 tonnes of recycled aluminium casting alloy annually, comprising around 70 percent liquid metal and 30 percent blocks, the company says. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 05 - China's GSR eyes substantial stake in $9 bln Chilean lithium miner SQM - sources

Chinese private equity firm GSR Capital is looking to buy a substantial holding in Chile's Sociedad Quimica Y Minera (SQM), one of the world's biggest lithium producers, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter. GSR could buy a stake of around 20 percent - worth just under $1.9 billion at current market values, one of the sources said, but added there was no firm agreement. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 05 - Thyssenkrupp optimistic over Tata's UK pension deal but merger risks remain

Germany's Thyssenkrupp is optimistic about progress made by Tata Steel to restructure its UK pensions liabilities, investors and analysts say, but there are still issues to overcome before the two can merge their European steel assets. India-based Tata said in May it had agreed the main terms of a deal with the British regulator to cut benefits for its 15 billion pound ($19.40 billion) UK pension scheme - formerly the main stumbling block in merger talks between the two firms. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 05 - As Indonesian nickel ore flows again to China, famine turns to feast: Andy Home

The flow of Indonesian nickel ore to China has resumed after a three-and-a-half year break. There have been a few false alarms since the Indonesian government banned all exports of unprocessed minerals, including nickel, at the start of 2014. China's trade figures have shown the occasional import of what has been classified as nickel ore but which was in all probability iron ore with high nickel content. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 05 - Tanzania turns up heat on overseas miners with state stake law

Tanzania put more pressure on foreign mining companies on Tuesday by amending mining and tax laws to make it mandatory for the state to own at least 16 percent of mining projects, while also raising export royalties. Parliament passed the bill unanimously, the state-run Tanzania Information Services said. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 05 - Ex-Glencore traders aim to cut out middlemen with online concentrate platform

A group of former traders from commodity house Glencore are set to launch an online platform on Wednesday that allows mining companies and smelters to cut out the middlemen and save cash on deals for concentrates. Open Mineral already has commitments from several major parties to use the online marketplace and plans to start actual trades once it gains a critical mass of members, probably in August or September, said Chief Executive Boris Eykher. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 05 - China's top steel province to cut capacity to make way for new one

China's Hebei province will slash 11.48 million tonnes in outdated steelmaking capacity to accommodate the expansion of a new plant, part of efforts by the country's top steel-producing region to rein in surplus production. China, the world's biggest steel producer, has been shutting outdated steel plants but also keeping any expansion under control to help tackle a years-long glut. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 05 - Chile miner Antofagasta faces strike threats at two copper mines

Chilean mining company Antofagasta Minerals, one of the biggest global copper producers, on Tuesday was facing potential strikes from workers at its Zaldivar mine and by supervisors at Centinela as contract talks continue. Zaldivar workers will vote on whether or not to strike by the end of the week, legal advisor Marcos Lopez, who was also employed by a union at BHP Billiton's Escondida mine during a historic 43-day strike earlier in the year, said. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 05 - At least 14 gold miners missing in collapsed Ghana pit

At least 14 people were missing and feared dead after an illegal gold mine in western Ghana in which they were working collapsed, police said on Tuesday. Five people escaped unhurt from the pit in the old mining town of Prestea, some 200 kilometres (125 miles) west of the capital, Accra. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 04 - Black gold: India tax hike could boost illegal bullion, jewellery sales

A hike in taxes on gold sales in India could stoke under-the-counter buying and drive up appetite for precious metal smuggled into the country, where millions of people store big chunks of their wealth in bullion and jewellery. As part of a new nationwide sales tax regime that kicked in on July 1, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on gold has jumped to 3 percent from 1.2 percent previously, with traders and buyers saying the move will likely force more transactions into the black market. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 04 - China cuts 120 mln tonnes of low-grade steel capacity in H1 - report

China closed more than 600 steel mills producing low-grade construction steel during the first half of the year, cutting capacity by about 120 million tonnes, the state-owned China Economic Daily reported on Tuesday. China, the world's largest steel producer, has been clamping down on production of low-grade rebar in a bid to cut excess supply and help tackle pollution. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 04 - Vale says loss-making New Caledonia nickel operations under review

Brazil's Vale is reassessing its loss-making New Caledonian nickel operations as part of a wider review of low performing assets after new Chief Executive Fabio Schvartsman took charge last month, a spokesman said. "Under the leadership of our new CEO, Vale is reviewing all assets and operations, with low-performing assets an area of particular focus. Vale New Caledonia is part of that review," spokesman Cory McPhee told Reuters by email. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 04 - Workers reject junior partner role for Thyssenkrupp in Tata JV

Thyssenkrupp workers oppose the idea that the German industrial group could be the junior partner in a possible steel joint venture with India's Tata Steel, group works council chief Wilhelm Segerath told Reuters on Monday. Thyssenkrupp and Tata have been in discussions since last year to combine their European operations in a joint venture to remove overcapacity from the market and cut costs, and had so far said to be planning a 50-50 venture. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 04 - Tanzania passes laws on renegotiation of mining, gas contracts

Tanzania's parliament passed two laws on Monday allowing the government to force mining and energy companies to renegotiate their contracts, despite pleas from the mining association for more time. Businesses have complained that they feel President John Magufuli is unfairly squeezing them through a strict interpretation of tax laws, increased fines and demands they rapidly list on the local stock markets. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 04 - Militia violence shutters Banro gold mine in east Congo

Fighting between the Congolese army and a local militia in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has forced Banro Corp's Namoya gold mine to suspend all operations and temporarily evacuate its staff, the company said on Monday. Twenty-three trucks belonging to a contractor of the mine were caught in cross-fire between soldiers and a local self-defence militia - identified by the army as Mai-Mai Yakutumba - near the town of Lulimba, Banro said in a statement. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 04 - Egypt awards gold mining tender to four companies

Four companies, including two foreign ones, have won Egypt's gold mining exploration tender for five concessions in the Eastern Desert and the Sinai Peninsula, Petroleum Minister Tarek El Molla said on Monday. Britain's Veritas Mining Limited, Ghassan Spain Investment, and Egypt's East Gas Company won a concession each while Resolute Egypt won two, El Molla said in a statement. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 04 - Ukraine's steel output falls 17.2 pct so far in 2017

Ukraine's steel production in the six months to end-June fell 17.2 percent year on year to 10.3 million tonnes, local news agency Uaprom said on Monday. Steel production rose 5.5 percent in 2016 to 24.2 million tonnes as the industry picked up after a sharp drop the previous year because of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, where most of the country's steel production is based. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 03 - WTO hears widespread criticism of U.S. steel tariff plan

U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to restrict imports of steel and aluminium for national security reasons came under fire at the World Trade Organization on Friday, with China, the European Union, Brazil, Australia, Taiwan and Russia raising concerns. Trump's recourse to a Cold War-era trade law would allow him to restrict imports of goods deemed critical to national defence. But invoking national defence is all but taboo at the WTO, the arbiter of international trade rules since 1995, because some trade experts think it could make it easy for countries to escape their international trade obligations. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 03 - Thyssenkrupp wants less than 50 pct of Tata steel JV - Handelsblatt

German industrial group Thyssenkrupp aims to hold less than half of a steel joint venture it wants to set up with Tata Steel so it can deconsolidate the business from its balance sheet, Handelsblatt reported, citing a company source. Thyssenkrupp and Tata have been in discussions since last year to combine their European operations in a joint venture to remove overcapacity from the market and cut costs, and had so far said to be planning a 50-50 venture. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 03 - Copper bulls load up on longs, but China PMIs are unconvincing: Russell

Copper reached a three-month high after a surprise rise in China's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), and while the boost was short-lived it does beg the question as to whether better times are ahead for the industrial metal. Benchmark London copper futures touched $5,965 a tonne on June 30 after the official Chinese PMI rose to 51.7 in June, it's eleventh consecutive month on the positive side of the 50-level that marks expansion from contraction in the world's biggest manufacturing sector. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 03 - South Africa's Sibanye says production resumes at strike-hit Cooke mine

Production has resumed at the Cooke mine of South African precious metals producer SibanyeGold following the conclusion of a wildcat strike at the operation which erupted almost a month ago, a company spokeswoman said on Monday. The strike, which saw incidents of violence aimed at miners who did not support it, was sparked by worker resentment at Sibanye's drive to root out illegal miners, which included the sacking of employees for collusion and a ban on taking food into the shafts. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 03 - Speculators again cut bullish bets on COMEX gold, silver

Hedge funds and money managers reduced their net long positions in COMEX gold and silver for the third straight week in the week to June 27, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Friday. The speculators raised their net long position in copper futures and options, the data showed. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 03 - Russia's Polyus returns to London, UK investors take half of share offer

Russia's largest gold producer, Polyus sold $879 million worth of shares in Moscow and London, it said on Friday, a sale that analysts said showed a high level of western investor appetite for Russian assets. Polyus, controlled by the family of Russian tycoon Suleiman Kerimov, delisted from the London Stock Exchange in 2015 after Western sanctions over Moscow's role in the Ukraine crisis began to bite for Russian companies. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 03 - Miner Crystallex wins court order against Nomura over Venezuela deal

Canadian miner Crystallex, seeking to recoup financial damages from an expropriation by Venezuela, won U.S. court approval on Friday to bar Japanese bank Nomura from transferring securities owned by the OPEC nation. The court decision follows a Reuters report that Venezuela is seeking to sell some $710 million in fixed-income securities back to Nomura, which originally issued them in 2008, to raise cash amid an economic crisis. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 03 - Tanzania to pass laws to renegotiate minerals contracts

Tanzania's parliament should pass legislation that would allow it to force mining and energy companies to renegotiate their contracts, the justice minister said on Friday. "Yes, we expect parliament to pass the three bills next week," Tanzania's Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister, Palamagamba Kabudi, told Reuters. Click here to read full stories.

Jul 03 - Mandalay invokes force majeure at Chile's Cerro Bayo mine

Canadian miner Mandalay Resources Corp said on Friday it has started issuing notices to suspend its obligations to customers, suppliers and contractors of Cerro Bayo Mine Complex in Chile after a section of the mine was flooded on June 9. The company said its unit Minera Cerro Bayo has invoked force majeure and was reviewing alternatives for the future of mining at Cerro Bayo. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 30 - Trump to demand G20 action on steel; closely-watched report delayed

U.S. President Donald Trump will use the premise of a national security review of the U.S. steel industry to demand action by the Group of 20 leaders to reduce excess capacity and other distortions in the global steel market, White House economic adviser Gary Cohn said on Thursday. The Trump administration expects to delay the release of the hotly anticipated study until after Trump has spoken with G20 leaders at the summit in Germany next week, another administration official said on Thursday, requesting anonymity. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 30 - Chile's Escondida mine copper production fell 63 pct in 1st-qtr 2017

Copper production at Chile's Escondida copper mine, the world's largest, fell 63 percent in the first quarter of 2017 from a year earlier amid a prolonged strike, a statement from the mine said on Thursday. Escondida is -controlled by BHP Billiton with minority interests held by Rio Tinto and Japanese companies including Mitsubishi Corp. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 30 - China to check low-grade steel crackdown after deadline ends

China will send inspection teams in August to check the results of a move to eliminate low-grade steel products in an effort to maintain the policy and prevent mills from reopening, according to a report in the state-backed China Metallurgical News. China in January said it aimed to eliminate the production of highly-polluting low-end steel products made in small low-tech furnaces by the end of June. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 30 - Russia's Polyus says prices its SPO at lower end of range

Polyus, Russia's largest gold producer,on Friday priced its share placement in Moscow and London at $66.50 per share, at the lower end of the previously announced range. Polyus, controlled by the family of Russian tycoon Suleiman Kerimov, delisted from the London Stock Exchange in 2015 after Western sanctions over Moscow's role in the Ukraine crisis began to bite for Russian companies. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 30 - Indian Railways safety overhaul at risk due to rail shortage - documents

A planned $15 billion safety overhaul of India's ageing rail network is facing delays as the country's state steel company is unable to meet demand for new rails, according to two government documents seen by Reuters. State-owned Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) has promised to meet only around 78 percent of demand in the year to end-March 2018, prompting Indian Railways to escalate the problem to the office of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, communications between the railways and the steel ministry show. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 30 - Court gives BHP, Vale until Oct 30 to settle $47 bln Samarco claim-BHP

BHP Billiton and Vale have won a four-month extension from a Brazilian court to negotiate a settlement to a $47 billion claim stemming from the Samarco mine disaster in 2015, BHP said on Friday. The 50-50 partners in the Samarco iron ore mine were served the 155 billion Brazilian real ($47 billion) claim by Brazilian federal prosecutors in May last year to pay for the social, environmental and economic costs of cleaning up Brazil's worst environmental disaster on record. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 30 - Tanzania laws would allow govt to tear up mining, energy deals

The Tanzanian government submitted three bills to parliament on Thursday that would allow it to force mining and energy companies to renegotiate their contracts, the latest in a string of moves that have alarmed foreign investors. It was not immediately clear how the proposed renegotiation of contracts would affect a planned $30 billion gas project, or the troubled mining sector, which generates about 3.5 percent of Tanzania's gross domestic product. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 30 - Canada's Gabriel Resources to seek $4.4 bln in damages from Romania

Gabriel Resources Ltd will seek $4.4 billion in damages from Romania for losses related to its long-stalled Rosia Montana gold mine project in a claim that the Canadian miner plans to file Friday with a World Bank Tribunal. Gabriel, whose project has been in the works for 18 years, will argue that Romania violated several investment treaty provisions in its claim to the bank's International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 30 - Australia's South32 suspends operations at Appin colliery

Australian miner South32 Ltd said on Friday it has suspended operations at its Appin coal mine on the order of a government regulator due to concerns over high gas levels in the mine. It is the third suspension at the mine since last October over gas concerns, and the regulator said the colliery would remain closed until it was satisfied that it was safe. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 30 - Nornickel bets on battery materials as electric car sales rise

Russian miner Norilsk Nickel wants to expand in the market for materials used to make batteries for the fast-growing electric vehicle (EV) sector, its head of marketing and sales told Reuters. Nornickel, the world's second-largest nickel producer and a major cobalt producer, and German chemicals company BASF said on Tuesday they were in talks to supply nickel and cobalt,needed to make lithium-ion batteries, in Europe, as the car industry's push into electric vehicles gathers pace. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 30 - Malaysia extends bauxite mining moratorium for six months

Malaysia has extended its bauxite mining moratorium for another six months until the end of the year to clear existing stockpiles of the aluminium-making commodity. Natural Resources and Environment Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said in an emailed statement on Thursday the moratorium aims to restrict illegal mining activity on private land and companies that ignore mining guidelines, resulting in environmental pollution. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 30 - ANZ says seeking to uncover metals fraudsters after big losses

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group is seeking to uncover who was behind a metals fraud in Asia that cost it "substantial losses" and led to transfers of $151 million to the United States, according to court papers filed in California. ANZ, Australia's third-biggest lender, filed papers on June 6 asking the U.S. District Court in San Francisco to allow it to interview U.S. witnesses about a fraud that involved fake ownership documents for nickel stored in Asian warehouses owned by commodities group Glencore. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 29 - As iron ore price climbs, buyers rush for cargoes

Traders and Chinese steel producers dashed to buy iron ore cargoes this week as prices bounced back from the biggest rout in a year, although some market participants doubted the futures-driven rally can last. Combined daily volumes on the main physical iron ore trading platforms in China and Singapore topped 1 million tonnes on Wednesday, the highest level this year, traders said, as the price of the steelmaking raw material scaled a five-week peak above $60 a tonne. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 29 - Rio Tinto shareholders okay $2.69 bln coal assets sale to China-backed Yancoal

Rio Tinto shareholders approved the sale of a suite of Australian coal assets to China-backed Yancoal Australia for $2.69 billion, ending a bidding war with commodities trader Glencore. The sale was approved by 97 percent of shareholders of Rio Tinto's UK and Australian-listed shares, Rio Tinto said on Thursday in a statement to the Australian stock exchange. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 29 - Chile's miners eye expansion, but wait until political uncertainty lifts

Mining companies operating in Chile are examining restarting projects that were put on hold in recent years due to a copper price slump, the mining minister and industry executives said, though final investment decisions will wait until political uncertainty lifts after the November presidential elections. The price of copper, by far Chile's most important export, started to slowly recover in October, after years of weak demand for the red metal. So far in 2017, prices have risen 7 percent, and analysts expect further increases as the copper market moves toward a deficit. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 29 - AngloGold considers 8,500 job cuts in S.Africa revamp

AngloGold Ashanti is considering laying off 8,500 workers, some 30 percent of its workforce, Africa's biggest gold miner said on Wednesday, as it looks to restructure its South African mines. "It is critical that we act to protect the long-term sustainability of this business and the majority of our workforce," Chief Executive Officer Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan, said in a statement. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 29 - Philippines open-pit mining ban has "no legal basis" - govt official

A ban on open-pit mining in the Philippines enforced by former environment minister Regina Lopez has "no legal basis" and is under review, a senior government official said, the first sign that drastic measures she had ordered could be challenged. "In the Philippines ... surface mining or 'open-pit' is technically and financially feasible," Larry Heradez, head of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau's legal division, told reporters on Thursday. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 29 - Vale's cash generation dependent on ore price, CEO says

The high correlation between iron ore price trends and cash generation at Vale SA shows the dependence that the world's No. 1 producer of the mineral has on that segment, a presentation to investors showed on Tuesday. Slides of the presentation by Chief Executive Officer Fabio Schvartsman at a Citigroup Inc event in São Paulo also pointed to the importance of ferrous minerals in Vale's assets despite efforts to diversify. Underperforming operations at Vale will have to be reassessed, Schvartsman said in the presentation. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 29 - Ghana signs $10 bln MOU with China for bauxite project - Senior Minister

Ghana has signed a $10 billion memorandum of understanding (MOU) with China to develop its bauxite industry, the country's Senior Minister Yaw Osafo-Maafo said on Wednesday. Growth in the West African country slowed sharply in 2014 due to a fiscal crisis and tumbling commodity prices following years of economic expansion at around 8 percent on the back of gold, cocoa and oil exports. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 29 - China CITIC Bank to provide Hongqiao Group with $2.9 bln credit line

China CITIC Bank said on Wednesday it has agreed to provide a 20 billion yuan ($2.9 billion) credit line to China's and the world's largest aluminium producer, Hongqiao Group, for the next two years. CITIC Bank, in a statement to journalists, said in addition to the "comprehensive" credit line, Hongqiao would integrate a range of CITIC's other services including cash management, supply chain finance, investment banking, and international trade. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 28 - U.S. considering 'broad-scale' measures on steel dumping -Ross

The United States might have no choice but to resort to "broad-scale" measures to fight steel dumping should its partners fail to help find a common solution to the problem, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Tuesday. Ross, speaking via live stream to an economic event in Berlin attended by Chancellor Angela Merkel, said that even countries that were not direct sources of dumping could face difficulties under these circumstances. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 28 - Brazil's Vale shareholders approve corporate reorganization

Shareholders of Brazil's Vale SA approved a share conversion plan on Tuesday in a move that should boost transparency, give equal votes to all shares and limit government meddling in the world's No. 1 iron ore producer. In a securities filing, Vale said shareholders approved all seven items on the corporate reorganization agenda, which is a first step towards giving the company dispersed share ownership - where no shareholder controls decision making at the firm. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 28 - Platinum to see 3rd straight market surplus in 2017 - CPM Group

The platinum market is headed for its third straight global surplus in 2017 as changing consumer trends have dented demand in some segments and total supplies hold steady, CPM Group said on Tuesday. "Platinum fabrication demand has been hard pressed to rise in a robust fashion in recent years as changing trends in the auto and jewelry sector pose headwinds to demand growth," New York-based CPM Group said in its Platinum Group Metals Yearbook 2017. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 28 - Russia's Nornickel in talks to supply materials for BASF's battery plans

Russia's mining giant Norilsk Nickel (Nornickel) is in talks with German chemicals firm BASF to supply raw materials needed in the process for making lithium-ion batteries in Europe in the future, they said on Tuesday. The talks between BASF and Nornickel, the world's second largest nickel producer and a major cobalt producer, highlight the burgeoning market for metals needed for lithium-ion batteries production as the car industry's push towards electric vehicles gathers pace. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 28 - Russia's Evraz hit by cyber attack, output unaffected

Russian steelmaker Evraz said on Tuesday its information systems had been hit by a cyber attack but its output was not affected. "Our main production sites are continuing work, there is not a threat to the safety of the companies or employees," an Evraz spokeswoman said. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 28 - Ivory Coast's Shiloh Manganese aims for annual output of 120,000 tonnes

Ivory Coast's Shiloh Manganese, a subsidiary of India's Shiloh Industries, aims to produce 120,000 tonnes of manganese a year at its new mining operation, boosting national output to at least 350,000 tonnes, a top company official told Reuters on Tuesday. Ivory Coast is the world's top cocoa grower and is trying to develop its long-neglected mining sector as part of a bid to diversify the economy as it recovers from a decade-long political crisis. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 28 - Mandalay Resources says search for two missing miners in Chile fails

Canada's Mandalay Resources Corp said efforts to locate two of its trapped miners in a flooded silver and gold mine in Chile were unsuccessful. The Chilean Office of Exception State has ruled out the possibility of finding the two miners, Jorge Sanchez and Enrique Ojeda, alive, Mandalay Resources said on Tuesday. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 27 - Rio picks China-backed Yancoal over Glencore for coal sale

Rio Tinto on Monday confirmed Yancoal Australia as the preferred buyer for its Australian Coal & Allied unit after the China-backed company added an eleventh-hour sweetener to top a rival bid from Glencore. Rio's mines in Australia's Hunter Valley region are attractive to both Glencore and China because the quality of their coal means it is likely to continue to be burnt even as concerns about emissions deter generators from using poorer quality coal, which is the most polluting of all. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 27 - Philippines minister may decide on mining closure orders next month

The new Philippines environment minister said on Tuesday he may decide next month on the fate of dozens of mining operations and contracts that his predecessor ordered closed, suspended or cancelled to protect watersheds and other natural resources. Roy Cimatu said he plans to visit mines in the world's top nickel ore supplier to see if they are operating responsibly as he takes a slow approach towards a sector that was the target of a 10-month crackdown led by the previous minister, Regina Lopez. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 27 - Arconic ends sales of panels used at Grenfell Tower for high-rises

Arconic Inc said on Monday it will stop global sales of plastic-filled aluminum cladding panels for use in high-rise buildings after a fire in London's Grenfell Tower, which used those Arconic panels, killed at least 79 people. Shares of the company, formerly a part of Alcoa, fell as much as 11.3 percent after Reuters reported on Saturday it had supplied the cladding knowing it would be used at Grenfell Tower, despite warning in its brochures those specific panels were a fire risk for tall buildings. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 27 - Japan's Q3 aluminium premium eases to $118-119/T - sources

Japanese aluminium buyers will pay up to 8 percent less in premiums in the July to September quarter after a fall in spot premiums, five sources directly involved in quarterly pricing talks said. The Japanese aluminium premium was set at $118 to $119 per tonne for metal to be shipped in the third quarter, down 7 percent to 8 percent from $128 per tonne in the previous quarter, the sources said. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 27 - Australia backs lithium mine to spur battery push

The Australian government will invest in a lithium mine for the first time, as part of a wide-ranging effort to shore up power stability in a market increasingly dependent on variable wind and solar power. The government said on Tuesday it would invest about A$20 million ($15 million) into Pilbara Minerals Ltd's Pilgangoora project in Western Australia, which will produce lithium concentrate, a key component in electric vehicles and batteries. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 27 - China's May net gold imports via Hong Kong hits 4-mth low

Top consumer China's net gold imports via main conduit Hong Kong dropped 39.31 percent in May to the lowest in four months, data showed on Monday. Net gold imports fell to the lowest since January at 45.031 tonnes in May, down from 74.202 tonnes in April, according to data emailed to Reuters by the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 27 - South Africa's Sibanye Gold aims to restart Cooke mine this week

South African precious metals producer Sibanye Gold aims to resume production at its strike-hit Cooke Mine later this week, but first plans to conduct safety inspections in the shafts on Monday. A company spokesman also said the company needed to wrap up an appeals process for around 1,500 miners who face possible dismissal for taking part in a violent wildcat strike that started almost three weeks ago in protest against a company drive to root out illegal miners. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 27 - Book for Polyus share placement covered, bids closer to lower range: sources

The order book for a share placement by Polyus, Russia's largest gold producer, is fully subscribed, including a green shoe option which comes on top of the offering, three financial market sources told Reuters on Monday. The sources added that bids were being formed at the lower range of the share price guidance. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 27 - Canada's Mkango aims for rare earths production from 2020

Canada's Mkango Resources, one of a handful of rare earth miners outside China, aims to start production in Malawi in 2020 to catch an expected leap in demand for the metals that are used in electric vehicles and other new technologies. Demand for rare earths, which range from neodymium used in electric motors to lanthanum used to make batteries, is increasing with the emergence of new, greener technology. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 27 - Trustee starts sale of bankrupt Slovak steel mini-mill

A bankruptcy trustee has started an international tender to sell the assets of Slovakia Steel Mills mini-mill in eastern Slovakia, the trustee firm SSR said. The mill with annual capacity of 620,000 tonnes of steel billets and a rolling mill operation was opened in 2011 in the eastern town of Strazske, but fell into bankruptcy in 2015, and the operations have been mothballed. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 27 - South Africa's chamber of mines challenges new charter in court

South Africa's Chamber of Mines has applied to a high court for an interdict to prevent the implementation of a new charter that increases the minimum threshold for black ownership of mining companies, the industry body said on Monday. "The vast and systemic damage which the publication and threatened enforcement of the 2017 Charter has and continues to inflict ... requires, it is submitted, urgent redress," the chamber said in a statement. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 26 - Glencore in bidding war with China to buy Rio coal assets

Miner and trader Glencore on Friday hit back with an increased offer of $2.675 billion in cash to buy Australian coal assets from Rio Tinto that earlier this week said it was favouring a Chinese bid. On Tuesday, Rio Tinto said it had selected Yancoal to buy its Coal & Allied division in Australia for $2.45 billion. That was $100 million lower than a previous counter-bid from Glencore, but Rio said it believed Yancoal's offer could be completed more quickly because it had regulatory approvals. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 26 - China imports more iron ore from North Korea in May - customs

China raised its imports of iron ore from North Korea in May from a year earlier but bought no coal for a third month after Beijing halted coal shipments from its increasingly isolated neighbour, data showed on Friday. Iron ore arrivals hit 233,508 tonnes, compared with 217,897 tonnes last year. Imports were down 18.2 percent from April, when they hit their highest since August 2014. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 26 - South Africa's mines minister open to talks with companies on new charter

South Africa Mines Minister Mosebenzi Zwane said on Friday that he was open to talks with companies over a new industry charter, as he rebuked the mining firms for planning to take the new rules to court, saying they were "negotiating in bad faith." Unveiled last week, the revisions to the charter raised the threshold for black ownership in the mining industry to 30 percent from 26 percent and brought in other regulations the sector said it cannot afford. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 26 - Fight over Rio's mines means coal isn't dead; Adani woes show it's dying: Russell

Here's a question for the anti-coal lobby. If coal is dying, how come there is an increasingly heated bidding war going on for Rio Tinto's coal mines in Australia? Here's another question, this time for the pro-coal lobby. If coal still has a viable long-term future as an energy source, how come the world's biggest planned new mine is now hostage to whether the Australian government decides to loan it money? Click here to read full stories.

Jun 26 - Speculators slash bullish COMEX gold, silver wagers: CFTC

Hedge funds and money managers slashed their net long position in COMEX gold for the second straight week in the week to June 20, and cut it slightly in silver, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Friday. The speculator group cut their net long futures and options position by 49,679 contracts to 105,357 contracts in gold, the lowest level in nearly a month. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 26 - South Africa's Sibanye Gold says aims for Cooke mine restart later this week

South African precious metals producer Sibanye Gold said it aimed to resume production at its strike-hit Cooke Mine later this week after it had conducted safety inspections on Monday. A company spokesman also said the company needed to wrap up an appeals process for around 1,500 miners, who face possible dismissal for taking part in a violent wildcat strike that started almost three weeks ago at the operation. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 26 - Tanzania arrests 66 after unrest at Acacia's North Mara gold mine

Tanzanian security forces have arrested at least 66 people this week after hundreds of villagers invaded Acacia Mining Plc's North Mara gold mine following an escalating dispute in the east African country's mining sector. Officials said on Friday more than 500 residents of villages surrounding the mine in northwestern Tanzania invaded the mine on several days this week in an attempt to steal gold ore after a presidential committee accused London-listed Acacia of large-scale tax evasion, which the company denies. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 26 - Cobalt 27's aims to tap electric car revolution with $150 mln IPO

Minerals company Cobalt 27 Capital Corp made its debut on Canada's Venture Exchange on Friday, raising C$200 million ($150.7 million) in a listing that offers investors exposure to cobalt, a key metal for batteries in electric cars. Cobalt 27's initial public offering highlights the burgeoning market for cobalt as the car industry's push towards electric vehicles gathers pace. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 23 - London Metal Exchange to cut fees, see if volumes can be lured back -sources

The London Metal Exchange is expected to cut trading fees within months after two years of complaints but might only do so for a trial period of up to six months to see if volumes that moved to over-the-counter markets return to the exchange, sources said. A 31 percent average fee hike in January 2015 is cited by metal industry sources as a major reason behind tumbling LME volumes. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 23 - China pushes back as U.S. aluminum industry urges crackdown on imports

China pushed back on Thursday at charges by U.S. manufacturers and labor unions that it has flooded the market with cheap aluminum and put U.S. producers out of business, saying unilateral punitive trade measures should not be used to try to remedy a global glut of the metal. In a rare appearance at a U.S. government hearing by a Chinese official, Li Xie, director of China's export division at China's commerce ministry, called on the Trump administration to refrain from imposing curbs on Chinese aluminum imports. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 23 - Aluminium industry scrambles to align Trump's trade guns: Home

Aluminium industry executives will line up on Thursday to have their say on whether foreign imports into the United States pose a threat to the country's security.The Section 232 investigation was announced by the Department of Congress on April 27 and follows hot on the heels of a similar probe into U.S. steel imports, the results of which are pending. Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, to give its full title, was last used in 2001 against imports of iron ore with a "no action necessary" outcome. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 23 - Canada prime minister says steel exports not U.S. security threat

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday dismissed the idea that Canadian steel exports posed a national security threat to the United States and expressed confidence Canada would escape any punitive measures. The U.S. administration of President Donald Trump is probing whether foreign-made steel imports pose a risk. The investigation is almost complete, officials say. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 23 - Iron ore reverts to supply-driven market after 2016 aberration: Russell

Iron ore's demand-driven price surge last year is increasingly looking like an aberration as supply factors once again start to weaken the price outlook. When spot Asian iron ore prices jumped 81 percent in 2016, the surprise rally was chalked up to stronger Chinese imports and signs that a market that had been oversupplied for several years was back in balance. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 23 - Thyssenkrupp signals steel merger decision by end Sept - works council

Germany's Thyssenkrupp wants to decide by the end of September whether to pursue a European steel merger with India's Tata Steel, the head of its steel works council said on Thursday. Guenter Back told reporters that Chief Financial Officer Guido Kerkhoff had said the company would decide by the end of the 2016/17 fiscal year whether to proceed, after more than a year of talks that have been complicated by the UK Brexit vote. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 23 - Rio flags $180 mln hit to H1 underlying profit after bond buyback

Rio Tinto said on Friday it has completed a planned bond buyback, reducing gross debt by $2.5 billion, with the early redemption costs likely to reduce first-half underlying profit by about $180 million. The global miner said that since the start of 2016 it has reduced the face value of outstanding bonds to about $9.5 billion from around $21 billion. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 23 - Usiminas in talks with Brazil's CSA for steel slab supply contract

Usinas Siderúrgicas de Minas Gerais SA, Brazil's No. 1 listed flat steelmaker, has signed a memorandum of understanding to buy slabs from ThyssenKrupp AG's CSA Cia Siderúrgica do Atlántico SA for about 60 months. In a Thursday securities filing, Usiminas said the purchase of CSA's slabs will be funneled into the Cubatão mill. The transaction will only take effect once Brazil's antitrust watchdog Cade decides on the takeover of CSA by Ternium SA which is also a major shareholder in Usiminas, the filing said. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 22 - The great tin wall of China is about to come crashing down: Home

The great tin wall of China is about to come crashing down. The country is both the world's largest producer and consumer of the packaging and soldering metal. But its interaction with the rest of the global tin market has in the past been severely constrained by a 10 percent export duty. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 22 - China to clamp down on illegal aluminium capacity expansion

China will launch a crackdown to curb illegal expansion of aluminium capacity in the world's top producer of the metal, the China Non-Ferrous Metals Industry Association said on Wednesday. The National Energy Administration and state planner will inspect power stations owned by aluminium producers in the top six aluminium-producing regions of Xinjiang, Shandong, Gansu, Guangxi, Jiangsu and Shandong, the association said in a statement on its website. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 22 - Freeport Indonesia says giant copper mine running as normal despite strike

Operations at the world's No.2 copper mine in Indonesia are "running as normal", a spokesman for the local unit of Freeport-McMoRan Inc said, despite thousands of workers extending a strike for another month. Riza Pratama said in a text message on Thursday that "around 25,000 workers and contractors" continued to work at the Grasberg mine, a key supplier to buyers including top metals consumer China. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 22 - China mulls improving iron ore index in pricing push

China is planning improvements to an iron ore price index it launched six years ago, looking to better reflect market dynamics in the world's top consumer of the steelmaking raw material and increase usage by market participants. China has been pushing for a greater say in pricing iron ore in the global market where buyers and sellers mostly use dollar-denominated index prices from providers such as S&P Global Platts and Metal Bulletin. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 22 - Revised South African charter poses threat to miners, says Moody's

Ratings agency Moody's warned on Wednesday that new regulations seeking to accelerate black ownership in South Africa's mining industry would deter investment, raise costs and diminish cashflow generation. Anglo American, AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields, Petra Diamonds, Sibanye Gold and South32 would be the most negatively affected miners if the revised mining charter is implemented, Moody's said. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 22 - Polish copper producer KGHM to make lowest dividend payout in 16 years

Shareholders in Polish state-run copper producer KGHM on Wednesday approved a dividend payout of 1 zlotys per share, in line with the management board's proposal. The dividend, which amounts to a total of 200 million zlotys ($52.6 million), is the lowest KGHM payout since 2001. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 22 - Deutsche Bank taps Rose to head metals and mining team in Americas

Deutsche Bank has hired Jonathan Rose as the head of its metals and mining investment banking team in the Americas, according to an internal memo, the contents of which were confirmed on Wednesday by a Deutsche Bank spokeswoman. Rose will be based in New York and report to John Anos, co-head of the bank's global industrials group. He joins Deutsche Bank from BMO Capital Markets, where he was responsible for coverage of the global coal and North American iron ore and metals sectors. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 22 - Denmark's FLSmidth sees slow recovery in investment by mining firms

Danish mining equipment and cement factory maker FLSmidth said on Wednesday that investment by mining firms was only slowly recovering and low prices were still weighing on the cement business. "It is still a bumpy road ahead, investments are very low - crudely low - in the mining industry, and pricing pressure is very strong in cement," Chief Executive Officer Thomas Schultz told Reuters at the firm's capital markets day in Copenhagen. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 21- Rio Tinto recommends Yancoal coal offer over Glencore

Rio Tinto, selected Yancoal on Tuesday to buy its Coal & Allied division in Australia for $2.45 billion, surprising commodities trading giant Glencore, which had put in a higher bid. Glencore offered $2.55 billion cash this month for Rio's coal mines in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales, beating a previous offer from Yancoal, which is based in Australia and owned by China's Yanzhou Coal Mining Company. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 21- Russia's Rusal may cancel Paris listing, head to London - sources

Russian aluminium producer Rusal is considering cancelling its Euronext listing in Paris and instead moving to a technical listing in London, two sources close to the company said. The move would not require new shares to be placed. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 21- Rio Tinto starts new exploration in Mongolia's Gobi desert

Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto has started new exploration work in Mongolia's Gobi desert after a gap of around five years, in a sign that Mongolia is having some success at bringing back foreign investors. Cash-strapped Mongolia had turn to the International Monetary Fund for support this year following a collapse in foreign investment, declining commodity prices and a downturn in coal demand. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 21- Constellium sees aluminium comeback in planes with new mixes

All-metal planes are a thing of the past, but evolving aluminium-based materials remain in the race with composites to supply the next generation of jets, according to aluminium maker Constellium. The growing use of carbon composites in aircraft has eroded aluminium's dominance as the material of choice for planemakers. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 21- China's Fosun raises offer for Fabergé owner Gemfields

China's Fosun International has increased its offer for Fabergé owner Gemfields to 256 million pounds ($324 million), turning up the heat in a bid battle with the largest shareholder of the London-listed company. Fosun Gold, part of the acquisitive Fosun International conglomerate, said on Tuesday it had increased its offer for Gemfields to 45 pence per share from an earlier proposal of 40.85 pence per share. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 21- Global crude steel output jumps 2 percent in May

Global output of steel, a gauge of economic health, jumped 2 percent in May, retreating from the 5 percent surge in April as demand for the alloy tapers off, industry data showed on Tuesday. Producers churned out 143 million tonnes of crude steel in May versus 140 million tonnes a year ago, according to the World Steel Association (Worldsteel). Click here to read full stories.

Jun 21- Metals recycler Befesa attracts private equity bids - sources

Metals recycler Befesa has attracted bids from several private equity groups as its owner mulls whether to list the company on the stock exchange or opt for an outright sale. CVC, Blackstone and Access Industries have put in non-binding offers for the company, which is owned by buyout group Triton, the people said. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 20 - Britain's Liberty House submits revised bid for Australia's Arrium

Britain's Liberty House Group said on Monday it submitted a revised bid for troubled Australian steel group Arrium Ltd, after last week conceding defeat to a South Korean private equity syndicate. "We remain passionate about the opportunity and intend to continue pursuing discussions," Liberty House said in an email to Reuters. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 20 - China's top tin producer says given approval for "processing trade"

China's Yunnan Tin Co Ltd, the world's biggest tin producer, says it has received government approval for so-called "processing trade", churning out refined metal for export using concentrate shipped in from abroad. That could provide a further boost to Chinese tin exports that have already been climbing this year, buttressing dwindling stocks abroad and dampening global prices. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 20 - Chinese steel exports sliding sharply, but for how long? Home

China's exports of steel product have fallen sharply over the first few months of this year. The January-May total was 34.2 million tonnes, down 26 percent on last year's equivalent figure and the lowest read since 2014. The year-on-year drop in tonnage terms was 12.1 million, which is roughly what Canada, the world's 17th-largest producer, churned out over the full 12 months of 2016. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 20 - Germany writes to U.S. to criticise plans to act against steel imports

German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries has written a letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in which she criticised Washington's plans to take action against steel imports, a German newspaper reported. An investigation by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration into whether foreign-made steel imports pose a risk to U.S. national security is nearly done, a senior U.S. official said on Friday. The probe's findings are expected to be released later this week. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 20 - China's plan to boost commodity trading needs reality check: Russell

The call by China's securities regulator for the country's wealth managers to invest in domestic commodity futures is both encouraging and somewhat bizarre. The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) aims to promote the domestic derivatives industry by loosening regulations that restrict how commercial banks, insurance companies and pension funds invest in commodity futures, Fang Xinghai, the commission's vice chairman, said on June 17. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 20 - Some Indonesian nickel smelters cease operations due to falling prices

About a dozen newly constructed nickel smelters in Indonesia have stopped operations due to a plunge in nickel prices while others are operating at a loss, an industry association executive said on Monday. Thirteen smelters with a combined capacity of 750,000 tonnes of nickel pig iron a year "were forced to cease operation" because nickel prices reached as low as around $8,000 a tonne, Jonatan Handojo, deputy chairman of the Indonesian Smelter Association told Reuters, declining to name the owners of the smelters. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 20 - South Africa's Sibanye says Cooke mine shut until at least Thursday

Sibanye Gold's Cooke mine in South Africa will remain shut until at least Thursday as the company goes through an appeals process for workers fired for taking part in a wildcat strike, it said on Monday. Sibanye is losing 15 kg of gold production there per day, highlighting the social risks of mining in South Africa. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 19 - BHP's new chairman has choice between exciting and boring: Russell

There has been no shortage of advice doled out to incoming BHP Billiton chairman Ken MacKenzie on how to boost the world's largest mining company, but ultimately his role comes down to a fairly straightforward choice. Does BHP want to be a cutting edge mining company always on the prowl for the next big opportunity, or does it want to be a cautious, dividend-focused cash generator, something akin to being the telecoms utility of the mining world? If there is anything that can be learned from the performance of BHP, and indeed most of its global mining rivals, in the past decade, it's that escaping the ups and downs of the commodity cycle is extremely difficult for a miner. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 19 - South Africa's mines minister defends new mining charter

South Africa mine's minister on Sunday defended new regulations seeking to accelerate black ownership in the key industry as a "win-win" situation for all, despite objections from an industry body threatening court action to block the changes. Minister Mosebenzi Zwane released the government's revised Mining Charter on Thursday, raising the minimum threshold for black ownership of mining companies to 30 percent from 26 percent, and giving resource companies 12 months to meet the target among a raft of other regulations that hit mining stocks. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 19 - Speculators cut bullish COMEX gold, silver stances - CFTC

Hedge funds and money managers reduced their net long positions in COMEX gold and silver for the first time in four weeks, in the week to June 13, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data showed on Friday. The speculators increased their net long position in copper futures and options, the data showed. In gold, they cut their net long position by 19,621 contracts to 155,037 contracts as prices fell from seven-month highs while the market readied for the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise interest rates. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 19 - U.S. finds harm from Japan, Turkey rebar imports, duties to remain

The U.S. International Trade Commission said on Friday it made a final finding that exports of steel concrete reinforcing bar, or rebar, from Japan and Turkey hurt U.S. producers, ensuring that anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on the building material remain in effect. The U.S. Commerce Department made a final determination on May 16 that Japanese and Turkish producers dumped rebar on the U.S. market and that Turkish rebar exports were subsidized. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 19 - India's Bhushan, Essar Steel among 12 firms being moved to insolvency courts - sources

India's central bank has asked lenders to initiate bankruptcy proceedings against a dozen companies, including Essar Steel, Bhushan Steel Ltd, Monnet Ispat and Energy Ltd, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. This follows a change enacted in laws last month that gives the Reserve Bank of India greater power to address the $150 billion stressed loan problem plaguing growth in Asia's third-largest economy. This week, the RBI said it had identified 12 of the country's biggest loan defaulters. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 19 - Tokyo Steel to keep product prices unchanged for fifth month

Tokyo Steel Manufacturing Co Ltd, Japan's top electric-arc furnace steelmaker, said on Monday it will hold its product prices steady for a fifth straight month in July to reflect flat spot prices in the local market. "We are sticking to the current prices as the domestic market remains at a standstill," Tokyo Steel's managing director Kiyoshi Imamura told a news conference on Monday. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 19 - SolGold boosts budget to explore for copper, gold all over Ecuador

Copper and gold explorer SolGold on Friday said it was raising $41.2 million, on top of more than $30 million announced in October, as it widens its search for resources in Ecuador after already finding one world class asset. Ecuador has been increasing its profile as a country open to foreign mining and has shifted its resource focus from oil and gas as its reserves dwindle and oil prices stagnate, analysts say. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 19 - Gold Reserve gets $40 mln of $1.03 bln settlement deal with Venezuela

Gold Reserve Inc said on Friday it received $40 million from the government of Venezuela as part of a $1.03 billion settlement arbitrated by the World Bank for the termination of its Las Brisas gold concession in 2009. Venezuela will pay the balance in installments over the next two years as part of an amended Settlement Agreement, the Canadian miner said. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 19 - Canadian miners, casinos hit by hacker eyeing new targets - FireEye

The same hacker targeting Canadian casinos and mining companies for extortion since 2013 is planning more attacks, researchers at cyber security company FireEye Inc said in a report on Friday. FireEye said it believes that a single hacker or hacking group that it dubbed FIN10 is behind the breaches due to similarities in method: how they broke into corporate systems, stealing gigabytes of sensitive data and demanding ransom paid in Bitcoin, and publicizing the stolen information by alerting bloggers. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 16 - BHP names packaging guru MacKenzie as new chairman

Mining giant BHP, on Friday named successful packaging executive Ken MacKenzie as its next chairman, handing him the job of tackling calls to dump its oil business and overhaul the board. MacKenzie, 53, succeeds Jac Nasser as of Sept. 1 at a time when the world's biggest miner is being challenged by activist investors to revamp its structure and improve returns to shareholders. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 16 - South Africa raises black ownership threshold for mining firms

South Africa has raised the minimum threshold for black ownership of mining companies to 30 percent from 26 percent, the government said on Thursday, though an industry body said it would try to block it and other regulatory changes in court. Mining firms in the world's top platinum producer have complained about a lack of consultation over revisions to an industry charter that sets targets for black ownership and participation in the powerful sector. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 16 - Shanghai exchange to speed up plan for stainless steel, scrap contracts

Shanghai Futures Exchange will speed up plans to launch stainless steel and steel scrap futures contracts, a senior manager said on Friday, as one of the world's top commodity futures marketplaces seeks to expand its metals offerings. Senior commodities manager Chen Ye said at an industry conference that the exchange has produced a report on the plan which it has sent to industry associations. He did not give a time frame for any possible launch. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 16 - Argentina lifts curbs on Barrick mine; full operations lag

Authorities in the Argentineprovince of San Juan lifted restrictions on leaching operations at Barrick Gold Corp's Veladero mine on Thursday, but the world's biggest gold producer said it would not immediately resume full operations. Judge Pablo Oritja told a radio station that he understood Barrick had finished all required work, following its third cyanide spill in 18 months, and had ordered an end to restrictions put in place in late March. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 16 - S.Korean consortium led by Newlake preferred bidder for Arrium - administrator

A South Korean private equity syndicate led by Newlake Alliance and JB Asset Management has been named as the preferred bidder in the sale process for troubled Australian steel group Arrium Ltd, Arrium's financial administrator confirmed on Thursday. Arrium's committee of creditors decided on the Korean group over Great Britain's Liberty House, the industrials and commodities group that has been snapping up troubled steel plants around the world, according to the administrator, KordaMentha. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 16 - Polyus to sell up to 9 pct of its shares in London, Moscow offering

Russia's top gold producer Polyus will offer between 7 and 9 percent of its shares, including new shares, in its planned stock offer in London and Moscow, it said on Thursday as it set a price range. The price range was set at $33.25-$35.30 per global depositary share in London, corresponding to a price of $66.50-$70.60 per ordinary share in Moscow, Polyus said in a statement. The latter will be paid in roubles. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 16 - Steel maker Nucor forecasts 2nd-qtr earnings below estimates

U.S. steelmaker Nucor Corp on Thursday forecast second-quarter earnings per share below estimates, hurt in part, by weak demand in its steel mills business. Nucor's shares fell as much as 6.3 percent to $55.40 in morning trading after the company said it expects earnings of $1.00 to $1.05 per share for the second quarter ending July 1. Analysts on average were expecting $1.22 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 16 - De Beers, Namibia launch world's biggest diamond exploration ship

Anglo American's diamond unit De Beers on Thursday launched the world's largest diamond exploration vessel off the coast of Namibia as it looks to maintain high production levels until 2035. The 12,000-tonne, 113-metre-long SS Nujoma was built at a cost of $157 million and is named after Sam Nujoma, Namibia's founding president. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 16 - South Africa's Sibanye says sacks 1,500 workers over wildcat strike

South African mining firm Sibanye Gold has fired around 1,500 workers taking part in a wildcat strike at its Cooke mine, it said on Thursday, prompting an angry reaction from the biggest gold miners' union. Workers at the mine downed tools over a week ago, angered by a company drive to root out illegal miners which has included the arrest of employees for collusion and taking food down to the illegal miners working underground. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 16 - Teck lowers forecast for steelmaking coal price, shares drop

Teck Resources Ltd shares fell nearly 4 percent onThursday after the diversified Canadian miner clipped its forecast of the average realized price for its steelmaking coal in the second quarter, citing sales disruptions. Vancouver-based Teck said it now expects an average realized price of $160 to $165 per tonne,lagging the $190 benchmark price and trailing the $213 price realized in the first quarter. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 16 - Acacia Mining says Tanzania output hit but annual targets unchanged

Acacia Mining's production of gold from Tanzania has been hit by an export ban but targets for the year remain unchanged at this stage, Chief Executive Brad Gordon said on Thursday. The Tanzanian government and Acacia's majority owner Barrick Gold agreed on Wednesday to begin talks over a ban in effect since March that has blocked the shipment of concentrates from two of Acacia's three gold mines. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 16 - Australian lithium miner Neometals plans U.S listing

Australian lithium miner Neometals plans to list in New York and may spin off its processing technology in an attempt to boost its share value, Chief Executive Chris Reed said. The share prices of lithium producers are volatile because of uncertainty surrounding supply, demand and pricing as analysts disagree over the potential size of the market for electric vehicles, many of which use lithium batteries. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 15 - In reversal of fortune, China's low-value steelmakers beat high-end peers

Powered by China's infrastructure push, Chinese construction steel producers are seeing their best profits in years, lording it over their high-value counterparts in a setback for Beijing's years-long drive urging steelmakers to move up the value chain. As its manufacturing engine sputters, the world's second largest economy is increasingly relying on infrastructure spending to boost growth, spurring demand for construction steel products and lifting producer profit margins to near record levels. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 15 - Demand, not supply, is the great unknown for lithium and cobalt: Andy Home

The number of electric vehicles on roads worldwide rose to a record high of 2 million last year, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). That represented a doubling from the 2015 tally but electric cars still only accounted for 0.2 percent of the global count. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 15 - Barrick Gold to hold talks with Tanzania over export row

Barrick Gold's chairman and Tanzania's president met on Wednesday and agreed to hold talks aimed at resolving an escalating dispute over an export ban which has hit Barrick's Acacia Mining PLC. Shares in Acacia, which is 63.9 percent owned by Barrick, jumped as much as 11 percent, to 303 pence, after the news and closed 5.5 percent higher, outpacing sector rivals. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 15 - China cuts 97 mln T of coal, 42.4 mln T of steel capacity

China, the world's top steelmaker and coal consumer, cut 97 million tonnes of coal capacity and 42.4 million tonnes of steel capacity by end-May, the state planner said on Thursday, as part efforts to tackle pollution and curb excess supply. The capacity reduction is 65 percent of China's targeted cuts for coal and 85 percent for steel in 2017, spokeswoman Meng Wei of the National Development and Reform Commission said at a regular briefing. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 15 - ISS, Glass Lewis approve restructuring at Brazil's Vale - source

Consulting firms ISS and Glass Lewis have given a nod of approval to a restructuring plan for Brazilian miner Vale SA, boosting the chances of shareholder approval, a source said on Wednesday. The corporate restructuring process, announced on Feb. 20, seeks to strengthen the company's compliance and will be voted on at an extraordinary shareholders' meeting on June 27. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 15 - Freeport, China Moly agree to end talks on cobalt assets

Freeport-McMoRan Inc, the world's biggest publicly traded copper miner, and China Molybdenum Co Ltd (CMOC) have agreed to terminate discussions on CMOC's acquisition of Freeport's cobalt assets, Freeport said on Wednesday. China Moly had an exclusive right to negotiate for the assets, which includes the Kokkola Cobalt Refinery in Finland and the Kisanfu exploration project in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but that exclusivity period expired Feb. 28, said a Freeport spokesman. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 15 - Glencore to pitch to Rio board for Australian coal unit - sources

Glencore will pitch its $2.55 billion bid for Rio Tinto's Australian Coal & Allied unit directly to Rio Tinto's board in Canada on Thursday, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The meeting, headed by Glencore's Australian Chief Executive Peter Freyberg, comes five days after Glencore outbid Chinese-owned Yancoal for Coal & Allied Industries Ltd, which operates thermal coal mines in Australia's Hunter Valley. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 15 - Russia's Rusal plans 19 pct aluminium output boost by 2021

Russian aluminium giant Rusal said it plans to boost its production by 19 percent from 2016 levels to 4.4 million tonnes by 2021, amid rising global demand. Rusal, which is controlled by Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska, said in a presentation it expected global demand for aluminium to grow by 4 to 5 percent per year until 2021 amid higher demand for "green" aluminium and advanced alloys. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 15 - Egypt's Ezz Steel could raise steel rebar output if tariffs continue

Egypt's largest steelmaker Ezz Steel could raise its production of rebars to its maximum capacity of 4.6 million tonnes per year if tariffs on imported rebars continue, George Matta, the company's marketing director, told Reuters on Wednesday. Egypt imposed temporary tariffs on steel rebars from China, Turkey and Ukraine last week that are set to last for four months, in a move to protect local manufacturers hurt by imports. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 14 - Elliott calls for BHP board overhaul as new chairman looms

Activist shareholder Elliott Management called on BHP on Wednesday to "upgrade" its board of directors as the mining giant prepares to select a new chairman this week. "BHP has an entrenched board, with long-tenured directors having approved the disastrous acquisitions and poorly timed share buybacks that are at the root of much of today's underperformance," Elliott said in a statement. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 14 - Dominion Diamond says working diligently on sales process

Canada's Dominion Diamond Corp, which put itself up for sale in March, is working "diligently" on this process and will share news with the market when it has any, Chairman Jim Gowans said on Tuesday, declining to comment further. Speaking on a conference call about the company's results, which were released late on Monday, Gowans said Dominion's search for a new chief executive continues. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 14 - Rio Tinto CEO sees Canada as less business-friendly than in past

The chief executive of Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto, which owns iron ore, diamond and aluminum mines and processing facilities in Canada, said on Tuesday that it was becoming tougher to do business in the resource-rich country. "You know mining well and you understand its value, but to be very frank it has been getting harder to do business here over the years - from employee relations to tax to managing land access," Rio Tinto CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques said in prepared remarks to be delivered at the International Economic Forum of the Americas in Montreal. Jacques did not elaborate on his comments. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 14 - China steel output climbs 1.8 pct in may from year before

China's steel output rose 1.8 percent in May from a year earlier, data from the country's statistics bureau showed on Wednesday, with mills in the world's top producer buoyed by robust margins despite government efforts to curb excess capacity. May's total of 72.26 million tonnes was just below April's monthly record of 72.78 million tonnes. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 14 - Hydro CEO says Qatar aluminium exports go as planned despite tensions

Qatar's Qatalum aluminium plant is now exporting metals via ports in Kuwait and Oman, as well as a Qatari container port, following a diplomatic row with neighbours that had blocked shipments, Norsk Hydro told Reuters on Tuesday. Hydro, which owns 50 percent of the plant, last week said new export routes had been established but declined at the time to say which countries it would go through. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 14 - Argentina signs mining deal to unify regulations, attract investment

Argentina's national government and the governors of 20 provinces signed a mining deal on Tuesday to harmonize taxes and regulations in hopes of attracting investment, but the action was criticized by industry sources and environmentalists alike. The agreement, which needs approval from Congress and the 20 provincial legislatures, sets a 3 percent ceiling on royalties mining companies pay to provinces. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 14 - Grupo Mexico could double metals smelting capacity in Peru - Kuczynski

Grupo Mexico SAB de CV could double its metals smelting capacity in Peru because environmental regulations have been loosened, Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said on Tuesday. Last week, Peru approved new air and water quality standards consistent with Kuczynski's goal of persuading mining companies to invest more in metals processing to add value to the Andean country's mineral exports. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 13 - U.S steel association urges better coordination under new NAFTA

The top U.S. steelmakers' association on Monday called for better coordination and enforcement of rules under a renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement to guard against Mexico, the United States and Canada becoming a dumping ground for cheap steel from other countries. In comments to the U.S. Trade Representative ahead of NAFTA negotiations in August, the head of the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), Thomas Gibson, urged updates to NAFTA's rules of origin - how much of a product is made in North American - new measures to curb steel dumped on the market by non-NAFTA countries, and steps to improve customs procedures. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 13 - Trump says anti-dumping bill for steel, aluminum coming soon

Legislation to address the dumping of foreign steel and aluminum in the United States will come "soon," U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday. Trump, speaking ahead of a scheduled meeting with his Cabinet, gave no other details about the forthcoming proposal. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 13 - Copper demand for electric cars to rise nine-fold by 2027 - ICA

The growing number of electric vehicles hitting roads is set to fuel a nine-fold increase in copper demand from the sector over the coming decade, according to an industry report on Tuesday. Electric or hybrid cars and buses are expected to reach 27 million by 2027, up from 3 million this year, according to a report by consultancy IDTechEx, commissioned by the International Copper Association (ICA). Click here to read full stories.

Jun 13 - Impact of copper strikes fizzles on scrap inflow, mine rebound

Disruptions at the two biggest copper mines early this year may have only a muted impact on prices after a surge of scrap metal partially filled the supply gap and a recovery in mine output is due to help in the second half. A strike at the world's biggest copper mine, Chile's Escondida, and other disruptions initially prompted worries about shortages of the metal used in construction and power transmission, pushing up prices. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 13 - Natixis sues Marex Spectron over metals warehouse receipts

French bank Natixis has sued metals broker Marex Spectron for $32 million over alleged fraudulent receipts for nickel stored at warehouses in Asia run by a unit of commodities giant Glencore, a court filing showed. In the legal action, filed in London's High Court, Natixis said it would seek damages from Marex because the bank provided finance based on fake receipts in a deal arranged by the broker. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 13 - Should aluminium bulls be worried by falling physical premiums?: Home

Aluminium is still the star of the London Metal Exchange (LME) base metals complex, up by over 12 percent on the start of the year. After recording a two-year high of $1,981 per tonne in March, LME three-month metal has eased slightly but is largely holding its ground around the $1,900 level. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 13 - China to speed up closing small-scale coal mines to improve safety

China will speed up the closure of small-scale coal mines and strengthen inspections on safer production over the next three years, a government plan released on Monday showed. Beijing will accelerate closing small-scale coal mines with an annual production capacity of 90,000 tonnes or less, as part of its plan to improve mine safety, according to the 13th five-year plan on the production safety of coal mines, jointly issued by China's State Administration of Work Safety and State Administration of Coal Mine Safety. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 13 - Acacia Mining disputes Tanzania audit as shares sink

Acacia Mining on Monday disputed the outcome of a second audit by the Tanzanian government which said the company had underdeclared revenues and tax payments for years and by billions of dollars, sending its shares 13 percent lower. The investigation committee, commissioned by President John Magufuli, recommended that the gold miner pay outstanding taxes and royalties, and called for a review of mining laws and government ownership in mines. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 13 - Miner Crystallex inches forward in legal dispute with Venezuela

Canadian mining company Crystallex has won a court order that advances its efforts to collect on a $1.4 billion award linked to a dispute with Venezuela over the 2008 expropriation of the Las Cristinas gold project. Crystallex in 2016 won an award of $1.2 billion plus interest from a World Bank Tribunal. In March, it won a ruling by a U.S. District of Columbia court upholding that award, a crucial step in being able to seize Venezuelan assets in the United States. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 13 - Australia's Resolute Mining to open 3 mln oz Mali gold mine end-2018 - CEO

Australia's Resolute Mining will start producing gold from a 3 million ounce underground deposit at its Syama gold mine next year, its CEO told Reuters. In an interview while visiting Mali's capital Bamako this weekend, Resolute Mining CEO John Welborn also said a recently discovered adjacent deposit called Nafolo was expected to yield between 1.5 million and 2 million ounces of recoverable gold reserves. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 12 - Glencore outbids Yancoal for Rio Tinto's Hunter Valley coal mines

Miner-trader Glencore on Friday said it had offered $2.55 billion cash for coal mines owned by Rio Tinto in Hunter Valley, Australia, outbidding a previous offer from Chinese-owned Yancoal. The large-scale, long-life assets are next to mines already owned by Glencore, which has predicted continued demand for coal, especially in Asia, despite environmental opposition to the most polluting form of fossil fuel. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 12 - EU sets steel import duties to counter Chinese subsidies

The European Union has set duties of up to 35.9 percent on imports of hot-rolled flat steel from China to counter what it says are unfair subsidies in a finding challenged by Beijing. The European Commission (EC), which conducted an investigation on behalf of the 28 EU members, found a number of Chinese companies had benefited from preferential lending from state-owned banks, grants, tax deductions and the right to use industrial land. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 12 - Violence, wildcat strike hits Sibanye Gold mine in South Africa

Miners have downed tools and 16 workers have been physically assaulted in a wildcat strike at Sibanye Gold's Cooke operation west of Johannesburg, the company said on Friday. Sibanye spokesman James Wellsted said about 3,900 workers were striking against the company's drive to root out illegal mining from its operations, which has included the arrest of employees accused of collusion with criminal elements and a policy of not allowing any food to be taken underground. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 12 - Speculators lift bullish COMEX gold wagers to seven-month high - CFTC

Hedge funds and money managers raised their net long position in COMEX gold for the third straight week to the highest in seven months in the week to June 6, and upped it slightly in silver, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Friday. Money managers increased their net long position in bullion by 43,086 lots to 174,658 lots in the week to June 6, the data showed. The hike came as prices rose more than 2 percent during the period, as the dollar was pressured by disappointing U.S. jobs data, denting expectations of further rate hikes after the widely expected one next week. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 12 - Activist Icahn reduces stake in miner Freeport-McMoRan

Activist investor Carl Icahn reduced his stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc, the world's biggest publicly traded copper miner, to 6.33 percent as of June 6, from 7.2 percent in late November, according to a regulatory filing on Friday. In 2015, the billionaire investor took a large stake in the Phoenix, Arizona-based company, saying Freeport was undervalued. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 12 - S.Africa's Sibanye says 178 illegal miners now arrested at strike-hit Cooke mine

South Africa's Sibanye Gold said on Monday that 178 illegal miners have now been arrested at its Cooke operations since the start of a violent wildcat strike last Tuesday. A company source, who declined to be identified because he is not authorised to speak on the record, also said the strike was continuing. The strike was triggered by worker resentment at a company drive to root out illegal miners, who pilfer gold from its shafts after gaining access by employee collusion. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 12 - India takes U.S. to WTO for failing to drop steel duties

India has complained to the World Trade Organization that the United States has failed to drop anti-subsidy duties on certain Indian steel products after losing an earlier ruling, a document published by the WTO said on Friday. India said the United States had failed to meet an April 2016 deadline to comply with a WTO ruling that faulted it for imposing countervailing duties on hot-rolled carbon steel flat products from India. The non-compliance complaint, effectively a new trade dispute, could lead to India asking to impose trade sanctions if the United States is found not to have complied. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 12 - Nippon Steel to set April-June coking coal prices off spot price indexes

Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp, Japan's biggest steelmaker, has ended quarterly negotiations with Australian suppliers over coking coal prices for April to June and will set quarterly prices based on spot price indexes, a spokesman said on Monday. The move suggests the end of the decades-old fixed price settlement mechanism between Japanese steelmakers and global miners and follows recent swings of the prices of the key steel-making ingredient. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 12 - Alcoa restores half its Australian aluminium output in wake of blackout

Global aluminium maker Alcoa has restarted half the capacity at its aluminium smelter in Australia's Victoria that was crippled by a state-wide blackout six months ago. The Portland smelter has been running at a third of its 300,000-tonnes-per-year capacity since a freak storm prompted the power outage in December, causing molten aluminium to solidify in the facility's potlines and freezing production. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 12 - Peru mine workers to begin nation-wide strike on July 19 -union leader

Peruvian miners plan to begin an indefinite nation-wide strike on July 19 to protest "anti-labor" government proposals, the National Federation of Miners, Metallurgists and Steelworkers secretary general Ricardo Juarez said on Friday. The federation, which groups 110 unions representing 40,000 workers at various mines in Peru, had approved the strike in May but did not set a date. Peru is the world's second-largest producer of copper, zinc and silver, and the sixth-largest producer of gold. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 09 - Freeport 'on path' to new Indonesia mine deal this year, CFO says

Freeport-McMoRan Inc, the world's largest publicly traded copper miner, is "on a path" to get a new mining deal with Indonesia this year for its giant Grasberg mine, Chief Financial Officer Kathleen Quirk said Thursday. The Arizona-based company resumed copper concentrate exports from Grasberg, the world's second-biggest copper mine, in April after a 15-week outage related to a government dispute over mining rights. Freeport had planned to ramp up production, which was cut by around two-thirds during the outage. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 09 - Funds exit zinc but is it just a strategic retreat? Andy Home

What's up with zinc? Or maybe the question should be, what's down with zinc?London Metal Exchange (LME) zinc was trading just shy of $3,000 per tonne as recently as late February. At one stage on Wednesday it hit a seven-month low of $2,427.50 and has since staged only a half-hearted recovery to $2,480.00. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 09 - ICE, LME vie for control of London silver benchmark price

Two contenders have emerged to run London's silver benchmark - gold benchmark operator Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), which offers a model with clearing, and a flexible auction process proposed by the London Metal Exchange (LME). The London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), which owns the copyright for the LBMA Silver Price, will discuss the two bids on June 15, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. It is due to announce a replacement for current operators CME Group and Thomson Reuters this summer. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 09 - As residents protest, steelmakers eye sales from new Moscow homes

A plan to resettle almost a million Muscovites in newly-built homes has sparked some of the Russian capital's largest protests in years. But for the country's steelmakers the $50 billion construction project presents a valuable sales opportunity. Russian steel producers have suffered over the last two years as global steel prices plumbed 11-year lows and a prolonged economic downturn derailed construction and infrastructure projects, which account for 80 percent of domestic demand. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 09 - U.S. Commerce chief sees "genuine" national security concern on steel

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Thursday that a national security review of the U.S. steel industry will be completed "very shortly" and will seek to protect the interests of both domestic steel producers and consumers. Ross told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing that he believes there is "a genuine national security issue that must be considered in this case," the second major signal in two days that the Trump administration is preparing new steel import restrictions. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 09 - Brazilian miner Vale could cut number of directors - O Globo

Brazilian miner Vale SA is expected to cut the number of executive directors to four from six, according to a local newspaper column published on Thursday. The piece by columnist Ancelmo Gois of the El Globo newspaper did not offer further detail on the restructuring plans. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 09 - Nippon Steel loses bid to protect former Usiminas CEO from lawsuit

A Brazilian judge has ruled against Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp's request to dismiss a lawsuit by Brazil's Usinas Siderúrgicas de Minas Gerais SA against a Nippon Steel-backed executive, deepening a dispute over control of the steelmaker. In a Thursday securities filing, the steelmaker known as Usiminas said the judge's decision relates to Nippon Steel's claims that an Usiminas board decision to remove the executive, former Chief Executive Officer Rômel de Souza, was illegal. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 09 - Greece to seek arbitration over Eldorado mine plans

Greece will seek arbitration to settle its differences with Canada's Eldorado Gold Corp over gold mine developments, the country's energy ministry said on Thursday before the company's stock dropped more than 6 percent. Energy Minister George Stathakis has requested that the state's legal advisers prepare for the arbitration process to begin, the ministry said, without specifying terms or assets. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 09 - Codelco mines in Chile restart operations after rains

Chilean copper company Codelco has restarted operations at mines in the northern part of the country after a rain storm caused a series of precautionary closures, the state-owned firm said on Thursday. The company's Radomiro Tomic, Ministro Hales, and flagship Chuquicamata mines had restarted and were operating normally, Codelco said in a statement. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 09 - Tanzania says to introduce clearing fee for mineral exports

Tanzania plans to introduce a 1 percent clearing fee on the value of mineral exports in 2017/18 (July-June), its finance minister said on Thursday, part of government measures aimed at getting a bigger share of revenues from the east African country's natural resources."The government will not allow the direct export of minerals from mines," finance and planning minister Philip Mpango said in his budget speech in parliament.

Jun 08 - Mexico owes Canada miners over $360 mln, led by Goldcorp - documents

Mexico's tax agency is holding over $360 million in tax rebates owed to six Canadian miners, including $230 million to Goldcorp Inc, according to sources and official documents seen by Reuters, escalating the situation into a showdown between the Mexican government and Canadian mining firms operating there. In a string of meetings, Canadian officials have pressed Mexico to fix the problem, which hamstrings mining companies' ability to invest in operations and is particularly difficult for smaller, cash-strapped miners and explorers, people familiar with the matter said. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 08 - Miners eye Europe's largest lithium deposit in Czech Republic

Mining for lithium could start in the Czech Republic in two years, exploiting Europe's largest resource of the metal that is used in batteries for electric vehicles and home power storage. The deposits lie around Cinovec, a village with a tradition of mining since the 14th century and situated near the border with Germany, the industrial powerhouse at the heart of Europe's bid to build electric cars and develop battery technology. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 08 - A clash of new and old for the lost heart of metals trading?: Andy Home

Is a showdown looming in the world of industrial metals trading? It would, at first glance, seem that way.In the red (-leather seat) corner sits the London Metal Exchange (LME), the 140-year-old incumbent, still dominant in terms of global price-setting but recently showing signs of wobbly frailty. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 08 - ICE expands London gold contract ahead of LME's rival offering

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) has substantially expanded the range of dates that its London gold futures contract can be traded, as it seeks to beat rival exchanges to gain a foothold in the city's $5 trillion-a-year bullion market. ICE said that from May 22 its daily futures contract could be traded on dates up to three months into the future. Previously it could be traded only two days ahead of settlement. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 08 - Heavy rains in northern Chile hit major copper operations

Mines in northern Chile have suspended key operations after heavy rains lashed the high altitude desert region of Antofagasta overnight and into Wednesday, companies told Reuters. BHP Billiton's Escondida, the world's biggest copper mine, said it was snowing and all operations had been suspended. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 08 - Australia trade surplus walloped by bad weather

Australia's trade surplus collapsed in April as damage wreaked by a massive cyclone in Queensland almost halved exports of coal, underlining the risk of another round of disappointing economic growth. The blow comes just a day after data showed the economy grew at the slowest annual pace since 2009 in the March quarter, again due in large part to the vagaries of the weather. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 08 - China May iron ore imports recover from six-month low

China's iron ore imports rose 5.5 percent in May from a year earlier, recovering from a six-month low in April, as mills in the top steelmaking nation scooped up more raw material as they posted strong profits. Imports of iron ore last month reached 91.52 million tonnes, according to data from the General Administration of Customs on Thursday, up from 86.75 million tonnes a year ago and April's 82.23 million tonnes, the lowest since October 2016. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 08 - Anglo American names Stuart Chambers as next chairman

Anglo American has appointed Stuart Chambers, the former chairman of British chip designer ARM Holdings and packaging group Rexam, to succeed John Parker as the miner's next chairman and carry on with its overhaul. Chambers will join as non-executive director and chairman designate on Sept. 1 before becomingchairman on Nov. 1, Anglo said in a statement. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 08 - Capital expenditure by top global miners at record low - report

Large global mining companies have cut back on investments despite a turnaround in profitability and a spike in commodity prices, a PricewaterhouseCooper's (PwC) report revealed on Wednesday. Capital expenditure, an measure of confidence in future returns, fell 41 percent in 2016 to a record low of $50 billion. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 08 - Peru relaxes air quality standards to help mining industry

Peru adopted new and more flexible air quality standards on Wednesday after the old standards were criticized by mining companies and President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski. A decree published by the environment ministry raised the maximum amount of sulfur dioxide, a byproduct of smelting copper and other base metals, that can be emitted to 250 micrograms per cubic meter per 24 hours, from the 20 micrograms per cubic meter previously. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 08 - Indonesia's Amman Mineral seeks to cut workforce by up to 20 pct

Indonesian miner Amman Mineral Nusa Tenggara is planning to reduce its workforce by up to 700 workers, or 20 percent, offering benefits to those that voluntarily resign, a company executive and government official told reporters on Wednesday. Amman is a unit of oil and gas company Medco Energi Internasional, which bought the Batu Hijau copper mine in West Nusa Tenggara from Newmont Mining Corp last year. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 08 - S.Africa mining industry to consider legal options if charter revisions onerous

Delayed revisions to South Africa's Mining Charter, which sets industry targets for black ownership and participation in the sector, will face legal challenges if it is unacceptable to producers, the CEO of the Chamber of Mines said on Wednesday. "If the outcome is an outcome which is unacceptable to the industry then clearly we will consider our legal options," Roger Baxter told an industry conference in Johannesburg. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 07 - Qatar's aluminium exports blocked, Norsk Hydro seeking other routes

Qatar's isolation by top Arab nations has already hit aluminium exports from a plant part-owned by Norway's Norsk Hydro which warned on Tuesday it would take time to restart them. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain on Monday cut ties with Qatar which denounced the move as predicated on lies about it supporting militants. Qatar has often been accused of being a funding source for Islamists, as has Saudi Arabia. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 07 - Egypt imposes tariffs on Chinese, Turkish, and Ukrainian steel - ministry

Egypt has imposed temporary import tariffs on rebar steel from China, Turkey and Ukraine to protect local manufacturers suffering from losses, the trade ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. The tariff will be set at 17 percent for Chinese steel, 10-19 percent for Turkish steel, and 15-27 percent for Ukrainian steel, it said. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 07 - Rio Tinto, China's Minmetals sign deal on exploration

Rio Tinto and China Minmetals Corp on Tuesday signed an outline deal on collaboration in mineral exploration, saying the partnership would position it to find the reserves needed for today's economy. Major miners have been seeking ways to maximise exploration budgets and they have also been analysing the sustainability of their portfolios as the needs of China, the world's biggest commodity consumer, change as its economy matures. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 07 - Brazil's Usiminas, Porto Sudeste settle $62.5 mln port dispute

A unit of Brazilian steelmaker Usinas Siderúrgicas de Minas Gerais SA has ended an arbitration case with Porto Sudeste do Brasil SA that centered around access to a key shipping hub in Rio de Janeiro state. Under the terms of the agreement, which were unveiled in a securities filing on Tuesday, Porto Sudeste will pay $62.5 million to Mineração Usiminas SA to end the dispute. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 07 - New firm NFEx aims to challenge LME's base metals trading

A new company, NFEx Markets, is seeking to challenge the London Metal Exchange's (LME) dominance in industrial metals with plans to launch a trading platform in the first quarter of next year. NFEx will mimic the forward contracts of the LME, which has seen its market share eroded in recent years, in an attempt to attract physical trade, the new company said on Monday. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 07 - Peru miner Volcan seeks copper opportunities to diversify

Volcan, Peru's largest producer of silver and zinc, seeks new opportunities in copper projects to diversify its operations and is also evaluating acquisitions, an executive said on Tuesday. Among the company's plans, Jose Montoya, manager of corporate development, highlighted the Chumpe and Carhuacayán porphyry copper projects in Junin region as well as copper and gold project Rica Cerreña in Pasco. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 07 - South Africa's mining charter to become law next week - minister

South Africa's new mining charter, which sets industry targets for black ownership and participation in the sector, will be gazetted and become law next week, Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane said on Tuesday. The mining industry has complained that it has not been consulted enough about the revisions and that South Africa's mining industry is losing investment as a result. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 07 - Buenaventura's Tambomayo Peru mine to operate commercially in August

The Peruvian mine Tambomayo will start commercial production in August and hopes to produce 60,000 to 90,000 ounces of gold by year-end, Victor Gobitz, CEO of Buenaventura, which operates the mine, said on Tuesday. Tambomayo is considered a low-cost mine with a $362 million investment and expected full-year annual production in future years of 150,000 ounces. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 06 - Nickel facing a long and rocky road to price recovery: Andy Home

Nickel touched a near one-year low of $8,700 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange (LME) last week. It has recovered a little to $8,900 this morning but that still makes it by some margin the worst performer among the major LME-traded industrial metals with a year-to-date decline of over 10 percent. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 06 - Italy backs ArcelorMittal bid for polluted Ilva steel plant

The Italian government supports a joint bid by ArcelorMittal and Marcegaglia group for the polluted Ilva steel plant in southern Italy, the Industry Ministry said on Monday. Industry Minister Carlo Calenda has signed a decree backing the 1.8 billion euro ($2 billion) offer from the world's largest steelmaker and Marcegaglia for Europe's biggest steel plant by output capacity, the ministry said in a statement. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 06 - North American steel groups want stronger NAFTA rules of origin

Steel trade groups representing Canada, the United States and Mexico said that any upgrade to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) should require that manufacturers use more steel produced in the region in their products. The rules of origin, which stipulate that products must meet minimum NAFTA-wide content requirements to be tariff-free, are seen as a sensitive area of discussion once negotiations to revamp the trilateral treaty kick off in August. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 06 - Japan's Sumitomo Metal to buy stake in Canada gold project for $195 mln

Japan's Sumitomo Metal Mining Co on Tuesday said it had agreed to take a 27.75-percent interest in a Canadian gold mining project from Toronto-based IAMGOLD Corp for $195 million.The purchase of the stake in the Cote Gold Project in Ontario comes as Japan's biggest gold miner looks to boost its output through acquisitions and exploration. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 06 - Russia's Polyus tests markets with London and Moscow share sales

Russia's top gold producer Polyus will offer new and existing shares in a secondary share offering in both London and Moscow, it said on Monday, in a deal that will test investor appetite for Russian assets.Polyus delisted from the London Stock Exchange in late 2015 after Western sanctions over Moscow's role in the Ukraine crisis began to bite for Russian companies. However it returns to London, buoyed by an 11 percent rise in global gold prices this year and by a separate $887 million deal to sell 10 percent of the company to a Chinese consortium led by Fosun International. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 06 - Poland's KGHM on track for rise in core profits this year - CEO

Polish copper miner KGHM is well on track to increase its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) this year amid rising copper prices, which are likely to average over $5,000, the company's chief executive said. "I think that the worst time for copper producers is behind us," Radoslaw Domagalski-Labedzki told Reuters. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 06 - New firm NFEx Markets aims to win base metals trading business

A new company, NFEx Markets, plans to launch a base metals tradingplatform in the first quarter of next year that will mimic the London Metal Exchange's (LME) forward contracts, in an attempt to attract physical trade, the company said on Monday. NFEx, incorporated in March this year and with registered offices in London's financial district, will operate the digital platform built by Autilla, a financial technology firm operating in commodities. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 06 - Asanko says liquidity likely to be over $100 mln by 2nd-qtr 2018

Asanko Gold Inc said it could bolster its liquidity position to over $100 million by the second quarter of 2018, days after short seller Muddy Waters said the Canadian gold miner would run out of cash by next year. Asanko outlined a plan on Monday for the expansion of its gold mine in Ghana, which includes the large Esaase deposit. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 06 - India's May gold imports surge four-fold from year ago - GFMS

India's gold imports in May surged fourfold from a year ago to 103 tonnes as jewellers increased purchases to replenish inventory and stock up ahead of a new national sales tax, provisional data from consultancy GFMS showed. The rise in imports by the world's second-biggest consumer of the precious metal will likely support global prices that are near their highest in six weeks, but could widen the South Asian country's trade deficit. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 06 - Canada's Osisko enters mining finance big leagues with Orion buy

Canada's Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd said on Monday it had agreed to buy a precious metals portfolio from U.S. private equity firm Orion Mine Finance Group for C$1.13 billion ($839.40 million), sending its shares up 10 percent. The transaction is "transformative" for Quebec-based Osisko as it increases its portfolio of producing diamond, gold and silver assets to 16 from five, Eight Capital analyst Josh Wolfson said in a note to clients. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 06 - Abitibi Royalties sees gold rangebound, upper limit of $1,425

The gold price is likely to stay range-bound over the next year, with an upper price of around $1,425, barring any major financial shock, the head of Canadian gold company Abitibi Royalties said. CEO Ian Ball's view sets him at odds with his mentor and renowned gold bull Rob McEwen, of McEwen Mining, for whom Ball worked for a decade. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 05 - EU, China fail to agree on steel, trade dumping at summit

The European Union and China failed on Friday to reach agreement on the problem of steel overcapacity and the EU's stance towards Chinese dumping, despite "narrowing differences". China, the world's biggest producer and consumer of steel, vowed last year to reduce its capacity but European steelmakers have complained that cheap Chinese exports are still flooding the market. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 05 - BHP CEO says he has not met with Elliott since Barcelona

BHP Billiton Chief Executive Andrew Mackenzie said on Monday he has not met with activist hedge fund Elliott Management since their talks in Barcelona last month and declined to comment on whether another meeting was scheduled. Elliott, a New York-based fund that has built up a 4.1 percent stake in BHP, is pushing a three-point plan to collapse the company's dual-listed structure, spin off its oil and gas assets in the United States, and boost returns to shareholders - all of which BHP has rejected. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 05 - Pakistan to open up mineral-rich Baluchistan to China "Silk Road" firms

Pakistan's resource-rich Baluchistan province wants Chinese companies to kick-start a boom in its mining industry by including the sector into Beijing's "Belt and Road" initiative, a senior provincial mining official said. Beijing has pledged $57 billion for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship "Belt and Road" project that first focused on Chinese firms building roads and power stations but is now expanding to include setting up industries. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 05 - Russia's Polyus raises 2018-2019 gold output forecast

Russia's largest gold producer Polyus said on Monday it raised its previously announced production forecast to 2.35—2.4 million troy ounces in 2018 and 2.8 million ounces in 2019 compared with 2.1 million ounces in 2017. Polyus also said that its board of directors had preliminary approved a regular dividend payment of $254 million for 2016 and a special dividend payment of $100 million thanks to a successful sale of the company's share in Nezhdaninskoe field. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 05 - China says 31 nationals detained in Zambia for illegal mining

Zambia has detained 31 Chinese nationals for illegal mining in the African country's copper belt but has failed to provide strong proof of their crimes, a senior Chinese diplomat said as he lodged a complaint. Lin Songtian, the Chinese Foreign Ministry's director-general for African affairs, told a Zambian diplomat in Beijing that China understands and supports actions to crack down on illegal mining, the ministry said in a statement late on Sunday. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 05 - China's Shandong Gold Mining to seek loans to buy Barrick mine stake

Shandong Gold Mining Co Ltd plans to apply for loans worth up to $1.26 billion via its unit to fund the acquisition of a stake in Barrick Gold Corp's mine in Argentina, the Chinese precious metal producer said on Friday. The Chinese producer's unit Shandong Gold Mining (Hong Kong) Co Ltd would apply for the loans from offshore units of two Chinese state-owned banks, it said in a statement. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 05 - Speculators lift bullish COMEX gold stance for 2nd straight week - CFTC

Hedge funds and money managers raised their net long position in COMEX gold for the second straight week, hitting the highest level in nearly a month, and also raised it in silver, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Friday. Money managers raised their net long position in bullion by 13,912 lots, to 131,572 lots in the week to May 30, the data showed. The boost came as prices rose about 1 percent during the period, as geopolitical concerns helped gold hover close to one-month peaks. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 05 - Ghana's 2016 gold output jumped 45 pct to 4.1 mln oz -report

Ghana's gold output jumped 45 percent in 2016 compared to the previous year as new projects came online and activities expanded across the industry, the Ghana Chamber of Mines said in a report on Friday. Total gold output from Africa's second largest producer was 4.1 million ounces, the highest level in nearly 40 years, up from 2.8 million ounces in 2015, the report stated. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 05 - Congo businesses denounce 'unjust' taxes in copper-mining region

The Chamber of Commerce in Democratic Republic of Congo has complained to the government about a worsening business climate in the country's copper-mining region, including what it says are unjustified duties on power imports. In a letter to the finance minister dated June 1, the chamber said Congo's customs agency has levied more than $300 million in penalties on mining companies for failing to declare electricity imports or making false customs declarations. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 05 - U.S. diamond market slows versus 2016, India brighter-De Beers

Indian diamond jewellery sales are rebounding after a fall of nearly 9 percent last year, while demand in the biggest market, the United States, has slowed in 2017 in line with muted economic growth, De Beers said on Friday. Broadly steady global diamond jewellery demand worth $80 billion in 2016 masked 4.4 percent growth in the United States and an 8.8 percent fall in India, where sales were disrupted by a jewellers' strike and a government decision to withdraw high-value bank notes. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 05 - India state of Odisha approves JSW Steel's $7.8 bln steel plant

The Indian state of Odisha said on Friday it had approved a plan by JSW Steel to set up a 10 million tonnes a year steel plant costing about 500 billion rupees ($7.8 billion). JSW, which is India's biggest steelmaker by capacity and produces 18 million tonnes a year, has sought 4,500 acres of land which were earlier allotted to South Korea's Posco, Odisha state-chief secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi told Reuters. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 05 - Acacia Mining says would cost $30 mln to close Bulyanhulu mine

Acacia Mining said on Friday it would cost about $30 million to put its Bulyanhulu mine in Tanzania under care and maintenance as an export ban on the miner's metals weighed. Shares in the unit of Barrick Gold rose 4.7 percent after the company stuck to its full-year production guidance despite the ban. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 02 - Coking coal price talks stall as steelmakers, miners spar on contract terms

Talks between Australian miners and Japanese steelmakers over coking coal supplies have stalled as the Japanese companies are pushing to move to more flexible arrangements from the current quarterly fixed-price terms. The Japanese are backed by BHP, the world's biggest producer of coking coal, a key steelmaking ingredient. However, other miners are against upending the 45-year-old fixed price settlement mechanism. Any changes could potentially further roil a market hit by wild swings recently. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 02 - EU urges U.S. to limit national security probe on steel

The European Union warned the United States on Thursday that its investigation into U.S. steel imports should be limited to issues of national security and not result in unjustified, sweeping measures on exporting nations. President Donald Trump launched a trade investigation in April against China and other exporters of steel into the U.S. market, under a law that allows presidents to impose restrictions on imports for reasons of U.S. national security. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 02 - BHP says restarts Australia iron ore mine after fire

Iron ore mining restarted on Friday at Australia's Mt Whaleback mine following a fire on Thursday, owner BHP said. "Mining at Mt Whaleback resumed at full capacity this morning and processing has resumed in areas unaffected by the incident," a company spokeswoman said. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 02 - Asanko Gold stock slides as investors weigh stock short

Asanko Gold Inc shares closed nearly 8 percent lower on Thursday after whipsawing between gains and losses during the session, as investors weighed hedge fund Muddy Waters' short bet against the stock with rebuttals by the company and equity analysts. The most active equity on the Toronto Stock Exchange, with more than 19 million shares trading hands, Asanko ended at C$2.02, modestly recovering from a 20 percent plunge after markets opened. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 02 - Chile eyes construction of new copper smelter

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said Thursday that she had asked state mining organizations including top producer Codelco to look at the possibility of building a new copper smelter to add value to copper exports. "I have asked (the organizations) to begin a study together to establish a new smelter in the region of Atacama that will be at the vanguard of clean technology," said Bachelet, as she gave her annual state-of-the-nation address to Congress. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 02 - Russian goldminer Polyus says to increase free float for shares

Russia's top gold producer Polyus is committed to increasing its free float to at least 10 percent and obtaining a listing in London, Chief Executive Pavel Grachev told Reuters in an interview. "We have always said we will aim to meet the Moscow Exchange requirement of at least 10 percent of the free float," Grachev said. The company's free float currently stands at 6.7 percent, he added. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 02 - Voestalpine says political risks complicate outlook

Voestalpine's first-half earnings should rise strongly but political uncertainties in the United States, Europe and Brazil made it difficult to give a second-half forecast, the Austrian steelmaker said on Thursday. Its 2017-18 financial year that began in April got off to a strong start with higher demand from various industries thanks to a stable Chinese economy, a recovery in Europe and new projects in emerging markets, the Linz-based company said. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 02 - Argentina to sign mining agreement Monday; taxes undefined -minister

Argentina's government will sign an agreement with provincial governors on Monday to unify some policies regulating the mining sector, Energy and Mining Minister Juan José Aranguren told Reuters on Thursday. Tax rates still need to be negotiated between companies and provinces, Aranguren said. The deal would also need to be approved by the country's opposition-controlled Congress before taking effect. Click here to read full stories.

Jun 02 - Botswana Lerala Diamond Mine shuts down - newspaper

Australia's Kimberley Diamond Ltd (KDL) has shut its Lerala Diamond Mine in Botswana citing weak market conditions, leaving 130 workers unemployed, a local newspaper reported Thursday. Botswana Mine Workers Union national organising coordinator, Abel Buka told Mmegi Newspaper that Kimberley had briefed workers in a letter that it was closing operations after failing to agree a funding deal with a Chinese financier. Click here to read full stories.