Rio Tinto Ltd/Plc , under pressure to broaden its reach in commodities as it fights a takeover by BHP Billiton Ltd , said on Tuesday it had agreed to tax clauses with Indonesia needed before it can develop a nickel mine costing $1.5 billion.

Rio has largely been absent from nickel mining and hopes to start mining the metal in Indonesia’s Sulawesi province in about seven years. BHP , with operations in Australia and Colombia, is the world’s third largest nickel producer.

BHP has criticised Rio’s lack of assets in areas such as nickel and oil, where BHP also is active.
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Zimbabwe’s gold production plunged by 61 percent to 295.57 kilogrammes (652 pounds) in March compared to February because wages are being held back, a mining association said on Tuesday.

“We have the potential to produce 30 tonnes of gold annually but right now production is going down monthly,” Jack Murehwa, head of the Chamber of Mines, an association of mining companies, told AFP.

“The major problem we have is that the Reserve Bank has not paid most miners and they have not said anything to us as to why they are not paying the miners. There is nothing coming from them.” Read more » »

Kan. governor to respond to Republican leaders ‘ultimatum’ on coal-fired plants.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius says she’ll respond to a new plan for allowing two coal-fired power plants in southwest Kansas.

The Democratic governor has scheduled a news conference for 9 a.m. Wednesday. That’s just an hour before legislators reconvene after their annual spring break.

The Republican leaders who drafted the plan said they wanted an answer before the session resumed.
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BP PLC and Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Europe’s two biggest oil producers, posted forecast-busting first-quarter earnings on Tuesday thanks to record crude oil prices that are expected to bolster profits across the industry.

The combined profits of $17 billion reignited calls for a windfall tax on oil profits as consumers struggle to pay for food and fuel.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown suggested that some of those profits should be reinvested in costly exploration for new oil reserves in the North Sea.
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The Pentagon has agreed to cut from its budget $171 million to build police stations in Iraq after demands from Congress that the Iraqi government spend its recent oil windfall on reconstruction projects.

In a letter to the Senate Armed Services Committee released Tuesday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates wrote that he had heard senators’ concerns “loud and clear” during hearings earlier this month. As a result, he wrote, “We will seek full funding from the government of Iraq for this purpose.”
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Reliance Power Ltd, a India coal mine will invest fund which they to have for expansion of exploration of coal in Indonesia.

Reliance Power will build railway infrastructure to transport coal-mine towards dock. To support exploration activity Reliance Power will build dock as terminal for export coal to India. Delivery of coal will be done from Sumatra South to India part of south. Project of this coal-mine estimated stays until 12 billion coal tons.

Report activity standard of exploration of coal Reliance Power for March 31 is 946.7 million rupee ( $23.6 million). Earnings total is 1.33 billion rupees.

Starts June 1, 2008 Vietnam National coal and Mineral will take over process export coal. This thing done to protect coal-mine from theft which had been done some times ago.

Number of coal mines merged into by company Vinacomin counted 9 company. Counted starts June 1, all company merged into by company Vinacomin must report and delivers contract to export coal.

Coal mine China, Yanzhou reports gain from exploration of coal at first quarter 112.73 percent, the gain result of exploration 149 billion yuan or $213.13 million. Improvement of this gain caused sale market of coal experiences improvement.

On file report at Shanghai Stock Exchange, earnings of operation 555 billion, earnings of Yanzhou 46.97 percent, while operating costs exploration increases 31.44 percent or 238 billion yuan.
Sale earnings of Yanzhou at first quarter average of 59943 yuan per coal ton, increases 4589 percent. At local market the price of coal average of 60087 yuan per ton, while global market average of 48715 yuan per ton. Its selling costs fell 38.9 percent to 125.09 million yuan.
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Result of exploration of mine in afrika south done by Anglo mine company American Plc, experiences downdraft following report result of exploration of Anglo mine American Plc :
Platinum Anglo Ltd, experiences downdraft of 24 % or 428,600 ounces from year before all. Result of exploration of coal 28 percent or 223 million metric tons. Produce of levator skapula for De Beers 45 percent experiences downdraft of 68 % or 1177 million carat.
This downdraft caused existence of electrical demarcation policy to mine and industry after commutation of authority starts januari 24. This condition results closed mine company during 5 day. This condition made worse by existence of torrential rains resulting coal mining to desist within certain.
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f 20th-century Australia was dominated by New South Wales and Victoria and the rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne, then this century is set to be marked by the rise of the mining states – Western Australia and Queensland.

The number of resources executives among the country’s top 200 wealthiest business leaders has almost doubled in the past year, highlighting the fortunes being made in a Chinese-fuelled bonanza. The boom is centred on Western Australia, with its iron ore, gold and natural gas reserves, and on Queensland, with its coal.
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