Gold prices have hit $905 an ounce on the New York exchange market, rising from $882 late last week. Rapidly rising oil prices, which reached $128 a barrel, have sparked a buying spree. Silver has also risen in price, reaching $17 an ounce. Earlier this year gold prices broke the $1,000 an ounce barrier before falling back again. Financial analysts believe gold could hit $2,500 an ounce within a few years.

Buckeye Mining gets grant for coal transloading facility. The coal transloading facility is to be located on 18 acres of Columbiana County Port Authority property being leased by Buckeye Industrial. The property is located in the Port Authority’s riverfront industrial park in Wellsville. Baard plans to build its coal conversion plant across state Route 7 from the industrial park on 357 acres of Port Authority land.

Port Authority Chief Executive Officer Tracy Drake said Buckeye Industrial entered into the lease in the early 2000s for the purpose of having a staging area from where it could collect and ship coal by truck, railroad and barge. Read more » »

Rio Tinto Group, fending off a $189 billion hostile bid from BHP Billiton Ltd., will expand capacity at its Kennecott U.S. copper unit by 20 percent and more than double the life of the Bingham Canyon mine.

Upgrades to a conveyer in the second half will boost refinery capacity to 327,000 metric tons a year, London-based Rio said Friday. Capacity is currently about 272,000 tons.
Read more » »

Coal production is expected to slow down after a small section of roof collapsed in a Greene County mine.

No one was injured in last weekend’s roof collapse. The collapse was in the Emerald Mine, just south of Waynesburg.

State Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Tom Rathbun says the piece of roof fell on a stage loader, a piece of equipment that moves coal to a conveyor belt.

A spokesman for Foundation Coal Holdings, Rick Nida, says the problem is not unusual. He says the miners could see the problem developing and knew to stay away. The Maryland-based company owns the mine. Nida says the collapse will slow down production.

Information from: Herald-Standard, heraldstandard.com

Interstate Power and Light said Friday, the company plans to install a catalytic reduction system and low nitrogen oxide burners at the plant near the Mississippi River town of Lansing.

The company said the measures are expected to remove more than 90 percent, or more than 3,700 tons, of nitrogen oxide emissions. The work will begin this summer.

Sterling Truck Corp. introduced the Sterling Set-Back 113 with Natural Gas. The natural gas-fueled tractor is ideal for port operations, as well as natural gas utilities and municipalities. This truck is powered by the Cummins Westport ISL G.

Due to deterioration in air quality, the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have embraced the use of alternative fuels in commercial vehicles. At the same time, utility companies and municipalities throughout North America have shown increased interest in green transportation technology,” said Richard Shearing, manager of product strategy. “By introducing the Set-Back 113 with Natural Gas, we’re giving our customers a hard-working truck that reduces both costs and environmental emissions.

Read more » »

Citing soaring natural gas prices, AmerenUE, the Missouri utility company of Ameren Corp., has filed a request with the Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC) for an increase in the purchased gas adjustment (PGA) on customer bills that would add an extra $11 per month to most residential customers’ bills.

The new PGA would, on average, increase residential customers’ bills by 13.9 percent, or $11 per month. If approved by the PSC, the increase would become effective June 1 for AmerenUE’s 127,000 gas customers.
Read more » »

Colorado’s biggest utility, Xcel Energy, on Friday asked for a hike in the price of natural gas it could charge customers in June.

The proposed price is 10 percent higher than this month - and more than 50 percent higher than in June 2007 - reflecting the increased price of natural gas with the construction of new pipelines in the state.

If approved, a typical residential customer’s gas bill next month will be $37.02, 17 percent lower than this month’s $44.62 because customers generally use less natural gas in summer months.
Read more » »

Crude oil was little changed in New York after a report yesterday showed that natural gas supplies rose and the U.S. Congress approved legislation that strengthens oversight of electronic energy trading.

Stockpiles climbed 93 billion cubic feet last week, the Energy Department said. The Senate approved the measure by an 81-15 vote, a margin large enough to override a threatened veto from President George W. Bush. Oil prices were higher before the gas report’s release on signs European fuel demand will rise. Read more » »

A trial in the multimillion-dollar lawsuit over water pollution violations by Alaska’s largest mine scheduled to begin Monday in Anchorage has been canceled.

Six residents of Kivalina, a Northwest Inupiaq village about 50 miles from the Red Dog zinc and lead mine, sued the mine’s operator in 2004, accusing it of polluting their drinking water supply.

They claimed the mine could be liable for as much as $70 million, according to a court filing in March. Read more » »