Corporate majors like Reliance, Essar and GMR, which are vying for the USD 6-8 billion project to convert coal into oil, may have to share profits earned thereby with the government, official sources said.

“We have proposed the companies to share profits from coal-to-liquid (CTL) project with the government to which many have agreed to,” a top coal ministry official said.

Besides sharing profit with the firm finalised for the CTL project, the government would also earn royalty on coal mined from the three blocks on offer in Orissa, he added.
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Rio Tinto Group, the world’s third- largest mining company, faces the prospect of further industrial action by train drivers at its iron ore operations in Western Australia after the first strike today in more than 16 years.

Today’s 12-hour strike, in which 11 out of 12 drivers took part, was “only the commencement of the campaign,” Gary Wood, secretary of the Western Australian division of the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union, said today. Deliveries from Rio’s mines weren’t affected today by the strike, said Gervase Greene, a spokesman for the company’s iron ore unit.
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Officials with Colorado Goldfields Inc., the Denver-based mining firm doing exploratory work at the Gold King and Mogul mine sites near Gladstone, say the drilling program this summer shows positive results.

John Ferguson, director of operations for Colorado Goldfields, said results continue to correlate “extremely well” with historical records, with more than half this season’s drilling completed.
Last Thursday, the company completed the Mogul drill hole, revealing 50 feet of vein intercept.
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Researh and Market today reports mining sector analyst to make plans to invest in mining sector. On release title “Merit Energy Analysis across the Oil and Gas Value Chain”.

Merit Energy (Merit) Analysis across The Oil and Gas Value Chain is an essential source for data, analysis and strategic insight into Merit Energy. The report provides key information relating to oil and gas assets of the company and financial, SWOT and value chain analysis of the company. The report examines company’s business structure and operations, history and products, and provides an analysis of its key revenue lines. It inspects the company’s strategy, both in terms of its value chain positioning and strategic strengths and weaknesses.
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Cash flow is king as investors weed through murky markets for opportunities in the mining sector, says Wellington West analyst Catherine Gignac.

In particular, Ms. Gignac likes low-cost producers who are cashed up during these uncertain times.

“Those [producer] companies with cash flow and low cash costs, low capital spending programs and manageable debt service levels stand to benefit the most as the market high grades names in a flight to quality,” she said in a note to clients. Read more » »

The news sent Mount Gibson’s shares down 24.24 per cent, or 28c, to 87c.

Mount Gibson Iron announced that its customers in the economic powerhouse wanted to delay shipments.

In a note to the Australian Stock Exchange, managing director Luke Tonkin said customer and iron ore sector analysis indicated a slowdown in demand for iron ore in China as a result of economic uncertainty and tightening credit facilities. He said this had led to reductions in steel production and the significant build-up of iron ore stockpiles at Chinese ports.
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Australian iron ore mining exploration annoyed with plans to delays of delivery iron ore mine from Australian.

Postponement plans of delivery iron ore mine from Australian reported on by Australian Company, Mount Gibson.

In a potentially alarming sign for the Australian economy, the company said demand in China had slowed due to ” reductions in steel production and the current significant build-up of iron ore stockpiles at Chinese ports”.
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Government is open to the idea of allowing power generating companies to use surplus coal for a project other than the one for which the block was allotted, as in the case of Reliance Power’s 4,000 Mw Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) at Sasan in Madhya Pradesh, sources said today.

“If a company is able to mine more than the estimated production on account of new mining techniques and further exploration and if the firm has its projects to utilise that surplus, the company can use it but with prior permission from the government,” a top coal ministry official told PTI today. Read more » »

Anglo-Russian miner Aricom Plc needs $1 billion in external funds for an iron ore project to supply resource-hungry China, it said on Wednesday, sending its shares lower in a tough global environment for borrowers.

Shares of Aricom, a member of the UK’s FTSE 250 mid-range stocks index, pared losses to 8.8 percent by 1505 GMT after earlier plunging 38 percent to a record low on the release of a feasibility study into the project in Russia’s far east, where construction will start next year.
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Investment Advisor SP Tulsian is of the view that one can remain invested in Tata Steel with long term perspective.

Tulsian told CNBC-TV18, “We have been seeing metal stocks softening in the last 15 days or so because the prices of (hot rolled coils) HR and long products both have fallen by about 22-25%. With the global meltdown even when people are talking of recession in US and Europe, I do not think the prices will really improve. Read more » »