World Mining News

Cyprus will sell over $500 million of its gold reserves to help finance a small part of its $30 billion bailout needs between 2013 Q2 and 2016 Q1, reported Reuters on Wednesday. Cyprus’ financing program will involve $14 billion from the restructuring of the Laiki Bank and the losses imposed on bondholders and depositors with accounts worth more than $130,000. …

Australia’s Southern Cross Goldfields (ASX: SXG) and Polymetals Mining (ASX: PLY) plan to merge, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. The two miners describe the resulting entity as a significant diversified gold company with the ability to join the ranks of mid-tier producers in the near term. According to Proactive Investors Australia, the merger’s end result will be a $30-million market …

A US judge ruled the federal government violated national environmental law by declining to conduct a full-fledged environmental impact study of its oil leasing for California’s Monterey Shale Formation, reports Reuters. The Obama administration did not fully weigh the effects of fracking on the environment, said US District Judge Paul Grewal in a decision released Monday. The verdict is a setback …

ULAN BATOR – After meeting with Mongolian President Tsakhia Elbegdorj and Prime Minister Norov Altankhuyag in Ulan Bator, Abe told a news conference the two sides will accelerate ongoing bilateral negotiations toward inking a free-trade accord. The two sides agreed to hold a third round of trade liberalization talks in the Mongolian capital from Tuesday. “As Mongolia is rich in …

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit Mongolia from Saturday through Sunday and meet Mongolian President Tsakhia Elbegdorj and Prime Minister Norov Altankhuyag, Japanese officials said Wednesday. Japan’s relationship with Mongolia is particularly important, given the Asian nation’s rich coal and precious mineral deposits, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference, adding that the summit will include meetings on …

The COO Leaders Mining Summit 2013 will help your organisation keep up to date with some of the major challenges currently facing the mining industry, including issues and major challenges such as; using technology to drive optimal mining productivity, re-evaluating cost control strategies to cushion the impact of hight commoditiy prices, implementing well structured compliance processes and policies in a …

Chilean company Minera Isla Riesco’s $550 million Mina Invierno coal project, in the country’s southern region, has begun the loading process for its first 30,000 tonne shipment, reports MundoMaritimo. Until now, the world’s top copper producer had met its energy requirements by using hydropower and natural gas, with most (94%) of its relatively small thermal coal needs being met by …

Jargalsaikhany Mendee writing in the Asia Times Online argues Mongolian lawmakers in the process of finalizing a new bill to regulate the mining industry are hoping to avoid the mistakes of the past. The Mongolian parliament has revised the rules governing mining companies and foreign investment in the sector several times since introducing its so-called Gold Program in 1990, but …

World number two miner Rio Tinto (LON:ASX) has suffered another setback at Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia after the US refused to vote on World Bank funding to expand the massive copper-gold project in Mongolia. Operator Turquoise Hill Resources (TSX:TRQ), which is controlled by Rio, has already spent more than $6 billion on the mine in the south Gobi desert where …

Mongolia is planning to ease a key restriction on foreign investment by raising by tenfold the size of deals that must be approved by parliament, the nation’s foreign minister said in an interview. The threshold will be raised to 1 trillion tugrik ($715 million) from 100 billion tugrik, Luvsanvandan Bold said, adding that the decision would please foreign investors hoping …