Search

A team assessing Zimbabwe's compliance with international standards to prevent the diamond trade from fueling conflict found that the nation's military had been directly involved in illegal mining and that the authorities had carried out ''horrific violence against civilians,'' according to a memo the team gave to Zimbabwean officials. The team, sent on a mission to Zimbabwe last week under the Kimberly Process, an international undertaking to halt the trade in so-called blood diamonds, said its recommendations could include the full suspension of Zimbabwe from the process, further complicating the country's ability to sell its diamonds on international markets. Already, the World Federation of Diamond Bourses has recommended that its members in 20 countries not trade diamonds from the Marange deposits in eastern Zimbabwe because of reports of abuses. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

HE economy lost 467,000 jobs in June, a deeply discouraging number at a time when other indicators have suggested the recession may be ending. But economic turning points are notoriously hard to identify, especially when a parade of data can seem to contradict itself. After the 2001 recession, 20 months passed before the National Bureau of Economic Research officially determined its endpoint. To get a feeling for how cycles are evolving, economists at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development have been watching a chart of industrial production, based on data from manufacturers, miners and utility companies. (In the United States, industry's share of the economy has fallen to about 20 percent, but it still moves roughly in step with the economy as a whole.) The chart, explained below, currently suggests that the economy is poised to turn around, but that the climb out will be a long one. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Xstrata, an exporter of coal used by power plants, on Sunday proposed a merger with Anglo American to gain access to iron ore mines and control of the world's biggest platinum producer. ''A merger of these two world-class companies with complementary assets is highly compelling'' and would provide ''enhanced scale and financial flexibility to fund future growth,'' Xstrata said in a statement. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An underground fire in an abandoned shaft has apparently killed 36 people who were illegally mining, the Harmony Gold Mining Company said Monday. The company said the bodies were brought to the surface by other illegal miners over the weekend at the Eland shaft in central South Africa. In a statement, the company said that it was unclear if other illegal miners had died and that it would not send its own workers in to search, because ''the abandoned mining areas where the criminal miners have been active are extremely dangerous.'' [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

South Africa has fallen into its first recession in 17 years. Official statistics released Tuesday showed the nation's economy contracted by 6.4 percent in the first quarter of this year, following a 1.8 percent decline in the last quarter of 2008. Mining and manufacturing were particularly hard hit, as global demand fell. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Obama administration stepped up efforts to reverse a rule adopted late in the Bush administration that makes it easier for companies to deposit debris from mountaintop coal mining near streams. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, left, said that the rule was legally flawed and that he had asked government lawyers to press a federal court to vacate it and send it back for reworking. ''The so-called stream buffer zone rule simply doesn't pass muster with respect to adequately protecting water quality and stream habitat that communities rely on in coal country,'' Mr. Salazar said. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

MELBOURNE -- The Australian miner Oz Minerals agreed to sell most of its assets to Minmetals for $1.2 billion Wednesday, securing the Australian mining sector's second big Chinese investment in as many days. The deal, renegotiated after the Australian government blocked the previous bid by the state-owned Chinese company, promises to rescue one of the world's biggest zinc miners from defaulting on its debt and gives Minmetals all but two of Oz Minerals's main assets. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The longstanding disgrace of mountaintop mining is now squarely in President Obama's hands. A recent court decision has given the green light to as many as 90 mountaintop mining projects in Appalachia's coal-rich hills, which in turn could destroy more than 200 miles of valleys and streams on top of the 1,200 miles that have already been obliterated. The right course for the administration is clear: stop the projects until the underlying regulations are revised so as to end the practice altogether. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The latest in a series of federal court rulings on mountaintop coal mining in Appalachia came down firmly on the side of the coal industry on Friday. The ruling, by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, in Richmond, Va., overturned a 2007 decision that supported environmentalists' claims that the Army Corps of Engineers had improperly issued permits for several such mining operations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A sharp drop in commodities prices triggered a 56.5 percent decrease in first-half profit at BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining company, which warned Wednesday of tougher times ahead. The British-Australian mining giant cited ''unprecedented'' falls in the price of metals and said it expected weak and volatile conditions to persist. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

President Bush will designate vast tracts of American-controlled Pacific Ocean islands, reefs, surface waters and sea floor as marine national monuments on Tuesday, limiting fishing, mining, oil exploration or other commercial activity, White House officials said Monday. The protected zones, including parts of the deep Mariana Trench and a string of largely uninhabited reefs and atolls near the Equator and American Samoa, include a total of 195,280 square miles, an area larger than the states of Washington and Oregon combined. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The ski resort of Aspen was virtually shut down on New Year's Eve after two homemade gasoline bombs with threatening notes attached were found at two banks and two more were found in an alley. Hours later, a suspect -- a longtime Aspen resident who an acquaintance said was bitter because he had not profited from the community's transformation from a rural mining town into a luxury resort town -- killed himself with a gunshot to the head, the authorities said. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

SLIDESHOW: THE SPOILS: NIGER STRUGGLES OVER EARTH'S RICHES There is wealth buried in African soil. Niger's northern desert caps one of the world's largest deposits of uranium, which could provide the country with enough cash to pull itself out of poverty. Or it could spark a war that would leave Niger more destitute than ever. An interactive graphic shows the history and geography of Africa's abundant natural resources, and a slide show of Niger Movement for Justice fighters, who want the government to give the people a share of the wealth buried beneath their homeland. Above left, a group of fighters pray in the early morning. A gun truck carries a monkey caught in the bush. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In another regulatory action in the waning days of the Bush administration, the Interior Department on Thursday unveiled a new rule that challenges Congress's authority to prevent mining planned on public lands. Congress has emergency power to stop mineral development, and has used it six times in the last 32 years. The most recent was in June, when it put a three-year moratorium on uranium mining on one million acres near the Grand Canyon. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne has ignored that Congressional directive, saying it was procedurally flawed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

For this isolated mining town, which lives and dies by the price of copper, the last few years have been a roller coaster ride of steep climbs and sudden dips. Over all, however, the direction seemed to be up. Copper's dizzying climb began in 2003, when prices surged in response to booming demand from China and other fast-industrializing economies. The price spike spurred a major revival of Arizona's once-battered mining industry, and towns like Morenci, once devastated by layoffs, returned to flush times. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Federal mining officials have asked prosecutors to decide whether criminal charges are warranted in the deaths of nine people in last year's collapse of the Crandall Canyon mine. The Mine Safety and Health Administration has been investigating two cave-ins at the mine in August 2007 that killed six miners and three rescuers. The safety agency has already fined the operator $1.34 million for violations that it says directly contributed to the deaths. Richard Stickler, an acting assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health, said the mine's operator and its engineering consultants demonstrated reckless disregard for safety. Mr. Stickler said the safety agency had referred the case to the Justice Department for possible criminal charges. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Rio Tinto, the global mining company, posted record first-half profit Tuesday, bolstering its effort to fend off a hostile takeover by BHP Billiton. Rio Tinto said the results had been lifted by booming demand for iron ore from steel makers in Asia and by the acquisition of the Canadian company Alcan for $38 billion in October. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining company, posted record net income Monday, helping to dispel recent doubts about how natural resource groups would maintain the impressive growth they have built on surging demand from developing countries. BHP, which is seeking to buy Rio Tinto, a major rival, reported net income of $15.4 billion for the year ending June 30, helped by the jump in commodity prices, higher production and an ability to pass on higher costs. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The need for a criminal inquiry into the Crandall Canyon mine disaster is shockingly clear now that investigators have detailed how greedy mine operators concealed danger warnings and literally chiseled underground pillar supports to the breaking point. The roof of the Utah mine collapsed last summer, killing six miners and leading three would-be rescuers to their deaths. The mine's operator, Genwal Resources, a subsidiary of the Murray Energy Corporation, has insisted that an earthquake caused the collapse. But a federal investigation concluded that the mine was ''primed for a massive pillar collapse'' after management mined beyond safety limits to scrape extra coal profits from the floor and supports. Compounding the tragedy, the company never alerted federal monitors to three earlier outbursts -- the last only three days before the disaster -- in which pressure from above caused coal to explode from winnowed supports. No miners were harmed, but the company clearly was alerted to trouble brewing below. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In what would be one of the biggest mining deals in Russia this year, the metals tycoon Mikhail D. Prokhorov announced on Tuesday that he would sell 16.6 percent of the Arctic mining giant Norilsk Nickel to his former business partner, Vladimir O. Potanin. The two tycoons agreed last year to divide their holdings in Norilsk, a Russian factory founded by Stalin, whose value soared along with high commodity prices. Norilsk is the world's largest producer of nickel, a key alloy in stainless steel. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

YOU might expect a company's stock to fall after a decline in the going rate for its main -- or only -- product, so the recent dives in prices for iron ore, copper, aluminum and other industrial metals should have brought share prices for mine operators down with them. What might not have been expected was that the rout in mining stocks would have begun in the spring, while prices for the raw materials were still climbing. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

''I AM connected to the divine, to these forces here,'' Joao Carlos Cavalcanti, the Brazilian mining magnate, said as he swept an arm out across the lily pad-covered lake behind his $15 million mansion. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Barrick Gold Corporation, the world's largest gold producer, raised its bid for the oil and natural gas explorer Cadence Energy by 13 percent to widen its advantage over a competing bid. The all-cash offer of 410 million Canadian dollars ($409 million), or 6.75 Canadian dollars a share, was submitted to Cadence's board, Barrick said. Barrick, based in Toronto, said on July 14 that it had proposed an all-cash offer of 354 million Canadian dollars. The competing bid came from Daylight Resources Trust, which offered 301 million Canadian dollars for Cadence on May 26. Cadence and Daylight Resources are both based in Calgary. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A million acres of public land near Grand Canyon would be off limits to new uranium mining under a declaration adopted by a House committee. Tapping a rarely used provision, the panel, the House Natural Resources Committee, voted 20 to 2 to stop any new claims to uranium on lands adjacent to Grand Canyon National Park for up to three years. Supporters of the measure, which was advanced by Representative Raul M. Grijalva, Democrat of Arizona, said a rush of claims to mine for uranium for proposed nuclear power plants threatened the landscape. A spokesman for the Interior Department said the department would weigh its next steps, given that a 1983 Justice Department opinion found similar resolutions unconstitutional. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

South Africa, the world's biggest precious metals producer, said mining output fell 17 percent in March because of power shortages. Gold production declined 11 percent from a year earlier, said Statistics South Africa, the national statistics agency. Output of metals other than gold fell 18 percent. Most mines in South Africa were shut for five days from Jan. 25. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The aluminum tycoon Oleg V. Deripaska said Thursday that he had bought 25 percent of the Arctic mining company Norilsk Nickel, a deal that furthers Mr. Deripaska's quest to consolidate the Russian metals and mining industry. The transaction continues a pattern in Russia of uniting companies separated in the breakup of the Soviet Union and the privatization trend in the 1990s into big new monopolies, either state-owned or controlled by executives loyal to the Kremlin. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article reports that the 37 people were killed and several hundred injured when a truck carrying explosives met with an accident in Mexico City, Mexico. The truck, which had been leased by Orica, a company that transports explosives for the mining industry, caught fire after crashing into a pick up truck. According to state secretary of public security Fausto Detenave Kuri, the truck had been carrying 50,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate.

The article offers information on the six coal miners who got trapped in Crandall Canyon mine. Murray Energy Corp. has declined to reveal the names of the miners owing to the privacy concerns, however, relatives of those miners have disclosed their identities as Utah residents including 57 years old Kerry V. Allred, 50 years old Don L. Erickson and more.

The article reports that Norilsk Nickel, the Russian mining company, has raised its bid offer to $6.27 billion to merge the Canadian mining company LionOre Mining International Ltd. to outshine efforts of Xstrata AG to win a bidding battle. Zug, Switzerland-based Xstrata had increased its bid offer to $5.6 billion last week.

This article presents information on a study dealing with Indian tribes in Brazil conducted by Funai, the National Indian Foundation of Brazil. According to the findings of the study, about 67 Indian groups are surviving in isolation in the country's Amazon rain forest. However, they are facing huge risk of destruction in the wake of encroaching loggers and miners. The number of such isolated groups are more than previous estimates.

The article reports that Brazilian company Companhia Vale do Rio Doce SA will acquire Canadian mining company Inco Ltd. for $17 billion. The acquisition has weakened the position of the country in the mining industry. Falconbridge, the second-largest nickel mining company of Canada, was acquired by Swiss company Xstrata in August 2006.

The article focuses on the boom in the mining industry.

The article reports that relatives of the miners who testified in the final day of hearings on the mine disaster that killed 12 people have said that the owner of the mine, which is the Sago Coal Co. and the government regulators did not exert much effort to correct the unsafe conditions and did not begin the rescue operations quickly enough.

The article comments on fines levied by the U.S. Congress on the mining industry due to mine deaths.

The article reports on business developments in the U.S. Market share in the automobile market for General Motors and Ford has been reduced due to competition with Asian manufacturers. The administration of President George W. Bush has lowered major fines for the safety violations of mining companies. Flight attendants at Northwest Airlines have agreed to wage concessions of 195 million dollars a year. The popularity of Byetta, a diabetes medicine available only by prescription, has increased. The percentage of adult women working outside the home has slipped in the last five years.

The article reports on the end of the protesters blocking off the access to a mine owned by the American company Freeport-McMoRan Inc. in Papua Province of Indonesia.

The article reports that several more than fifty miners have been trapped in a tunnel after an explosion under Unidad Pasta de los Conchos mine on February 19, 2006 in Mexico.

The article reports on the federal charges filed on a former foreman at the Sago Mine, Robert L. Dennison that he falsified inspection reports at the mine in 2004 in Morgantown, West Virginia.

The article report developments in the efforts to rescue trapped miners during an accident at the Unidad Pasta de los Conchos in San Juan de las Sabinas in Mexico.

The article relates the differences of the coal mining technology from 1837 to 2006 in Katowice, Poland.

The article reports on the law enacted by the local government of West Virginia that requires miners be equipped with wireless communication and location system and other safety devices.

The article reports on the search effort by smoke hampers rescuers to retrieve miners who became victims of a fire that broke out inside a mine in Melville, West Virginia.

The article reports on the mourning services for miners, which were killed at the Sago Mine in West Virginia, focusing on the life of the miners. The miners were praised as men who had work ethic that would not quit. Governor Joe Manchin, however, pledged to determine the cause of the tragedy.

The article comments on the possible enforcement that could have prevented the coal mining tragedy in West Virginia. Inspectors remark that if regulations were followed, the disaster would have been forestalled. The author suggests the need to consider the budget cutbacks and staff attrition for the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

The article reports on the treatment undertaken by lone survivor Randal McCloy Jr. from the mining tragedy in West Virginia.

The article reports on several news briefs. Egyptian authorities postpone deportation of Sudanese migrants. China closes coal mines in a safety crackdown on the mining industry. Uzbekistan President Islam A. Karimov appoints a new interior minister. Peru recalls its ambassador from Venezuela. A British court extradites a Briton Haroon Rashid Aswat suspected for helping a cleric to set up a terrorist camp in Oregon.

The article reports on the impact of the suspension of operations at Black Mesa Mine on creating hundreds of job losses to people who depend mostly on their pay at the mine in Arizona.

Reports that Inco Ltd., a Canadian mining company, has agreed to acquire a rival, Falconbridge Ltd.

Reports on the impact of price increase for iron ore and other commodities on the total annual profits incurred by mining company BHP Billiton Ltd.

Reports socio-political related developments worldwide. Sentence imposed to six soldiers for sex abuses while being deployed as United Nations peacekeepers; Progress indicated in the efforts made by the United Nations relief officials to combat hunger in Niger and southern Sudan; Increase in security at Minera Aruntani after a group of heavily armed men robbed its mine in southern Peru.