India Tata Steel to buy 35 pct in Mozambique project

(Reuters) - India's top private steel maker Tata Steel Ltd. said on Friday it would spend A$100 million to buy a 35 percent stake in a Mozambique coal project run by Australia's Riversdale Mining Ltd..

Tata Steel, which bought Anglo-Dutch Corus for $12.9 billion this year to become the world's sixth-largest steel maker, said it would source coking coal from the project for Corus' plants in the U.K. and Europe, and for Tata's Indian units.


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Japanese Shares Advance, Paced by KDDI on Earnings; Metal Producers Fall

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese shares advanced, led by KDDI
Corp. on speculation more companies will report higher earnings
for the fiscal first quarter.

Limiting gains, commodity producers such as Sumitomo Metal
Mining Co. and Inpex Holdings Inc. declined after prices of gold,
copper and crude oil fell.


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Australian Coal Group Wants Breakup of Queensland Rail to Cut Constraints

(Bloomberg) -- Coal mining companies in Australia's
Queensland state, which export A$18 billion ($16 billion) of the
fuel a year, want the state government to break up Queensland
Rail to reduce constraints on overseas shipments.

Mining companies may seek to buy parts of the rail network
to ease congestion between the railroad and ports, according to
e-mailed speech notes of Michael Roche, chief executive officer
of the Queensland Resources Council, who spoke today at a Sydney
conference.


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Australian Commodity Stocks Slip, Led by BHP, Woodside; David Jones Gains

(Bloomberg) -- Australian commodity stocks dropped,
led by BHP Billiton Ltd., Newcrest Mining Ltd. and Woodside
Petroleum Ltd., after copper, gold and oil prices fell in New York.

David Jones Ltd. gained after announcing second-half profit
would increase as much as 42 percent on accelerating sales.


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Palamin Q2 copper concentrate output falls 22 pct

(Reuters) - South Africa's biggest copper miner, Palabora Mining Company (Palamin), posted a 22 percent fall in output of copper in concentrates to 17,600 tonnes in the second quarter compared to the previous quarter, the firm said on Tuesday.

The sharp fall was mainly due to the transfer of low-grade stock from the concentrator to the smelter for sale during the first quarter, the firm said in a statement.


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UPDATE 1-Gecamines seeks advice on Camec bid for Katanga

(Reuters) - Katanga controls a partnership between Gecamines and
Kinross-Forrest Ltd formed to restart production at a
Kamoto mine through a company called Kamoto Copper Co ,
Gecamines said in a statement.




Gecamines said if Central African Mining & Exploration Co
buys Katanga it would have the effect of introducing a
new partner into the KCC project.


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Gecamines seeks advice on Camec bid for Katanga

(Reuters) - State-owned Democratic Republic of Congo miner Gecamines said on Friday it had sought legal advice on whether its contracts with Katanga Mining Ltd would be affected by a proposed takeover by Camec.

Katanga controls a partnership between Gecamines and Kinross-Forrest Ltd (KFL) formed to restart production at a Kamoto mine through a company called Kamoto Copper Co (KCC), Gecamines said in a statement.


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Central African to Make $1.56 Billion All-Stock Offer for Katanga Mining

(Bloomberg) -- Central African Mining & Exploration
Co., a miner of copper in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
said it will make an all-stock bid for Katanga Mining Ltd. that
values the company at 773.1 million pounds ($1.56 billion).

Central African, based in London, will offer 15 of its
shares for each share of Toronto-based Katanga, it said today in
a statement distributed by the Regulatory News Service. It
already owns 22 percent of Katanga, it added.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

First Quantum Congo copper mine starts up

(Reuters) - First Quantum's Frontier copper mine project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is starting commissioning as part of the Canadian company's growth plans, an official said on Tuesday.

"The Frontier project is starting commissioning as we speak," the company's President Clive Newall told delegates at a Numis Metals Mining Conference in London.


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Western Mining Seeks an $815 Million Initial Public Offering in Shanghai

(Bloomberg) -- China's Western Mining Co., a
producer of zinc, nickel and copper, is seeking as much as 6.2
billion yuan ($815 million) in a Shanghai initial public
offering to expand production and buy stakes in other mines.

The company will sell as many as 460 million new shares at
12 yuan to 13.48 yuan each, Xining, Qinghai-based Western Mining
said today in a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange. UBS AG,
Europe's biggest bank by assets, is arranging the sale, its
first in China.


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Japanese Stocks May Rise After Commodities Prices Rebound; Banks May Slide

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks may rise after prices
for commodities including copper and oil rebounded. Metals
producers such as Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. and trading houses
including Mitsubishi Corp. may pace gains.

Lenders may decline after the Financial Services Agency
ordered Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. to improve compliance
in its overseas operations and Credit Suisse Group lowered its
rating on shares of Mizuho Financial Group Inc.


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BHP Billiton resolves strike at its Samancor mine

(Reuters) - Mining group BHP Billiton on Monday announced that the strike over worker's transportation at its Samancor mines in South Africa has ended.

"Following Samancor Manganese's offer to explore alternative transport solutions, and a series of discussions between the National Union of Mineworkers and the Hotazel management, the strike at Hotazel manganese mines has been called off," Billiton said in a statement.


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Xstrata extends expiry time on offer for Lionore

(Reuters) - LionOre Mining said on Thursday that Russian Norilsk
Nickel's takeover bid
for the company was superior to a rival, C$6.2 billion offer by
Xstrata.




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Harmony Gold sees Q4 flat output, costs

(Reuters) - South Africa's Harmony Gold expects flat production and costs during the current fourth quarter to end-June, its CEO said on Tuesday.

"We would expect very similar numbers (compared to the previous quarter)," Chief Executive Bernard Swanepoel told the Reuters Global Mining and Steel Summit in London via telephone from Cape Town.


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Japan Stocks May Gain, Led by Banks on Earnings; Sumitomo Metal May Climb

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese shares may advance, led by
banks, after Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. forecast
profit will increase for this business year.

Commodity-related shares such as Inpex Holdings Inc. and
Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. may rise after crude oil and metals
prices gained.


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