BHP in line to gain from Australian state's rising coal exports

BHP Billiton could show stronger-than-expected quarterly production of Australian coal this week on the back of a trend of rising shipments from a key mining state.

Data released on Monday show coal exports up sharply in the last financial year in New South Wales state, where BHP's extensive coal operations include its Mt Arthur thermal mine, the largest production site in the state's Hunter Valley.

China buys just under a fifth of the state's coal exports and is the second biggest customer behind Japan, according to the data.

BHP reports December quarter production on Wednesday, with analysts expecting overall flat coal output for the period.

Glencore Xstrata and Rio Tinto also mine coal in the state.

Japan's top power companies boosted their use of thermal coal by 15 percent last month to 5.31 million tonnes.

New South Wales coal exports to China rose by nearly a third to 31 million tonnes in the year to June 30, according to Coal Services Pty Ltd, which compiles statistics for the state's coal mining sector.

For the rest of Asia, exports to Japan rose 12 percent, to South Korea nearly 20 percent and to Taiwan nearly 7 percent.

Lower pricing and higher operating costs over the past two years have left coal as the weakest of the "four pillars" of BHP's core business behind iron ore, petroleum and copper.

"Finally, there is some good news, with demand for New South Wales coal rising significantly in China, contrary to some of the rhetoric we have been hearing that demand for coal is diminishing," Stephen Galilee, chief executive of the New South Wales Minerals Council, said.

"The data also shows demand for coal is growing steadily across all our main export markets."

Any uptick in demand has yet to trigger much price recovery, although thermal coal is up from September's four-year trough of around $75 a tonne.

Australia's Newcastle weekly spot index fell to $82.05 per tonne last week from $83.54 on Jan. 9, data from trading platform globalCOAL showed.

Another Australian miner, Wesfarmers Ltd on Monday said its price for hard, semi-hard coking coal in neighbouring Queensland state would drop by 5 percent in the March quarter versus the previous quarter, in line with other settlements.

GVK Hancock taps ex-Rio executive for Galilee Basin coal mines

GVK Hancock has appointed a Rio Tinto veteran as its chief executive, as the company's joint owners India's GVK conglomerate and Australian billionaire Gina Rinehart push to line up funding for their $10 billion Alpha coal mine, rail and port project.

GVK Hancock named Darren Yeates as its new boss, replacing Paul Mulder, who was on loan from Rinehart's privately held Hancock Prospecting and has led the project over the past six years.

GVK Hancock is developing the Alpha and Kevin's Corner projects in the Galilee Basin in Australia's Queensland state, where weak coal prices have stalled several projects that need billions of dollars to build rail lines to the nearest port 500 kilometres (310 miles) away.

However compared with mines proposed by India's Adani Enterprises and billionaire Clive Palmer's Waratah Coal, among others, GVK Hancock's projects are the most advanced, having won final environmental approval last December.

"My immediate focus will be on continuing to build on the significant progress achieved to date and on driving a clear path forward to project delivery," Yeates said in a statement.

The company said last August it aims to start construction on the 32 million tonnes a year Alpha mine, 79 percent owned by GVK and 21 percent owned by Hancock Prospecting, this year, targeting first production in early 2017.

GVK also wants to start building the Kevin's Corner mine in 2015 and start producing there in 2018.

Yeates, who was acting managing director of Rio Tinto Coal Australia until last year, was not available to comment further.

Rio Tinto Alcan inaugurates its AP60 aluminium smelter in Canada

Giant global mining company Rio Tinto’s Canadian subsidiary, Rio Tinto Alcan, on Thursday inaugurated the $1.1-billion Arvida aluminium smelter, the AP60 Technology Centre, in Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean, Quebec.

The new plant has an installed capacity of 60 000 t of aluminium and is the most technologically advanced aluminium smelter in the world, the company said in a press release.

"Rio Tinto Alcan is very proud to inaugurate the new Arvida aluminium smelter, AP60 Technology Centre. Today's milestone is the result of years of work by our research and development teams, particularly the teams that first conceived, developed and tested the AP60 technology at the Laboratoire de recherche des fabrications, in France," Rio Tinto Alcan CEO Jacynthe Côté said.

The new AP60 technology platform would allow Rio Tinto Alcan to develop a series of next-generation technologies, permitting improvements in productivity, and reductions in energy and environmental footprint in aluminium smelting.

The facility would produce 40% more aluminium per cell than the previous generation of AP technology. The 60 000 t plant employs nearly 135 people and reached full capacity in December.

Capstone Mining 2014 Operating and Capital Guidance

Capstone Mining Corp. ("Capstone") (TSX: CS) today provided its production and capital expenditure guidance for 2014 for two of its three operating mines, Cozamin and Minto, and its development and exploration projects. Capstone expects to produce 38,500 tonnes (+/-5%) of copper in concentrates from Cozamin and Minto, slightly higher than 2013 production of 37,500 tonnes.

"The mine plans at Cozamin and Minto in 2014 call for a similar production level to last year," said Darren Pylot, President and CEO of Capstone. "Our focus for 2014 will be on cost efficiencies at all of our operations, including Pinto Valley, for which guidance will be provided before the end of the first quarter."

"On the development side, we are advancing the Santo Domingo Project under a stage-gate decision process, where we are continuing to move the project forward to each decision point. In 2014 we will advance the engineering and work towards the Environmental Impact Assessment approval by early 2015," continued Mr. Pylot.

2014 Production Guidance - Cozamin and Minto

 
 
                                                Cozamin         Minto        Total 
    Tonnes milled (millions)                        1.2           1.4          2.6 
    Copper grade (%)                               1.85          1.49         1.66 
    Copper recovery (%)                            93.4          92.4         93.0 
 
    Production (contained in concentrates) 
    Copper (tonnes)                              20,000        18,500       38,500 
    Zinc (tonnes)                                 9,000             -        9,000 
    Lead (tonnes)                                 1,700             -        1,700 
    Silver (million ounces)                         1.6           0.2          1.8 
    Gold (ounces)                                     -        17,670       17,670 
 
    C1 cash costs per pound of payable 
    copper produced net of by-product 
    credits and selling costs[(1)]         $1.30 -$1.40 $2.45 - $2.55  $1.85-$1.95 
 

(1) This is an alternative performance measure; please see "Alternative Performance Measure" at the end of this release. C1 cash cost per pound is per pound of payable copper produced. All amounts in US$ unless otherwise specified.

Cozamin: The majority of the ore will continue to come from the San Roberto blocks in 2014; however, mining is transitioning to lower grade blocks within the zone. New development for 2014 will be required for stopes in the Mala Noche Footwall Zone, which is expected to contribute approximately 23% of ore production in 2014 at an average grade of 1.77%. Cash costs at Cozamin in 2014 are expected to increase over 2013, as savings in site operating costs are offset by higher treatment and selling costs.

Minto: The 2014 mine plan at Minto optimizes mill throughput, grade and production, while minimizing operating costs and development capital, and reflects the following:

   -- Surface Mining - The Area 2 Stage 2 pit will be completed in January 
      2014, following which surface mining will move to the Area 118 pit which 
      will finish in mid-August. The mine plan calls for a reduced surface 
      mining rate during the first half of the year to balance mining and 
      milling activities. 
 
   -- Underground Mining - Capstone is able to defer the development and 
      production from the Area 118 underground for one year without a negative 
      impact on 2014 production. The underground plan in 2014 calls for high 
      grade ore just below the bottom of the mined out Area 2 pit to be 
      recovered prior to that pit being utilized for water storage. 
 
   -- Mill Operations - The mill will process ore from the Area 2 and Area 118 
      pits, supplemented with ore from underground and stockpile for the first 
      half of the year, with primarily stockpiled ore processed in the second 
      half of the year until the next pit (Minto North) begins to feed the mill 
      in mid-2015. Mill throughput in 2014 will remain relatively constant 
      throughout the year, however grade will decline starting in August when 
      lower grade material from stockpile is scheduled to be milled. 

Pre-stripping of Minto North is set to begin on August 15, 2014, contingent upon receipt of the necessary permits and licenses. A delay in the Phase V/VI permit application has resulted in the shift of the most significant production from Minto North by one year from 2015 to 2016, but brings high grade open pit ore from Minto North in ahead of ongoing underground development of Minto South underground, which is expected to resume in 2015. Cash costs for 2014 are budgeted to be higher than 2013, primarily due to higher underground mining costs and treatment and selling costs.

2014 Capital Expenditure Guidance - Operating Mines - Cozamin and Minto (excluding exploration and deferred stripping)

 
 
                                                               Cozamin  Minto 
                                                               (US$ millions) 
    Total 2014 Budgeted Capital Expenditures (all sustaining)    $18.0  $17.4 
 
 

Major capital expenditures at Cozamin include $10.8 million for underground development, infrastructure and communications and $6.4 million in underground and surface equipment.

Major capital expenditures at Minto include $5.2 million in underground development of the underground zone that is scheduled for 2014, $4.3 million for renovations to the camp and other site upgrades (partially carried from 2013), $5.3 for various improvement projects and $2.0 million in permitting and environmental activities related primarily to the joint Phase V/VI Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board ("YESAB") review that is currently underway, and subsequent water licensing, to bring all remaining known reserves at Minto into the mine plan. In addition, Minto expects to capitalize pre-stripping costs of $16.1 million in the second half of 2014, related solely to the initial development of the Minto North pit, with no corresponding production from Minto North planned for 2014.

2014 Capital Expenditure Guidance - Development Projects

 
 
                              (US$ millions) 
    Santo Domingo (70% basis)          $20.9 
    Kutcho                               0.9 
    Total                              $21.8 
 
 

Santo Domingo, Chile: The Definitive Feasibility Study ("DFS") for Santo Domingo is expected to be completed at the end of the first quarter of 2014. Capstone elected to take a more conservative approach to the metallurgical work and lengthened the timeline for completion of the DFS. Capstone formally submitted the Environmental Impact Assessment ("EIA") for the Santo Domingo project in October 2013, which initiated the formal environmental assessment process, and expects to have the port concession finalized before the change in government. In 2014, the company intends to continue to de-risk the project and will maintain the owner's team, advance the EIA process and community relations, pursue power and third party port opportunities and continue to advance engineering. The total Santo Domingo budget for 2014 is $29.8 million of which Capstone's 70% share is $20.9 million.

Kutcho, BC: Kutcho's production profile and mine life no longer fits with Capstone's growth strategy and strategic alternatives are being evaluated. The 2014 budget of $0.9 million consists primarily of ongoing environmental baseline studies as well as some operational costs related to the camp.

2014 Exploration Program

 
 
                                (US$ millions) 
    Cozamin                              $ 3.0 
    Project Providencia - Chile            6.7 
    Cumbral Project - Mexico               2.9 
    Other                                  0.5 
    Total                                $13.1 
 
 

Brownfield:

At Cozamin, the multi-year underground infill drilling program in the Mala Noche Footwall Zone that focused on adding mine life was completed in 2013. A mineral reserve update including resources resulting from the 2012 drilling will be released during the first quarter. A mineral resource update is planned in the first half of 2014 that will incorporate all drilling up to the end of 2013. The 2014 exploration drill program at Cozamin will consist of up to 10,000 metres of surface drilling, targeting Mala Noche splays that have not previously been tested.

Brownfield exploration at Minto remains paused for the second consecutive year, as the mine life currently runs to 2022 and the most compelling targets can be accessed from underground once the ramp reaches an optimum point to resume drilling.

Greenfield:

Greenfield exploration is principally focussed on two projects, with up to 15,000 metres of drill testing scheduled for the second half of the year at Project Providencia in Chile, Capstone's earn-in project with Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. ("SQM") and up to 10,500 metres of drill testing at the Cumbral earn-in property in Sonora, Mexico.

About Capstone Mining Corp.

Capstone Mining Corp. is a Canadian base metals mining company, committed to the responsible development of our assets and the environments in which we operate. We are focused on copper, with three producing mines; the Pinto Valley copper-molybdenum mine located in Arizona, US, the Cozamin copper-silver-zinc-lead mine in Zacatecas State, Mexico and the Minto copper-gold-silver mine in Yukon, Canada. In addition, Capstone has two development projects; the large scale 70% owned Santo Domingo copper-iron-gold project in Region III, Chile, in partnership with Korea Resources Corporation, and the 100% owned Kutcho copper-zinc-gold-silver project in British Columbia, Canada, as well as exploration properties in Chile and Mexico. Using our cash flow and strong balance sheet as a platform, Capstone's strategy is to continue to grow with mineral resource and reserve expansions and exploration, and through acquisitions in politically stable, mining-friendly regions. We will pace our growth with our financial capacity, ensuring we retain, as a priority, sufficient financial flexibility to meet the requirements of our existing operations and our committed development projects, while maintaining an adequate cushion to deal with market volatility and operating risks inherent in the mining industry. Our headquarters are in Vancouver, Canada and we are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). Further information is available at http://www.capstonemining.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This document may contain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this document and Capstone Mining Corp. (the "Company") does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements, except as required under applicable securities legislation.

Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect Company management's expectations or beliefs regarding future events and include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the anticipated production from the Pinto Valley Mine, the realization of mineral reserve estimates, the timing and amount of estimated future production, success of mining operations, environmental risks, title disputes or claims and limitations on insurance coverage. In certain cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "outlook", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative of these terms or comparable terminology. In this document certain forward-looking statements are identified by words including "scheduled", "guidance", "plan", "planned", "estimated", "projections", "projected" and "expected". Forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions which may prove incorrect, including, but not limited to, the development potential of the project, current and future commodity prices and exchange rates and continued daily operation of the Pinto Valley Mine. By their very nature forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, risks related to changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; future prices of mineral resources; possible variations in ore reserves, grade or recovery rates; accidents; dependence on key personnel; labour pool constraints; labour disputes; the completion of development activities; and other risks of the mining industry as well as those factors detailed from time to time in the Company's interim and annual financial statements and management's discussion and analysis of those statements, all of which are filed and available for review on SEDAR at http://www.sedar.com. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward looking statements.

GTA Resources and Mining (V.GTA) announces project update, discovery of priority targets

GTA Resources and Mining Inc. (TSX: V.GTA, Stock Forum) announces the continuation of its graphite exploration program on the Auden property, located northwest of Hearst, Ontario.

A drill program, which commenced in mid December, was temporarily postponed to allow for the Christmas break and for more effective frost conditions allowing better access to other target areas. Prior to the Christmas break, one hole totaling 70 metres was completed targeting a weak electro-magnetic (EM) anomaly located in the west central portion of the property and easily accessible from existing roads. The hole intersected a clay filled fault zone near the interpreted conductor axis, however, no graphite was encountered.

According to the GTA Resources and Mining press release, ground geophysics is continuing and has resulted in the delineation of three additional isolated EM conductors in the central "Hockey Puck" target area.

The anomalies can be described as isolated, moderately strong bedrock conductors, and all are located within or proximal to the southern extension of the alkaline intrusive complex that hosts Zenyatta Ventures Inc.'s (TSX: V.ZEN, Stock Forum) Albany graphite deposits. All three anomalies appear to be non-magnetic, are accessible by winter trail and will be the initial focus once drilling resumes later this month.

GTA is continuing its ground geophysical program of locating and evaluating the EM conductors identified from the airborne surveys and anticipates drill testing the priority targets as weather allows.

GTA is the largest land holder in the emerging graphite "camp" and holds the mineral rights to over 69,000 acres.
GTA is a well funded publicly traded mineral exploration company.

On Wednesday, GTA rose 6.5% to $0.165 a share. The company had a market cap of $4.4 million, based on 26.7 million shares outstanding.

‘Time to inject reality into the energy debate’: Oil executives hit back at celebrity ‘trash talk’

TORONTO • Canadians should be outraged that film and music celebrities have been “trash-talking” the oil sands and painting them as a “villain” of  a Hollywood movie, senior oil industry executives from Cenovus Energy Inc. and TransCanada Corp. said Wednesday.

“It’s no coincidence celebrities like Robert Redford have been trash-talking oil,” Brian Ferguson, president and chief executive of Cenovus, one of Canada’s largest oil sands producers, said at an industry event in Toronto. “In Hollywood, everything is black and white, good or evil. It makes for a compelling story, but the real world doesn’t work that way. And when it comes to energy, Hollywood stereotypes are unhelpful and often dead wrong. So it’s time to inject a little reality into the energy debate.”

Canadian rock icon Neil Young is the latest celebrity to launch a scathing criticism of the oil sands, comparing a Fort McMurray oil sands site to the atomic-bomb ravaged city of Hiroshima.

Russ Girling, CEO of TransCanada which is proposing the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, said that oil sands critics have erroneously labeled the oil sands as the world’s largest carbon dioxide problem.

“They made up phrases which are catchy like the ‘oil sands are the largest carbon bomb on earth,’ and if you developed it, it is game over for the planet. Obviously, that scares people… but they are based in fantasy and not in reality,” Mr. Girling said.

If we get it right, this industry can be the single greatest driver of the Canadian economy

The Canadian oil sands play a vital role in economic development not just of Western Canada, but the industry also pays billions of dollar in taxes every year that fund Canadian, health care, education and infrastructure, the executives said.

“If we get it right, this industry can be the single greatest driver of the Canadian economy,” Mr. Girling noted.

Some critics are creating the false notion of self-sufficiency energy in the United States to undermine the prospects of the Keystone XL pipeline, but the project will remain vital to the United States, he said.

Criticism has not slowed down production. Since the Keystone XL pipeline was proposed in 2008, Canadian oil production has risen by 700,000 barrels per day and U.S. production has risen by 1.5 million bpd, making the pipeline even more crucial.

If the Obama administration doesn’t approve the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, TransCanada is in discussions with railways companies and its customers to find alternative such as the development of rail terminals in Alberta and Oklahoma.

“Would we build a rail import terminal at Cushing, Oklahoma, where Keystone’s southern leg is starting up next week? If they want us to link the two points, we would that,” Mr. Girling said.

President Barack Obama is expected to decide this year on Keystone XL, which is under review at the State Department.

Mr Girling said TransCanada has learned its lesson about consulting the public and is engaging communities on the Energy East pipeline proposal that will see the repurposing of natural gas pipeline systems to transport oil from Alberta to refineries in the east.

“What we have done with our Energy East project is to get out ahead of those who are fundamentally opposed no matter what we do. Before we put a line on a map, we have had 60 townhalls, we have engaged with 500 communities and we have already engaged with 180 aboriginal communities impacted by our project.”

Brent drops towards $106 on Iran pact; US data eyed

Brent crude edged down towards $106 a barrel on Wednesday as the prospect of a rise in Iranian oil exports weighed, while investors looked ahead to weekly oil inventories data from the United States to assess supply.

Big powers and Iran have continued to move ahead on an interim deal that eases some sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme. Any signs that the initial deal might lead to higher Iranian oil exports will add to global supply and depress prices.

"It looks as if we're moving towards resumption of production (and the) lifting of sanctions," Michael McCarthy, chief strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney said.

"That's the major reason for the weakness in Brent."

February Brent crude slipped for a third session, down 9 cents to $106.30 a barrel by 0433 GMT. Brent has hovered the last two sessions just above a two-month low of $106.03 hit on Friday.

U.S. crude for February delivery edged down 2 cents to $92.57 after settling up 0.86 percent on Tuesday.

Getty Images

The preliminary accord between Iran and the P5 1 group of world powers goes into effect on Jan. 20. Under the deal, Iran's oil exports are to hold at current levels of about 1 million barrels per day (bpd).

Talks on a final settlement to the long dispute over Tehran's nuclear ambitions will start in February.

The resumption of oil production at Libya's El Sharara field has also weighed on prices, although the key issue is still when the blockade at its eastern oil ports will end.

With no resolution to the Libyan crisis in sight, oil prices are likely to hold near current levels, with Brent at $105-$106 and WTI at $90-$92, based on technical charts, McCarthy said.

Weekly crude stocks in the United States fell by 4.1 million barrels, data from industry group American Petroleum Institute showed on Tuesday, against an average projected decrease of 600,000 barrels by analysts polled by Reuters.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration, a government agency, is expected to release its stockpile data at 1530 GMT.

"It would take an extraordinary lift in inventories to push WTI down from these levels," McCarthy said. "A modest increase in inventories will keep oil price action fairly flat in the next day or two."

Zimbabwe proposes 25% mine royalties for sovereign wealth fund

Zimbabwe’s planned sovereign wealth fund will receive a quarter of mining royalties under a bill proposed by the government, advancing a proposal first outlined in November.

The levies will be raised from companies mining gold, diamonds, coal, coal-bed methane gas, nickel, chrome, platinum “and such other mineral that may be specified,” according to a bill dated Jan. 10 and released publicly today.

President Robert Mugabe, who extended his 33-year rule in July elections, is seeking to boost the country’s economy, which shrank by 40 percent between 2000 and 2008. The bill, which proposes the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe as the fund’s custodian, must gain parliamentary approval before being signed into law.

The sovereign wealth fund will “support fiscal or macroeconomic stabilization of the government, including its long-term economic and social development objectives,” the bill said. It will supplement “the revenues of Zimbabwe when these are prejudiced by fluctuations of prices” of minerals, it said.

Zimbabwe has the world’s second-largest deposits of platinum and chrome and reserves of minerals ranging from coal and iron ore to gold and diamonds. Anglo American Platinum Ltd., Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. and Rio Tinto Plc are among companies that operate in the country.

Investment has been held back by a law requiring foreign and white-owned companies to sell or cede 51 percent of their local assets to black Zimbabweans or the government.

Platinum miners started paying a 15 percent tax on unprocessed exports from Jan. 1, in addition to a 10 percent royalty that’s currently levied on their revenue.

The duty on diamond production is 15 percent. Other precious stones have a 10 percent royalty levied on them, while the charge for gold is 7 percent and that on other precious metals is 4 percent. A 2 percent tariff is levied on base and industrial metals as well as coal-bed methane. The royalty on coal production is 1 percent.

Investors pile back into gold stocks

The gold price jumped 1.6% or $20 an ounce on Friday to $1,249 an ounce, bringing its gains for the year to over 4%.

Gold's advance came after a surprisingly weak US jobs report showing labour participation rates at levels last seen in 1978. The jobs shocker could force the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates near zero for longer than anticipated, hurting the dollar and boosting gold in return.

After a horrendous 2013 when gold mining stocks lost much more ground than the metal itself, 2014 so far is looking up.

And the rerating of gold stocks this year also comes in the face of ratings agency Moody's decision this week to cut the gold and silver prices at which it assesses the majors to $1,100 and $18 an ounce, a move that could drive up borrowing costs for the industry.

By the close on Friday Barrick Gold Corp (TSX:ABX) had climbed 3% in heavy volume adding some $8 billion in market value since hitting 21-year lows in July last year. Barrick is now worth $23.1 billion on the TSX, up almost 6% since the start of the year.

The world's number one producer was also lifted by news that its controversial $8.5 billion Pascua Lama mine may be getting a helping hand from Argentine authorities who want Chile to help revive the project straddling the countries' borders.

Goldcorp (TSX:G) was the biggest gainer among the top producers, jumping 4% on the day. The Vancouver-based company which held the position as the world's most valuable gold mining company for the better part of 2013 is up 9.8% this year.

Goldcorp, worth 20.5 billion on the TSX, said yesterday it expects to produce more than three million ounces of gold in 2014, a 13% increase compared to last year even as it drives down costs by 15% – 20% over the next two years.

Canada's Kinross Gold (TSX:K), which is expected to produce around 2.6 million ounces of gold this year, jumped 2.3%. In terms of market worth, $5.6 billion Kinross has been overtaken by Yamana Gold despite the fact that Yamana produces almost 1m ounces fewer per year.

Investors have picking up Yamana (TSE:YRI) stock in droves betting that its low cost base and light debt load will see it weather current conditions better than its peers. Yamana ended 3.4% higher on Friday and is up over 8.3% in 2014. The Toronto-based company has a market value of $7.5 billion.

Agnico Eagle Mines (TSX:AEM) jumped more than 6%, Eldorado Gold Corp (TSX:ELD) climbed 4.6%, IAMGold Corp added 2.4% while NovaGold Resources (TSE:NG) rocketed 7.7%

Outside Canada, Denver-based Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM), the number two global gold producer in terms of annual output of around 5m ounces, added 2.6%, while the ADRs of AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) was one of Friday's best performers, gaining 3.9%. However, The Johannesburg-based company has a long way to go to make up for last year's 60% slump in market value as it embarks on an aggressive turnaround strategy.

Fellow South African miner Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI) shot up 4.8% in New York, but the world's fourth largest gold producer remains down for the year after losing almost three-quarters of is market value in 2013. Investors punished the company it for its contrarian purchase of high-cost mines last year while other producers were aggressively slashing costs.

Iron ore price drops to 5-month low despite record Chinese imports

The price of iron ore slumped to a 5-month low Friday, despite data showing Chinese imports of the steelmaking raw material hit a new record in 2013.

The benchmark CFR import price of 62% iron ore fines at China's Tianjin fell to $130.70 a tonne on Friday, a level last seen at the early August and down more than 3% since the start of the year according to data supplied by The Steel Index.

China's imports of iron ore in December fell back to 73.4 million tonnes from November's record-setting pace of 77.8 million tonnes, but for 2013 as a whole imports hit an all-time high of 820 million tonnes.

At 10% growth that's an ever better performance than 2012 when imports grew 8.4%. The rise in imports comes despite Chinese domestic iron ore output climbing more than 8% to 1.3 billion tonnes in the first 11 months of last year.

China now consumes almost three-quarters of the global seaborne iron ore trade which for 2013 is estimated at just over 1.1 billion tonnes as its blast furnace continue to pump out steel at a record-setting rate of 2.1 million tonnes per day, a 9.4% increase over 2012.

Research by Australia's Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics (BREE), the country's official forecaster predicts Chinese iron ore imports will grow 7.4% or more than 60 million tonne in 2014 as high quality ore from Brazil, South Africa and Australia continue to edge out low iron content domestic mining.

But a slowdown in Chinese steel production this year appears inevitable amid overproduction, a crackdown by authorities on the industry over environmental concerns and weaker domestic demand.

Clouding the outlook further is a rise in Chinese iron ore stockpiles to 88.6 million tonnes in December, up a whopping 21% from a year ago and up 26% since January 2013.

Another factor limiting the upside for iron ore is an expected flood of new supply that will overwhelm Chinese demand even if it grows at the same pace as in 2013.

This year the world's top exporter Australia will increase cargoes a whopping 22.1% to 709 million tonnes as projects by Rio Tinto (LON:RIO), Fortescue Metals Group (ASX:FMG) and BHP Billiton (LON, ASX: BHP) come on stream.

Brazil, led by world number one iron ore miner Vale (NYSE:VALE), is set to up exports 9.1% to 352 million tonnes.

India, which has seen exports fall from 120 million tonnes to close to just 11 million tonnes this year, will also re-enter the market as a self-imposed ban on exports expire and stockpiles are sold on.

Kogi finishes ESIA for Nigeria project

Junior iron-ore developer Kogi Iron has completed an environmental- and social-impact assessment (ESIA) for its Agbaja iron-ore project, in Nigeria.

The ESIA, which started in January last year, was a key component of the preliminary feasibility study evaluating the technical and economic viability of a five-million-tonne-a-year iron-ore operation.

Kogi said on Tuesday that the overall assessment of the potential and associated social impacts of the Agbaja project was positive, with the study gauging that the project would positively impact the local stakeholder economy and the local government area and communities of the Agbaja plateau, with similar impacts on the Kogi state and Nigeria as a whole.

Kogi would now submit the ESIA to the federal Ministry of Environment, where there would be a mandatory 21-day public exposure period, followed by a panel review of the study by the federal Ministry of Environment and Mines Environmental Compliance Department.

Approval of the ESIA was expected at the completion of this process.

The Stage 1 area of the Agbaja project was estimated to contain about 158-million tonnes of inferred resource, while the Stage 2 area was estimated to contain some 63-million tonnes of the total 488-million tonnes of inferred resource.

The Stage 1 area could provide processing feed for an initial 14 years, while the Stage 2 mining area could provide processing plant feed for an additional six years.

More good news for Vancouver gold junior on month-long tear

TrueGold Mining (CVE:TGM) jumped 5% on Monday on heavy volumes, after announcing environmental permit for the Kao deposit at its Karma project in Burkina Faso.

By the close the Vancouver-based junior settled at $0.42, up 3.7% on the Toronto Venture Exchange, off its highs for the day. Around 770,000 shares in the $111 million company had changed hands on Monday compared to the usual daily average of 180,000.

TrueGold’s share price is up 31% over the past month after a strong feasibility study and mining permits for three other deposits at Karma were announced in December.

The feasibility calls for a $130 million mine at Karma which is 90%-owned by TrueGold with the Burkina Faso government holding the remainder. Karma’s probable reserves are pegged at 949,000 ounces (33.2mt at 0.89 g/t) and the operation could produce 97,000 ounces on average annually for 8.5 years starting end-2015.

What makes Karma stand out are all-in sustaining costs of $720 and direct cash costs of $591 thanks to shallow pits and proposed heap-leach extraction and what the company characterizes as “strong gold grades, excellent infrastructure, low power and water requirements, strong recoveries from simple metallurgy and soft, free digging material.”

TrueGold also owns 100% of the Liguidi gold project in Burkina Faso which last year returned some positive drill results.

After a turbulent 2013, industry groups hope Western Australia's mining industry will rebound

The WA Chamber of Minerals and Energy says it is hoping prices for key commodities, including iron ore and gold, will rebound this year.

The state's mining industry experienced a turbulent year with job losses, mine closures and cost pressures due to a downturn in the sector.

The price of gold plummeted in early 2013 and analysts have predicted it was unlikely to improve for some time.

But the Chamber's Bruce Campbell-Fraser said it was not all bad news.

"We're certainly still in a transition phase at the moment, particularly for our bulk commodities of iron ore and LNG," Mr Campbell-Fraser said.

"We've seen those expansion projects come to their natural conclusion, but that means we'll certainly be exporting more volumes and a greater return for the state government through royalties and the federal government through other taxes as well."

Mr Campbell-Fraser said government efforts to reduce bureaucratic red and green tape would also benefit the industry.

Bernanke celebrates Fed’s achievements, highlights ‘uncompleted tasks’

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke on Friday reflected on his eight-year tenure at the helm of the nation’s economy, celebrating the central bank’s accomplishments but also highlighting what he called “uncompleted tasks.”

Bernanke is stepping down at the end of the month after shepherding the country through the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. He is widely credited with preventing an economic free fall during the recession, but the lackluster recovery has led to questions of whether the Fed is running out of firepower.

In a speech at the American Economics Association conference in Philadelphia, Bernanke defended his record and the expansion of the Fed’s responsibilities as the bulwark of the economy.

“The recovery has faced powerful head winds, suggesting that economic growth might well have been considerably weaker, or even negative, without substantial monetary policy support,” he said.

The speech amounted to Bernanke’s attempt to chronicle his extraordinary tenure with a relatively objective eye — from the missed signs of impending crisis to the unconventional tools the Fed deployed to rescue the economy — sprinkled with a few personal touches. He also expressed hope that economic growth is finally building momentum and said he is confident that the central bank will be able to withdraw its support smoothly.

Among the Fed’s chief triumphs was an increase in transparency that, Bernanke said, provides the markets and the public with more confidence in the central bank’s ability to steer the economy. The Fed has set a 2 percent target for inflation and outlined parameters for when it will consider raising interest rates.

In addition, Bernanke has attempted to remove the patina of mystery from the secretive institution, both for the public and on Capitol Hill. He visited a military base and lectured students at George Washington University. He also forged relationships with lawmakers that proved valuable as public scrutiny of the Fed heightened.

“I had not entirely anticipated, though, that I would spend so much time meeting with legislators outside of hearings — individually and in groups,” he said. “But I quickly came to realize the importance of these relationships with legislators in keeping open the channels of communication.”

Bernanke also argued that the Fed is making progress in safeguarding the economy from the next crisis. He cited the “stress tests” of major banks, oversight of the shadow banking system and tighter capital standards as critical steps and called for more work on so-called “living wills” that provide a framework for winding down distressed institutions.

But the Fed also has plenty of unfinished work. Although Bernanke helped the economy avert disaster, he has been repeatedly frustrated by the country’s anemic growth.

“The recovery clearly remains incomplete,” he said.

Bernanke acknowledged that the Fed was overly optimistic about how long the economy would take to heal. Notably, he thought households and businesses would be able to dig themselves out of debt more quickly, and he underestimated how cautious they would be to increase spending and investment.

But he also said many of the reasons the recovery has been weak were not only difficult to predict but beyond the Fed’s control, such as the sovereign debt crisis in Europe and natural disasters in Japan.

Bernanke saved his toughest critiques for Washington. Since federal stimulus spending ended in 2010, the government has been a drag on economic growth, he said. After the 2001 recession, government employment rose by 600,000. During the current recovery, he said, it has declined by 700,000 jobs.

“Although long-term fiscal sustainability is a critical objective, excessively tight near-term fiscal policies have likely been counterproductive,” he said. “Most importantly, with fiscal and monetary policy working in opposite directions, the recovery is weaker than it otherwise would be.”

Bernanke will leave office at a critical turning point for the Fed. This month, it is taking the first step toward unwinding its unprecedented support for the economy. Although the Fed will not pull the rug out from under the recovery, Bernanke said, he looks forward to the return to more conventional policy for the central bank.

Bernanke said that the Fed has the tools it needs to eventually shrink its more than $4 trillion balance sheet, but that it will be up to his successor to ensure that the tools work. The Senate on Monday is expected to confirm Fed Vice Chairman Janet L. Yellen to take his place.

“Whatever the Fed may have achieved in recent years reflects the efforts of many people who are committed, individually and collectively, to pursuing the public interest,” he said.

Although Bernanke has repeatedly shied from the limelight, his place in the history books is all but assured. After his speech, the roomful of economists rose for a standing ovation.

“There are many people who think they have 20/20 hindsight,” Harvard University economics professor Kenneth Rogoff said at the conference after Bernanke spoke. “But I certainly can think of a lot of people and things that could have done worse. I found their originality blinding.”

Colombia's second-biggest coal producer ordered to stop loading

Colombia's second largest coal producer has been ordered by a regional environmental body to stop loading coal.

The Regional Autonomous Corporation of Magdalena (Corpamag) has told US-based Drummond to immediately cease loading work because the company is not in compliance with new rules which require miners to implement a direct-to-vessel loading system,Reuters reports. 

Producers were required to complete the upgrades by January 1, 2014. But not even two months ago the government had said it was looking at ways to extend this deadline.

Drummond had said that it would be unable to meet the deadline and that without an extension it might have to halt one-third of the country's exports.

And indeed the company reached a deal with the government last month whereby Drummond would continue loading with barges and cranes until March but would pay a daily fee to do so.

It's unclear whether the regional body's order can override the deal with the government.

A Drummond worker told Reuters by phone that the site was still operating normally.

Coal shipments account for 12% of Colombia's coal exports – second only to oil. The outcome of this issue will could weigh heavily on Colombia's already troubled coal market; 2013 exports most likely did not meet targets. 

A director of the country's Ministry of Mines and Energy told reporters in November that he was "extremely worried" about the situation with Drummond.

The government introduced the direct-to-vessel coal loading law in 2007. The initial deadline for compliance was 2010.

As reported by Platts, Colombia's vice minister said in November that Drummond's upgrades were "very delayed."

About 1,000 shortlisted for one-way trip to Mars

A mission to build the first human settlement on Mars, which drew 200,000 applicants, said it has already shortlisted about a thousand candidates who will now be tested to come up with a final list of 24 people who will go live in the red planet by 2025.

Mars One, a Dutch non-profit agency said the finalists would undergo eight years of extensive training before launch. They must be happy with the idea of never returning to this planet — Mars One's mission is a one-way trip.

The 1,058 candidates who got through to the first round came from all over the world, said the organization. By far the largest number —297— is from the US, followed by 75 Canadians and 62 Indians.

Those who were not selected in this round, still have a chance to reapply at a later, but still undetermined date, said Mars One co-founder Bas Lansdorp.

“US astronaut Clayton Anderson was rejected by NASA for its astronaut training program 15 times, yet in 2007 he boarded the Space Shuttle Atlantis for a trip to the International Space Station. He proved anything can happen and the door is never completely closed,” he said in a statement.

The estimated cost of the mission is close to $6 billion, and Mars One plans to broadcast every aspect of the mission in a reality-style TV program.

“We anticipate our remaining candidates to become celebrities in their towns, cities, and in many cases, countries. It’s about to get very interesting,” he added.

In November last year, the US space agency (NASA) partnered with asteroid mining firm Planetary Resources to detect, track and characterize near-Earth objects (NEOs).

Bakken crude may be more flammable than traditional oil – US federal agency says

Following the derailment of a crude-carrying train in North Dakota earlier this week, US federal officials say Bakken oil may be more flammable than traditional crude.

In an alert issued Thursday, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) warned the general public, emergency responders and shippers and carriers that "recent derailments and resulting fires indicate that the type of crude oil being transported from the Bakken region may be more flammable than traditional heavy crude oil."

The PHMSA conducted preliminary inspections of derailments in North Dakota, Alabama and Lac-Megantic in Quebec – all involving Bakken crude.

Monday's accident caused a series of explosions and the evacuation of a small town. There were no fatalities but a similar incident several months earlier in Quebec killed 47 people.

In November the PHMSA issued a safety advisory reminding producers of the importance of properly classifying and describing hazardous materials.

As part of an ongoing investigation, the Agency has been conducting unannounced inspections and testing of crude oil samples to ensure proper classification and packing. The agency has also found it necessary to expand the scope of their testing "to measure other factors that would affect the proper characterization and classification of the materials."

Final test results are expected in the near future.

This isn't the first time a government agency has considered the possibility that Bakken crude may be more flammable than regular oil. In August, following the deadly explosion in Lac-Megantic, Canada's Transportation Safety Board said it was looking into how Bakken crude reacts.

“I’m not an expert in this domain, but it seems that the crude oil reacted in an abnormal way,” a safety board official said at the time, as reported by the National Post. 

The Bakken formation has played a big role in the US' emergence as major oil producing country. In North Dakota and Montana, the Bakken produced nearly 1 million barrels of oil per day in Novemeber.