mineral exploration project – commodity prices – mining stock- trade and market

A six-month halt in U.S. deep-water drilling would cost 23,247 jobs, according to an estimate by Michael Bromwich, head of the agency that regulates offshore oil exploration.

Bromwich’s July 10 memo to Interior Secretary Kenneth Salazar shows regulators weighed the economic affect of suspending drilling in waters deeper than 500 feet before Salazar issued a second moratorium on July 12. The memo was submitted to U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman in New Orleans as part of a voluminous administrative record supporting the agency’s actions.

“There is no question that the imposition...

Turkey and Iran may jointly build two petrochemical units, state-run Press TV news channel reported, citing Iran’s Deputy Oil Minister.

Iran and Turkey are discussing construction of an urea and an ammonia unit in the industrial hub of Assaluyeh in southern Iran, Press TV said, citing Abdolhossein Bayat, who is also the managing director of National Iranian Petrochemical Co.

Talks include construction of a petrochemical plant in Miyandoab in western Azerbaijan province that can produce 539,000 tons of petrochemical products annually, the TV station reported.

Bayat, who...

Market Roundup

Crude Oil prices fell yesterday, but a bounce by equity markets pulled crude futures well above lows and allowed traders to shrug off data showing combined U.S. crude and product stocks rose to the highest since weekly records began in 1990.

In Focus

- U.S. commercial crude and product stocks rose last week to the highest level since the U.S. government began tracking weekly data, government data showed Wednesday, a sign fuel supply is outpacing demand amid a slow U.S. economic recovery.

- China’s diesel exports...

Junior coal miner Aston Resources Ltd has been reportedly identified by mining giants Xstrata and Peabody Energy Corporation for a possible buyout deal as sources privy to the company’s moves revealed that an initial public offering would be announced next week to raise an estimated $400 million.

The sources also said that the Noble Group of Singapore and Itochu of Japan have already gave their commitments as possible cornerstone investors for the acquisition with both pledging to collectively take up a total of $100 million worth of total shares under the proposal.

Macarthur Coal Ltd., the world’s largest producer of pulverized coal used by steelmakers, raised its full-year profit forecast as sales increased, bolstering speculation the company may be a takeover target.

Profit, excluding accounting adjustments, may be between A$115 million ($96 million) and A$125 million for the 12 months ended June 30, compared with its earlier forecast of A$103 million to A$113 million, Macarthur said today in a statement.

The Brisbane-based company rose 5.2 percent yesterday after Thailand’s Banpu Pcl agreed to buy the rest of Centennial Coal Co. for...

Centennial Coal has accepted a cash offer with a 40 per cent premium from Thailand’s Banpu, valuing the NSW coal miner at $2.4 billion.

As revealed by The Australian on its website earlier today, Centennial confirmed Banpu — Thailand’s biggest coal producer — has offered $6.20 a share for the 80 per cent of the Hunter Valley thermal coal producer it doesn’t already own.

Banpu said it would finance the deal through cash reserves and new and existing credit facilities. JPMorgan is advising Banpu, with UBS advising Centennial.

As BP readied its latest fallback plan to stop oil gushing from one of its wells in the Gulf of Mexico, the Obama administration and the company warned that the crude could continue flowing until August, compounding threats to coastal wetlands, fisheries and beaches.

White House energy and climate adviser Carol Browner declared Sunday that the oil spill was “probably the biggest environmental disaster we’ve ever faced in this country” and said that “we are prepared for the worst.” On the CBS show “Face the Nation,” she said that the “American...

Two recent reports suggest that the alternative fuel of choice over the next 20 to 30 years won’t be nuclear, coal, oil, wind or solar – but rather,
natural gas.

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal highlighted the fact that, even before the recent discovery of very large so-called “unconventional” reserves not easily recovered, natural gas had a number of clear advantages compared to other sources of energy.

First, compared to other carbon-based fuels such as oil, natural gas produces half the CO2, has none of the waste disposal problems associated with nuclear,...