China’s $586 billion stimulus package announced Sunday helped lift Asian stock markets Monday. The Shanghai Composite Index surged 7.3 percent, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 5.8 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 4.8 percent.

Oil traders have been looking to equity markets for signs of how severe the current global economic slowdown will be.

Crude oil prices were also bolstered by a falling dollar. Investors often use commodities such as oil as a hedge against inflation and a weaker dollar.

The euro gained to $1.2848 on Monday from 1.2715 on Friday while the dollar rose to 99.00 yen.

“Oil has been highly correlated to stocks and the dollar,” said Clarence Chu, a trader with market maker Hudson Capital Energy in Singapore. “The spending plan may increase crude demand, which is already strong in China.”

Another production cut by OPEC may also boost prices. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries could further reduce oil output if a decision last month to slash production doesn’t bolster plummeting oil prices, the group’s president Chakib Khelil said Saturday.

Khelil, who is also Algeria’s energy minister, said OPEC seeks prices between $70 and $90 per barrel.

“If we go toward $55, I expect OPEC to call an emergency meeting and announce another cut,” Chu said. “The market expects them to cut again in December at the latest.”

Oil prices have fallen about 56 percent since reaching a record $147.27 in mid-July.

In the long-term, rising demand in the developing world will likely push prices higher, the International Energy Agency said last week.

According to a summary of the agency’s World Energy Outlook report due to be published in full this week, the IEA has hiked its forecast for the price of a barrel of oil in 2030 to just over $200 in nominal terms, compared to last year’s estimate of $108 a barrel.

In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures rose 5.66 cents to $2.04 a gallon, while gasoline prices gained 5.10 cents to $1.40 a gallon. Natural gas for December delivery rose 27.6 cents to $7.03 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, December Brent crude rose $2.45 to $59.80 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

The Anglo-Australian miner said it had revised its iron ore shipments for the calendar year 2008 down to 170-175 million tons, from 190-195 million tons.

“We believe this will be a short, sharp slowdown in China, with demand rebounding over the course of 2009, as the fundamentals of Chinese economic growth remain sound,” chief executive Tom Albanese said in a statement.

Emerging iron ore miner Fortescue Metals said it too would cut output by 10% as it brings forward a planned shutdown to upgrade port and mine facilities.

The moves follow the announcement earlier this month by the world’s largest producer of iron ore, Brazil’s Vale, that it would slash output by up to 10% to adjust to shrinking demand caused by the global financial crisis.

“From an iron ore producers’ perspective, things are tough out there and they are going to remain tough it would seem for at least six months and probably longer,” said portfolio manager at Pengana Capital Tim Schroeders.

“But you don’t want to make a rod for your own back by building up inventory.

“It’s a prudent thing to do to adjust your production output in light of the rapid change in demand from your customers.”

Paul Adams, head of research at DJ Carmichael in Perth, said the mining companies had to reduce their inventories as changed conditions mean China has the upper hand in iron ore contract negotiations, which could begin this month.

“I would have to say that the shoe is on the other foot in terms of the negotiations for this year,” he said.

“The advantage has to be back with the Asian negotiators, whereas in the previous couple of years it has been firmly with the iron ore producers.”

Iron ore prices have risen for six consecutive years as demand for the steel- making mineral has been driven by rapid growth in China and other developing nations.

Mid-year, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto said they had agreed to price hikes in the order of 80%-97% with China’s Baosteel.

Adams said he expected that upcoming contract prices would drop, and that negotiations would be “even more acrimonious this year than last year because of the pressure on both sides.”

“It wouldn’t surprise me if the final figure was somewhere between neutral, in other words no change, to say a drop of 15%,” he said.

“I would imagine that, in the current climate, it would be closer to a drop by 15%. But, again, it all will be determined by the stimulus package (announced by China). I just don’t think it’s going to go up.”

Schroeders agreed that iron ore prices will drop despite Beijing’s CNY4 trillion ($586 billion) economic booster to protect its economy from the global crisis.

“That’s a given. It’s just a question now of how far they fall,” he said.

The world’s biggest miner, BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP), has said it has no plans to cut production.

But head of commodities research at ANZ, Mark Pervan, said it was only a matter of time before BHP, which has continued to sell on the spot market despite the fact the price had dropped, also cut production.

“It will drag the contract price down if they keep playing the spot market,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Shares in the iron ore miners fell on the Australian share market Tuesday.

But dealers said BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto could have fallen prey to profit takers after big gains on Monday when they closed up 7% and 7.9% respectively.

It is the second major mining project in the Philippines that the world’s fourth-largest diversified mining group is exiting from. It was not clear whether the group is pursuing any other projects in the Philippines.

Officials of Anglo American were not immediately available for comment.

Anglo American said it was exercising its option to terminate a 2007 agreement to fund a pre-feasibility study on the Kalayaan copper-gold project, Manila Mining Corp told the Philippine Stock Exchange.

“Anglo exerted considerable efforts toward community development and relations as it encountered problems in accessing critical areas due to resistance from local government units and residents,” Manila Mining said in a statement.

The project sits next to the Boyongan prospect, which Anglo used to control with Philex Mining Corp. Philex said in September it was buying out Anglo’s 50% stake in the project due to differences in their assessment of the project’s viability.

Philex is the Philippines’ most valuable listed mining firm.

Anglo had spent $10.82m for drilling at the Kalayaan mine and for community projects in Surigao del Norte.

But Manila Mining said Anglo was “not entitled to any payment, repayment, fees or consideration for any funding, work or services that it had provided to Kalayaan Copper-Gold Resources Inc or to MMC.”

Manila Mining said it would assess its options after it receives Anglo’s report, including data accumulated in the last 18 months.

The Philippines has an estimated $1 trillion worth of unexplored copper, gold, nickel and zinc mines, according to government estimates.

But the mining sector’s poor environmental record and its failure to share profits during the local industry’s heyday in the 1960s and 1970s have left people deeply distrustful of large-scale miners and has tripped up government efforts to attract billions of dollars in mining investments.

The Catholic Church, which is a powerful political player in the Philippines, supports anti-mining campaigns and forced the government to review its investor friendly mining law in 2006.

source : Reuters

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said the initiation of gas exploration “”is as important as launching the Simon Bolivar satellite a week ago,”" referring to the satellite that China manufactured and launched as part of a bilateral investment accord with Venezuela.

“”Now a new stage of history has begun, because we are free, we are not a colony and we make use of our freedom. We have liberated ourselves from imperialism,”" said Chávez.

According to the president, Venezuela’s “”Caribbean Gas Belt,”" stretching along the entire coast, contains 200 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves. Last month Chavez announced that Venezuela would build a new naval base on its largest island to defend the reserves.

“”It is a great advantage for Venezuela to count on Russia’s presence and the company Gazprom in the Gulf,”" said Chavez. Venezuela should be able to produce its own gas within five years, thanks to Russia’s agreement to transfer technology to Venezuela and train Venezuelan workers, he said.

Also, Chávez announced that on November 26th of this month, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev will visit Venezuela, the first Russian President to do so ever.

Extensive teams of government authorities from the two countries set up more than twenty commissions to manage nearly fifty bilateral projects in education, finances, arms purchases, light industries, mining, infrastructure, energy, telecommunications, science and technology, environment, citizen security, culture, sports, and tourism.

The countries moved forward on several projects that were launched over the past year, including Venezuela’s development of civilian nuclear energy, a binational bank, purchases of Russian military equipment, and a joint energy company made up of five Russian firms and PDVSA.

They also discussed the construction of an aluminum plant and automobile factories in Venezuela, and a possible commercial flight between Caracas and Moscow.

source : Venezuelanalysis

“We see this as a tremendous opportunity for further growth in China,” Chief Executive Officer Jake Klein said today in an interview in Beijing. “We see, at this time, potential for acquisitions.”

China’s economy grew at its slowest pace in five years in the third quarter, and the benchmark index has tumbled 66 percent this year because of the global credit crisis and economic slowdown. China’s demand for gold jumped 23 percent in 2007, making the nation the world’s second-largest consumer.

“Physical demand is very strong,” Klein said. “The Chinese gold industry is going through a period of consolidation where a number of small mines will be refurbished and consolidated into large mines. We can play an important role.”

Sino Gold fell 3.6 percent to close at A$3.20 at the 4:10 p.m. close in Sydney. Its Hong-Kong listed stock dropped 0.8 percent to HK$17.50.

Sino Gold operates the Jinfeng mine in Guizhou province, which will produce 150,000 ounces of the bullion this year, and 170,000 ounces next year. With its new White Mountain project in Jilin province, total output will jump to between 225,000 ounces and 300,000 ounces next year, Klein said.

The price of gold will rebound, and could reach $1,000 an ounce again, Klein also said.

Gold has declined 28 percent from its March 17 record of $1,032.70 an ounce because of the threat of deflation and as investors liquidated assets to hold cash.

“We are still very optimistic on gold prices,” Klein said. “Gold will be a chosen asset when investors come back to the market.”

The MSCI World Index lost 1.2 percent to 929.07 at 9:15 a.m. in London, its first decline in three days. More than $28 trillion has been erased from the value of global equity markets this year as credit losses and writedowns topped $920 billion in the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

“Markets are shifting their concern from the financial sector to the wider economy and very clear signs of recession,” said Andrew Popper, chief investment officer at SG Hambros in London where he helps manage about $13.7 billion. “There is a lot of negative news out there and a lot of negative news about the economy which continues to weigh on the market and how that will impact on earnings and so on.”

complete this news at : bloomberg.com

The centrifuge technology is considered more efficient for concentrating the fissionable uranium isotope U235.

“The market for our enrichment product remains strong with improving prices, and we like the prospect for growth in our industry,” CEO John Welch said when USEC announced its third-quarter results on Nov. 4.

But in a companion announcement about progress at Piketon, Welch conceded that work may depend on whether USEC gets the $2 billion Department of Energy-guaranteed loan it has applied for.

“We do not believe public market financing for a large capital project such as the ACP is available to us, given current financial market conditions,” Welch said. “We view the DOE loan guarantee program as the path for obtaining the debt financing to complete the American Centrifuge project.”

In February, USEC said the Piketon cost would be more than double the original estimate five years ago and $1.2 billion more than just a year earlier. USEC expected the plant will begin operation in late 2009, and have 11,500 centrifuge machines _ each about 40 feet tall _ running in 2012.

In September, it awarded a $1 billion contract to Fluor Corp. of Irving, Texas, for engineering, procurement and construction.

Company spokeswoman Elizabeth Stuckle said Friday that USEC was counting heavily on the DOE loan to improve its chances of finding investors and keeping the project on schedule.

“If we do not receive a loan guarantee _ which we expect to _ it could slow down our deployment,” Stuckle said.

USEC still believes it can begin commercial operation by the end of the first quarter of 2010, and have full deployment by the end of 2012, she said.

French-owned Areva Inc., also based in Bethesda, Mayrland, is competing with USEC for the DOE-guaranteed loan, Stuckle said.

Areva has applied for regulatory approval to build a uranium enrichment plant in Idaho to come on line in 2014.

If the government-guaranteed loan is not approved in the final weeks of the Bush administration, it could be advanced when President-elect Barack Obama takes office in January. While campaigning in southern Ohio in August, Obama said the Piketon site workforce and surrounding communities “will play a central role in our nation’s domestic energy supply through private sector and government initiatives.”

Empire Mining Corporation is pleased to announce results of its recently completed initial diamond drill program at the Bursa copper-molybdenum porphyry project in Turkey. Significant copper mineralization was intercepted in five of six holes testing the Karapinar prospect at Bursa including 99.7 metres from surface averaging 0.50% copper, 0.007% molybdenum and 0.10 grams per tonne gold in Drill Hole KDH-006.

Empire is earning a 65% interest in Bursa from Anatolia Minerals Development Limited. The Bursa Property is located 120km south of Istanbul within the Turkish sector of the Tethyan Metallogenic Belt. The Tethyan Belt passes through central and Southeast Europe, the Middle East, and central and Southeast Asia and hosts a number of significant copper-molybdenum-gold porphyry deposits.

complete this report at : biz.yahoo.com

The U.S. now produces only 4.7 million pounds of the 65 million pounds of uranium ore used domestically each year, according to Mick Mastilovic, vice president of operations for Virginia Uranium Inc., the Chatham company that wants to begin mining.

The yellow cake ore is primarily used for nuclear power plants, which now rely on uranium from Canada, Australia and Russia.

The study will pair the Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research at Virginia Tech with the National Academy of Sciences. An independent study supported by Virginia Uranium failed in the General Assembly earlier this year because some feared it was tilted toward mining.

Del. Terry G. Kilgore, chairman of the legislative panel that approved Thursday’s study, said the commission’s examination would probably take 18 months to two years to complete and would include significant public involvement.

“We need to leave no stone unturned on this. If it’s not safe, we don’t want to do it,” Kilgore said of the mining.

Virginia has had a moratorium on uranium mining since 1981, two years after the accident at Three Mile Island Unit 2, which remains the most serious commercial nuclear power accident in the United States. The accident and the nuclear power protests that followed virtually ended the building of new nuclear power plants in the U.S.

The nation, however, has seen a renewed interest in nuclear power and energy independence, and President-elect Barack Obama has said he does not oppose the energy source. The price of uranium has increased.

At a brief hearing before the commission, Sarah Motley said her family homestead dating back 150 years is within 2 miles of the uranium deposit in Pittsylvania County, near the North Carolina line. She opposed mining 25 years ago and still worries about its environmental toll.

“We don’t know what the right thing to do is, but we still have concerns,” she said after the meeting.

The Southern Environmental Law Center, which supports the moratorium, said uranium mining is often a surface operation susceptible to severe weather. The environmental group is concerned about uranium mining’s impact on groundwater, livestock and the health of local residents.

“We’ve got to proceed with caution because were are heading into uncharted territory,” said Cale Jaffe, a senior attorney for the law center.

Whit Clement, representing Virginia Uranium, said the two Virginia families who own a controlling interest in the company are mindful of the worries of those who oppose the mining. He said the independent, science-based study will determine “if it can be done safely.”

“You can rest assured that the environmentalists will make sure that not only is everything studied, but they will oppose it in the end,” Clement said.

“The relationship between Venezuela and Russia is of strategic business character,” said Igor Sechin, the vice prime minister of Russia, in Caracas.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said the initiation of gas exploration “is as important as launching the Simon Bolivar satellite a week ago,” referring to the satellite that China manufactured and launched as part of a bilateral investment accord with Venezuela.

“Now a new stage of history has begun, because we are free, we are not a colony and we make use of our freedom. We have liberated ourselves from imperialism,” said Chávez.

According to the president, Venezuela’s “Caribbean Gas Belt,” stretching along the entire coast, contains 200 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves. Last month Chavez announced that Venezuela would build a new naval base on its largest island to defend the reserves.

“It is a great advantage for Venezuela to count on Russia’s presence and the company Gazprom in the Gulf,” said Chavez. Venezuela should be able to produce its own gas within five years, thanks to Russia’s agreement to transfer technology to Venezuela and train Venezuelan workers, he said.

Also, Chávez announced that on November 26th of this month, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev will visit Venezuela, the first Russian President to do so ever.

Extensive teams of government authorities from the two countries set up more than twenty commissions to manage nearly fifty bilateral projects in education, finances, arms purchases, light industries, mining, infrastructure, energy, telecommunications, science and technology, environment, citizen security, culture, sports, and tourism.

The countries moved forward on several projects that were launched over the past year, including Venezuela’s development of civilian nuclear energy, a binational bank, purchases of Russian military equipment, and a joint energy company made up of five Russian firms and PDVSA.

They also discussed the construction of an aluminum plant and automobile factories in Venezuela, and a possible commercial flight between Caracas and Moscow.

According to statements by Venezuela’s Basic Industries and Mining Minister, Rodolfo Sanz, on Thursday, the Venezuelan government might grant the Russian mining firm Rusoro partnership with Venezuelan state mining companies in two major gold projects in Venezuela, Las Cristinas and Las Brisas.

Sanz had announced on Tuesday the government’s intention to nationalize the two gold deposits, which are currently controlled by the Canadian firm Crystallex and Washington State-based Gold Reserve.

According to Venezuelan Major General Jesus Gonzalez, Venezuela will continue purchasing Russian arms until it has “sufficient strength” to defend its territory and oil.

“I do not doubt that the United States wants to come looking for petroleum here,” said Gonzalez. Even with new president-elect Barack Obama, “the end goal and purpose of the United States will be the same: To dominate the world,” he said.

Venezuela has purchased $4.4 billion worth of Russian weapons since 2005 and in September Russia approved a $1 billion loan to Venezuela for future arms purchases.

Venezuela’s Foreign Relations Minister Nicolas Maduro said, “This alliance with Russia forms part of the effort to construct a multi-polar world” that is based on the principles of “respect for sovereignty, equality among states, and on the basis of a constructive agenda.”

Maduro emphasized the need to end war and construct a new financial system to prevent states from dominating other states in order to exploit their natural resources.