mining – News Stories About mining - Page 5

Slowdown Puts Mining Outfits
in Deep Hole

Nov 17, 2008 8:43 AM CST

Slowdown Puts Mining Outfits in Deep Hole

China's drop in demand further drives down commodities

(Newser) - Mining companies are shutting down production, laying off workers, and trying to sell excess product as the global economic slowdown drills into the industry’s profits, reports the Wall Street Journal. Metal prices dropped a record 35% last month, and nearly every mineral has been hit. Mining, once an economic...

Arctic Boom
Awash in
Green Risk

ANALYSIS

Jul 10, 2008 1:42 PM CDT

Arctic Boom Awash in Green Risk

Rush to tap vast mineral riches will tax area dearly without needed infrastructure

(Newser) - As the Arctic sea ice melts, it’s uncovering vast resources, leading to an international energy and mining rush. Companies are lining up to explore the region, and nations are reviving Arctic border disputes in hopes of tapping its wealth. But the exploitation of the area’s resources could have...

Clinton Helped Crony Land Mining Deal

Jan 31, 2008 12:14 PM CST

Clinton Helped Crony Land Mining Deal

After trip to Kazakhstan, buddy tapped uranium, Bill's charity got $31M

(Newser) - Two days after former president Bill Clinton took pal and mining mogul Frank Giustra to meet Kazakhstan's de facto dictator, Giustra landed a monster contract to mine uranium with state-run mining company Kazatomprom, the New York Times reports—despite his firm’s lack of relevant experience. Shortly thereafter, Clinton’s...

Mining Mergers May Take Page From Big Oil

Dec 18, 2007 3:08 PM CST

Mining Mergers May Take Page From Big Oil

Proposed consolidation could drive commodity prices even higher

(Newser) - When Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP Billiton announced its bid to merge with archrival Rio Tinto, the Wall Street Journal got déjà vu. The deal, which would combine the world’s largest and third-largest miners, looks a lot like the late-'90s megamergers that produced today’s Big Oil titans. “...

Mugabe Seizes Platinum and Diamond Mines

Nov 21, 2007 7:32 AM CST

Mugabe Seizes Platinum and Diamond Mines

Takeover likely to kill all remaining foreign investment

(Newser) - Zimbabwe's catastrophic economic situation got still worse yesterday as Robert Mugabe announced a new law giving the government controlling stakes in the country's platinum and diamond mines. The Times of London writes that the state may now take control of 51% of all mining companies and has to pay for...

Deal Could Forge Mining Goliath

Nov 9, 2007 5:19 AM CST

Deal Could Forge Mining Goliath

Sky-high demand for minerals driving mergers

(Newser) - The biggest mining company in the world is aiming to get even bigger. BHP Billiton's $142 billion bid for Rio Tinto has been turned down, but the firm is still keen to make a deal, reports the Wall Street Journal. The deal would be the second-largest in history, and the...

2,000 Miners Rescued in South Africa

Oct 4, 2007 6:34 AM CDT

2,000 Miners Rescued in South Africa

Workers emerge hungry but unharmed after 36 hours underground

(Newser) - About two-thirds of the 3,200 miners trapped yesterday when a lift shaft collapsed in a South African gold mine had been rescued by midmorning today, the BBC reports. They're being brought to the surface 75 at a time in a small shaft normally used for equipment; the remainder are...

Tests Will Tell
if Big Stone
Is Indeed Gem

Aug 31, 2007 8:23 AM CDT

Tests Will Tell if Big Stone Is Indeed Gem

Could be world’s largest diamond

(Newser) - A South African mining company will know soon if they’ve found the world’s largest diamond, with tests scheduled for next week. The light-green stone was found several days ago; experts say it may turn out to only a fluorite crystal, the BBC reports. A spokesman for De Beers,...

Which Came First: Quake
or Collapse?

Aug 8, 2007 5:19 PM CDT

Which Came First: Quake or Collapse?

It's geologists vs. mine owner on cause of Utah disaster

(Newser) - A cave-in method of coal extraction called “retreat mining,” recently okayed by regulators for Crandall Canyon, was more likely to have caused the Utah mine disaster than an earthquake, seismographers tell the Los Angeles Times. And they say the massive tremor was consistent with the type “induced...

Miners Dig for Gold in Belgian Museum

Mar 20, 2007 11:33 AM CDT

Miners Dig for Gold in Belgian Museum

A collection of colonial-era maps of the Congo draws mining firms to musty stacks

(Newser) - A Belgian museum filled with stacks of faded geological maps of the Congo—a former colony—has become an unlikely mecca for mining companies searching for new deposits. With prices soaring and on-site exploration impeded by armed militias, drillers are eager to shell out hefty research fees to the Royal...