Mining

The Minamata Convention will introduce a range of global controls to reduce mercury emissions.

The merger of Glencore and Xstrata has been approved by the South African Competition Tribunal, leaving only China yet to ok to deal.

Caterpillar has announced it will take a US$ 580 million “goodwill impairment charge” on its acquisition of ERA Mining Machinery and its subsidiary, Zhengzhou Siwei Mechanical & Electrical Manufacturing Co. Ltd.

The legislature of the Crow Tribe of Indians has approved agreements with Cloud Peak Energy to explore Power River Basin coal deposits located on its reservation.

Global mining major, Rio Tinto, has released its Q4 2012 operations review, reporting a rise in thermal coal production but a drop in metallurgical coal production.

Workers at a metallurgical coal mine in Australia have decided on industrial action in an ongoing pay dispute.

Mining major, Anglo American, has appointed Mark Cutifani, current head of AngloGold Ashanti Ltd, to succeed Cynthia Carroll when she steps down in early April.

Deloitte has released its Tracking the Trends 2013, highlighting the top ten challenges facing the global mining industry next year. These include rising costs, managing demand uncertainty and growing resource nationalism.

At least 17 coal miners have been killed in a gas explosion in an underground mine in southwest China.

Vale’s board of directors has approved a US$ 16.3 billion investment budget for project execution, sustaining existing operations and R&D.

Despite the financial and sovereign debt crisis, German mining equipment manufacturers have posted a record sales growth of 27% for 2011. The German Engineering Federation (VDMA) expects turnover to grow by a further 20% to € 5.8 billion in 2012.

Illinois basin coal production rose 13% during H1 2012 in response to domestic and international demand for cheaper coal.

An investigation into the causes of the Pike River coal mine disaster has concluded that lax safety standards at the mine, coupled with a lack of regulatory oversight, was to blame for the deaths of 29 miners. In response, the minister responsible for mine oversight has resigned.

Stuart Harris, Land Instruments (a unit of AMETEK, Inc.) describes how continuous critical vessel monitoring can be utilised for enhanced worker safety and asset protection.

World Coal reviews news from the materials handling sector announced at MINExpo INTERNATIONAL® 2012, which took place in Las Vegas from 24 – 26 September.