Mining

China has increased its total production for the first two months of the year by 13.5%.

Peabody Energy has announced that the Mongolian Government has placed the company in the top tier of the short list of companies that pre-qualify to invest and cooperate in development of the Tavan Tolgoi coal deposit.

The US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Justice Department have announced that Arch Coal Inc. has agreed to pay a US$ 4 million dollar penalty for alleged violations of the Clean Water Act in Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky.

Xstrata has declared force majeure at its Ulan mine in New South Wales, Australia. Production at the mine has been forced to halt due to heavy rain.

The Colombian Government has hinted that its suspension of new requests for mining concessions may last longer than the initial six months.

A state mining company will be established in South Africa by the end of this month, although much of its work will be contracted out to private companies.

Peabody Energy Australia has awarded Thiess Pty Ltd a contract to extend mining operations at its Burton coal mine in the Bowen basin, Queensland, Australia. The mine extension will maintain the current production level of 2.5 million tpa of high quality coking coal.

January 2011: Kay Sever examines the importance of a great culture between operations and maintenance cannot be over-emphasised because it affects production, cost and morale.

Xstrata plc has announced that it has approved the US$ 1.36 billion development of the Ravensworth North opencast mine in the in the Upper Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia.

An update on the rescue efforts at the Pike River coal mine in New Zealand.

Caterpillar Inc. and Bucyrus International have entered into an agreement by which Caterpillar will acquire Bucyrus for US $ 8.6 billion, expanding Caterpillar's leadership in the mining equipment industry.

Hancock Prospecting has opened its 100,000 t Alpha test pit. The launch represents “the historic first mining of the Galilee Basin,” in Queensland, Australia.

A new underground coal mine is to be opened in Hamilton County, Illinois, creating approximately 300 construction jobs and 350 permanent jobs.

Demand for met coal has prompted United Coal to reopen the Affinity mine in West Virginia, which has been closed since 1985.

After detecting traces of BTEX around eight coal seam gas wells in southern Queensland, Australia, Origin Energy has suspended drilling operations until it can find the source of the contamination.