tristass

China's gold output is still rising, but probably at an insufficient rate to counter the falls in production elsewhere in the world.

A Mineweb reader has noticed a recent two-year cycle for gold price behaviour which, if it continues will likely give some guidance to price movements this year and next.

Reduced supply, coupled with high winter demand, has seen lead prices rise by some 40 percent in China(cnmining) in the past month.

Ultimately, as the realisation worldwide materialises that the U.S economy is hugely overstretched, gold will come to the fore as the true safe haven - but it may take some time to do so.

Chile's Codelco, the world's No. 1 copper producer, said on Tuesday its 2008 profits would fund a $1 billion capital injection included in a new $4 billion government anti-crisis stimulus plan.

AN INVESTIGATION tool that can access sealed or inaccessible areas through a 100mm borehole, which has successfully been trialled at the Newstan and Austar collieries and deployed to the Moranbah North mine, is now available for the coal industry.

ALUMINIUM producer Alcoa has announced it will reduce annual output by 18% and reduce its global workforce by 13% in order to reduce capital expenditure in 2009 by 50%.

Chalco, China's top aluminum producer, cut its alumina spot price again last Sunday to 2,000 yuan per ton, down 52 percent from last year's highest point of 4,200 yuan per ton.

China is expected to announce the timetable for debuting of steels futures after traditional Chinese New Year festival, and it may list the product for trade between April and May, revealed a senior manager with Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) to the China Business Daily.

China's latest effort in revitalizing the steel and automobile industries will help domestic steel industry resume stable production and thus stimulate a rally in the demand for coke.