March 2010

Mastermyne lodges prospectus for $40m IPO

MINING services company Mastermyne Group said today it plans to offer 40 million shares at $1 each to investors, representing 55 per cent of the private-equity owned firm, under its planned initial public offering.

The Queensland-based coal mining services company that is owned by CHAMP Ventures and its management, said in a statement it has lodged a prospectus with the Australian corporate regulator that will offer shares between April 12 and April 29, ahead of a listing on the Australian Securities Exchange. Read more

Gold gains as US dollar weakens

GOLD finished higher today, with the main catalyst a softer US dollar after disappointing economic data.

Technically, gold’s recent ability to hold above technical chart support also encouraged buying.

June gold, the contract month with the most open positions, rose $US8.80, or 0.8 per cent, to settle at $US1114.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Nearby April climbed $US8.80, or 0.8 per cent, to $US1113.30. Read more

Lihir Gold Rejects A$9.2 Billion Offer From Newcrest (Update2)

April 1 (Bloomberg) — Lihir Gold Ltd. rejected a A$9.2 billion ($8.4 billion) cash and stock takeover from Newcrest Mining Ltd., a deal that would create the world’s fifth-biggest producer of the metal with 10 mines in five nations.

The bid values Lihir shares at A$3.87 each, 28 percent more than yesterday’s close. The offer from Newcrest, Australia’s largest gold mining company, is inadequate, the Port Morseby, Papua New Guinea-based company said today in a statement. Read more

Next step in huge Oyu Tolgoi copper/gold project completed

TORONTO (Reuters) -

Ivanhoe Mines (IVN.TO) has finalized an investment agreement with its partners to develop the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold project in Mongolia, and full-scale construction is set to begin in the second quarter, the company said on Wednesday.

In October, Mongolia wrapped up a long awaited deal to develop Oyu Tolgoi — one of the world’s largest untapped copper-gold deposits — when it signed an agreement with Ivanhoe and its partner, Rio Tinto (RIO.AX) (RIO.L). Read more

COPPER & GOLD EXPLORATION: Marathon enjoying success in Ontario, Newfoundland

ONTARIO & NEWFOUNDLAND – Marathon PGM Corp. of Toronto is enjoying success at both its Geordie Lake property near Marathon, ON, and its Leprechaun gold deposit in central Newfoundland.

At the 100%-owned Geordie Lake project, recent drilling returned 52 metres of 0.49% Cu, 0.96 g/t PGM and Au plus 4.5 g/t Ag. The company reports that using a 0.5% Cu cutoff the Main zone has been traced 800 metres along strike and to a thickness of 36 metres. Read more

TSX Mine Financing Alerts: Who’s Got the Money?

The following companies have filed press releases pertaining to a financing on the TSX and Venture exchanges for mining and exploration activities.

Brokers, analysts and investors can use this information to help evaluate whether a company has the funds to continue the business of making mines to feed the mills that create the metals for myriad uses in today’s growing world. Whether it is a flow through, private placement, debenture, equity or any other form of public offering, you’ll find it here.

NEW: RITV and shareKNOW.net calculate the value of these projects based on the latest metals prices. The tonnages, grades and recovery rates used are all 43-101 compliant unless otherwise stated, however the values stated are gross values and do not include cost data, which is often available at www.shareKNOW.net using the OPERATING CALCULATOR. Go to www.shareknow.net now to begin evaluating prospective investments!

To see the Canadian Financing Archives click HERE.

Date	Company Name (Click to open profile)	Symbol	How Much?	Status
March 30, 2010	NWM Mining Corp	NWM	$1,340,000.	Closed
March 30, 2010	RX Exploration Inc	RXE	$3,153,467.	Closed
March 30, 2010	Canadian Mining Co Inc	CNG	$113,000.	Closed
March 30, 2010	Trelawney Mining and Exploration Inc	TRR	$14,949,999.	Closed
March 30, 2010	Sinchao Metals Corp	SMZ	$1,032,000.	Closed
March 30, 2010	European Goldfields Ltd	EGU	$127,725,000.	Proposed
March 30, 2010	Cline Mining Corp	CMK	$34,780,000.	Amendment
March 30, 2010	St. Eugene Mining Corp	SEM	$340,000.	Proposed
March 30, 2010	BC Gold Corp	BCG	$1,100,000.	Proposed
March 30, 2010	Silvore Fox Minerals Corp	SFX	$2,250,000.	Closed
March 30, 2010	Diadem Resources Ltd	DRL	$750,000.	Proposed

Gold & Silver Rise as Dollar Falls, “Well Bid in Euros” as Physical Traders “Buy the Dips”

London Gold Market Report

from Adrian Ash

BullionVault

08:25 ET, Weds 31 March

Gold & Silver Rise as Dollar Falls, “Well Bid in Euros” as Physical Traders “Buy the Dips” Read more

Copper outlook bright amid tight supply and growing demand from China

THE outlook for copper is strong amid tight supply and growing demand from China and India, OZ Minerals says.

Copper prices for three-month delivery rose to a 19-month high on the London Metal Exchange at $US7849 a tonne, amid expectations of a sustainable global economic recovery. The recent rise in copper prices was triggered by the earthquake in Chile on February 27 that resulted in the temporary suspension of production at key copper minesthere. The metal was about $US7330 a tonne when the earthquake struck. Read more

Macarthur Coal snubs US miner Peabody’s $3.3bn bid

US coal giant Peabody Energy has made a surprise move to torpedo Macarthur Coal’s grand plans of becoming Australia’s top independent coal producer with a $3.3 billion takeover offer that met immediate resistance.

Shares in Macarthur soared 16 per cent, or $1.96, to $14.05 after Peabody, based in St Louis, Missouri and the largest private sector coal company in the world, made a non-binding $13-a-share offer for Brisbane-based Macarthur. Read more

Gold gains; eyes on Greece, ETFs

Randgold Resources – poised for growth in African gold

London -

2009 has been a milestone year for African gold producer Randgold Resources – one in which Chiarman Philippe Liétard says the company laid the foundations for its next growth phase.  Randgold through its successful mining and exploration activities, so far focused in West Africa, as been one of the best performing gold stocks anywhere, and its new move into Central Africa – specifically the Democratic Republic of Congo – although carrying a fair amount of risk, has the potential, along with its growth projects in its traditional operating area, of moving the company up another notch on its way to becoming a Tier 1 gold miner. Read more

Europe, Asia Steelmakers to Raise Prices on Ore Costs (Update1)

March 31 (Bloomberg) — European and Asian steelmakers will raise prices because of surging iron-ore costs after Vale SA, the world’s largest producer of the raw material, and BHP Billiton Ltd. ended a 40-year system of setting annual prices.

Eurofer, a group representing steel producers in Europe, said a shift to quarterly contracts for iron ore along with higher prices for coking coal may push up costs for their customers by as much as a third. Read more

Copper prices soar to near two-year high

COPPER prices have hit their highest levels since mid-2008, boosted by a more-stable outlook for Greece and optimism about the global economic outlook, notably growth prospects in China.

Improved sentiment in recent days and growing risk appetite among investors, in part owing to steps Greece has taken to resolve its fiscal woes, also helped push the industrial metal to key technical levels that triggered additional pre-placed buy orders, market participants said. Read more

Steel makers overhaul iron ore pricing

Global miners and key Asian steel makers have agreed to a record increase in iron ore prices after they signed deals to replace the 40-year-old pricing system based on annual contracts with new short-term deals linked to the spot market.

The landmark move by Vale of Brazil and Anglo-Australian BHP Billiton ends the so-called benchmark system which has been in place since the early 1960s. Rio Tinto has yet to sign any new contract, but executives expect it to follow soon. Read more

Miners making big changes to pricing system

Some of the world’s biggest miners are forcing Asian buyers to change the way they purchase several key commodities, a boon to producers but a move expected to increase prices throughout the global economy.

From potash to coking coal and now iron ore, several mining companies have pushed through dramatic changes in how these products are priced and sold, forcing users in countries such as China, Japan and India to pay more for specific resources Read more

Zijin Mining Seeks Two ‘Major’ Overseas Acquisitions

March 31 (Bloomberg) — Zijin Mining Group Co., China’s largest gold producer, said it will seek to complete one or two “major” overseas acquisitions this year to increase reserves, continuing an investment spree to tap growing metal demand.

The Fujian province-based company also wants to acquire “big” gold mines in China, it said in a statement to the Shanghai stock exchange today, without giving details. Read more

TSX Mine Financing Alerts: Who’s Got the Money?

The following companies have filed press releases pertaining to a financing on the TSX and Venture exchanges for mining and exploration activities.

Brokers, analysts and investors can use this information to help evaluate whether a company has the funds to continue the business of making mines to feed the mills that create the metals for myriad uses in today’s growing world. Whether it is a flow through, private placement, debenture, equity or any other form of public offering, you’ll find it here.

NEW: RITV and shareKNOW.net calculate the value of these projects based on the latest metals prices. The tonnages, grades and recovery rates used are all 43-101 compliant unless otherwise stated, however the values stated are gross values and do not include cost data, which is often available at www.shareKNOW.net using the OPERATING CALCULATOR. Go to www.shareknow.net now to begin evaluating prospective investments!

To see the Canadian Financing Archives click HERE.

Date	Company Name (Click to open profile)	Symbol	How Much?	Status
March 29, 2010	Arctic Star Diamond Corp	ADD	$885,000.	Closed
March 29, 2010	Molycor Gold Corp	MOR	$840,000.	Proposed
March 29, 2010	Platmin Ltd	PPN	$102,700,000.	Proposed
March 29, 2010	First Point Minerals Corp	FPX	$5,000,000.	Proposed
March 29, 2010	Slam Exploration Ltd	SXL	$75,000.	Proposed
March 29, 2010	Sienna Gold Inc	SGP	$1,200,000.	Proposed
March 29, 2010	Indicator Minerals Inc	IME	$1,400,000.	Proposed
March 29, 2010	Acero-Martin Exploration Inc	AMG	$330,000.	Proposed
March 29, 2010	Catalyst Copper Corp	CCY	$3,000,000.	Proposed
March 29, 2010	New Dimension Resources Ltd	NDR	$24,411.	Closed
March 29, 2010	Metalcorp Ltd	MTC	$1,400,000.	Proposed

Gold Finds “Strong Physical Demand” Even as Dollar Rallies; Scrap Supplies Light

London Gold Market Report

from Adrian Ash

BullionVault

09:55 ET, Tues 30 March

Gold Finds “Strong Physical Demand” Even as Dollar Rallies; Scrap Supplies Light Read more

BHP wins 100pc price rise for iron ore

BHP Billiton has secured close to a 100 per cent jump in iron ore prices and convinced the major Chinese steel mills to accept short-term pricing in a groundbreaking move that kills off the controversial annual benchmark system.

The world’s largest miner yesterday took a significant step in chief executive Marius Kloppers’ campaign to introduce short-term pricing, by moving the majority of its contracts with Asian customers to a quarterly system — the first change in 40 years. Read more

Miners gear up for M&A flurry

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