Asia Top Stories

Freeport, Indonesia work out initial Grasberg exports deal

The Indonesian unit is now in the process of obtaining…

Another potash mine coming soon to Canada’s Saskatchewan

Western Potash said it’s moving ahead with its Milestone project,…

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No plans for force majeure – Sumitomo

Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd Japan's third-biggest steelmaker, said it had no plan to declare force majeure on input deliveries. The company has suspended operations of the two giant blast furnaces at its mainstay Kashima plant in Ibaraki prefecture after the quake and tsunami.

Uranium stocks take a thrashing

While the jury remains out on exactly what went wrong at certain tsunami-and earthquake-impacted nuclear power reactors in Japan, investors took decisive action on Monday, selling down listed uranium stocks by up to a third. Smaller stocks were especially punished. During Australian trade, Pitchstone Exploration was sold down by 32% on the day. The world's biggest listed uranium producer, Canada's Cameco, fell 12.7% to close at $31.70.

Quake aftermath: Gold futures rise; palladium, platinum fall

Gold futures rose for the second straight session as Japan’s strongest earthquake on record boosted demand for a haven asset, reports Bloomberg. Palladium fell for an eighth straight session, the longest slump since July 2008. Equities declined worldwide as officials said the death toll from the earthquake and tsunami may top 10,000. Technicians tried to contain damage from a second explosion at a nuclear plant north of Tokyo.

Quake halts production at Japanese steelmakers

Reuters is reporting that FE Steel, the world's No 5 steelmaker, on Monday halted production at a plant near Tokyo and global fourth-ranked Nippon Steel suspended operations at two small plants: - JFE said shipments from its 10 million tonnes per year Higashi Nihon plant near Tokyo had virtually halted due to a power outage. - JFE resumed operations on Sunday of two blast furnaces at its Higashi Nihon plant, one of its two mainstay plants, which were idled after Friday's quake and tsunami.

Indian mining industry to face skilled manpower shortage

India, ranked among the top five global players in production of several major minerals, is poised for rapid growth in its mining industry - about five percent of the GDP. However, lack of skilled workers is set to hit the industry, creating a demand-supply gap of over 2,200 people by 2025, according to a study on mapping of human resources and skills for the mining industry in India by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).