Empire Applies for Additional Exploration Licenses in Tasmania

Top Mining News: Empire Energy Corporation International, has announced an investment in an African mining and mineral exploration company and the filing of applications for additional tenement licenses in Tasmania.

The Company has acquired the whole of the issued common shares of Grand Monarch Holdings Inc, a Delaware, fully reporting shell corporation, from Ballantyne Acquisition Corporation for 2,500,000 Empire Energy restricted shares. Ballantyne Acquisition Corporation is controlled by Tad Ballantyne, a Director of Empire Energy.

The Company has submitted tenement applications for the coal-bed methane horizons of the existing SEL 13/98 tenement and which would be tested commencing with the Bellevue #1 well, to be drilled shortly. Coal seams of Permian to Jurassic age occur throughout the Tasmanian Basin and are currently mined at several sites both by open pit and underground mining methods.

The Company has also submitted an application for a further 12,040 sq kilometres of tenement on the Eastern seaboard of Tasmania, which includes approximately 5,000 sq kilometres of offshore area, where 7 kilometres of onshore and 256 kilometres seismic operations were previously carried out by companies managed by Malcolm Bendall.

The Company will assign one third of the Eastern seaboard Tenement to its wholly owned subsidiary Grand Monarch Holdings Limited followed by a stock exchange agreement with Geominex Resources Limited, a UK private company, under which the Company will exchange 90% of Grand Monarch Holdings Limited for all of the issued and outstanding share capital of Geominex Resources. The Geominex Directors have estimated the value of their assets on a heavily discounted basis to be worth in the region of US$ 900 million.

Further to the recent filing of the 10K Report, the announced rights offering, if fully subscribed, may bring us the potential of an additional AUD$12 million to continue the drilling programs. Empire CEO Malcolm Bendall has stated, “The applications for further tenements in Tasmania confirm the Company’s new financial strength capability, and its commitment and belief that there are world class volumes of oil and gas in the State. At the same time, the Company has entered into a strategic alliance with Geominex Resources Limited to pursue this activity, and to expand the Company’s geographical spread into Africa where it will not only benefit from the existing mining operations, but also from the strong relationships of Geominex, and the potential for acquiring significant oil and gas tenements in Africa.”

Geominex Resources Chairman, Zamayi Sithole, stated that, “The strategic alliance with Empire is a significant step for Geominex, and will allow for the development of a substantial platform from which all parties will benefit significantly. The alliance combines the strength of Empire’s oil and gas and mining experience with the financial capacity of Geominex to establish a London-based natural resource company with an international focus and a direct access to the U.S. Capital markets.”

Empire Energy Corporation is an international oil and gas exploration company, focusing on developing assets in one of the world’s last virgin basins and becoming a leading low-cost finder of hydrocarbons. The company is currently operating in Tasmania’s central and northern basins.

Geominex Resources Limited is a private UK company with an address at Erskine House, 53 London Road, Maidstone, Kent ME16 8JH, United Kingdom, and which operates directly and indirectly through exploration and active mining in Africa, notably Geominex Mozambique Limitada, Geominex Niger S.A., Geominex Congo Limited, Geominex Burkina Faso S.A., Geominex Angola Limited and Geominex DRC Limited. All entities are owned from a minimal shareholding of 60% up to 100%. There is no interest in which the company owns less that 60% shares.

Strait Asia Resources Plans To Increase Coal Mine Production to 20 million tones by 2012

Top Mining News: This is the mining news from Reuters. Mr Richard Ong CEO of Straits Asia said that the plan for this company was to bring to 20 million in three years.

In Reuters news online reported, Singapore listed Straits Asia Resources aims to more than double its annual coal production to 20 million tonnes by 2012 and may acquire two Indonesian coal mines to achieve that target.

Mr Richard Ong CEO of Straits Asia the company will start by boosting its production to 9.5 million tonnes this year from 8.6 million last year.

He said that “I think the plan for this company is to bring to 20 million in three years. We are not stopping to look into acquisitions we may want to select one or two. Those acquisitions will be of Indonesian assets.”

Straits Asia’s shares rose as much as 3.2% in late trade on last Friday, outperforming a 0.7% fall in the benchmark Singapore index. Commodities firm Noble Group and Indonesian coal miner PT Indika Energy Tbk are among the companies also pursuing a bid for Straits Asia itself, sources told Reuters in January, in a deal that could be worth more than USD 800 million.

Mr Ong declined to comment on bids for the firm, saying it was up to its parent firm, Australian miner Straits Resources Limited that owns 47.1% of the company. He said that Straits Asia controls 100% of Indonesian mining service company PT Indo Straits, which it aims to spin off and either sell part or its entire stake through an initial public offering by the end of 2009. The company has not decided the size of the stake in Indo Straits that it wants to sell during the offering or the amount it aims to rise.

Straits Asia said that it was difficult to give an outlook for coal prices since supplies were likely to fall along with demand, as some producers faced difficulties in getting financing.

Mr Ong said that the firm would fund its expansion with cash. The company has nearly USD 100 million in cash or equivalent and a USD 300 million refinancing facility obtained from Standard Chartered in November, according to its 2008 financial statement. The firm posted over a 300% rise in both Q4 and 2008 net profits.

Straits Asia, with a market cap of USD 548.6 million has two coal mines in Indonesia’s coal rich East Kalimantan province and exports most of its output to power plants in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and India. In terms of size, it is similar to Indonesia’s eighth largest coal producer PT Bayan Resources, which also plans to produce 9.5 million tonnes of coal this year.

sourced : Reuters

Prepare SA coal for next boom, Northam foresees platinum recovery in 2010, Mozambique to begin shipping coal in 2010

Top Mining News: This is the mining news on South Africa's Coal Industry. all coal companies must collectively attack strategic issues in order to ensure that South Africa will not lose out on the next boom, as it had lost out on the one just past.

South Africa’s coal industry needs to ready itself for the next coal boom, which will undoubtedly occur, states Anglo Coal South Africa CEO Ben Magara on page 9 of this edition of Mining Weekly.rnrnMagara told McCloskey’s South African Coal Conference, in Cape Town, that all coal companies must collectively attack strategic issues in order to ensure that South Africa didn’t lose out on the next boom, as it had lost out on the one just past.rnrnHe stated that all South African coal-miners were still digging in the depleting Witbank coalfield and that the migration to the Waterberg coalfield had been “very slow”. South Africa did have vast coal resources, but turning those new areas to account required serious and ongoing commitment.rnrnPlatinum-miner Northam Platinum CEO Glyn Lewis believes that platinum prices may trend higher in 2010, though he concedes that the immediate outlook for the platinum market remains uncertain.rnrnHe states on page 31 of this edition of Mining Weekly that there’s no doubt that 2009 will provide a challenging market, but thereafter, he believes, the demand for Northam’s basket of platinum-group metals will show some recovery.rnrnCoal exports from Mozambique are all set for kick-off in 2010. Read on page 7 of this edition of Mining Weekly of Riversdale Mining, at full production, hoping to export six-million tons of hard coking coal and two-million tons of thermal coal from the Port of Beira in the latter half of 2010.rnrnAim-listed Central African Mining & Exploration Company consulting geologist Allan Saad adds that his company plans its first-phase exporting in 2010, initially at the modest rate of 1,5-million tons a year, and then building up to 15-million tons a year and later to 20-million tons a year.rnrnVale of Brazil has a huge project in the same area of the prospective but underexplored Moatize-Tete area of Mozambique, which embraces mining, coal-fired power generation, a railway line and a port.

Mining Operations and Future Capital Expenditures Temporarily suspended because of Gobal Economic Uncertainty

Western Canadian Coal Corp. announces that despite a successful start-up of mining operations at the Willow Creek Mine, the current volatile and rapid global economic uncertainty is impacting the demand for metallurgical coal. As a result, the Company will temporarily suspend mining operations and future capital expenditures at the Willow Creek Mine at the end of November 2008. Future decisions on restarting mining operations and expansion plans at the mine and plant will resume once clarity on next year’s coal prices and commitments become more visible.

John Hogg, President and CEO of Western Canadian Coal Corp. comments, “Other than capital spending required to sustain operations at our Wolverine and Brule mines, we have begun a plan to suspend all capital expenditures. We are also reviewing all non-discretionary spending to contain our mining cash costs. We believe these difficult actions are required to help the Company weather the short-term market uncertainties to protect the Company’s growth for the long-term.”

Western Canadian Coal Corp. produces high quality metallurgical coal from mines located in the northeast of British Columbia. The coal is sold to many of the top steelmakers in the world. The Company also has interests in various coal properties in northern and southern British Columbia and a 50% interest to explore and develop the Belcourt and Saxon group of properties in northern BC. Currently, these properties provide the company with an estimated 15 years of coal reserves at current production levels. For more information, please visit www.westerncanadiancoal.com

Czech coal mining group to buy 25% stake in Ukraine’s Ferrexpo

“Daily Updated Mining Exploration News on Coal”—New World Resources, the London-listed Czech coal mining group, is to buy 25 per cent of Ferrexpo, a Ukrainian iron ore producer whose owner had been forced to sell off part of his stake in the company after it plunged in value, according to Financial Times.

NWR said that it would pay pound126.6m ($217.5m), or 86p a share, for the stake in Ferrexpo acquired this month by NWR’s majority shareholder, RPG Industries, the investment vehicle of the Czech billionaire Zdenek Bakala. The purchase will be funded from NWR’s existing cash and the company expects to be offered a place on Ferrexpo’s board.

“It is very complementary to our presence in the region,” said Miklos Salamon, NWR’s chairman, adding that the purchase would give NWR a strategic partner in Ukraine, with some of Europe’s largest coal and iron reserves.

NWR, through its subsidiary OKD, is the largest hard coal producer in the Czech Republic and has begun analysing investments in Polish coal mines.

Ferrexpo, which has its headquarters in Switzerland and briefly entered the FTSE 100 this year, produces more than 9m metric tons of iron ore pellets a year – of which 85 per cent is exported to steelmakers around the world – as well as a further 30m metric tons of iron ore. Both companies are listed on the London Stock Exchange.

“We have got the region’s pre-eminent coal producer and pre-eminent iron ore producer in a significant alliance,” added Mr Salamon.

Ferrexpo is controlled by Kostyantin Zhevago, a Ukrainian billionaire businessmen and politician, who was faced with a margin call by JPMorgan after Ferrexpo’s shares were hit by the sell-off in commodities stocks.

Shares in Ferrexpo have dropped 84 per cent since May and closed at 77p on Monday. Mr Zhevago still holds 51 per cent of the company through his investment vehicle Fevamotinico.

Mr Bakala, who has made a fortune by investing in distressed heavy industries, quickly seized on Mr Zhevago’s troubles. “The only reason there was a deal was because of current circumstances,” said Mr Salamon.

Coal Mining Equipment and Technology in China: A Strategic Entry Report, 1995 (Strategic Planning Series) (Ring-bound)

From the Publisher:
Our publications provide timely and reliable market information as a complement to strategic planning processes. For a price well below the cost of a round-trip business-class ticket, the executive has access to the basic factors driving strategic planning. As such, our reports are a 'one-stop' shop by giving coverage on economic and political issues, as well as analyzing human resources, entry strategies and legal risks. With offices in Europe, Africa and the United States, Icon Group International has a number of specialty research groups. This report was published by the Manufacturing Research Group.

The primary audience for this report is managers involved with the highest levels of the strategic planning process, and consultants who help their clients with this task. The user will not only benefit from the hundreds of hours that went into the methodology and its application, but also from its alternative perspective on strategic planning in China.

This report helps executives evaluate strategic investment and entry alternatives in China. In order to evaluate China, Icon Group International, Inc. draws on a methodology developed by Professor Philip Parker at INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France. The methodology decomposes a country's strategic potential along two key dimensions: (1) latent demand, and (2) accessibility. A country may have very high latent demand, yet have low accessibility, making it a less attractive market than many smaller potential countries having higher levels of accessibility.

This report provides a strategic profile of China along these lines. Throughout the discussion, literally hundreds of statistics on China are benchmarked against regional and global averages. The reader can thus quickly understand where China fits into the regional and global perspective. The report first investigates the economic fundamentals affecting China. These fundamentals are the source for China's latent demand. Then, the subsequent chapters detail China's accessibility. This evaluation covers a number of entry alternatives, including export strategies, and local direct investment strategies. If a firm decides to have a local presence in China, this requires a strategic understanding of local business conditions. The conditions investigated in this report include local marketing (advertising, distribution, pricing issues) and entry strategies (opening an office, joint venturing, etc.), as well as human resources management (labor laws, costs, regulations). Because local presence can increase...

Czech coal mining group to buy 25% stake in Ukraine’s Ferrexpo

“Daily Updated Mining Exploration News on Coal”—New World Resources, the London-listed Czech coal mining group, is to buy 25 per cent of Ferrexpo, a Ukrainian iron ore producer whose owner had been forced to sell off part of his stake in the company after it plunged in value, according to Financial Times.

NWR said that it would pay pound126.6m ($217.5m), or 86p a share, for the stake in Ferrexpo acquired this month by NWR’s majority shareholder, RPG Industries, the investment vehicle of the Czech billionaire Zdenek Bakala. The purchase will be funded from NWR’s existing cash and the company expects to be offered a place on Ferrexpo’s board.

“It is very complementary to our presence in the region,” said Miklos Salamon, NWR’s chairman, adding that the purchase would give NWR a strategic partner in Ukraine, with some of Europe’s largest coal and iron reserves.

NWR, through its subsidiary OKD, is the largest hard coal producer in the Czech Republic and has begun analysing investments in Polish coal mines.

Ferrexpo, which has its headquarters in Switzerland and briefly entered the FTSE 100 this year, produces more than 9m metric tons of iron ore pellets a year – of which 85 per cent is exported to steelmakers around the world – as well as a further 30m metric tons of iron ore. Both companies are listed on the London Stock Exchange.

“We have got the region’s pre-eminent coal producer and pre-eminent iron ore producer in a significant alliance,” added Mr Salamon.

Ferrexpo is controlled by Kostyantin Zhevago, a Ukrainian billionaire businessmen and politician, who was faced with a margin call by JPMorgan after Ferrexpo’s shares were hit by the sell-off in commodities stocks.

Shares in Ferrexpo have dropped 84 per cent since May and closed at 77p on Monday. Mr Zhevago still holds 51 per cent of the company through his investment vehicle Fevamotinico.

Mr Bakala, who has made a fortune by investing in distressed heavy industries, quickly seized on Mr Zhevago’s troubles. “The only reason there was a deal was because of current circumstances,” said Mr Salamon.

Vancouver coal miner set to merge with Australian company

“Daily Updated Mining Exploration News on Coal Mining”—Vancouver’s NEMI Northern Energy and Mining (TSX:NNE) plans to merge with Australia’s Aviva Corp. to create a new coal and energy company.

The merger will combine NEMI’s Peace River coal project with Aviva’s Coolimba power project and Mmamantswe power and coal project and create a company with approximately $25 million in cash.

Under the agreement, Aviva will receive 0.59 NEMI shares for each of Aviva share upon completion of the merger.

The combined company will change its name to reflect its expanded scope and will be listed on the TSX and Australian Securities exchanges.

NEMI’s share price range during the past week: between $0.24 and $0.34; 52-week high: $1.93; 52-week low: $0.24.

Mining Economics and Strategy

Description
Economic skill is an essential partner to technical skill in every step of the mining process. An economic "mindset" begins before the first drill hole. This new book will help you effectively direct mining operations through the use of innovative economic strategies.

The text covers what is meant by a cost-effective mining scheme, the economics of information, and the procedures for rational evaluation of uncertain projects. It defines "ore" from an economic perspective and covers the influence of scheduling on ore reserves.

Discounted cash flow techniques, the most widely used evaluation technique for investment decision making, is covered in detail. The assumption of the use of spreadsheets is unique to this book. The application of DCF techniques in an operating mine environment is given expanded coverage and examples are drawn from real-life studies.

The differences between economic decision-making--a forward-looking task--and the reporting of results via accounting methods--a backward-looking activity are reviewed. Capital and decision-making procedures associated with capital investments in a risk environment are given extensive coverage. Case studies for capital investment in an operating mine are included. Comprehensive examples investigate "value" from a risk-reduction perspective and from an "expected return on investment" perspective.

This book offers solutions to the problem that many mining projects fail to achieve expectations because of their inability to adapt to change. A new technique is explained that allows calculation of capital that is "at risk" from capital that is not at risk. This promises significant advances in the way that investments are made and capital is valued in the industry.

The book concludes with a brief review of the historical setting and knowledge difficulties in any mining-related investment, and how these issues might also influence the success of investments in the future.

Miners' Lung: A History of Dust Disease in British Coal Mining (Studies in Labour History) (Studies in Labour History)

This study of miners' lung disease in the UK combines archival research with oral history interviewing, a methodology similar to that used in our previous study which explored the causes, consequences and social impact of asbestos-related disease in Scotland.

Surface Mining

Description
This SME classic is both a reference book for the working engineer and a textbook for the mining student. This hardcover edition gives a brief history of surface mining and a general overview of the state of surface mining today--topics range from production and productivity to technological developments and trends in equipment.

This extremely useful text takes the approach that exploration and mining geologists must be expert in a number of fields, including basic finance and economics, logistics, and pragmatic prospecting. Readers will find material on all these topics and more.

The book's nine chapters include: Introduction, Exploration and Geology Techniques, Ore Reserve Estimation, Feasibility Studies and Project Financing, Planning and Design of Surface Mines, Mine Operations, Mine Capital and Operating Costs, Management and Organization, and Case Studies.

Coal Geology (

Description
Coal Geology provides a complete integrated handbook on coal and all its properties, covering the physical and chemical properties of coal as well as coal petrology. It describes the age and occurence of coal; coal sampling and analysis; coal exploration; geophysics and hydrogeology of coal and coal mining techniques. It also discusses environmental concerns and computer technology, and includes an update on global coal reserves and production figures.

* First reference book to cover all aspects of coal geology in one volume
* Includes current thinking on environmental issues
* Presents a useful synopsis of the alternative uses of coal as a fuel
* Contains the distribution and reserves of coal deposits worldwide
* Offers a summary of the use of computing in coal studies, as well as coal sales and marketing opportunities
* Includes International Standards listings

This up-to-date handbook successfully bridges the gap between academic aspects of coal geology and the practical role of geology in the coal industry and will be invaluable for all professionals and students in coal geology, geotechnical and mining engineering, and environmental science.

The Board of Directors of CIC Energy Corp. Has Approved Open Market Share Purchases

CIC Energy Corp. announces that its Board of Directors has approved, subject to the approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange, open market share purchases of up to 5 percent of the common shares outstanding over a one year period, through a normal course issuer bid.

“In light of the good progress being made on our power station project and the CIC Energy’s strong cash position of $95 million to fund expenses, a share buyback can create value for shareholders at current share price levels,” said Mr. Gregory Kinross, President of CIC Energy.

Under the normal course issuer bid, CIC Energy will be permitted to purchase up to 2,688,288 of its common shares in the open market, representing 5 percent of the issued and outstanding shares as of September 17, 2008. The actual number of shares purchased, the timing of the purchases and the purchase price will be made in accordance with regulatory requirements.

CIC Energy is a TSX/BSE-listed company engaged in the advancement of the Mmamabula Energy Complex at its Mmamabula Coal Field in Botswana, Africa. This planned Complex consists of the Mmamabula Energy Project, the Coal-to-Hydrocarbons Project and the Export Coal Project. The Mmamabula Energy Project is envisaged as a power station and integrated coal mine project. The Coal-to-Hydrocarbons Project is intended to produce syngas from coal which can be converted to a variety of downstream products, including fuels and petrochemicals. The planned Export Coal Project is actively investigating ways to export A grade thermal coal from the Mmamabula Coal Field.

CIC Energy has a treasury of approximately C$95 million. For additional information on CIC Energy and Mmamabula, please visit CIC Energy’s website at http://www.cicenergycorp.com/

Indonesian coal miner Indika to acquire five coal mines

Indonesian coal-mining company Indika Energy inc. planned to acquire five coal mines with a total cost of 500 million U.S. dollars, an Indonesian newspaper reported Friday.

The Vice President of the company Retina Rosabai said that the acquisition aimed at supporting the company's plan to expand business.

"We target to acquire those mines to support our business expansion focusing on energy sector," she was quoted by Bisnis Indonesia daily as saying.

Rosabai said that the funds for the acquisition would be obtained from the proceeds of its initial public offering (IPO).

Indonesia, the world's largest coal producer, is forecasted to produce over 205 million tonnes of coal this year, according to data from energy ministry.

Source:Xinhua

Early Coal Mining in the Anthracite Region (PA) (Images of America)

Description
Four distinct anthracite coal fields encompass an area of 1,700 square miles in the northeastern portion of Pennsylvania. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, underground coal mining was at its zenith and the work of miners was more grueling and dangerous than it is today. Faces blackened by coal and helmet lamps lit by fire are no longer parts of the everyday lives of miners in the region. Early Coal Mining in the Anthracite Region is a journey into a world that was once very familiar.

These vintage photographs of collieries, breakers, miners, drivers, and breaker boys illuminate the dark of the anthracite mines. The pictures of miners, roof falls, mules, and equipment deep underground tell the story of the hard lives lived around the hard coal. Above ground, breaker boys toiled in unbearable conditions inside the noisy, vibrating, soot-filled monsters known as coal breakers.

About the Author
John Stuart Richards is descended from a family of coal miners and has spent many years researching early coal mining and the lives and times of the people in the anthracite region of Pennsylvania. He has presented numerous talks on early coal mining and life in the small Anthracite villages known as patch towns. An active member of the Schuylkill County Historical Society, he has worked with both the History Channel and the Discovery Channel. Richards has assembled these photographs into a fascinating historical look at early coal mining.

Anthracite Roots: Generations of Coal Mining in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania

Description
The lives of coal miners in the United States, like the black rock they cut from the earth, are wrought by the forces of time and pressure. Risking crippling injury and death, generations of miners have tunneled down from the surface and emerged at the end of each exhausting day with the fuel needed to drive the nation’s industry. Their sacrifices are great, their glories unheralded. With this stirring account, author and former coal miner Joseph W. Leonard III provides a means for understanding and fully appreciating the crucial work these brave men have done throughout the years.

The mining tradition in Leonard's family spans five generations in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, home to some of our country's richest deposits of anthracite coal. His family's stories illustrate with touching candor the plight of many thousands of Coal Belt families who stood proud through years of watching their sons, fathers, and husbands descend down the shafts into darkness. Leonard recalls with stunning detail the unforgiving conditions—cave-ins, explosions, and choking dust—that he and his forebears endured in the mines. Also captured are poignant tales of the kindness and compassion that permeated mining communities in the face of so much hardship. The intense struggles and quiet successes in Anthracite Roots are a testament to the unsung heroes of America’s coal mines and the work they have done to power a nation.

About the Author
Joe Leonard is former Dean of Engineering at West Virginia University and is Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Mining Engineering at the University of Kentucky. He is a gifted inventor with 26 registered patents, and he has published several hundred articles in a variety of periodicals and journals, spanning a vast range of subject matter. This is his nineteenth book.

Coal Mining