Esther Tanquintic-Misa

Come March, exactly a year after the country yielded to the debilitating 9.0 earthquake and tsunami, ultimately rendering the worst nuclear power plant meltdown the world has seen in 25 years, Japan will most likely announce a new set of options for its energy mix. One, presumably, that is not focused on nuclear power alone.

Newmont Mining has yet to commence its Hope Bay operations in Canada, but it is now bullish to expand within the mine area and tap new reserves within the area.

The Atomic Minerals Directorate (AMD) for Exploration and Research of India has expanded its exploration activities to include rare earth metals, especially niobium and tantalum, in central India, particularly in the Satpuda-Gondwana formations in the Sarguja belt.

India's Essar Group announced it will divert some of its coal from one of its Indonesian mines to help the world's third-largest economy cope with its fluctuating power supply brought about by acute coal shortages.

Eastern African nation Tanzania could well perhaps be the next frontier of rare earth elements as it waits on the formal announcement of a mining exploration firm currently operating on the Ngualla Rare Earth Project in the southern part of the country.

It seems China's policy changes proved good to sustain the country's economy as its Ministry of Finance on Friday announced the fiscal revenue of the world's second-largest economy jumping 24.8 percent to $1.64 trillion (10.37 trillion yuan) in 2011 from a year ago.

The Indian government is planning to include in next year's budget a line-up of incentives to encourage the country's iron ore miners to conserve the raw commodity for domestic use.

Russian gold miner OAO Uzhuralzoloto Group of Companiesannounced on Thursday it is planning to sell 25 per cent of its shares through an initial public offering (IPO) at the London Stock Exchange in order to raise $200 million funds this spring.

For emerging markets China and India, everybody can gain access to gold, not only the already rich but also its hardworking middle class citizens.

It won't be long before a Chinese flag hovers over at the Arctic.China, the world's second-largest economy and stronghold of the world's supply of rare earths, has just gained legal access into the Arctic region after Denmark opened the gate for the Asian nation to create a strategic foothold in the area, particularly in Greenland.

The question looming amid the maddening eurozone financial crisis now is, will the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) nations consider lending a helping hand to a world that has yet to officially and formally recognise its economic hold in the global market today?

The continuous power disruptions brought by the unreliable power supply in Tanzania have seriously affected the gold production yield of African Barrick Gold (ABG), with fourth quarter 2011 figures sliding 11 per cent. This development caused the unit of the world's largest gold producer, Barrick Gold Corporation, to miss its full year 2011 production targets by 2 per cent from a year ago.

Bangladesh, in a bid to generate 2,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity to ensure future power supply, has announced it will place on the market invitations for international tenders to help the country build four more coal-fired power plants.

Its official fourth-quarter growth rate may have been its slowest in more than two years, but China's remains the economy to beat.

Apparently irked over China's slow progress in developing the Belinga iron ore deposit, the government of West African nation Gabon has been reported mulling to transfer the mine's exploration and ownership rights to BHP Billiton Ltd., in what could be a winning moment for the latter as it works to branch out its main production base away from Western Australia's Pilbara region.

Posco of South Korea, the world's third-biggest steelmaker, prompted by heating competition from rival Asian steelmaking countries China and India, as well as the United States, on Tuesday announced it is in talks to increase its ownership control in the Roy Hill iron ore project in Western Australia.

Could it really be a 'Happy New Year' for China as it welcomes the new lunar year? On Tuesday, the world awaits the official results of China 's fourth quarter gross domestic product (GDP) even as economic experts and analysts already foresee a growth decline not below 9 percent.

After losing to China the world gold buyer status, Indian gold jewelry demand has been forecast to grow 10 percent to 15 percent in 2012 on expectations prices of gold will fall down versus the rupee.

Precious metal gold, despite roller coaster highs and lows, will still rule over all precious metals.

Construction works on the Martabe gold and silver mine project in North Sumatra, previously owned by Australian gold and copper miner OZ Minerals, is almost complete, with gold and silver production expected to commence by the end of March, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the mine's new owner, G-Resources, said.

With China back to its normal import buying of copper, prices of the raw commodity will likely surge to $9,500 a metric tonne by the second semester of 2012, the Japanese Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd. said.

Prices of iron ore in the world market could further rise in the next few months after exports of the raw commodity by the world's global iron ore miners have been hampered due to severe weather disturbances.

Amid weeks of environmental protests, U.S. gold miner Newmont Mining Corp. announced its $4.8 billion gold project in Peru will push through as scheduled on 2015.

Australia has been found to exercise the most care in handling dangerous weapons such as usable nuclear materials, beating 32 other nations in nuclear materials security.

China's inflation rate in December eased to a 15-month low to register at 4.1 per cent, hinting of further monetary policy easing to aid the country's slowing economy.

The global rare earths sector has a new player. On Wednesday, Deutsche Rohstoff AG, a German mining and commodity group, announced it will expand existing mining operations in the Delitzsch region of east Germany to develop an estimated rare earths deposit of 38,000 tonnes.

Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto Ltd., three months after a successful US$642 million ($A623 million) takeover bid for Canadian uranium miner Hathor Exploration Ltd. and its Roughrider uranium project, announced it has fully acquired ownership of the uranium company.

In an apparent testimony to its staying power, investor confidence in precious metal gold held firm on Thursday, as the world awaits the results of Spain's bond auction as well as news of an assessment meeting by the European Central Bank (ECB) of the region's fiscal meltdown.

Rising concerns on the global fiscal health of its trading partners have led China-based steel mills to adopt a cautious attitude in buying key ingredient iron ore.