Esther Tanquintic-Misa

More and more mining companies are scrambling to join the rare earth metals (REM) bandwagon. And the faster they get to produce the elements and sell to the market, the better the global demand will neutralize away from China's hands.

George Bauk, managing director of Northern Minerals, said a number of resource companies have been closely monitoring the shire of Halls Creek in outback Western Australia after it was discovered the area abounds in rare earths minerals (REM).

A number of Australian gold miners remained cautious last quarter, causing the nation's total gold production to fall 2.4 percent from the previous quarter.

Australia maybe benefiting most from its mining boom, anchoring its economy to remain resilient in spite of the current global financial meltdown, but its explosion has definitely created an imbalance in the government's handling of priority infrastructure projects in the country.

Metals X Ltd., developer of the Wingellina Nickel-Cobalt Project, had verified it has held preliminary talks with South Korea's Samsung C&T Corp. for a possible $2.2 billion investment into the project.

Businesses in China engaged in electronic trading such as commodities, artifacts and precious metals are in for a deep scrutiny as the federal government launched a major campaign to clean and consolidate the country's numerous exchanges in order to regulate the market and prevent financial consequences.

Japan, veering away from nuclear usage following the radiation breakout of its Fukushima plants early this year, will be importing more of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) type to address its power requirements.

Japan's Mitsubishi Corp. has agreed to buy Murchison Metals Ltd.'s 50 per cent stakes in the West Australian Oakajee Port and Rail Project for A$325 million (US$314.9 million), gaining full control of the mine along with its port and rail projects.

Notwithstanding Rupee prices of gold striking record highs of late, gold imports of India could still reach 1,000 tonnes for 2011.

Australian rare earths developer Arafura Resources had backed out from a planned $74 million share sale as the continuing instability in the global markets have affected the company's share prices.

China's continued crackdown to clean and regulate its rare earths metals (REM) sector have produced a list of the first 15 REM enterprises that have passed the environmental protection check-up and obtained clearance to operate.

China, the world's second-largest economy and also the world's largest consumer of iron, in a bid to manipulate the global pricing of the raw commodity, is set to launch the first iron ore physical trading platform by yearend.

Anticipating global demand for iron ore will dip further in the coming years, JPMorgan Chase & Co. has slashed its own price forecast for the steelmaking commodity by 10 per cent to 15 per cent for the next five years.

Turkmenistan has agreed to increase its annual natural gas supplies exports to China by 25 billion cubic meters, or a total of 65 billion cubic meters a year.

Seeing Australia's potential as a vast, emerging economy, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) gears to provide more banking services to its growing clientele by opening branches in Melbourne and Brisbane next year.

Hong Kong-based holding company, CITIC Pacific Ltd., expressed disappointment that Australia included magnetite iron ore in the list of minerals contained in its proposed minerals resource rent tax (MRRT).

It was a mammoth oversight too expensive to ignore.Vale SA, presumably eager to capture a big chunk of the world's global demand of iron ore from the world's biggest consumer, jumped on the gun sometime in 2008 and worked to build its own fleet of commodity ships that will carry iron ore to China from South America. Its Vale Brasil has been recognized as the biggest commodity ship ever built.

The Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL) on Tuesday announced India's steel demand will likely grow to only 6 per cent in 2012 as demand from the automobile and construction sector is restrained by higher interest rates.

China's think tanks are on it again. Long before the 20th century fiscal crisis happened, the country's brilliant economists and analysts had long prepared the Asian country to counter possible ill effects of a slowing down economy. Proof of that had shown China's continuing resilience compared to the Eurozone's impending financial crash.

A preliminary survey by HSBC into China's manufacturing activity indicated the sector posted a fall in output in November, and that it could be its sharpest since March 2009.

Afghanistan's much touted abundant mineral deposits and reserves, it seems, could pose more as a problem than a solution to address its long-standing political and economic woes.

Australian miner Northern Minerals had announced the discovery of heavy rare earth elements (HREE) at all four prospects of its Browns Range Project in northern Western Australia. It said its Wolverine prospect yielded the most outstanding HREE discovery.

Could the plans of China Nonferrous Metal Mining (Group) Co Ltd (CNMC) to increase its investment plans in Zambia assuage the mindset of the locals that the Asian country violates labor rights and laws?

Russia's third-largest steel producer Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) is eyeing to acquire Australian iron miner Flinders Mines in a bid to expand its iron ore mining operations to secure supplies and hedge against rising prices.

Australian miner Hastings Rare Metals' Heavy Rare Earth Project in Western Australia could rank as one of the world's top heavy rare earth projects after a scoping study underlined the project's massive rare earths content as well as potential economic returns for the company.

Aurora Minerals has announced the discovery of more than 600 meters of broad copper mineralization at its GBO prospect, along with promising intersections at its Pink Elephant prospect from Stage 2 drilling at its Glenburgh Copper-Gold Project in central Western Australia.

For as long as the world mulls the global economy is headed for a recession, panic acquisition of the safe haven yellow metal will continue, pushing demand and prices to further go up.

Australian miner Lynas Corp. had received a pat on the shoulder after the executive branch of government in the Malaysian state of Pahang confirmed its rare earth metals plant pose no harmful effects to the people nor the surrounding environment of Gebeng in Kuantan, Pahang.

With bilateral relations between China and India increasingly getting beneficial for both, experts from India's chamber of commerce forecast the trade goal set between the two countries may be achieved two years ahead of target.