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These projects include new railway lines connecting Guiyang and Guangzhou, Lanzhou and Chongqing, Kashgar and Hotan in Xinjiang; highways between Wanyuan and Dazhou in Sichuan Province, Shuikou and Duyun in Guizhou Province; airport expansion projects in Chengdu, Chongqing and Xi'an.\n\nThey also include the building of hydropower stations, coal mines, gas and oil transmission tube lines as well as public utilities projects in western regions.

The price rises have added to explosives companies' profits but for miners it is an added cost, along with higher diesel, energy and labor expenses, narrowing their margins at a time when metals and coal are in big demand.

Mining group Xstrata posted a 8 percent fall in third quarter mined copper output on Tuesday and a 12 percent rise in coal production.

Even the environmentalists who addressed the final day of an OPEC seminar acknowledged oil was a fuel for the future, with oil, gas and coal expected to account for around 80 percent of the world's energy until 2030.

The electricity sector accounts for almost 35 percent of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the United States, and 40 percent of the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Over 80 percent of GHG emissions associated with electricity generation are from the combustion of coal, with nearly all the rest due to natural gas and petroleum combustion. U.S. electricity sales are split among the residential (37 percent), commercial (36 percent), and industrial (27 percent) sectors, where primary uses vary by sector. Over the past 30 years the U.S. electricity sector has become less carbon intensive, and the U.S. economy has grown less electricity-intensive.

"Globally, Bloomberg New Energy Finance expects $7.7 trillion to be invested in new generating capacity by 2030, with 66% of that going on renewable technologies including hydro. Out of the $5.1 trillion to be spent on renewables, Asia-Pacific will account for $2.5 trillion, the Americas $816bn, Europe $967bn and the rest of the world including Middle East and Africa $818bn. Fossil fuels will retain the biggest share of power generation by 2030 at 44%, albeit down from 64% in 2013. Some 1,073GW of new coal, gas and oil capacity worldwide will be added over the next 16 years, excluding replacement plant."

Wanma Cable recently announced that for the last year its operating income was RMB2.6 billion ($0.4 billion) increasing by 21.32% year-on-year, and net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies was RMB103.6 million ($16.4 million) increasing 6.39% year-on-year. In product layout, the company consolidated its MV/LV and EHV market positions while establishing a special cable business division to intensify efforts to develop a special cable business. The company has secured a good start in new fields, such as rail transit, power generation, petroleum and petrochemical, wind power and coal mining. Wanma Cable's CEO recently said that the income target of company in this year was RMB3.1 billion ($0.5 billion) increasing by 20% year-on-year, based on the copper price keeping last year's price level. The company completed an investment plan in EHV and MV/LV cable through an IPO raising funds."

On 6th August, Xstrata reported H1 profits were down 6.7% versus the same period in 2007. Revenues were 13% higher at $16.092 billion, after record first-half production in coking and semi-soft coal, ferrochrome, refined nickel, platinum, zinc concentrate and lead concentrate. The company expects second-half production to be even stronger, reflected in their decision to raise the interim dividend by 13% to 18c. per share. Xstrata remains bullish over demand prospects in China, with ongoing infrastructure development and urbanisation underpinning growth, adding "the Group is well positioned to enjoy margin expansion and improved profitability from the second half of 2008 and into 2009".