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Newmont Mining Corp. posted a sharply higher second-quarter profit Thursday, with record-high gold prices and production gains pumping revenue past most analysts' expectations. Newmont (NEM:Newmont Mining Corporation News, chart, profile, more Last: 49.02+0.25+0.51% 2:30pm 07/25/2008 Delayed quote dataAdd to portfolio Analyst Create alertInsider Discuss Financials Sponsored by: NEM 49.02, +0.25, +0.5%) shares rose $1.82, or 3.9%, to close at $48.77. The stock is up 12% over the past 12 months. Newmont reported net income for the three months ended June 30 swung to $277 million, or 61 cents a share, from a year-ago loss of $2.06 billion, or $4.57 a share. The year-ago numbers were heavily skewed by a $1.67 billion write-down tied to the company's exit from merchant banking and a $460 million charge for settling price-capped forwards contracts. Adjusted earnings from ongoing operations more than doubled to $230 million, or 51 cents a share, from $103 million, or 23 cents, a year earlier. Gold sales during the quarter totaled 1.27 million equity ounces, fetching on average $900 an ounce, as the precious metal rode a huge spike in commodity prices. Gold prices were averaging about $600 an ounce a year ago. Costs per ounce rose, however, to $440 an ounce from $417 a year ago. Copper sales accounted for $183 million during the quarter, down from $340 million a year earlier. Newmont stood by its earlier 2008 production forecast of 5.1 million to 5.4 million ounces of gold, with production cost expected to range from $425 to $450 per ounce.

Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd., China's second largest gold miner, said it has completed its initial feasibility study for developing a gold-copper mine owned by Far Southeast Gold Resources Inc.(FSGRI).

The Ridgeway underground mine cave is located in the mineral-rich Cadia Valley province in central New South Wales. A gold and copper mine, it is 100% owned by Australia's Newcrest Mining, and is one of three operations owned by the company in the province. The others are Cadia East and Cadia Hill, the largest of the three. "The Ridgeway underground mine cave is located in the mineral-rich Cadia Valley province."Ridgeway is in the process of transitioning from the sub-level cave to a block cave beneath the existing mine. In 2007 the Newcrest board approved development of the Ridgeway Deeps block cave. It will be the first natural caving operation to be developed by Newcrest and will be the deepest block cave in Australia. The company says it is spending A$525m to develop it. The mineral resource at Ridgeway Deeps was re-estimated following a geological reinterpretation which yielded an increased resource of 20 million tons containing 0.5 million ounces of gold, and 0.05 million tons of copper. GEOLOGY AND RESERVES

The Yukon Environmental and Socio-Economic Assessment Board (YESAB) has recommended that the controversial Carmacks copper mine project can go ahead, providing that the Western Copper Corporation (TSX: WRN) complies with 148 conditions to mitigate potential adverse impacts. The tiny community of Carmacks with a year-round population of 500 is still considered an important service center for mining and for transportation, a century after it was a popular rest stop for the Yukon gold rush. However, members of the Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation want Western Copper to negotiate a better environmental engineering solution as part of an Impacts Benefits Agreement with the community. Located 38km northwest of the Village of Carmacks and 192 km north of Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory, the Carmacks copper project is planned to be an open-pit operation that will yield about 14,000 tonnes of copper cathode annually. Western Copper has targeted production to begin during the fourth quarter of 2010. Among the comments and concerns raised with the YESAB were routing of mining-related traffic, the heap leach detoxification process, sludge management, heap leach liner performance, and the estimates of closure costs. Among the comments and concerns raised with the YESAB were routing of mining-related traffic, the heap leach detoxification process, sludge management, heap leach liner performance, and the estimates of closure costs. The YESAB Executive Committee said it was satisfied that: Western Copper adequately consulted with the First Nations in whose territory, and the residents of any community in which the project will be located or might have significant or socio-economic effects; The project proponent provided sufficient information in the project proposal to allow for the assessment of potentially significant effects; Significant adverse environmental or socio-economic project and cumulative effects identified within the scope of the scre

NAIROBI -- The world is enjoying a "green energy gold rush", the UN's environmental agency said Tuesday as it published a report outlining a 60 percent hike in investment in renewable energy in 2007

"An eleventh-hour adjustment for copper will allow miners such as Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold and Newmont Mining to continue shipments. The regulation will allow exports of copper concentrate above or equal to 15% metal content. About 66 companies that have plans to process domestically will be allowed to export as well, Jero Wacik, energy and mines minister, told local reporters in Indonesia. "

A UK steel glazing specialist has helped to transform an Olympic media hub into one of Greece's foremost retail centres, providing a good example of legacy planning for future Olympic Games.

Copper prices tumbled to a five-week low Thursday on expectations that falling demand from China and a slowdown in the U.S. housing market will lead to a surplus of the metal. Other commodities traded mixed, with crude oil rebounding slightly and gold, silver and soybeans falling. Corn and wheat futures rose. China, the world's biggest buyer of copper, has been importing less of the metal since the completion of most major construction projects heading into the Beijing summer Olympics. Copper imports in June fell 20 percent compared to May, China's custom's agency said this month. As a result, stockpiles of the metal have swelled in Shanghai and London, helping drive down prices.

ScienceDaily (Sep. 9, 2008) - Deposits of undiscovered copper, molybdenum, gold and silver may be present in the Andes Mountains of South America, according to a new scientific assessment

The Pebble Partnership views the recent vote by Alaskans against Ballot Measure 4, the Clean Water Initiative, as an affirmation for the future of one of North America's largest copper and gold projects.

The firm Tanaka Denshi Kogyo, of the Tanaka Kikinzoku Group, has announced it is to expand its output of copper bonding wire to 20 million metres per month, a five-fold increase. The increase will come from an additional production line at the firm's Singapore plant which produces copper bonding wire and from establishing a new production line at the Saga plant in Japan. The company forecasts that the global bonding wire market could double between 2008 and 2010. Copper bonding wire demand could also strengthen as it is a substitute for gold bonding wire, and therefore will benefit whilst the gold price remain high. Tanaka Denshi Kogyo has also recently begun the sale of a new copper bonding wire, TCA1. The firm said that TCA1 is copper wire with a 99.99% purity and a diameter of between 20-70 micrometres. It's price is around a third that of gold bonding wire.

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc. (FCX) Wednesday reported a sharp year-over-year plunge in profit for the first quarter, as quarterly revenues more than halved, hurt by a sharp decline in demand for copper and related metals as well as lower copper prices.