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A U.S. government official said dramatic improvements to lithium batteries are needed before they can efficiently power vehicles. Experts believe lithium-ion batteries are widely predicted to replace nickel metal-hydride batteries currently used in most hybrid vehicles like Toyota Co's popular Prius. The biggest challenges are extending the life of high-power lithium batteries and bringing down their relatively high cost, Tien Duong of the U.S. Department of Energy said on the sidelines of a lithium battery conference held at this government laboratory. "Life means 10 years, plus. For hybrids we know (their batteries) last 10 years plus. For the PHEV (plug-in electric vehicle), we don't know," Duong said. He did not specify what the costs should be. "One of the phenomenons that cuts short the life of the battery is power. You may have a lot of energy, but if you run out of power, that's no good," he said.

Amsterdam, Nov 5 : A researcher has shown that that an alloy of the metals magnesium, titanium and nickel is excellent at absorbing hydrogen, and is sixty percent less than a battery pack, which brings the world a step closer to the everyday use of hydrogen as a source of fuel for powering vehicles.

SYDNEY -(Dow Jones)- BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP.AU) said Tuesday it expects stainless steel demand to be robust over the long-term, underpinned by China's ongoing urbanization and industrialization, the miner said in a presentation to analysts on a site tour at its nickel operations in Western Australia.

HYBRID-electric vehicles (HEVs) could become cheaper thanks to a breakthrough that would allow inexpensive lead-acid batteries to replace the nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries they now use. Similar battery systems could also be used to smooth out fluctuations in the power output of wind turbines.

The merger would involve OAO Norilsk Nickel (GMKN.RS) with iron-ore and steel group Metalloinvest and United Company Rusal, bauxite miner and the world's largest primary aluminum producer.

China Steel Australia plans to at least triple its nickel pig iron production capacity through a $92 million expansion of its Linyi plant in China's Shandong Province. The company, which services the domestic Chinese market, today announced that fixed price building contracts had been signed for the plant expansion, with production scheduled to commence in January, 2009.

Purchases by China's State Reserve Bureau of aluminium, copper, nickel, tin and zinc have been made to increase stockpiles and support domestic industry. SRB purchases and Chinese merchant restocking have triggered a rally in copper prices, with China's imports during February and March hitting record highs of 329,000 tonnes and 375,000 tonnes respectively.

Over the past month, most favoured mining equity sectors copper, nickel and aluminium have overshadowed gold, but platinum equities are on the bubble.

According to the Goa-based National Institute of Oceanography, India has surveyed an area of nearly 4m sq km in the central Indian Ocean basin that has led to findings of "significant commercial grades" of copper, nickel, iron and cobalt deposits.