Copper end use trends

The decision follows feasibility studies into the construction of a magnetite processing facility and the installation of full scale underground mining operations at EHM that have resulted in a revised Ore Reserve Estimate of 72 million tonnes at a grade of 1.0% copper, 0.5 grams per tonne gold and 22% magnetite. The total tonnage represents a 600% increase over previously published underground reserves. Ore will be mined principally from a major hoisting shaft to be sunk to a depth of 1,000 metres, producing 6 million tonnes per annum of ore at full capacity.

Teck Resources Ltd., Canada’s largest base-metals producer, said its partnership with China’s sovereign wealth fund will win the company more coal, copper and zinc sales and provide financing for future acquisitions.

Xstrata, the multinational mining company, raised its project spending guidance for next year sharply, in a sign that it is emphasising internal and not acquisition-driven growth.

Copper production at Palabora Mining would fall 15 percent between last month and this month due to repair works at one of its copper units, the firm said yesterday. Cracks were discovered during inspection last week at one of its production winders, prompting the company to commence repair works, but the other winder was not affected and output continued normally at that facility, it added. - Reuters

Anglo-Swiss miner Xstrata PLC (XTA.LN) said Thursday it is reviewing its copper smelting operations as industry capacity outstrips supplies of the copper concentrates that feed it.

The Initiative will examine the construction of an offshore wind energy grid, or 'Supergrid' in the North and North West Seas which it hopes will play an important part for Europe to meet the EU's 20-20-20 targets

Nine European countries have today signed a major agreement to develop the world's first large-scale offshore wind energy grid in the North and Irish seas, providing a boost to the continent's fast-expanding offshore wind industry. UK energy minister Lord Hunt joined with ministers from Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, Sweden and Ireland to sign the agreement on the sidelines of today's European Council meeting in Brussels.

The European Marine Energy Centre at Stromness is playing host to nearly a dozen experimental devices designed to capture the energy of the tides and the waves.

Carbon capture and storage remains a nascent technology: no one has yet proved that an integrated process can work on a commercial scale. But the US, Canada, Australia, the European Union and others have pledged billions of dollars to back demonstration projects. This suggests commercial deployment could be possible around 2020.Even so, any transition to carbon-free generation will take decades. Low-carbon technologies are generally more expensive than fossil-fuel plants: some, such as offshore wind, are a lot more expensive. And with wind, power generation will not be constantly available. Britain, which is backing Europe's fastest expansion of wind power, is building into its plans for 2030 a huge margin of spare generation capacity which can be used when there is no wind.

The new link will be particularly significant to the development of a European offshore grid able to integrate increasing levels of offshore wind and marine power in coming decades.

The Copper Innovation Center (CIC) will foster scientific innovation and collaboration among various public and private entities, including federal, state and local government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), research institutions and universities, and industry stakeholders.

Energy efficiency, especially if applied more rapidly in the developing world, saves massively on emissions. Things like the substitution of inefficient industrial motors, building insulation, reduced leaks from pipelines, may not sound exciting as the things at the frontier of technological discovery, but they bring big rewards and quickly.

A report issued Tuesday by international accounting and consulting firm Deloitte contends activity in the international mining industry "has often been disproportionately influenced by short-term outlooks."

DALIAN, China, Dec. 14 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- Fushi Copperweld, Inc., (the "Company") (Nasdaq: FSIN), the leading global manufacturer and innovator of copper-clad bimetallic wire used in a variety of telecommunication, utility, transportation and other electrical applications, today announced that the Company's subsidiary, Fushi International (Dalian) Bimetallic Cable Co., Ltd., has been appointed to form and organize China's first ever composite conductor working group by the National Standardization Administration of China. The National Standardization Administration (SAC), established in April 2001, is authorized by the State Council of the People's Republic of China to draft, formulate, and implement state laws and regulations on product standardization.

The public sector copper producer Hindustan Copper (HCL) today said it will come out with a follow-on public offer (FPO) to raise Rs 1,700 crore by diluting 10 per cent stake for part-funding its expansion plans.

PBX Files 43-101 Preliminary Assessment Report on Its Copaquire Copper-Molybdenum-Rhenium Project in Chile

EDMONTON, ALBERTA--(Marketwire - Dec. 17, 2009) - CBR Gold Corp. (TSX VENTURE:CBG)(FRANKFURT:C3M) ("CBG" or the "Company") and joint venture partner Heatherdale Resources Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:HTR) ("Heatherdale") announce that thick intersections of high grade, copper-gold-zinc-silver mineralization have been encountered in underground drilling at the Niblack Project in southeast Alaska.

Chemists at the University of Illinois at Chicago have found that nano-sized water droplets can act as molecular chaperons that guide graphene into precise nano-shapes including capsules, knots, rings and even sandwiches.  Graphene is a futuristic nanomaterial that forms sheets the thickness of one atom.

“Health internets” that will make it easier for public officials to track and manage disease outbreaks; Smart buildings with networked systems that enable them to respond to changing conditions quickly and automatically, almost like living organisms; A transportation system dominated by zero-emissions vehicles and readily available electric-car charging stations; Smart water and sewer systems that will reduce waste and pollution; and Real-time, integrated data on crime and potential crises that will help officials respond quickly … or even proactively (shades of “Minority Report,” anyone?).