BASE METALS HIGHLIGHTS : Top Stories Of The Day

01/31/2012| 04:02pm US/Eastern

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 TOP STORIES: 
 
China Aims To Speed Base-Metal Sector Consolidation - Ministry 

China wants its 10 largest base-metal producers to account for 90% of total copper and aluminum and 60% of lead and zinc output by 2015, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said in a sector-development blueprint published on its website late Monday.

 
Xstrata Mined Copper Output Falls, Coal Output Rises In 2011 

Anglo-Swiss miner Xstrata PLC (>> Xstrata PLC) Tuesday reported a 2.7% drop in 2011 mined copper output as it transitions from old to new production and a 6.8% rise in consolidated coal production as its Australian thermal coal operations hit a new output record.

 
Mexico's November Mining Production Up 15% On Year 

Mexico's mining production rose 15% in November from the year-ago month, led by copper output, which nearly doubled, and smaller gains in coal, silver and gold, the National Statistics Institute, or Inegi, said Tuesday.

 
 STORIES OF INTEREST: 
 
  DJ Zimbabwe Unions Appeal To Political Leaders In Pay Deadlock 

HARARE (AFP)--Public servants' unions in Zimbabwe said Tuesday they would ask leaders of the country's power-sharing government to intervene in their ongoing strike to double basic wages.

 
Brazil's Vale Wins Injunction To Halt Government Tax Demand 

SAO PAULO (Dow Jones)--Brazilian mining giant Vale SA (VALE, VALE5.BR) on Monday said that it has won a court injunction in a dispute with the government over taxes on overseas profits, and that the finance ministry's tax council will have to examine the issue again.

 
Frontier Mining Gets All Approvals For Benkala Copper Plant 

LONDON (Dow Jones)--Kazakhstan-focused copper miner Frontier Mining Ltd. (>> Frontier Mining Ltd.) said Tuesday it has received all construction approvals and permits for its Benkala copper production plant and will now begin the process of commissioning and licensing all onsite equipment.

 
Vedanta Meets Ebitda Views As Lower Metal Prices Weigh 

LONDON (Dow Jones)--U.K.-listed, India-focused Vedanta Resources PLC (>> Vedanta Resources plc) Tuesday reported a 4.7% on-year drop in its third financial quarter earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda, due to lower pricing in its iron ore, copper and aluminum divisions which more than offset a positive contribution from its oil and gas division.

 
Peru Antimining Groups To Start Water March On Thursday 

LIMA (Dow Jones)--Civil society groups in Peru plan to begin a national march on Thursday to pressure lawmakers to ban mining in the headwaters of river basins, a contentious issue in one of the world's top sources of base and precious metals.

 
Zambia To Review Outsourcing Mining Jobs To Overseas Workers - Minister 

LUSAKA, Zambia (Dow Jones)--Zambia will review the outsourcing of labor to expatriate workers in the country's copper and mining industry within the first half of this year, in order to provide more jobs to its "displaced" nationals, Mines Minister Wilbur Simuusa said Tuesday.

 
Pan Pacific Copper To Restart Fire-Damaged Smelter In Feb -Nikkei 

TOKYO (Nikkei)--Pan Pacific Copper Co., the largest copper smelter in Japan, intends to resume operations at its fire-damaged Saganoseki location on Feb. 14, The Nikkei reported in its Tuesday morning edition.

 
 MARKETS: 
 
BASE METALS: Copper Ends Lower On US Data, Weak Euro 

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Copper futures ended lower Tuesday as weak U.S. economic data and retreat by the euro damped investor interest in the growth-sensitive asset.

-By Tatyana Shumsky, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-3095; tatyana.shumsky@dowjones.com

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