A Blog for Browsing Mining, Mineral Processing, and Metals Info

(Reuters) – Chinese companies are on the hunt to buy overseas coal mines as Beijing’s switch to cleaner fuels stokes demand for higher-quality coal produced in countries such as Australia, according to people familiar with the firms’ strategies.

A renewed appetite for acquisitions by the world’s biggest coal consumer will be a big boost for miners who are trying to dispose of assets worth billions of dollars to boost shareholder returns.

Read more at: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/12/01/uk-china-coal-idUKBRE9B00FV20131201

he Philippines plans to launch its fifth energy contracting round for exploration projects in the first quarter of next year, Ramon Allan V Oca, undersecretary at the Department of Energy, said Monday.

“As announced by [Energy] Secretary Carlos Jerico Petilla, PECR5 [Philippine Energy Contracting Round 5] will be launched sometime in the first quarter of next year,” Oca said.

He declined to clarify on the number of oil and gas as well as coal blocks to be offered in the bidding round.

Read more at: http://www.platts.com/latest-news/oil/hanoi/philippines-to-launch-fifth-energy-contracting-27666523

A new lithium-sulfur battery may now take the crown as the highest performing battery, lasting more than twice as long as lithium-ion-batteries.

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have shown that lithium-sulfur (Li/S) batteries contain more than twice the energy of lithium-ion, and can last for more than 1,500 charge-discharge cycles. This battery may help to change the game in electric and hybrid vehicles.

Read more at:  http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1113008932/lithium-sulfur-battery-next-big-thing-112013/

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The exploration division of major Rio Tinto has sold off two coal exploration licences in Queensland to junior Mozambi Coal.

Mozambi paid Rio Tinto Exploration an initial cash consideration of A$375 000, and additional milestone payments of up to A$3-million were due upon the delineation of a measured resource in excess of 50-million tonnes, and upon the start of export shipments.

Read more at: http://www.miningweekly.com/article/rio-tinto-exploration-sells-queensland-licenses-2013-11-19

The Obama administration has named three new appointees at the Department of the Interior to oversee onshore and offshore oil and gas development, leaving a key opening at the agency that develops the five-year offshore leasing plan.

Janice Schneider was appointed assistant secretary for land and minerals management, where she would oversee all energy development activities. If confirmed by the US Senate, Schneider would supervise the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.

Read more at:

http://www.platts.com/latest-news/oil/washington/obama-names-three-to-key-us-interior-department-21807895

Vale SA (VALE:US), the Brazilian iron-ore producer seeking asset divestments to cut costs and boost profit, will sell as much as an 12 percent stake in aluminum-maker Norsk Hydro ASA (NHY) valued at about $1 billion.

Vale will sell as many as 224 million shares in Oslo-based Hydro in an offering and as many as 22.4 million additional shares via an over-allotment option, it said in a regulatory filing today. The Rio de Janeiro-based miner agreed not to sell any more Hydro shares for 180 days after the transaction.

Read more at: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-11-11/vale-to-sell-up-to-12-percent-stake-in-norsk-hydro-valued-at-1-billion

The Department of Energy (DOE) formed eight teams to spur solar power deployment by cutting red tape for residential and small commercial rooftop solar systems.

As part of the DOE’s Rooftop Solar Challenge, these teams will receive about $12 million — matched by over $4 million in outside funding — to streamline and standardize solar permitting, zoning, metering and connection processes for communities across the country.

The challenge is a part of a larger effort to make solar energy more accessible and affordable and position the U.S. as a leader in the rapidly-growing global solar market. Non-hardware, or “soft,” costs like permitting, installation, design and maintenance now account for more than 60 percent of the total cost of installed rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems in the U.S.

Read more at: http://www.elp.com/articles/2013/11/doe-to-cut-red-tape-encourage-solar-energy.html

ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, and its consortium partner Bondfield Construction have won an order from Canadian Solar Solutions to supply a 100 megawatt (MW) turnkey photovoltaic (PV) solar project for the Grand Renewable Energy Park in Ontario, Canada’s most populous province. ABB’s order value is around $80 million and was booked in the third quarter.

The plant is part of a $5 billion investment by Samsung Renewable Energy and partners to create a green energy cluster of wind and solar power, sources with the capacity to generate 1,369 MW of renewable energy. The first of these developments includes a 100 MW photovoltaic (PV) power plant and a 150 MW wind farm. Canadian Solar Solutions is the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for the plant.

Read more at: http://www.newswiretoday.com/news/135937/