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(Reuters) – The United States and China on Tuesday signed eight partnership pacts to cut greenhouse gases that will bring the world’s two biggest carbon emitters closer together on climate policy, but fundamental differences between the two sides remain.

Consensus between the United States and China will be a crucial part of any new global climate pact to replace the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, but they have long struggled to come to an agreement on how the costs of cutting greenhouse gases should be distributed among rich and poor nations.

Read more at: http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/07/09/us-usa-china-climatechange-idINKBN0FE0JI20140709

Vale has completed the transfer of its mining rights in the Alegria and Conta Historia Norte iron ore mines to Samarco, the joint venture the company partially owns, according to Brazilian antitrust council Cade.

As counterparty in the deal, BHP Billiton, the other 50% owner of Samarco, ceded mining rights of the Itajuru and Pitangui mines to Vale.

Read more at: http://www.platts.com/latest-news/metals/saopaulo/vale-transfers-mining-rights-from-two-brazilian-21877309

Agritrade Resources, a coal miner in Indonesia with mainland China as one of its top markets, aims to raise output and sales by 30 per cent despite slowing Chinese consumption because of rising demand for less polluting coal.

Ng Xin-wei, the chief executive of the Hong Kong-listed company, said it planned to mine and sell 4.5 million to 5 million tonnes of coal during this financial year to March, up from 3.8 million tonnes and 2.8 million tonnes in the past two financial years.

Read more at: http://www.scmp.com/business/commodities/article/1548271/chinese-demand-indonesian-coal-increases-despite-pollution

Six potential bidders, including Dutch commodity trader Trafigura and Hong Kong-listed MMG Ltd, are looking at the books of BHP Billiton’s Australian nickel unit, the Australian Financial Review reported on Sunday, without saying where it got the information.

Read more at:  http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/06/bhp-nickelwest-idUSL4N0PH08C20140706

POSCO on Thursday said it was nearing commercialization of a new technology that can efficiently and quickly extract high-quality lithium directly from raw materials.

The nation’s largest steelmaker said its Research Institute of Industrial Science and Technology has been perfecting the technology. Lithium is a key material in high-capacity rechargeable batteries used to power mobile phones, laptop computers and electric vehicles. Lately, a rise in the demand for environmentally friendly vehicles has been fueling the demand for lithium.

Read more at: http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20140703000986

OSLO (Alliance News) – Norwegian aluminum producer Norsk Hydro ASA said that Hydro and Rio Tinto Alcan have signed an agreement for Hydro to take over RTA’s share of the aluminium smelter Sør-Norge Aluminium AS or Søral in Norway. The terms of the agreement are confidential. The plant will become Hydro’s fifth fully owned aluminium smelter in Norway, following the closing of the agreement.

Read more at:  http://www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/news/AN_1404371998100933400/hydro-to-take-over-rio-tinto-alcans-share-of-aluminium-smelter-s%C3%B8ral-in-norway.aspx#sthash.XQ1Urlhw.dpuf

France’s Eramet sees a global nickel deficit in 2015-2017 if Indonesia strictly adheres to its policy of banning exports of unprocessed nickel, Bertrand Madelin, CEO of Eramet Nickel said Thursday.

Speaking at a company news conference in Tokyo, Madelin said China’s port stocks of nickel ore are likely to run low at the end of this year, and the world will run “a slight deficit” of nickel after a 150,000 mt of surplus in 2013.

Read more at: http://www.platts.com/latest-news/metals/tokyo/france-eramet-sees-global-nickel-deficit-in-2015-26826855

Iron ore prices, which completed a second straight quarterly loss today, will rebound as the daily closure of mines supplying high-cost output in China boosts demand for seaborne shipments, according to Citigroup Inc.

Local suppliers in Asia’s largest economy are cutting production even as mills increase steel output on improved margins, according to analyst Ivan Szpakowski. An iron ore mine in China is being shuttered every day, with closures seen in all main producing regions, he said in an interview from Shanghai.

Read more at:  http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-06-29/daily-iron-ore-mine-closures-in-china-mean-citigroup-is-bullish