BHP Billiton plc has signed a MoU with Eksom that could result in its Optimum coal mine exclusively supplying the South African power utility.
If the deal goes ahead, BHPB said it may sell off some of its export capacity at the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RCBT).
BHPB has already signalled its intention to close another coal [...]

Everbest Century Holdings Ltd. said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy coal mines in China’s Henan province for HK$443.7 million (US$56.9 million) from Dragon Rich Resources Ltd.
Of the purchase price, HK$307.9 million will be covered by a promissory note, HK$87 million with cash, HK$28.8 million by issuing consideration shares, and HK$20 million with the [...]

Hokuriku Electric Power Co. said on Tuesday it would boost its oil and coal purchases by about 6 billion yen ($52 million) to increase thermal power generation to compensate for an unplanned shutdown of a nuclear power generation unit.
A spokesman for Japan’s Hokuriku Electric said the move is in response to a shutdown of at [...]

Speculation about more megamergers and an extended business cycle for metals and mining companies helped drive the industry’s stocks higher Monday.
The expected merger of the world’s two largest steelmakers - Mittal Steel Co. and Arcelor SA - looks more certain after a shareholder vote to reject a competing transaction. Mittal is based in Rotterdam, Netherlands, [...]

Xstrata Plc, which owns the world’s largest zinc smelter, has lodged a new environmental mining plan for the A$66 million ($49 million) extension of its McArthur River zinc and lead mine in northern Australia.
The plan includes suggestions from the Northern Territory government’s independent adviser Wayne Erskine, a unit of the Zug, Switzerland-based company said in [...]

Inco Ltd., the world’s second-biggest nickel producer, won European antitrust approval to acquire rival Canadian mining company Falconbridge Ltd. for C$19.5 billion ($17.6 billion) after agreeing to sell a Norwegian refinery.
“I am satisfied that the remedies will allow the emergence of a fully fledged competitor and at the same time preserve competition in the nickel [...]

Green is the theme for Greenergy International, which is the UK’s largest independent low-emission fuels supplier. The company focuses on developing low-carbon fuels (GlobalFuels) that blend biofuels (biodiesel or bioethanol) with mineral fuel. Green”ergy” buys rapeseed for biodiesel production from UK farmers. It also supplies its industrial and commercial clients with biodiesels made from waste [...]

A remnant of J. Paul Getty’s oil empire, Getty Petroleum Marketing distributes motor and heating fuels. The company, which became a subsidiary of Russian oil giant LUKOIL in 2001, has more than 2,000 gas stations (some of which maintain convenience stores, auto repair centers, or car washes) in a dozen northeastern and mid-Atlantic US states. [...]

It’s not necessarily the oil standard, but Exxon Mobil is the world’s largest integrated oil company (ahead of BP and Royal Dutch Shell). Exxon Mobil engages in oil and gas exploration, production, supply, transportation, and marketing around the world. It has proved reserves of 22.4 billion barrels of oil equivalent. Exxon Mobil’s 45 refineries in [...]

It’s not teeny, it’s Eni — and it’s huge. One of Italy’s largest companies, Eni operates in the oil and natural gas, petrochemicals, and oil field services industries and has expanded into power generation. Its main subsidiaries and affiliates are EniPower (power generation), Italgas (natural gas transmission), Saipem (oil field services), pipeline operator Snam Rete [...]