Copper ticked down in the early stages of U.S. trading Monday, giving back some of the gains that took place during the previous session. The move kept the metal in a trading range near a high set early last week.

Metso Minerals will supply bulk materials handling equipment to Bateman Africa (Pty) Ltd. for Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) situated on the east coast of South Africa. The delivery, installation and commissioning will be completed by the first quarter of 2009. The value of the order is approximately EUR 17 million (approx. ZAR 160 [...]

Yanzhou Coal Mining Co. Ltd. , which posted a 17.6 percent fall in 2006 earnings, will cut exports by half in 2007 to 3 million tonnes due to higher domestic prices.
Director Wu Yuxiang said on Monday it aims to sell 8 percent more coal this year, or 37.5 million tonnes, including 3 million for exports, [...]

Workers found the bodies of two miners in the cabs of heavy machinery, three days after they were buried when a wall section collapsed in an open-pit coal mine.
The men appeared to have died instantly, said Bob Cornett, acting regional director for the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration. Their remains were found Friday beneath [...]

Arch Coal Inc. said Monday its first-quarter profit tumbled 53 percent because of soft conditions in the U.S. coal markets.
After the payment of preferred dividends, Arch Coal earned $28.7 million, or 20 cents per share, compared with $60.6 million, or 42 cents per share, for the same quarter in 2006.
Coal sales fell 10 percent to [...]

Finding enough bauxite sources to feed the upcoming aluminium smelters in the Gulf will be a challenge as the region begins to emerge as a major producer of the metal. Availability of cheaper energy has encouraged new investment in aluminium production in the region.
Power is responsible for roughly one-fourth of a smelter’s operating costs, while [...]

Guinea, the world’s number one bauxite expor-ter, says it is with-drawing agreements made with a U.S. oil company and a Russian-managed bauxite producer as part of a planned review of minerals contracts.
The withdrawals were announced in a government statement read on state television Sunday.
They referred to a production-sharing contract with American oil company Hyperdynamics and [...]

Red River Parish is among three finalists for a planned clean-coal technologies plant.
The facility would bring with it 200 new jobs.
ADA-ES Inc. of Littleton, Colo., is looking for a place to build its new activated carbon production facility.

Rescuers are trying to reach two workers who have been trapped in an open pit coal mine near Barton, Maryland, since a wall collapsed two days ago, the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration said.
The wall, which was from 100 feet to 125 feet (30.5 meters to 38 meters) high, collapsed onto a shovel and [...]

With Illinois backers among the biggest boosters, lawmakers on Capitol Hill are pushing for a bill to encourage development of a domestic industry for producing liquid fuel from coal.
Illinois Republican John Shimkus and Virginia Democrat Rick Boucher, both members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, plan within days to introduce a bill they say [...]