Source:
By KRISTEN HAYS Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle

ConocoPhillips put its exploration efforts front and center Wednesday in an apparent effort to debunk Wall Street’s view that the Houston-based oil major grows by acquisition rather than finding its own oil and gas.

That view was bolstered when ConocoPhillips slashed $34 billion in asset values late last year to bring them in line with oil and natural gas prices that plunged from lofty highs as the worst recession in decades gripped the globe. The company also is eliminating more than 1,300 jobs.

Some analysts said the write-offs exposed the potential weakness in ConocoPhillips’ prevailing growth-by-acquisition strategy.

Bernstein Research analyst Neil McMahon suggested in a recent report that ConocoPhillips consider spinning off its exploration operation. Read more

HONG KONG – (AFP) – Most Asian stock markets slipped on Thursday amid more grim economic news from Japan and China, with the broad market index in Tokyo sinking to a 25-year low.

Japan’s Nikkei-225 fell 2.41 percent after the government said the economy logged its worst performance in nearly 35 years, contracting 3.2 percent in the three months to December, or 12.1 percent on an annualised basis.

“The figures are not good,” said Prime Minister Taro Aso. “The economy is worsening.”

China also announced that factory output and retail sales were slowing down, sparking fears that the global crisis is taking more of a toll on the world’s third-largest economy than first thought.

The news from China led Sydney to close down 0.3 percent, as mining shares suffered on the weak Chinese industrial output figures. Read more

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Environmental Clean Technologies (ECT) has reached an agreement with Indonesian coal mining company Ilthabi Bara Utama (IBU) to start initial testing work on low-rank coal samples from IBU’s East Kalimantan mine for its suitability in the use of the Coldry process.

ECT said the Coldry process was the world’s first economic method for dewatering brown coal, creating a high-energy pellet with significantly reduced carbon-dioxide emissions when compared with brown coal, while being suitable for export as a black coal substitute.

ECT CEO Kos Galtos noted that following the completion of the necessary testing, a business case would be developed with a view of moving to a heads of agreement, if all tests proved successful.

“IBU can provide sufficient coal supply to meet current and future coal requirements for over ten-million ton a year Coldry production plant. The opportunity to access such a large resource in Indonesia will provide the Coldry plant with a key footprint into the South East Asian market, where there are a large number of coal-fired power stations, and consequently, a huge market for the final product.”
Read more

Source:
By Tim Bradner
Alaska Journal of Commerce

Despite a dismal world economy, Alaska’s five large producing mines say they will remain operating and have mostly avoided layoffs. One gold mine has even added staff, the Alaska Miners Association told state legislators in a briefing in Juneau Feb. 25.

Two large mines that have been hit hard by sharp declines in zinc prices are the Red Dog mine north of Kotzebue and the Greens Creek mine near Juneau. While expenses are being watched carefully at both mines, no layoffs are planned, although the Greens Creek mine did have to reduce staff by five people. The company plans no further reductions, however, said Steve Borell, the association’s executive director.

Red Dog, an open pit mine, is the world’s largest producing zinc mine. It pays its 485 employees $50 million a year in wages and benefits and does another $110 million a year in business with support and supply companies.
Read more