SYDNEY (Thomson Financial) – BHP Billiton, the world’s largest diversified resources group, said Tuesday that its output of iron ore, copper, nickel, aluminium and metallurgical coal reached record levels for the fiscal year ended June, helped by phased expansions at existing projects at a time of strong demand.

In Western Australia’s Pilbara region, BHP’s iron ore mines produced 25.75 million tonnes of iron ore in the June quarter, up six percent on the same period a year earlier and taking annual output to 98.20 million tonnes, up eight percent.

Copper output rose to 342,100 tonnes in the final quarter of its fiscal year, up 17 percent year-on-year and lifting annual output by seven percent to 1.25 million tonnes. BHP said copper output was boosted by the commissioning of a sulphide leach plant at the 57.5 percent owned Escondida mine in northern Chile in the second half of 2006. Read more

The acquisitive Anglo-Swiss miner nearly tripled its half-year profit to $US3 billion ($3.5 billion) – only $US500 million shy of the result of its much larger rival Rio Tinto.

The difference was nickel.

Xstrata bought the Canadian nickel miner Falconbridge last year for $US17 billion. In May, the nickel price reached record levels of more than $US50,000 a tonne. That proved a significant advantage for Xstrata, BHP Billiton and Brazil’s CVRD, but was little help to Rio and Anglo American, which do not produce the stainless steel ingredient. Xstrata’s nickel division produced nearly one-third of the group’s earnings before interest and tax in the first half.

Although the nickel price has since fallen to the still-high level of about $US29,000 a tonne, Xstrata said the commodity’s outlook remained positive in the second half of the year compared with historical average prices. Read more

Xstrata Plc offered 7.5 billion rand ($1.07 billion) for Eland Platinum Holdings Ltd., South Africa’s best-performing stock this year, and said first-half profit more than doubled.

Xstrata, based in Zug, Switzerland, bid about 105 rand a share in cash for Johannesburg-based Eland, according to a statement today. The offer values Eland at 8.99 rand, or 9.4 percent, more than its closing share price yesterday.

In 2006, Xstrata spent $22 billion on mining assets as nickel more than doubled and zinc gained for a sixth straight year. Profit rose 165 percent in the first half on revenue from Falconbridge Ltd., the Canadian nickel producer bought in November. Eland is building its first platinum mine, northwest of Johannesburg.

“This is very strong growth by acquisition,” Mark Tinker, a fund manager at AXA Framlington Ltd. in London who holds Xstrata shares, said in an interview. Read more

WASHINGTON — You missed the wild ride on Cyclone Gonu?

Oil traders rode that financial roller coaster for several days recently when the cyclone briefly pummeled the energy-producing Persian Gulf state of Oman. Crude prices shot above $71 a barrel at Gonu’s worst, only to recede to below $69 a barrel over the next three days as the storm weakened.

Or maybe you’d rather hitch your fortunes to palm-oil prices, which have been on the rise. These prices spurted higher on fears that worldwide production isn’t keeping pace with growing appetites in China and India.

Then there are gold and silver, whose prices were surging until recent weeks when rising interest rates made bonds a more attractive investment. Read more

OAO GMK Norilsk Nickel, Russia’s biggest miner, expects to expand into coal, diamonds, iron ore and molybdenum with help from BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Plc, two of the world’s top three diversified mining companies.

Norilsk is doubling spending on geological exploration to 4.5 billion rubles ($180 million) this year and hopes soon to start joint projects with Melbourne-based BHP and London-based Rio, Norilsk Deputy Chief Executive Officer Maxim Finsky said in an in-house company magazine interview published today.

“Before us is a grandiose goal: to develop technologies and ways to process metal ore that are new to us,” Finsky said. Norilsk plans to begin the joint projects by 2009, he said.

The company is already the global leader in nickel and palladium output and produces almost a sixth of the world’s platinum, used in catalytic converters and jewelry. Built by Soviet political Read more

OXIANA has purchased a strategic stake in West Australian explorer AusQuest in the hope of finding a nickel project worth developing.

The mid-tier Melbourne miner produces copper, gold and zinc, but it has also expressed interest in nickel. It is examining an early-stage laterite project in WA it picked up through its acquisition of Agincourt Resources this year.

AusQuest recently began drilling some nickel prospects in the Pilbara region. Earlier this month, the Perth explorer found nickel sulphides in four of the first eight holes at its Bellary project. The assays are not expected for another three to five weeks.

On Friday AusQuest outed Oxiana as the mystery buyer of 5.4 million shares and 3.6 million options on Wednesday. Read more

VANCOUVER, June 25 /CNW/ – Belvedere Resources Ltd. (the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has now completed the acquisition of the Hitura Nickel Mine from Outokumpu Mining Oy.

Hitura is an operating mine and concentrate facility which currently produces 2,200 tonnes per annum of nickel metal in concentrate. As of December 2006 Hitura had remaining reserves of 919,000 t @ 0.61% nickel, and remaining resources (Measured + Indicated) of 1.7 Mt @ 0.71% nickel. The Hitura mine business has been acquired from Outokumpu Mining Oy as a going concern with all personnel and equipment including a 650,000 tonnes per annum capacity
mill. In exchange Outokumpu has received 7,482,843 Belvedere shares with half warrants attached. Of those shares, 35% will have a 4 month hold with the remainder subject to an eight Read more