Comprehensive news

China's Baosteel agrees with Rio Tinto on iron ore price increase 
Baosteel, China's largest iron and steel maker, said Monday it had agreed with Australian mining group Rio Tinto on a price increase of up to 96.5 percent for iron ore in 2008, nearly double that of 2007.

China orders coal companies to increase production, steps in to keep prices stab 
Amid coal shortage in some localities, China's State Administration of Coal Mine Safety on Sunday issued an urgent circular ordering domestic coal companies to increase production on the premise work place safety be ensured.

China's gold output exceeds 84 tons in January-April 
CChina produced 84.039 tons of gold in January-April of 2008, an increase of 6.285 tons or 8.08 percent over the same period of last year, according to China Gold Association.

Analysis: China to become world's largest gold producer this year 
With the gradual expanding of the  gold production capacity and improvement of the gold smelting technology, China will take the place of South Africa to become the world¡¯s largest gold producer this year.

Policy

China's threshold of windfall tax for oil possibly up 
Chinese experts expect call on the state to uplift the threshold of oil's windfall tax to help its leading oil producers alleviate deficit.

Market

China exports less coal at higher value in first five months 
China sold less coal abroad in the first five months largely due to efforts to ensure domestic supply, the General Administration of Customs said here on Thursday.

China's raw coal output up nine pct in May 
China's output of raw coal reached 212.89 million tons in May, an increase of 17.64 million tons or nine percent year on year, according to statistics from the State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS).

Baosteel raises prices for August 
Domestic traders said Baosteel Group has lifted prices of rolled steel for August by 200-400 yuan/ton,according to Umetal.com.

Chinese pulverized coal producers to raise price 
Under the influence of shortage of supply and boom in downstream demand, China's major pulverized coal producers will raise the selling price of pulverized coal by about 300 yuan/ton once more, Umetal.com reported.

China's copper price expected to go downward turn 
China's copper price is forecast to drop further in the coming period of time, according to sources  with the Market Operation Regulatory Department of the Ministry of  Commerce (MOC).

Short-term nickel price to hover at low 
China's nickel price will remain sluggish in a short term but the room for further decline is limited, according to the Ministry of Commerce (MOC).

Merge and acquisition

Baosteel, Rivals Open $5.2b JV in Guangdong 
Baosteel Group, China's largest steel producer, on Saturday opens a 35.86 billion yuan (5.2 billion U.S. dollars) joint venture with smaller rivals in the southern province of Guangdong.

China National Gold wins Yangshan Gold Mine bid for US$318 mln 
China National Gold Group Corp, the country's largest gold producer, has won exploration rights for Yangshan Gold Mine, the largest prospected gold deposit in China, said a source close to the situation Friday.