Muara Teweh!

Schoolchildren are marking the High Valleyfield pit tragedy of 1939 by opening a memorial garden on Sunday, after months of fundraising.

St Serfs Primary has been backed with £10,000 from Fife Council.

On October 28, 1939, a blast in the number one shaft of Valleyfield pit killed 35 men, leaving 42 youngsters fatherless.

Other men working deep underground were also injured.

It was one of the worst mining tragedies in Fife’s long mining history and came just eight years after 10 men had perished of carbon monoxide poisoning at Bowhill pit. » Read more after the jump →

THE Environment Management Agency (EMA) has suspended the construction of a US$3 million coke processing plant in Hwange by a Chinese firm, South Mining Company (SMC) saying they should apply for an Environmental Impact Assessment plan first.

EMA district coordinator, Emmanuel Banda, confirmed that work on the site had to be abandoned until a proper EIA report has been submitted.

“The EMA has stopped the construction of the coke processing plant due to the unavailability of an impact assessment plan,” said Banda

The Chinese firm was expected to begin the construction of the plant this week as most of its US$60 000 worth of construction equipment had arrived in the coal mining town of Hwange. » Read more after the jump →

Brazilian mining company Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) announced on Thursday that the Mozambican government has approved a mining contract for the exploitation of the Moatize coal project.

The contract, a follow-up to the development plan approved by the Mozambican authorities earlier this month, has a duration of 25 years and can be extended, CVRD said in a statement.

The agreement also established taxes, international trade and foreign exchange regimes that will regulate the company’s investment in the African country.

The company said that the project in the northwestern Tete province involves the exploitation of an open pit mine which could be sustained for 35 years with an estimated average annual production of 11 million metric tons of coal, including 8.5 metric tons of metallurgical coal and 2.5 metric tons of thermal coal. » Read more after the jump →

ABINGDON, Va., — /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. has closed the purchase of Arch Coal, Inc.’s Mingo Logan Ben Creek assets in Mingo County, W. Va. for $40 million plus adjustments for working capital.

The assets, which include coal reserves, two mines and a loadout and processing plant, will be managed through a newly formed subsidiary, Cobra Natural Resources, LLC.

Cobra Natural Resources is projected to have an annual run rate in excess of one million tons of coal. More than 70 percent of production is expected to be sold as metallurgical coal to foundries and steel mills.

About Alpha Natural Resources

Alpha Natural Resources is a leading supplier of high-quality Appalachian coal to electric utilities, steel and coke producers, and industrial customers. Approximately 91 percent » Read more after the jump →

Shaquille O’Neal and Tim Duncan cast giant shadows on the basketball court and also in NBA front offices.

All the way out to Portland, in fact.

When the Trail Blazers selected Greg Oden with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft last night at the Theater at Madison Square Garden, they remembered that O’Neal and Duncan have come away with eight of the last nine championships.

When a team can have that kind of success rate building around a franchise big man, the Trail Blazers felt they had to take the 7-foot Oden over 6-9 forward Kevin Durant.

“We asked ourselves, ‘Who can get us to the championship level?’” Portland GM Kevin Pritchard said. “When you’ve got a big man, a center, who has great athletic ability, who has great » Read more after the jump →

By Liu Jie (China Daily)

With China’s opening up and intensified competition in the key cities, savvy businesses are turning their eyes to the country’s second- and third-tier cities, 30 of which have emerged as the best business targets.

Global real estate management and consulting company Jones Lang LaSalle has undertaken a study to assess the real estate opportunities and prospects beyond China’s familiar first-tier coastal cities.

In the latest “China 30″ White Paper, the firm maps out the country’s current and future major business locations and identifies the drivers that will create a new city hierarchy over the next five years. » Read more after the jump →

Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (RIO) said that the government of Mozambique has approved the mining contract for the exploitation of the Moatize coal project, located in the northwestern province of Tete, following the approval of the project development plan by the Mozambican authorities earlier this month.

The duration of the contract is 25 years and can be extended for additional periods of time. Further, the contract establishes tax, international trade and foreign exchange regimes that will govern the company’s investment in Moatize. » Read more after the jump →