BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — The operator of the largest gold mine in Kyrgyzstan says workers have gone on strike in a demand for payments to a state social fund. Centerra Gold says the strike at the Kumtor mine is illegal. The company produced 585,000 ounces of gold there last year. The mine accounts for roughly...

Steel giant Severstal said Monday that enough minority shareholders agreed to swap the steelmaker's shares for the securities of its gold-mining unit Nord Gold, paving the way for the unit's London listing later this week. Steel giant Severstal said Monday that enough minority shareholders agreed to swap the steelmaker's shares for the securities of its gold-mining unit Nord Gold, paving the way for the unit's London listing later this week. Investors tendered a total...

... buyback will proceed as planned, Alexander Andreyev, a Raspadskaya spokesman, said by telephone Tuesday. Russian laws are to blame for discrepancies during the buyback, he said. The coal producer, which is trying to resume operations at its flagship mine after deadly blasts in May 2010, set a ratio of 7.74 percent for the buyback and will pay for the stock by the end of March, according to its statement. It had planned to repurchase about 10 percent of its stock at 150 rubles each. The buyback results...

... 192 million tons in 2011, or 57 percent of Russia's total output of 336 million tons. Tensions flared in the region as recently as May 2010, after more than 60 miners died in a series of methane gas explosions at coking coal miner Raspadskaya's main mine. The prime minister met with local officials and executives in Kemerovo, the Kuzbass's administrative center, as part of a three-day trip to Siberia and other provinces. He also met with relatives of the deceased from the 2010 accident and pledged...

Norilsk Nickel plans to increase nickel-concentrate output in South Africa and Australia to curb dependence on Russian mines. Norilsk Nickel plans to increase nickel-concentrate output in South Africa and Australia to curb dependence on Russian mines. Norilsk intends to raise production at its South African Nkomati project by 58 percent this year from 5,815 tons last...

Steel and coking coal producer Mechel may have to call in state support to finance its $9 billion debt pile in 2012 if it once again fails to pull off an initial public offering of its mining unit in New York or London. Steel and coking coal producer Mechel may have to call in state support to finance its $9 billion debt pile in 2012 if it once again fails to pull off an initial public offering of its mining unit in New York or London. The company, controlled by tycoon Igor Zyuzin, must repay or...

Raspadskaya's coal output fell 13 percent last year, missing a target issued only in December, partly on delays to safety approvals as it restores production at its main mine after a 2010 blast killed 90 people. The company produced 6.25 million tons, Raspadskaya said in a statement. That is less than the 6.4 million-ton forecast it set on Dec. 9. Output at its eponymous main mine was 1.25 million tons against a 1.4 million-ton...

... Vneshekonombank, said Andrei Shigayev, a director of the project. Southeast Asia's largest economy is the world's top producer of palm oil, the biggest exporter of refined tin and thermal coal, a major nickel miner and home to the world's second-largest copper mine and largest gold mine. The country's coal and palm oil assets are mostly located in Kalimantan. The railroad will connect an area close to the Balikpapan port through the Kutai Barat regency to the border with the Central Kalimantan province, where...

When Sergei Pepeliaev argued a tax case for the Severny Kuzbass mining concern last year in the Supreme Arbitration Court Presidium — the highest court that could rule on a foreign tax matter — there were a number of factors in his favor. When Sergei Pepeliaev argued a tax case for the Severny Kuzbass mining concern last year in the Supreme Arbitration Court Presidium — the highest court that could rule on a foreign tax matter — there were a number...

...,329 tons in 2010, Norilsk said in a statement published Monday on its website. Copper production fell 2.8 percent to 377,944 tons. It may drop even more in 2012 to at least 370,000 tons, Norilsk said. Norilsk said output of the metals declined at its mines in Botswana, while copper also fell at its Harjavalta site in Finland, without elaborating. Fourth-quarter production of the metal used in stainless steel was little changed from the previous three months at 79,616 metric tons, while copper output...

Boris Berezovsky won a London court order placing $600 million from Vasily Anisimov's sale of a stake in Metalloinvest Holding into an escrow account, said three people with knowledge of the matter. Anisimov can't touch almost a quarter of the $2.5 billion VTB Group paid for his 20 percent of the mining company after the British High Court ruling in December, the people said, declining to be named because the ruling isn't public. Berezovsky filed a claim in 2009 to recover money he said he loaned...

... past eight quarters. "When we look at the Russian official stockpiles, they're depleting. Higher prices beget more investment interest and that takes supply off the line." Investors now own 52.8876 tons, equal to about seven months of Russian mine production and valued at about $1.2 billion at today's price of $692.75 an ounce. Holdings fell for eight consecutive months through December. Palladium extended its rebound this year, advancing 5.8 percent, compared with a 2.6 percent gain in the...

... the lowest figure since 2009, according to State Statistics Service data. Output in December grew 2.5 percent compared with the same month in the previous year. In November, the figure was 3.9 percent. Total year-on-year output growth from factories, mines and utilities in 2011 was 4.7 percent, a drop from 8.2 percent in 2010, the service said Tuesday. Troika Dialog analysts put the disappointing December figure, which dipped below a Bloomberg expectation survey result of 3.4 percent, down to warmer...

In a possible sign of increased business activity amid the "reset" in U.S.-Russian ties, a U.S. government agency that assists U.S. companies enter and expand in Russia has seen an increase in demand over the past year. In a possible sign of increased business activity amid the “reset” in U.S.-Russian ties, a U.S. government agency that assists U.S. companies enter and expand in Russia has seen an increase in demand...

... in Russia, Mongolia and Indonesia. Oleg Deripaska's En+ Group plans to invest at least $1.5 billion to increase coal production by almost 50 percent by 2020 and is studying acquisitions in Russia, Mongolia and Indonesia. The En+ coal division mined 16.8 million tons last year and plans to dig 25 million tons in 2020 by expanding current mines and through acquisitions, managing director Andrei Churin said. While about 90 percent of the company's coal is now used to generate power for Deripaska's...

Moscow is a Chekhov lover's paradise. A paradise, that is, unless you are an English-speaking expat. While the city is a gold mine of world class theater, flush with companies and festivals performing the great writer's works, his plays are almost never performed in English. For foreigners who lack the language skills needed to fully appreciate...

Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin said Tuesday that he was "ready" to look at a potential merger of Transneft and Zarubezhneft, a state oil producer that has assets in Vietnam. (Bloomberg) Mechel Mining, a coal and iron ore unit of Mechel, said Tuesday that shareholders approved an underwriting agreement on a "large deal," according to a regulatory filing today. (Bloomberg)

... billion to $2.99 billion, the company said Friday. (Bloomberg) Gunvor Group has no plans to acquire Kuzbassrazrezugol, a spokesperson for Gunvor said Friday. (Bloomberg) Nordgold doesn't exclude offering minorities in its subsidiary High River Gold Mines the opportunity to swap shares into Nordgold's stock under a plan to boost trading volumes of Nordgold's depositary receipts in London, a Nordgold spokesperson said late last week. (Bloomberg)

... of gold in concentrate a year, first deputy chief executive Yury Filippov said. Norilsk plans to build a processing plant at the site by the end of 2016, he said. Norilsk seeks to expand copper production to diversify away from nickel. Norilsk will mine as much as 2.16 million tons of iron ore concentrate a year as a byproduct at Bystrinsky. (Bloomberg)

Bulgaria's Customs Service has presented LUKoil Neftokhim Burgas with protocols confirming the oil refinery's storage operations have been brought in line with the law on excise duties and the storage taxation regime, Interfax reported Tuesday. (MT) Rosatom made an offer to build, own and operate four nuclear power plants in Jordan, Al-Ghad newspaper said. (Bloomberg) The United Arab Emirates may invest "billions of dollars" in Russia, focusing on mining, agriculture, pharmaceuticals and...