SYDNEY: Global miner Rio Tinto on Thursday reported a 5 percent rise in third-quarter iron ore production from a year ago and said its Australian coal operations had recovered from flooding earlier in the year. "We have set new quarterly records for iron ore sales and hard coking coal production as our operations recovered from the severe weather experienced earlier in the year," Rio Tinto Chief Executive Tom Albanese said in a statement accompanying the company's quarterly production report "Whilst we are mindful of current market volatility, the fundamentals are holding up well, particularly for bulk-traded commodities," he said. Rio Tinto, the world's second biggest producer of iron ore after Vale of Brazil, maintained its 2011 forecast for iron ore production of more than 240 million tonnes. Copyright Reuters, 2011 ...

  SYDNEY: Australia's Sundance Resources on Tuesday said China's Hanlong Mining had assured it there was "no reason" to doubt its Aus$1.65 billion (Aus$1.65 billion) takeover despite an insider trading probe linked to the deal. Hanlong won Sundance over with a sweetened 57 cents-per-share offer last week but the takeover cannot proceed without regulatory approval which is said to be waiting on an anti-trust probe into the Chinese firm. Australia's Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is investigating three former Hanlong executives for insider trading related to the Sundance deal and a takeover bid for uranium explorer Bannerman Resources. Requesting a trading halt to clarify the situation, Sundance said the Chinese firm had assured it that it was "continuing to work productively" with Australia's foreign investments board (FIRB) and was on track. "(Hanlong) expects to receive FIRB's decision well within the indicative timetable," Sundance said in a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange. "Hanlong has informed Sundance ...

  SYDNEY: Australian coal-to-retail conglomerate Wesfarmers has settled hard coking coal for the December quarter at around $280 per tonne, 9 percent less than in the previous quarter, with 90 percent of the shipment forecast under new prices. The balance would be based on carry over prices from the previous quarter, Wesfarmers said, which kept its 2012 financial year coal output forecast unchanged at between 6.8 million to 7.2 million tonnes. Copyright Reuters, 2011 ...