Mineweb Top Stories: S&P downgrades Molycorp on liquidity concerns

FEATURED PODCAST                                                      Mining M&A and the importance of strategic buying PWC's Bob McCutcheon looks at some of the recent trends seen in the mining M&A space and looks forward to what we can expect over the rest of 2012.

TOP STORIES | Tuesday , 14 Aug 2012                                                      S&P downgrades Molycorp on liquidity concerns The possibility Molycorp may have to seek additional financing after already offering up to $650 million in debt this year is not sitting well with Standard & Poor's.    Tuesday , 14 Aug 2012 Ron Paul looking to legalise gold, silver-backed competing currencies Having successfully steered his ‘audit the Fed' bill through Congress, Ron Paul is now starting a crusade to legalise alternate currency provision in the U.S. - especially if backed by gold and silver.    Tuesday , 14 Aug 2012 Despite production drop, Iamgold maintains 2012 guidance In spite of declines in both net and adjusted net earnings for the first half of this year, Iamgold CEO Steve Letwin said second quarter results were solid.    Tuesday , 14 Aug 2012 Gold junior jumps 51% on Colombia drill result Waymar Resources continues to hit high-grade gold in Colombia, adding to a handful of exceptional gold mineralized intercepts the juniors has so far drilled.    Monday , 13 Aug 2012 Death toll at Lonmin platinum mine rises to 9 In by far the deadliest mine violence to rock South Africa's platinum sector, the latest clashes between labour unions at Lonmin's Western Platinum operations have claimed the lives of 9 people.    Tuesday , 14 Aug 2012 Nautilus gets go ahead for gold/copper seabed mining project Seabed mining pioneer Nautilus Minerals has received the go-ahead for its Solwara 1 deep sea gold and base metals mining project from the PNG government.    Tuesday , 14 Aug 2012 Trying to judge gold's sentiment swings - Holmes Historically, August and September are good for both gold stocks and bullion but, presidential elections tend to weigh, Frank Holmes looks at the numbers.    Tuesday , 14 Aug 2012 South African platinum miners seek rescue from bonds According to data compiled by Bloomberg, the four biggest producers - Anglo American Platinum, Impala, Lonmin and Aquarius - have $2.47 billion in debt.    Monday , 13 Aug 2012 Australia's Dubbo zirconia project to be significant rare earths producer by 2015 Alkane Resources is working with ANSTO to produce significant quantities of heavy and light rare earths from its Dubbo zirconia project in New South Wales with first output targeted for 2015.    Tuesday , 14 Aug 2012 Mongolia-focused miner expects Chalco to drop takeover bid SouthGobi CEO Alex Molyneux says it seems highly unlikely that Chalco will go forward with its $926 million takeover offer for the miner as it battles opposition in Mongolia.    Tuesday , 14 Aug 2012 Aurubis raises full-year profit outlook CEO, Peter Willbrandt, says results at the group should remain stable this year as a recovery in Chinese copper demand offsets the impact of the euro zone debt crisis.    Tuesday , 14 Aug 2012 Lower prices knocks Uranium One earnings The uranium producer said quarterly earnings fell 2% on the back of lower sales and uranium prices.    Tuesday , 14 Aug 2012 Pricing pressure wipes out Salzgitter Q2 profit The German steelmaker says it continues to expect full year group revenues will at least be stable and pretax profit will be in the low to medium tens of millions of Euros.    Tuesday , 14 Aug 2012 Sierra Leone plans gold tax cut to curb smuggling The move will undo part of an IMF-backed mining law drawn up in 2009, which was meant to increase government revenue but instead triggered a slide in official exports.    Tuesday , 14 Aug 2012 AuRico Gold profit dips 10% on lower production The Canadian gold miner said it produced 67,411 gold equivalent ounces in Q2, down from 74,439 gold equivalent ounces it produced over last year's comparable period.    Tuesday , 14 Aug 2012 Kazakh copper, gold output rises in January-July Production of refined copper rose 2.7% year-on-year to 200,424 tonnes while refined gold climbed 19.7%, data released by the State Statistics Agency on Monday showed.    Monday , 13 Aug 2012 Glencore's PASAR copper smelter restarts; may expand A source close to majority owner Glencore says while it is considering expanding the PASAR copper smelter and refinery, a firm decision has not been taken.    Monday , 13 Aug 2012 Qatar raises stake in Xstrata to 11.5% Qatar Holding has bought shares consistently in Xstrata after Glencore bid $26 billion for the miner in February, lifting its stake from 3% to almost 11%.    Monday , 13 Aug 2012 KGHM mulls raising full-year profit guidance Its CFO Wlodzimierz Kicinski said Monday the firm is considering raising its net profit guidance for this year after reaching nearly 80% of the target after six months.    Monday , 13 Aug 2012 Yesterday's top story: World's ten biggest gold mines - three mining majors dominate list The world's largest gold producer last year was actually a copper mine. Of the others Barrick Gold dominates the list along with AngloGold Ashanti and Newmont.    Monday , 13 Aug 2012 PODCASTS / RADIO                                                      Gold miners, management and dumb M&A - Ecclestone "CEOs are going to be losing their heads like it's the French Revolution out there. They're going to be chopped left, right and centre." AngloGold Ashanti, Q2 results - Mark Cutifani "There's no doubt in the world that you're looking at a new AngloGold Ashanti and a great future for the company and its shareholders." Changing Chinese demand patterns and base metals - Macquarie Head of Macquarie China commodities research, Bonnie Liu, looks at the outlook for Chinese growth, the changes being seen in the region and their impact on copper and iron ore. QE, The EU and a change of mood in gold - Phillips Julian Phillips says he has noticed a change of mood in the gold market with prices moving on news that will send the metal higher rather than negative news.