Half of all global coal assets may be uneconomic

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that more than half the assets in the global coal industry are now held by companies that are either in bankruptcy proceedings or don't earn enough money to pay their interest bills, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

In the US, only three of 12 large coal miners traded on public markets escape that ignominious club, separate data show. The largest of those, Consol Energy, is morphing into a natural-gas producer.

Assets held by publicly traded coal companies now stand at $US411.8 billion

Vale may sell $US10 billion worth of its best assets

Vale, the world's biggest iron-ore producer, will consider the sale of $US10 billion of its best assets by the end of next year as it seeks to reduce its debt load amid sluggish demand, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

The Rio de Janeiro-based company also will try to raise $4 billion to $5 billion this year by selling such "non-core" businesses as stakes in its energy assets and seven iron-ore carriers it has on offer, chief executive officer Murilo Ferreira said Tuesday in a presentation at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch mining conference in Miami.

Move to shut Kingsgate's Chatree mine will impact on Thai investment, says chairman

Australian company Kingsgate Consolidated is looking to Canberra for support to reverse a Thai government decision to shut down its gold mining operations, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

The call for federal government backing follows the Thai industry minister's move to close all gold mining operations in Thailand and curb further mining licences.