The 2nd ASIA Miner Investing in Mining Conference steps up to a new level in 2008 with the joining of forces with the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC) to bring our readers and industry players a more influential event.

The 2008 conference will be held on July 15-16 in Australia. The theme of next year"s event is "Developing New Mineral Frontiers".

Arrow Energy has signed two agreements that will increase its involvement in Liaoning Province, north-east China.

New diamond drilling results from Marengo Mining"s Yandera copper and molybdenum project in Papua New Guinea continue to outline zones of better grade material within the planned open pit.

Mindoro Resources Philippine subsidiary, MRL Gold Phils, has been granted an Exploration Permit for the El Paso copper-gold prospect, Batangas Province, Philippines.

Construction is continuing at the joint Ivanhoe Mines-Rio Tinto Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold project in Mongolia.

China Goldmines hopes to raise £1.26 million through a share placement in order to further advance the Guanzhuang gold project in the Hunan Province of China.

Rusina Mining has rejected claims that the direct shipping market for nickel laterite ores has closed and denies claims that it will not be shipping nickel laterite ores this quarter.

Grange Resources has secured the eastern 6km extension of the Southdown magnetite deposit from Rio Tinto, a purchase that substantially increases the total magnetite resource available for development.

Westinghouse, along with consortium partner Shaw, has signed contracts to supply four of its AP1000 nuclear power reactors for Sanmen and Haiyang in China.

The first drilling results from YTC"s Doradilla project in New South Wales have confirmed high grade tin mineralization associated with copper, zinc and indium.

Chen Zeng has been appointed to the Board of Macarthur Coal as a non-executive director.

Mr Zeng is managing director of CITIC Australia, a company that is a long time shareholder, partner and investor in Macarthur Coal"s coal ventures.

Manitowoc Crane Group (MCG) has promoted Raman Joshi from global product manager for Manitowoc crawler cranes to director of marketing in the Asia-Pacific region.

DBT launched its innovative new Compact Loader during AIMEX 2007 in Sydney, Australia, in early September.

Rio Tinto and Malaysian conglomerate Cahya Mata Sarawak Berhad (CMS) will jointly develop a world-class aluminium smelter in the Malaysian state of Sarawak.

A drilling program at Medusa Mining"s Co-O gold mine in the Philippines has intersected high grade mineralization 300 to 350 metres below the main adit level.

A new resource estimate will be based on the results of the 20 diamond drill holes. The mineralization remains open at depth.

A new resource estimate reveals that QGX"s Baruun Naran coking-thermal coal project is the largest privately-held bituminous coal resource in Mongolia.

OceanaGold Corporation will shortly begin site construction at its Didipio gold and copper project in northern Luzon, Philippines.

Further exploration at TVI Pacific"s Balabag gold and silver project has increased the resource estimate and extended the mineralized zones.

An updated resource estimate for Thor Mining"s Molyhil tungsten-molybdenum project in the Northern Territory of Australia indicates a 55% increase in overall tonnage.

Expanding world and Chinese demand for bauxite means there is real potential for the development of a direct shipping operation of bauxite from the Darling Range in south-west Western Australia, according to Bauxite Resources (BRL) chairman Luke F Atkins.

Four solid days of business and a record number of visitors, including a big rise in the number of international visitors, have cemented AIMEX 2007 as the Asia Pacific"s leading mining industry event.

Raw materials mined by BHP Billiton in Australia and Chile will be used to produce the medals for the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing, China.

Industrial hospitality provider Morris Corporation is ranked 39 in the Top 400 Private Queensland Companies and has been acknowledged as one of the state"s leaders in the private sector at the 2007 Queensland Business Summit.

Metso Minerals has released two new Lokotrak mobile screens - the ST358 and ST458.

They are two-and-three decked mobile units suitable for screening applications where high-capacity, accuracy and mobility are required and both benefit from Metso"s SmartScreen technology.

A new ground imaging system developed by Canadian company MicroMentis has been launched in Australia.

The Surface Wave Intelligent Profiling System (SWIPS) has the potential to save mining, engineering and construction companies millions of dollars, improve workplace safety and help protect the environment.

Magnus International Resources has added Gavin Conway to its board of directors.

Gavin Conway, who has been managing director of Magnus" newly acquired subsidiary, African Mineral Fields (AMF), for 12 months, has more than 20 years worldwide experience in precious and base metals exploration and mining.

Nautilus Minerals has made four senior management appointments to its Solwara 1 project development team for the Solwara 1 copper-gold project in the territorial waters of Papua New Guinea.

Golden China Resources has returned its best drilling intercept to date from the Behinyar gold project in the Chinese province of Inner Mongolia.

Drill hole BYD194 returned 68 metres averaging 5.32 grams/tonne, including a significant intersection of 26 metres at 12.01 grams/tonne.

Medusa Mining will acquire the last remaining significant parcel of land for its Co-O gold project with the signing of a 70% joint venture interest with Sierra Mining for its Bunawan leases on East Mindanao Ridge, the Philippines.

The arrival of key plant components in Indochina has brought Pan Australian"s Phu Kham copper-gold project closer to fruition.

Ball mill shells have arrived at the Phu Kham project site in Laos while the semi-autogenous grind (SAG) mill shells and primary crusher have arrived in Thailand.

Severe wet weather has put a dampener on quarterly results from Straits Asia Resources" Sebuku coal operations in Indonesia with production down by more than 20%. In the second quarter 623 million tones of coal was produced compared to 791 for the same quarter last year.

The "Discover Mongolia-2007" international mining investment forum will be held from November 8-10 in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar.

Jinshan Gold Mines has produced 4130 ounces of gold dore at the CSH 217 gold mine in Inner Mongolia, China, during the initial start up phase.

A mine opening ceremony at CSH 217 was held last month with more than 200 distinguished guests in attendance, including senior government officials and representatives of the county towns of Xinhure and Wulate. Also attending were employees of the mine, mining and construction contractors, and villagers and farmers from nearby communities.

TVI Pacific"s Canatuan gold and silver mine in the Philippines continues to improve its operating performance.

During the quarter Canatuan produced 15,437 gold equivalent ounces of metal, an increase of 16% on the first quarter of 2007. Production consisted of 10,587 ounces of gold, up 19% from the first quarter, and 243,296 ounces of silver, up 14% from the first quarter.

A wholly owned subsidiary of the Japanese trading company Sojitz Corporation has entered into a binding Joint Venture Implementation Agreement (JVIA) with Grange to become a 30% joint venture partner in the Southdown magnetite project in Western Australia.

Moly Mines has increased the processing plant design capacity at its Spinifex Ridge molybdenum project in Western Australia"s Pilbara region from 15 to 20 million tonnes per annum.

Nautilus Minerals has moved from the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV) to the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX).

QINGDAO Huaxia Rubber Industry sets the standard in terms of professional manufacture, design and research in the Chinese rubber industry.

The company is the only manufacturer from China accredited with the MSHA certification from the USA for mining and its products have been exported to more than 30 countries.

Komatsu Australia has released the HD785-7, a 100 US ton capacity dump truck, featuring the highest horsepower and brake retardation in its class, a variable horsepower engine system for greater fuel efficiency, and the largest, most comfortable cab on the market.

Highlands Pacific has appointed a new management team for its flagship gold operation at Kainantu in Papua New Guinea.

Arrow Energy is negotiating a Production Sharing Contract with Chinese government owned oil and gas company PetroChina covering natural gas, including coal bed methane, over the 4000sqkm Dajing block in the Junggar basin of Xinjiang Autonomous Region in China.

East Asia Minerals will sell the Ooshiin Govi uranium property to Compagnie Franaise de Mines et Metaux (CFMM), a subsidiary of Areva NC, for Can$83 million. The sale also includes the Bayan Uul, Elgenii, Ikh Khet and Airag-1 uranium tenements.

Asian Mineral Resources has raised US$3 million which has been earmarked for pre-development expenditure and working capital on the company"s Ban Phuc Nickel Project in northern Vietnam.

Royalco Resources has received National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) certification to progress the Pao gold and copper prospect in the Philippines.

Highlands Pacific is exploring the Frieda porphyry copper/gold deposit in Papua New Guinea in a joint venture with Xstrata Frieda River and OMRD Frieda.

An improvement in the grade of gold obtained from Golden China Resources" BioGold plants in Shandong, China, during the last quarter resulted in an increase in the amount of gold won.

The increase from 15,809 ounces in the previous quarter to 17,659 ounces came despite production being substantially affected by power failures resulting in a decrease in throughput.

A new Australian uranium powerhouse valued at Aus$400 million will be created under a friendly merger proposal between Toro Energy and Nova Energy.

Rio Tinto and its joint venture partner Hancock Prospecting will spend US$350 million on a fast-tracked expansion of the Hope Downs iron ore project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Upon completion of the expansion, expected by early 2009, the mine will have a capacity of 30 million tonnes per annum.

Despite concerns over staging of the APEC conference with high security plans in place on the Friday and weekend immediately following AIMEX 2007, it appears that disruption to visitors and exhibitors will be minimal.

Resource services company Sedgman Limited has acquired all the shares in Perth-based minerals process engineering and project management company Intermet Engineering for $32.75 million.

Twenty-four rock trucks and dozens of other late-model heavy equipment items will be sold to the highest bidders-regardless of price-when Ritchie Bros Auctioneers conducts an unreserved mining equipment auction on September 18 at Yatala on the Gold Coast, just south of Brisbane, Australia.