Global mining giant Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) has swallowed the last independent vestiges of Vancouver's Ivanhoe Mines (TSX:IVN).
Last week, the company, which up until January retained a majority control of its flagship Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold project in Mongolia, announced that two senior Rio Tinto executives would take over as CEO and CFO respectively.
The company's new CEO is Kay Priestly, who most recently held a position as CFO of Rio Tinto's global copper product group.
Chris Bateman, also with Rio Tinto, was named Ivanhoe's new CFO.
Forestry giant West Fraser Timber (TSX:WFT) posted a first-quarter $17 million loss as lumber markets continued to struggle.
The Vancouver-based company recorded an EBITDA of $18 million in the first quarter compared with $80 million in the same period last year.
Revenue totalled $681 million compared with $687 million in 2011. West Fraser's lumber operations recorded an operating loss of $29 million.
Meantime, its panel business generated $1 million in operating earnings, and its pulp and paper operations recorded $17 million in earnings.
Taseko Mines' (TSX:TKO) relationship with First Nations near its proposed $1.1 billion New Prosperity project continues to slide downhill.
Last week, it was revealed that the Vancouver company's president and CEO Russ Hallbauer had written a letter to the federal government, urging Environment Minister Peter Kent to limit certain aboriginal ceremonies during the panel review for the company's massive copper-gold project.
The Tsilhqot'in National Government, which claims to deeply oppose the project, say Hallbauer's letter is a "black eye" to the mining industry.
WorkSafeBC has ruled out hot oil, hydraulic oil, gear oil, oxygen and acetylene as possible fuel sources that could have caused the explosion at the Babine Forest Products mill near Burns Lake January 20.
The organization said last week that its investigation into the cause of the explosion, which killed two workers and injured many more, was among the largest in its history.
WorkSafeBC said the possible factors related to the explosion include production records, the type of wood being milled and sawdust accumulation.
Construction at Goldcorp's (TSX:G) and New Gold's (TSX:NGD) has been halted after a Chilean court suspended an environmental permit for the El Morro project.
A constitutional action was filed against the permit last year, alleging that it was not valid because indigenous people close to the project had not been properly consulted or compensated. Goldcorp and New Gold, which have 70% and 30% ownership stakes in the project, said safety and security staff would continue to protect the public, equipment and facilities at El Morro.
