UPDATE 1-Protester dies in Indonesian Freeport demo - union official

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JAKARTA Oct 10 (Reuters) - Police fired warning shots in the air and a protester died on Monday during a demonstration involving thousands of mine workers at Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc's Grasberg mine in Indonesia, a union official said.

Disgruntled workers seeking better pay and conditions at the world's third biggest copper mine have been on strike since Sept. 15, reducing mining, processing and concentrate shipments from Grasberg.

Union official Virgo Solossa said two workers were shot, and one later died in hospital as thousands of the miners pushed to enter their barracks to unload their belongings.

It was unclear who had shot the men, Solossa said. Freeport officials were not immediately available for comment.

Mine workers burned two trailers after their colleague was killed, according to local television footage seen by Reuters.

Unionised workers, about half of Freeport's 23,000 Indonesian workers, decided last week to remain on strike until Nov. 15, making this the longest stoppage in Indonesia's mining industry.

Miners in other developing nations have walked off the job this year to demand better pay as corporate profits surged.

Freeport, the world's largest publicly traded copper miner, is also facing a strike at its sprawling Peruvian Corro Verde mine. Union leaders last week failed to agree on a wage deal that would settle the strike.

Freeport Indonesia said last week that more employees had reported for work, and that it had scaled up mining and milling output and concentrate sales.

Union officials had planned to continue talks with the company after mediation ended in a deadlock two weeks ago.

The strike has entered its fourth week and the last time workers went on an eight-day strike in July, the company suffered production loss of 35 million lb (15,876 tonnes) of copper and 60,000 ounces of gold.

The company said last month it was unlikely to meet third-quarter sales estimates due to the industrial action.

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Horseback mob attacks Kyrgyz mining camp

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* Talas Copper Gold camp attacked for second time

* Horsemen set fire to buildings, beat security manager

* Joint venture between Gold Fields and Orsu Metals

* Foreign investors wary of mining sector

By Robin Paxton

ALMATY, Oct 10 (Reuters) - A mob of horsemen armed with sticks and petrol bombs attacked an exploration camp run by South African miner Gold Fields' joint venture in Kyrgyzstan, the latest in a series of assaults on mining companies in the Central Asian state.

Talas Copper Gold, a joint venture between Gold Fields and Britain's Orsu Metals , said on Monday that its security manager was severely beaten as he fled from a burning building at the exploration camp in Talas province.

The company said in a statement that the attack occurred shortly after midnight in the early hours of Saturday morning. Around 10 horsemen set fire to several buildings, it said.

"This incident does not appear to follow from any community action but seems to be a premeditated attack by a small group," the company said. It said the security manager was recovering in hospital.

The latest incident is another warning to potential foreign investors in Kyrgyzstan's mining sector. Talas Copper Gold said a criminal investigation was under way and that it would start its new drilling programme in November as planned.

Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic of 5.5 million people, is preparing to elect its next president on Oct. 30, following a year in which its former leader was overthrown and hundreds were killed in mob violence.

Attacks on prospective mining developments in Kyrgyzstan have occurred on several occasions since the April 2010 revolution, disrupting attempts by the new government to develop a viable mining industry in the gold-rich republic.

Talas Copper Gold itself suffered a similar attack in March. Australian miner Kentor Gold has said supporters of its Andash copper and gold development, also in Talas province, have been threatened.

Employees of a Chinese-owned mining company were beaten in August at a separate development in Naryn province.

A single gold mine, Kumtor, contributes around 10 percent of Kyrgyzstan's gross domestic product and nearly half of its industrial production. Owned by Toronto-listed Centerra Gold Inc , it produced 7.8 million ounces, or 243 tonnes, from its launch in May 1997 to the end of 2010.

Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev, who is running for president, told Reuters in June that the government would weed out corruption in the mining sector to secure the proceeds from many untapped metals deposits.

Talas Copper Gold has four exploration licences -- Barkol, Taldybulak, Kentash and Korgontash -- and has invested $15 million between 2005 and 2010. It has planned a further $2.5 million of investment this year.

To read a SPECIAL REPORT on Kyrgyzstan's mining industry:

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UBS downgrades Tata Steel to 'neutral'; cuts price target nearly half

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MUMBAI | Mon Oct 10, 2011 12:07am EDT

MUMBAI Oct 10 (Reuters) - UBS has downgraded India's Tata Steel to 'neutral' from 'buy' and cut the price target by nearly half as it expects a decline in earnings and does not expect a recovery in the company's European operations, mainly Corus.

The Swiss bank has cut the price target to 460 rupees from 860 rupees, citing lower steel prices and higher raw material costs.

"We believe Tata Steel's stock price is not attractive at the current levels," UBS said in a note to its clients.

Given limited visibility in macro recovery in near-medium term in Europe, Corus will remain an overhang given its high financial leverage and high cost structure, UBS added.

(Reporting by Indulal PM; Editing by Subhadip Sircar)

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Oman's MB Holding looks at buys in Toronto, London

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MUSCAT | Mon Oct 10, 2011 4:06am EDT

MUSCAT Oct 10 (Reuters) - MB Holding, an Omani mining and energy group, plans to take advantage of depressed valuations to buy a stake in listed firms on the Toronto and London exchanges, its chairman said on Monday.

Mohamed Al Barwani said the Omani firm, whose operations range from oil field services and mining to tourism, was looking at companies with a market value of up to $500 million.

"A lot assets are coming on the market at lower prices ... our primary interest is oil and gas and mining," Barwani told reporters on the sidelines of a MEED conference in the Omani capital.

"We have a lot of open bank lines at the moment."

MB's Mawarid Mining LLC took a 9.98 percent stake, worth about $50.1 million, in Canada's Nautilus Minerals in August. Nautilus is using funds raised to develop a copper project off the coast of Papua New Guinea.

Barwani said the privately-owned conglomerate's main acquisition focus lay in the copper and gold sectors but it would consider attractive oil and gas production or exploration assets, particularly in Europe, to build on its operations on the continent.

"We're not looking at hostile takeovers," he said. "We're not going to take 100 percent. We're currently looking very closely into Toronto, into London."

Family-owned MB Holding Co. LLC (MB) has four wholly owned subsidiaries active in land-based oil field services operations, notably in Oman and Australasia, a small Oman-based oil and gas upstream operation, and copper mining activities, complemented by the manufacturing of drilling equipment.

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AngloGold CEO says S.Africa mines debate hurting sector-paper

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JOHANNESBURG | Mon Oct 10, 2011 1:32am EDT

JOHANNESBURG Oct 10 (Reuters) - AngloGold Ashanti chief executive officer Mark Cutifani has said talk of mine nationalisation in South Africa is hurting investment in the sector, local Business Day newspaper reported on Monday.

His comments contrast those of Minerals Resources Minister Susan Shabangu last week that there is no evidence the nationalisation debate is harming investment.

"I will ask those that keep using the word (nationalisation) to stop using the world. It's the wrong word. That is what's scaring the world," Cutifani is quoted as saying.

"The real discussion is what is the role of the government in the development of industry in the new South Africa. The economic and social discussions that accompany that debate are raging all over the world. We are no different."

The African National Congress government has been at pains to reassure investors that it would not nationalise mines after calls by its youth wing that such a policy would improve the lives of the poor.

Economists have said nationalisation could bankrupt Africa's largest economy, with the bill for taking over all mining firms equal to about two-thirds of gross domestic product or twice the annual national budget. (Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda; Editing Helen Nyambura-Mwaura)

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UPDATE 1-BHP Olympic Dam expansion gets Australian green light

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BHP to incorporate Olympic Dam conditions into final assessment

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SYDNEY | Mon Oct 10, 2011 1:23am EDT

It also said it plans to incorporate environmental safeguards imposed by government regulators into its final assessment of the project, which analysts estimate will cost between $20 billion and $30 billion to develop.

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