Nautilus Minerals agrees strategic tie-up for production vessel on Solwara-1 project

Low Bonar (LON:LWB) , the performance materials group whose specialist textiles and fabrics are used in the likes of road building, artificial grass football pitches and the sides of trucks, has signed a joint venture in Saudi Arabia. The company has teamed up with National Petrochemical Industrial Company (NATPET), which is a subsidiary of Alujain Corporation.

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Lundin Mining Corp., a Canadian diversified mining company with investments in Africa, slumped the most in more than 18 months after the Democratic Republic of Congo banned exports of copper and cobalt concentrates. Lundin Mining fell 9.9% to $3.73 at 1:08 p.m. in Toronto, after earlier falling 10% the most intraday since Sept. 22, 2011.

AIM listed mining exploration company Kefi Minerals (LON:KEFI) has moved a step closer to gold and silver production after agreeing the terms of a possible joint venture at a mine in the Eastern Anti-Atlas Mountains of Morocco. KEFI has reached an agreement with local company Roche Invest Sarl, which gives it a period of exclusivity over the Tiouit gold-copper mine and associated tailings retreatment project.

Faroe Petroleum Plc (LON:FPM) , the oil and gas group with a focus on exploration and production opportunities in the Atlantic Margin, the North Sea and Norway, has raised £62.2m in a placing of shares priced at 165p. Cash from the move has been earmarked to fund the appraisal and pre-development of Faroe’s recent discoveries together with increased exposure to exploration upside, by taking larger equity stakes and committing to new wells. The company said the funding would also pay for the acquisition of appraisal and production assets.

A good technology company should sell products that pay for themselves. In other words, products should have a rapid payback period for customers. In the oil field equipment business, technology should offer solutions that cut operating costs or enhance production at customers’ projects. Oil companies spend billions on large offshore oil and gas projects. Typically, the deeper the project, the more money is spent. So any high-tech equipment that can cut costs or boost production can essentially sell itself.

Brigus Gold Corp T.BRD announced assay results from the 147 Zone of its Grey Fox property in the Timmins Mining District, Ontario. Highlights include

Oil amp; Gas News Max Petroleum (LON:MXP) (BUY, 50p) (MXP LN, 13.5p, ▼ 5.26%) today announced that the ASK-2 well in the Asanketken field has been drilled to a total depth of 3,412 metres without encountering any viable reservoirs in the deeper Triassic section, which was the primary objective. In October, the field reached an intermediate casing point at 2000 metres and revealed 12 metres of net oil pay in Jurassic reservoirs between depths 1284 and 1308metres. Reservoir quality was deemed quot;excellentquot;, with porosities ranging from 25% to 30%.