Still misunderstood, capital spending for coal operators goes mainly for maintenance, not new mine capacity.

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The World Steel Association, a steelmakers' group, predicted early this month that the iron-ore market should stay balanced this year before moving into progressive surplus between 2014 and 2017 as new mine capacity comes on stream.

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The capacity of mine containing cuprous sulfides and sulfides with disseminated PGMs is rising faster than mines deriving PGMs from nickel-rich sulfide ores, he said.

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Palladium capacity worldwide is likewise expected to increase an additional 16, 000 kg in Russia, 14, 000 kg in South Africa, 4, 000 kg in Zimbabwe, and 1, 000 kg in Canada if new or expanded mine and associated processing capacity comes into production as planned.

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We believe that production at the newly acquired Bloom Lake mine should reach its peak annual capacity of 8 million tons in 2012.

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Plans include extending the mine to the east and upgrading facilities to increase production capacity.

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