Duferco was established in 1979 by Bruno Bolfo, Chairman of the Board, and a group of other steel professionals to exploit the advantages of "emerging markets" steel production. At its inception, Duferco was based in New York, NY, and Sao Paulo, Brazil. The Company, through its relationship with local steel producers, quickly became the leading independent exporter of Brazilian steel throughout the world. Duferco's growth and profitability was based upon close relationships with key Brazilian producers (Cosipa/CSN/CST/Acominas and Usiminas) and the establishment of a small sales network, predominately in the US and in the Far East (Duferco's first office in the Far East was in Thailand, which opened in 1980).In the early 1980's, using its success in Brazil as a springboard, Duferco began to source steel products from other countries. First, Duferco concentrated on other South American countries, with its largest success in Argentina, Venezuela and Mexico. Leveraging on that success, Duferco began to develop purchasing operations in North America and Europe, with its first European office opening in London in 1981. Duferco then proceeded to open a chain of offices in the Pacific Rim that came on line in the late 1980's. After Thailand, the Company opened offices in Taiwan, the Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong, China and South Korea.In the mid 1990's, the Company opened a large number of offices in Eastern Europe, putting in place an infrastructure in anticipation of the growth of the area as an export market. Duferco also launched ancillary trading operations in the field of raw materials primarily related to the steel industry, such as coke, coal, iron ore, scrap, pig iron, D.R.I., and related products, maximizing its contacts with steel producers throughout the world.In the mid 1990's, two occurrences in Europe presented an opportunity to Duferco. The first was the beginning of a consolidation in European steel, which caused severe financial hardship for smaller European mills. This presented opportunities for Duferco in Italy (Duferdofin), Belgique and Eastern Europe. The second was the restructuring of the Italian steel industry, which caused many steel professionals to enter pre-pension at an early age (50). This permitted Duferco to create an experienced industrial team to manage its properties.Duferco's acquisition of all assets from Ferdofin Siderurgica in receivership (now Duferdofin) was the first step in 1996, followed by many other opportunistic participations/acquisitions, such as Duferco Clabecq (1997), Makstil Skopje (1998), Duferco Farrell Corp. (1999), Duferco La Louvière (1999) and various distribution centers in Europe.

Banro is constructing a "Phase 1" gold mine at its wholly-owned Twangiza gold property located near the city of Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (the "DRC"). Scheduled for completion in late 2011, this gold operation is designed to produce 100,000 + ounces of gold per year, with future expansion to 300,000 + ounces of gold per annum. With Proven and Probable Reserves of 4.54 million ounces of gold, Twangiza already hosts a major gold resource and offers several promising new targets for exploration and future resource expansion, including Ntula, Mufwa, Tshondo, Luhwindja and Kaziba. The results of a full feasibility study of Twangiza were announced in January 2009 and updated in June 2009. Banro's pipeline includes three additional, wholly-owned properties, each with mining licenses, along the 210 kilometre long northeast to southwest trending Twangiza-Namoya gold belt in the DRC. Banro's second major project is Namoya, where a scoping study was completed in July 2007; the Namoya Pre-Feasibility study is due for completion in 2010. Exploration is also ongoing at Lugushwa, where a Scoping Study is planned for completion in 2010. A "desktop" analysis of the Kamituga project was completed in 2009 and it is planned to begin exploration at Kamituga in 2010. The Company has so far identified 6.72 million ounces of Measured and Indicated Resources, plus Inferred Resources of 4.46 million ounces. In addition to its current properties, which have mining licenses and cover 2,613 square kilometers, Banro in 2007 was awarded 14 exploration permits covering 2,638 square kilometres and located on highly prospective ground between its Twangiza and Lugushwa projects. Applications for additional PRs contiguous to and located between the Company's Lugushwa and Namoya projects, along with areas south of Twangiza, are pending.

Comital S.p.A. has sold its hose and compound rubber manufacturing interests in order to concentrate on aluminum rolled products (foils and metal plastic yarns), consumer products (food packaging and cleaning products), and cords and cables (bare copper, enameled, and insulated). The Comital Group has about 20 production facilities in Italy and elsewhere. In 2003 the former Saiag was taken over by the Italian company Cortiplast, which is controlled by the family of Comital's chairman, Cornelio Valetto, and the next year Saiag and subsidiary Comital merged to form the new company.

QIT-Fer et Titane has a license to il. QIT-Fer et Titane company operates the Tio mine in Quebec where it mines for ilmenite. QIT-Fer et Titane company also has a smelting operation where its produces titanium dioxide, pig iron, and steel from ilmenite. Its mine is located near Havre-Saint Pierre, from which the ore is transported to the metallurgical complex in Sorel-Tracy for processing. Subsidiary Quebec Metal Powders makes use of the by-products of the metallurgical process.QIT-Fer et Titane company is owned by Anglo-Australian mining giant the Rio Tinto Group. QIT-Fer et Titane sells its products through Rio Tinto Iron & Titanium, located in Montreal. They're sold to more than 40 countries on all the major continents.

Drummond Company, Inc. is principally engaged in the business of mining, purchasing, processing and selling of coal and coal derivatives. Drummond controls reserves totaling over 2 billion tons and shipped approximately 27 million tons of coal in 2009. Drummond primarily produces low sulfur or compliance coal, meeting Phase II requirements of the 1990 Amendments to the Clean Air Act. The Company's U.S. mining operations are located in Alabama. The international mining operations are located in Colombia, serving customers in both the U.S. and Europe.Drummond is the largest merchant coke producer in the U.S. and is well known in the foundry industry for its superior product and reliability of supply. ABC Coke has 132 ovens with an annual capacity of approximately 750,000 tons of saleable coke, which is used in the automotive and construction pipe industries and sold to both domestic and international customers.

Claude Resources Inc. is a public company based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, whose shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX-CRJ) and the NYSE Amex (NYSE Amex-CGR). Claude is a gold exploration and mining company whose entire asset base is located in Canada. Since 1991, Claude has produced approximately 890,000 ounces of gold from its Seabee Operation located in northeastern Saskatchewan. Claude Resources, Inc. also owns 100 percent of the 10,000 acre Madsen property in the prolific Red Lake gold camp of northwestern Ontario and has a 65 percent working interest in the Amisk Lake Gold Project in northeastern Saskatchewan. Claude Resources, Inc. mission is to create significant shareholder value through gold exploration and mining. Its vision is to be highly valued by all stakeholders for its ability to discover, develop and produce gold in a safe, environmentally responsible and profitable manner.

Anglo Aluminum has ditched black gold in favor of aluminum. The Canadian company is developing a bauxite property in West Africa. (Bauxite is the ore that is the primary raw ingredient in the manufacture of aluminum.) When it was called Navasota Resources, Anglo Aluminum was engaged in oil and gas exploration company. When economic growth in Asia led to a rapidly increased demand for aluminum, Anglo Aluminum went in search of bauxite and found it in Africa. Anglo Aluminum is developing a property in the Boke Bauxite Belt in Guinea. It changed its name from Navasota Resources in early 2010.

Antares Minerals Inc. (TSX V.ANM) is a Canadian exploration company, formed in 2004, with the objective to acquire copper and gold exploration properties in Latin America that can be quickly and cost-effectively advanced to discovery and profitable production. Antares’ team of well-qualified and experienced explorationists has met this challenge by assembling a strong portfolio of projects in Peru and Argentina and continues to seek additional high quality opportunities throughout the region. Antares has strategic alliances with Farallon Capital (San Francisco) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC; member of the World Bank, Washington DC). The company’s most advanced project is the Haquira Cu-Mo-Au porphyry deposit, located in southern Peru; immediately adjacent to Xstrata Copper’s Las Bambas copper-gold porphyry skarn project. Antares has the option to earn a 100% interest in the Haquira project from a subsidiary of the Phelps-Dodge Copper Corporation (now Freeport-McMoRan). A total of 69,036.70 m in 286 drill holes have been completed on the Haquira project to-date (2001-2008). The best drill hole ever drilled at Haquira (and ever drilled by Antares Minerals) was completed during 2008; AHAD-159 which intersected 937.30 m with 1.14% Cu, 0.034% Mo and 0.10 g/t Au (1.42% CuEQ), which included 331.00 m with 1.76% Cu, 0.013% Mo and 0.20 g/t Au (1.94% CuEQ).

Since its initial public offering in March 2002, Xstrata has grown rapidly to become one of the largest diversified mining companies in the world, with top five industry positions in copper, export thermal coal, export coking coal, ferrochrome, zinc and nickel. In addition, the Group has a growing platinum business, recycling facilities, additional exposures to gold, cobalt, lead, silver and vanadium and a suite of mining and metals-related technologies, many of which are industry leaders. Our operations and projects span 19 countries and we have corporate offices in a further six countries. Our strategy will continue to rest on delivery against each of these three pillars, but over time, the emphasis has shifted. Initially, Xstrata’s strategy was, of necessity, dominated by acquisitive growth, to build a major diversified mining group with the scale and diversity to compete effectively with the leading companies in the industry. Following each acquisition, Xstrata’s operational teams have fundamentally transformed the acquired operations to extract synergies with existing operations and enhance their competitiveness, improve safety, environmental and social performance to industry-leading standards, extend the reserve and resource base and expected life of the operations and develop expansion or associated growth options.

Luvata smelts and refines copper mainly for markets in Europe and the US. Products include copper rods, bars, sheets, plates, strips, wire, and tubes. Its operations include Rolled Products; Air Conditioning/Refrigeration Tubes; and Luvata Heat Transfer Solutions, which makes HVAC components like heat exchangers, air conditioning units, and food storage refrigeration products. Private equity firm Nordic Capital owns Luvata, having bought the company from Outokumpu in 2005. The following year it changed its name to Luvata, which is a Finnish word meaning to promise.

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