Caterpillar Inc. announced today that it plans to open a new manufacturing facility in Thailand to build underground mining machinery.

The company will break ground on the new factory in early 2011, with production scheduled to begin in late 2012. The facility will produce a full range of underground mining articulated trucks and loaders, which are used by Caterpillar customers around the world in hard-rock underground mining applications.

Anglo-Swiss mining giant Xstrata is said to be close to acquiring Drummond, Colombia’s second biggest coal miner, according to a report in UK newspaper the Sunday Times.

It is thought that family-owned Drummond could be sold for around $8 billion (£5 billion). The company was put up for sale last year.

A number of other mining giants, including Rio Tinto, Vale, Vedanta Resources and Essar Energy, are thought to also have been interested in Drummond.

Energy Fuels Inc. has been granted approval by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment for a radioactive materials license for the 500 ton per day Piñon Ridge Mill facility to be constructed twelve miles west of Naturita, Colorado in western Montrose County.

Following years of economic uncertainty and industry restructuring, global auto executives expect US auto brands to increase market share over the next five years, spurred by product innovation, restructuring activities and continued improvement in product quality.  

The outlook marks a dramatic turnaround in their expectations from a year ago, according to the 12th annual global automotive survey by KPMG LLP, the US audit, tax and advisory firm.

Royal Dutch Shell is to begin drilling an exploration well off the New Zealand coast that could extend the life of the Maui gas field.

Drilling ship the Noble Discoverer will drill the Ruru well for Shell Todd Oil Services Ltd. Shell Todd is 50 per cent owned by Todd Energy Ltd. and 50 per cent owned by The Hague-based Shell.

The Ruru well lies approximately 40 kilometres off the Taranki coast on New Zealand’s North Island and is adjacent to the Maui gas field. Maui, which covers an area of 157 square kilometres, began production 30 years ago.

General Motors and Powermat, a pioneer in wireless charging technology, announced a commercial agreement today that will eliminate the need for charging cords for personal electronic devices in many future Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac products beginning mid-2012.

GM Ventures, the company's venture capital subsidiary, will invest $5 million in Powermat to accelerate the technology's development and support efforts to grow Powermat's business globally.  

UK construction firm Costain has increased its all-share offer for the business services group Mouchel, valuing it at around £150 million.

The revised offer values each Mouchel share at about 135 pence. Mouchel has already rejected one bid from Costain, made in December last year.

Although Toyota maintains a narrow lead as the strongest automobile brand in the United States, Ford leads the way in factors that matter most to consumers, according to Consumer Reports' 2011 Car Brand Perception Survey.

Spanish construction company ACS has gained a key stake in rival Hochtief, after it announced it now holds more than 30 per cent of shares in the German group.

The stake represents a key stage in ACS’s strategy to take full control of Hochtief, because it can now buy Hochtief shares on the open market and accumulate more than half of the company. ACS announced its bid for full control of Hochtief last September.

The past decade has been revolutionary for much of our society, but few sectors have seen as much change since 2000 as the auto industry.

Ten years ago, automakers were touting the number of cupholders in the cabin and the increased off-road capabilities of family haulers. Today, these same companies are racing to offer increasingly hands-free mobile communication, eye-popping fuel economy and technologies aimed at helping drivers avoid accidents.