FACTBOX-Mines and plants hit by low prices, high costs

Jan 21 - Eramet said it will cut its output of manganese ore and alloy in first quarter 2009. [ID:nLL351741]

Jan 21 - Anglo Platinum (Angloplat) (AMSJ.J) plans to trim production, a South African union official said. [ID:nLL154574]

Jan 21 - Columbia Falls Aluminum is to curtail the last operating potline at its 168,000 tonnes per year (tpy) smelter in the United States. [ID:nLL482319]

Jan 21 - BHP Billiton will close its Ravensthorpe nickel mine in Australia, reduce activity at Mount Keith nickel mine and put Pinto Valley copper operations in the United States on care and maintenance in February. [ID:nSYD409818]

Jan 20 - OceanaGold (OGC.AX) (OTC.TO) said may slash planned investment in the stalled Didipio gold-copper project in the Philippines due to funding difficulties. [ID:nSP383612]

Jan 20 - Rio Tinto Alcan said plans to cut another six percent of aluminium output and will also cut alumina production, shed 1,100 employees to cut costs. [ID:nLK644921]

Jan 20 - Anglo American Plc (AAL.L) said it has temporarily halted production at Loma nickel mine in Venezuela, partly due to high transport costs. [ID:nLK562927]

Jan 19 - Saudi Arabian Mining Co (Maaden) said will delay by three years the start of production at a planned aluminium smelter after Rio Tinto Alcan abandoned the project. [ID:nLJ559330]

Jan 16 - Norsk Hydro will cut primary aluminium output at its Neuss smelter in Germany by 30,000 tpy by end-January. [ID:nLG679240]

Jan 15 - Alumina Partners of Jamaica, Jamaica's biggest bauxite and alumina producing company, said it will cut production by 50 percent and lay off staff. [ID:nN1E490130]

Jan 15 - Rio Tinto said it had curtailed about five percent of aluminium smelter capacity at end-Q4 2008.

Jan 14 - Antofagasta Plc (ANTO.L) said will close its small Lince copper mine in Chile. [ID:nLE193215]

Jan 14 - Mexican silver miner Fresnillo Plc (FRES.L) said it would trim capital expenditure this year by about 8 percent. ID:nLD489404]

Jan 13 - Mitsubishi Materials Corp (5711.T) said will cut copper production by 10 percent from February. [ID:nT135361]

Jan 13 - Rio Tinto shelves plan to extend Northparkes copper mine in Australia as it slashes capital spending. [ID:nSYD378658]

Jan 13 - Oz Minerals Ltd said to put Scuddles mine at its Golden Grove project on care and maintenance, resulting in about a 25,000 tonnes cut in zinc output in 2009. [ID:nSYD374863]

Jan 13 - Xstrata said it restructuring lead-zinc operations at its Mt Isa mining and processing complex in Queensland, Australia. Handlebar zinc-lead mine also to be mothballed from Feb. 12. [ID:nSYD219008]

Jan 12 - Monterrico Metals MNA.L, a unit of China's Zijin Mining Group Co Ltd (2899.HK) said re-evaluating timetable for developing Rio Blanco copper project in Peru. [ID:nN12346783]

Jan 9 - HudBay Minerals Inc (HBM.TO) said will suspend operations at Chisel North zinc mine and Snow Lake concentrator in Manitoba. [ID:nN09283643]

Jan 9 - Rio Tinto has all but halted its $2.5 billion expansion of the Kitimat aluminium smelter in British Columbia, union says. [ID:nN09498469]

Jan 9 - China's Shanxi Guanlu (000831.SZ) said it was shutting 40,000 tonnes of aluminium capacity. [ID:nHKG101313]

Jan 8 - Teck Cominco Ltd (TCKb.TO) said will cut about 1,400 jobs, or 13 percent of its staff, as part of plan to lower costs and keep competitive. [ID:nN08524937]

Jan 8 - South Korea-based LS-Nikko Copper said will cut cathode output about 10 percent. [ID:nSEO72160]

Jan 7 - Aditya Birla Minerals Ltd (ABY.AX) places Mt Gordon copper mine in Queensland, Australia on care and maintenance. [ID:nSYD361356]

Jan 7 - Vimetco said has cut aluminium output in Romania by 44,000 tonnes this year. In November, company said it might cut production there by 65,000 tonnes. [ID:nL7070043]

Jan 6 - Alcoa Inc said to cut jobs, halve capital spending and reduce output further to total of 750,000 tonnes on an annualised basis. [ID:nN06444898]

Jan 6 - Volcan (VOL_pb.LM) has halted work at its Cerro Pasco zinc mine in Peru, a union official said. [ID:nN06425838]

Jan 6 - Boliden mulls putting Tara lead-zinc mine in Ireland on care and maintenance, union said. [ID:nL6709343]

Jan 5 - Sumitomo Metal Mining Co Ltd (5713.T) said has cut copper output plan by 7 pct for six months to end-March. [ID:nT183576]

Jan 5 - Lead producer Doe Run Co said would cut its mine output to 5 million short tons per year from a planned 6 million with immediate effect. [ID:nN05621899]

Jan 2 - New Gold Inc (NGD.TO) suspends mining at Amapari gold mine in Brazil and places on temporary care and maintenance. [ID:nBNG386203] (Compiled by Karen Norton; editing by XXXX XXXXX)