Cecilia Jamasmie , Senior Editor

Copper demand in China, the world's main consumer of the red metal, is expected to rebound in the second half of 2012, despite the uncertain outlook for Europe, the head of Xstrata PLC's copper division said.

BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP) surprised the market this morning with good news by announcing it will restart its TEMCO manganese operations in Tasmania by the end of August.

London-based diversified miner Rio Tinto (LON & NYSE:RIO) is donating the biggest pink rough diamond ever discovered, found earlier this year at its Argyle mine, to an Australian museum in Melbourne, reports The West.

In what it seems a move towards exiting the aluminum wire business, diversified miner Rio Tinto (LON & NYSE:RIO) announced it is selling its U.S.-based wire and cable business Alcan Cable to American company General Cable (NYSE: BGC) for $185 million.

McEwen Mining (TSX and NYSE:MUX) President and CEO Rob McEwen on Thursday cautioned shareholders that recent energy-industry expropriation and Argentina government policy decrees augured negatively for its San José silver/gold mine and other development projects.

Less than a month after officially launching its asteroid-mining plans, Google’s billionaire co-founders and filmmaker James Cameron’s owned company Planetary Resources, has already decided not to accept any more job applications.

China won’t meet its carbon and energy intensity targets unless dramatic changes to its electricity grid are applied, says a study by U.S.-based Energy Transition Research Institute.

Peru’s illegal mining exports reached $1.8 billion in 2011, exceeding even drug trafficking profits, which accounted for $1.2 billion, said local consultancy firm Macroconsult.

General Electric (NYSE: GE) announced it is pursuing acquisitions of two underground mining equipment manufacturers in support of the global expansion of its mining business.

For thousands of years, silver has been used at the table, on the battlefield and even in healthcare. Today, the uses of silver for its healing and preventative properties are growing and analysts wonder what this renewed demand for the graphite metal will mean for the silver market.