Indonesia closer to mining deal with Freeport, but hurdles remain

Australian sales of gold to China have surged a staggering 905.4% on the back of the Middle Kingdom's efforts to short up its foreign currency reserves.

The Chinese coal mining companies that are staring business in B.C., Canada, have been accused of favouring Chinese applicants to fill available positions, as they have posted ads looking for workers who speak Mandarin, not a language spoken by most Canadians.

Claims are half true

Global credit rating firm Standard and Poor's (S&P) downgraded Wednesday its outlook on Anglo American PLC (LON:AAL) to negative from stable as a result of growing concerns about the effects of South Africa’s mining strikes on the company's mining operations and on the wider economy.

BHP Billiton (ASX,LON,NYSE:BHP), the world’s biggest miner by market value, posted Wednesday a weaker than expected September quarter from its West Australian iron ore mines as the company’s work on expansion plans affected production figures.

China's percentage of international mining merger and acquisition deals nearly doubled during the first half of the year according to a new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC).

Mining executives see lots of more sunny days in 2013 with 55% of participants in a recent survey saying they believe their sector will perform better than it did in the first half of 2012.

Qatar's sovereign investment fund, the second largest shareholder in Xstrata PLC (LON:XTA) with 12% of equity, confirmed Monday it is looking positively at the company's planned merger with Glencore International (LON:GLEN).

A survey of Queensland's coal miners reveals that new royalty hikes have compelled many to pursue cost cuts and implement worker retrenchments.