Copper price surge toward a record high is hitting Chinese industry

The two new laws allow the government to force mining and energy companies to renegotiate their contracts.

A team of MIT researchers in the United States has shown that they can separate pure copper and other trace elements from sulphur-based minerals using molten electrolysis.

Base metals enjoy one of their best trading weeks of the year – nickel jumps 3.5%, zinc at highest since March.

Escondida, majority owned and operated by BHP, produced 97,103 tonnes of copper between January and March, down from 265,597 tonnes a year earlier.

The firms said it's also initiating consultations with its unions about the potential impacts on employees during this period of suspended production.

The Tanzanian government submitted three bills to parliament on Thursday that would allow it to force mining and energy companies to renegotiate their contracts.

After acquiring Goldcorp's 21% in San Nicolás, Canada's largest diversified miner will be the Zacatecas-based copper-zinc project sole owner.

Mining companies operating in Chile are examining restarting projects that were put on hold in recent years due to a copper price slump, the mining minister and industry executives said, though final investment decisions will wait until political uncertainty lifts after the November presidential elections.

Court did not provide details about its decision to dismiss the case; it just said most magistrates opposed hearing the lawsuit.