Rio Tinto completes sale of Australian coal asset

The rally in iron ore has spilled over into shipping.

South Sudan, the world's newest nation, has announced plans to enact a mining law by the end of October, pushing ahead exploration and expansion in the likely mineral rich, but unexplored country, helping it to diversify its economy away from oil.

The Afghanistan Ministry of Mines said Tuesday it opened its final bid for the Badakhshan gold deposit, located in the northeastern province of Badakhshan.

Australian iron ore stalwart Fortescue Metals Group (ASX:FMG) has managed to avert its debt woes by obtaining a fresh USD$4.5 billion credit facility.

BHP Billiton (ASX:BHP) head Marius Kloppers has topped a recent list of Australia's best-paid corporate bosses for 2011 yet inadequacies in reporting requirements means much CEO income remains undisclosed.

Iron ore has been under pressure this quarter as China's steel industry struggles with rising inventories, overcapacity and overproduction.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) won a court order on Friday that allows the company to resume work to double railway capacity as part its massive Carajas expansion project.

Mining junior Northern Iron (ASX:NFE) has suspended exploratory plans due to sharp declines in iron ore prices which have severely affected the sector's other major players.

China's ICBC has announced a reduction in its lending to Australia's resource sector due to concerns that the mining boom is nearing an end.