China’s 2018 iron ore imports fall 1%, first annual drop since 2010

Iron ore prices expected to average around USD$106/mt in 2013

Mining IQ has published its 4th edition of the Weird and Wonderful World of Mining just in time for Christmas

Mining giant Vale (NYSE:VALE) has started paying the Brazilian government $674 million ($1.4 billion real) in a dispute over mining royalties.

Spoils of the country's resources bounty will be better distributed as the mining sector enters an operational phase

Vale's Carajas iron ore mine is the biggest but some 60 gold explorers are also active in the Brazilian region.

Port ore stockpiles are down 25% since February peak and imports are up 17%.

Resource nationalism is one of the main causes of the current commodity prices instability and it is threatening global security, warns London-based Chatham House in its latest report.

Things are shaping up nicely for 2013.

The government of Afghanistan announced Friday its preferred bidders for three of its four current mineral tenders, with a consortium backed by City of London banker Ian Hannam, former BHP Billiton CEO Chip Goodyear and Poland’s multibillionaire Jan Kulczyk, emerging as the biggest winner.