Rio investors asked to push miner to leave Minerals Council of Australia

“Where the industry previously lacked investment opportunities and choice, it now has more projects than cash flows. All of us in the industry are having to make choices.”

Brazil's Eike Fuhrken Batista is the world of mining's richest man and he's been on a roll this year – until Tuesday when $1,023,200,000 disappeared from his personal fortune.

Forget about precious metals, oil or pork bellies: For commodities traders, iron ore is the new Shangri-La.

BHP Billiton Ltd. (NYSE:BHP) is betting on the iron ore market as one of the forces to drive the mining industry in the next decade, especially as developing nations such as China move from investment-led economic growth to consumption-led economic growth.

India is not China when it comes to successful acquisitions of foreign mining companies, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Mining giant Vale (NYSE:VALE) is having second thoughts about going ahead with its $4 billion Apolo iron ore project in southeast Brazil, which may be affected by the federal government's decision to create a nature reserve in the area.

A South African court on Friday granted the Department of Mineral Resources and Imperial Crown Trading (ICT) permission to appeal in a complex case for limited rights at Sishen, one of the world’s largest iron-ore mines.

Malaysian News Agency Bernama.com reports that a huge iron ore mine in Bolivia may be doomed as a result of conflicts between the proponent and the Bolivian government.

"It's not just resources versus the rest of the economy, it's iron ore versus the rest of resources versus the rest of the economy."