Brazil mining code unchanged as Senate fails to vote on bill

Should the supermajors join the new platform it would mark the latest shift in the global iron ore business which has been completely transformed in less than a decade.

London’s AIM-listed Bellzone Mining announced this morning that its Forécariah joint venture project in Guinea has received approval to complete the first blast at Yomboyeli, allowing Bellzone to kick off iron-ore production by the end of the first quarter this year.

London-based Vedanta Group (LON:VED) announced Saturday a merger of two of its subsidiaries, Sesa Goa and Sterlite Industries, into a new corporate entity to be named Sesa Sterlite.

According to a recent report generated by the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Culture, the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada's (PDAC) Convention contributed nearly $72 million to Toronto's economy in 2011.

The Zimbabwe Chamber of Mines says the government's hike of pre-exploration fees for the majority of minerals – by as much as 8,000% – together with increased royalty rates will cripple the industry.

Rio Tinto will run the world's first automated long-distance heavy-haul rail network, with a US$518 million investment (Rio Tinto share US$478 million) in driverless trains.

London-based giant miner Anglo American PLC (LON:AAL) announced today record $13.3-billion 2011 earnings, a 23% increase in underlying earnings a share and a 14% increase in annual operating profits to $11.1 billion.

Sundance Resources said Thursday approvals for its Mbalam project are only likely to come in 2 months, further delaying a $1.4bn bid by Hanlong.

Vale is the world's largest producer of iron ore and a top nickel miner, reported a quarterly net profit of $4.67 billion, compared to $5.9 billion in the same quarter last year.