Rio Tinto down despite $7.2bn cash return to investors

Look no further than rail traffic totals to see that the US is ditching coal and embracing natural gas.

Credit Suisse announced Wednesday it recruited David Hammond, the well-known mining banker from Morgan Stanley, to head up the mining and metals efforts of the Swiss bank worldwide.

A UK Labour MP has moved an “early day motion” in the House of Commons seeking a debate on mining in the Indian state of Goa, calling upon the British government to urge local authorities to address the issue as a matter of urgency.

Simply put, China has built too much, too quickly.

A build-up in steel inventories and a steep drop-off in demand as China's building boom begins to look more and more unsustainable send iron ore down 3.4% in just the last week and more than 25% below the $174 a tonne struck this time last year.

Citic Pacific Mining executive chairman Dongyi Hua says "soaring demand for Australian food, particularly beef, among China's 100 million wealthy people could buffer Australia's economy from the effects of an end to the mining boom" particularly given the risk that iron ore prices could fall further.

The Democratic Party which campaigned on sharing more of the spoils of mining with Mongolian citizens won the majority of seats while the junior partner in the new ruling coalition, the MPRP – led by a former president Nambaryn Enkhbayar – bases its whole doctrine on taking back foreign-owned mines.

Recent developments show that becoming rich by profiting of the minerals that asteroids, stars and unknown planets have to offer it is closer than ever. Before it is too late, check this infographic on how to profit in the new Space Age.

This was the year for Australia’s mining boom Martin Ferguson hinted on Monday. The Resources Minister highlighted the end of the high commodity prices era that will force the country’s industry to increase its productivity and develop new technologies in order to remain competitive.