Miners creep through legal minefield as Brazilian scales tip

Rio Tinto, the world's third largest miner behind BHP Billiton and Vale, is bullish on the demand for commodities despite renewed volatility in Europe and the risk of financial contagion.

Except for Ginia of course, the only child who is not suing Gina for control of the family trust.

Canadian miner giant Teck Resources Ltd. (NYSE:TCK, TSX:TCK.B) is interested in entering the iron ore industry and would seek to acquire a producing asset rather than develop a mining project, chief executive Don Lindsay told Bloomberg yesterday at the Canada Economic Summit, in Toronto.

The Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines announced today that Cliffs Natural Resources will invest $3.3 billion to build a chromite mine, transportation corridor and processing facility in Northern Ontario's Ring of Fire, generating thousands of jobs and new infrastructure.

While 2011 was a near-record year for mining mergers and acquisitions (M&A), with over 2,600 deals worth $149 billion in the global mining sector, 2012 is not looking so good, at least not for Canada. The value of mining M&A tumbled 50% in the first quarter compared to the prior three months, with only one deal over $1 billion, said KPMG in a report.

A total of 242,000 tonnes of iron ore were traded on the first day of business on China’s first physical iron ore trading platform, China Beijing Mining Exchange (CBMX) said in a press release.

A private group of Chinese magnates is planning to take away Guinea’s Simandou, the world's largest undeveloped iron ore project, from Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto.

The new China Beijing Metals Exchange (CBMX), the country’s first physical iron ore trading platform is set to debut Tuesday, with the major producers of the commodity BHP Billiton (NYSE:RIO), Vale (NYSE:VALE), Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) as members.

Rio Tinto chief executive Tom Albanese has moved to assure Australian investors that the miner will not over-commit its expansion spending to iron ore but news from London highlights the difficulty the company may face responding to various pressures.