China’s steelmaking raw materials extend gains on firm demand outlook

The decade-long civil war in Sierra Leone brought two unforgettable images to the West: victims of violence whose limbs were hacked off by armed rebels as a warning to civilians; and the term "blood diamonds," referring to the diamonds plucked by hand from alluvial deposits that were smuggled out of the country and used by both sides of the warring factions to fund their vicious campaigns.

The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) resumed today an ad campaign initially launched in July last year, attacking alleged hikes on the federal government's mining and carbon taxes.

Chile's Compañía de Acero del Pacífico (CAP) will invest nearly US$700 million this year to develop its iron ore projects in the country, president Roberto de Andraca told reporters attending Expomin, one of the world's most important mining exhibitions, in Santiago.

The price is up more than 27% from lows struck in October last year when the steelmaking ingredient experienced a mini crash.

Using the dismal science to make forecasts and taking risks with real money are two very different things. And the Brazilian giant is definitely putting its money where its mouth is.

Anglo American Plc (LON:AAL) will spend over US$ 2 billion this year at its Minas-Rio 5.8-billion ton iron ore project in Brazil, the world’s second-largest exporter of the steel-making ingredient.

Overall, only the stock indices of Spain and Portugal's top companies fared worse than Toronto's S&P/TSX-60. But in the group of resource-heavy exporting countries Canada's stock market came in stone last.

London-listed diversified miner Vedanta Resources (LON:VED) announced today a significant drop in its full-year iron ore output, attributed to both a mining ban in India’s southern state of Karnataka and logistical bottlenecks in nearby Goa, which hurt one of its key profit generators.

The $2.6 billion Qatari investment could provide Glencore CEO Ivan Glasenberg the necessary backing he needs to push through the deal which many Xstrata shareholders say sell them short.