Rio Tinto fully out of coal sector with $2.25bn Kestrel mine sale

Fortescue Metals was up 5% Monday on rumours that Canadian coal and copper/zinc miner Teck Resources is making a play for the third-largest iron ore producer in Australia.

Although some Asian firms have found creative ways of doing business with Iran, European iron ore traders and shipping companies are shying away completely from transacting with the country as US-led sanctions start to have an impact.

Chinese miner, Prosperity Minerals (PMHL.L), announced on Monday a US$25 million investment in Malaysian iron ore mines.

Mining giant Rio Tinto has lost a bid to appeal to the High Court over an employment agreement with its Pilbara iron […]

Down from 100 million tonnes in 2010, India's minerals industry federation forecasts only 40 million tonnes will be shipped over the next 12 months.

After achieving a toe-hold in Afghanistan with the award of a major iron ore contract, Indian companies are turning their attention to the troubled country's copper and gold reserves.

A BAEconomics report, commissioned by Rio Tinto to look into the benefits and costs of autonomous technology, has concluded that investment in mining technology and innovation should sustain long-term competitiveness while also providing the broader economic benefits likely to flow from a strong mining industry. The report, titled Autonomous and remote operation technologies in the mining industry: benefits and costs examines the advances in new technology, showing that while the costs and challenges of automation in the mining sector are substantial, they are potentially far outweighed by the benefits they can deliver.

Rio Tinto has committed a further US$3.4 billion (Rio Tinto share $2.9 billion) to the major expansion of its Pilbara iron ore operations in Western Australia.

BHP Billiton raked in US$18.7 billion in the half-year ended December 31, 2011 — an 8.3% increase in Underlying EBITDA from the second half of 2010.