Brazil mining code unchanged as Senate fails to vote on bill

According to the World Steel Association (WSA), production of steel in China during the January-June period of the current year stood at 350.543 MT, almost half of world output during the same period and the single highesat by any country.

Canadian Orebodies Inc. (TSX VENTURE:CO) ("Orebodies") has started drilling on its Haig Inlet Iron Ore Project, located on the Belcher Islands, Nunavut, Canada.

Two reports out on Thursday suggest that iron ore is far from being merely a relic of the industrial revolution and still plays a central role in the world economy and the commodities markets. Reuters reports top investment bank Goldman Sachs is preparing to enter the physical iron ore market and the FT says the so-called commodities bible – Cyclope’s World Commodity Yearbook – just published in English is a testament to how the pricing of iron ore from secretive negotiations and annual contracts to prices linked to the spot market constitutes a “true revolution”.

City broker UBS says global mining firm BHP Billiton's (LON:BLT) June production figures were slightly better than expected and gives the stock an unchanged 12 month rating of a 'buy' with a target price of £28.40. The mining giant released the figures yesterday across the spectrum of its resources, including iron ore production up 14 percent year-on-year in the final quarter.

NRW Holdings, leading provider of civil and mining services to the resources sector in Australia, in joint venture with the Ngarluma and Yindjibarndi Foundation Ltd (NYFL) and Eastern Guruma Pty Ltd, has been awarded a contract worth approximately A$80 million for mining at Fortescue Metals Group (Fortescue’s) expansion project the Solomon Hub.

BHP Billiton Ltd says it achieved production records in four commodities in 2010/11, with production of iron ore posting its 11th consecutive record. BHP said annual production of iron ore was 134.406 million tonnes (MT), up eight per cent on 2009/10.

The West Australian Government has announced it will levy a 5 per cent royalty on uranium and magnetite iron ore. By 2014-15 the State Government expects to reap more than $160 million a year from magnetite royalties and $28 million from uranium.

Live cams are not just for watching baby eagles and monitoring highway conditions, Northland has its own where users can see how much progress the company has made on its Kaunisvaara project, an iron ore mine being built in northern Sweden.

South African miner International Ferro Metals said output fell 17 percent in the fourth quarter due to a scheduled shutdown of a furnace. Ferrochrome production was at 42,584 tonnes for the quarter ended June 30.