By SHANGHAI, Sept 30 (Reuters) - China's thermal coal prices climbed for a third week, breaking through 830 yuan a tonne, as stocks at the largest port tumbled by over 16 percent. Inventories were shaved by rail maintenance and the closure of some

By ULAN BATOR, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Global miner Rio Tinto is fighting a legacy of bad publicity as it tries to persuade the Mongolian public a $10 billion copper deposit it took over from Ivanhoe Mines last year is in safe hands. Some Mongolian

Guinea's CBG restarted bauxite exports early on Sunday after a one-week halt that was caused by damage to a conveyor belt used to load ships, a source at the company told Reuters.

SYDNEY (Reuters) - A new zinc mine in west Africa is due to start up in mid-2012, just as some of the world's largest deposits are winding down, creating the first window in years for new suppliers in a chronically over-supplied market. The Glencore

Copper steadied on Tuesday as an earlier price correction enticed buying from top consumer China, but concerns about slowing growth in the world's top economies muddied the metal's demand picture. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) traded at $8,9 50 a tonne in rings , little changed from Monday's close of $8,960 a tonne.

China's coal imports this year are expected to pull back from the record level in 2010 despite strong domestic demand, as growth in local production and transportation capacity help meet overall demand, an industry official said on Tuesday. Dong Yueying, secretary-general of China Coal Transport and Distribution Association (CCTD), told a coal conference in Beijing that he expected about 150 million tonnes of coal will be imported this year. The volume would be lower than the record 164.8 million tonnes China imported in 2010.

Copper fell on Thursday due to weak export orders from big metal consumer China and a survey showing a contraction in manufacturing activity in the euro zone, but supply concerns kept a floor under prices. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was $9,130 a tonne in official rings, down from a close of $9,275 on Wednesday.

Spot gold edged lower on Wednesday as investors waited for more clues to economic conditions and watched to see if the U.S. Federal Reserve would deploy more stimulus measures, but the metal is poised for its biggest monthly gain since Nov. 2009.

South Africa's Optimum Coal said on Monday that a unit of Glencore, the world's largest commodity trader, had bought a 14.1 percent stake in it. The announcement comes after Optimum, South Africa's sixth-largest coal producer, confirmed on Friday that it had received takeover approaches.

Shares in South Africa's Gold Fields, the world's fourth-largest gold producer, fell over four percent on Tuesday in its biggest one-day drop in 18 months as bullion's latest rally looked overdone.

China, the world's largest consumer of iron ore, aims to develop and control resources, especially in west Africa, to gain a foothold on supply and tackle the hegemony of three iron ore suppliers – Rio Tinto , BHP Billiton and Vale. Chinese firms have signed a number of iron ore deals in Africa, which at their peak could contribute nearly 250 million tonnes of iron ore when they come on stream in the medium to long term.

Australian shares rallied in late morning trade on Thursday, fighting their back to positive territory and outperforming offshore markets in the face of renewed euro-zone debt fears.