The agreement, which could still collapse, will see Freeport give up majority control but remain the operator of the Grasberg mine, located in the country's eastern province of Papua, as Jakarta seeks to gain greater control over its mineral wealth.
Canada's Barrick Gold Corp lowered its full-year copper production forecast on Wednesday while increasing its cost estimates, saying the change reflected operational challenges and planned work at its Lumwana mine in Zambia.
Private equity still has significant opportunities to invest in mining as companies cut debt and rebuild their balance sheets even as the sector recovers, mining specialist Denham Capital said.
Salar Blanco, which is 50 percent-owned by Lithium Power International, has dropped a lawsuit against Chile to block state-run Codelco from exploiting a lithium deposit where both have claims.
Foreign direct investment in Chile hit $8.48 billion from January to April, its highest level since records began 15 years ago, thanks to a new law designed to attract investment, the government investment agency said on Wednesday.
A mineral sands operation on the South African coast run by Rio Tinto has been closed since Friday due to violent community protests which saw a security guard killed earlier this week, the company and a union said on Wednesday.
Serbia has tried and failed three times since 2007 to sell the debt-laden mining complex, which suffered a long period of neglect during the Balkan Wars and the country's international isolation in the 1990s.
