Copper

A report indicating weak sentiment on the part of Australian mining companies would appear to substantiate warnings that Australia's flourishing resources sector is headed for a slowdown.

People should stop worrying about Chinese businesses buying up resource companies in Australia because the Chinese are no good at investing, says former Rio Tinto executive, Michael Komesaroff.

BHP's board was to make a decision on the $30 billion project this year, but a newspaper report over the weekend said a decision will not be made until 2014 and BHP's uranium division "confirmed the deferral and said a recruitment freeze was now in place".

Examples: Worldwide orders for dry-bulk vessels dropped 49% to 9.8 million deadweight  tons in the first half of 2012. The monthly index of new-ship prices in China is now at its lowest point since March 2004.

Baja Mining dropped by almost a third on Friday after announcing class action proceedings seeking $260 million in damages for misrepresenting the true state of affairs at its Boleo project in Mexcio since 2010. It is now worth a paltry $18.7 million on the Toronto big board. During the heady days of 2007 Baja Mining was valued at $836 million.

The board of Codelco has authorized its chief executive, Thomas Keller, to go ahead with feasibility studies to turn its subsidiary Gabriela Mistral into a new business division.

The global miner joined the ‘disappointing results club’ this morning as the London-listed mining group reported that its first-half operating profit dropped almost 40%.

Brad Gordon, CEO of Brisbane-based Intrepid Mines (ASX:IAU), has stated publicly that Indonesia is doing damage to its reputation as a foreign investment destination following the recent legal difficulties experienced by his own company and Churchill Mining.

Foreign investors have raised concerns over uncertainty surrounding Australia's mining and carbon tax regimes, with mining companies attacking a government plan to obtain an additional AUD$1.9 billion in taxes via stronger regulation of cross-border profit-shifting.