Copper

It has been reported that copper output in Zambia, Africa's top producer of the metal declined to 308,777 tonnes in the first five months of 2011 from 326,877 tonnes in the same period last year, the central bank said.

The ruins poke out of a monotonous stretch of scrub and beckon the world to visit Afghanistan as it was more than 1,400 years ago, when Buddhist monasteries dotted the landscape. An ancient citadel juts from a tall crag, standing sentinel over what once was a flourishing settlement. Image is from Reuters Video.

Pimps man the park across from the historic Ulan Bator Hotel, popular with foreigners. They are keeping an eye on their employees -- about 20 women working in Mongolia's quickly expanding sex trade. Image by Tomascastelazo

Workers at US company Freeport McMoRan's giant gold and copper mine in Indonesia's Papua region agreed on Monday to end a strike that has lasted more than a week. Workers at US company Freeport McMoRan's giant gold and copper mine in Indonesia's Papua

Stillwater Mining, the only platinum and palladium producer in the U.S., announced on Monday that it will acquire Peregrine Metals for US$487.1 million. Peregrine Metals is a publicly-traded exploration and development company with gold and copper projects in Argentina and Peru. The company is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Reuters Africa reports that China has ordered local governments to cut a total 2.04 million tonnes of aluminium, copper, lead and zinc smelting capacity in 2011.

The world's largest copper producer is shut down in a 24-hour strike that has the potential to cause severe losses for Chile's state mining company. Codelco says it could lose $41 million from today's strike

Copper fell on Monday as concerns over Italy's sovereign debt curtailed appetite for risky assets, but a series of strikes in producer countries highlighted supply constraints and lent support to prices. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange traded at $9, 581 a tonne in official rings , down from the $9,661 close on Friday.

The world's largest copper producer, Codelco, is facing a 24-hour strike on Monday in opposition to a plan that workers say would move Chile's state-owned mining corporation toward privatization. The Federation of Copper Workers , which represents 15,000 of the company's 20,000 employees, called for the strike, which will be the company's first in 18 years.