Copper

Fearing a backlash by foreign investors in the mining sector – the foundation of the country's economy – Mongolian legislators on Tuesday watered down many of the provisions of draft legislation that gives the state greater control and ownership of mining projects.

With huge investments in Peruvian copper, Chinalco Mining, a division of the giant Aluminum Corp of China, follows another Chinese state-owned miner to the Hong Kong market to raise money.

Swiss commodities trader Glencore International PLC (LON:GLEN) painted a rosy outlook for the worldwide demand for raw materials this year, as China and the U.S. help offset the impact of the slump in Europe.

While 2011 was a near-record year for mining mergers and acquisitions (M&A), with over 2,600 deals worth $149 billion in the global mining sector, 2012 is not looking so good, at least not for Canada. The value of mining M&A tumbled 50% in the first quarter compared to the prior three months, with only one deal over $1 billion, said KPMG in a report.

Ivanhoe Mines (TSX:IVN)(NYSE:IVN)(NASDAQ:IVN) announced today that the company's Board of Directors has appointed four new directors.

Roman Copper Corp. is suing the Romanian government after the country backed out of a deal to sell its largest state-owned copper mine, Cupru Min Abrud.

Chile’s copper export revenue fell 8% to about $3.6 billion in April 2012, compared to the same period last year, when it was lifted by high prices of the commodity, the country’s Central Bank informed today.

Canadian miner Baja Mining Corp (TSX:BAJ) said on Monday it won’t be able to continue with its copper/cobalt/zinc project in Mexico beyond mid-June, unless it finds a way to fund cost overruns quickly.

Inmet Mining Corporation (TSX:IMN) has launched a $1 billion senior unsecured notes offering as part of a total finance plan for the $6.18 billion copper/gold/molybdenum project Cobre Panama.