The largest glut of ships in history means the cheapest freight rates relative to iron-ore prices in at least a decade, helping Rio Tinto Group and BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) to generate record profit. The cost of transporting iron ore to China from Brazil, the biggest route, is now equal to 10 percent of the value of the commodity used by steelmakers, compared with 64 percent in 2003, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Copper and gold miner OZ Minerals will return up to $200 million to shareholders through an on-market buyback, as booming prices for its products continue to generate cash. Photo of copper concentrates being loaded, by OZ Minerals.

RAEM high-efficiency anti-vibration mounts from Trelleborg Industrial AVS have been chosen by Saito Separators of Japan for installations that require an exceptional level of isolation and a low noise signature.

Uranium is often seen and many other forms, but few know the metal's actual appearance, says Steve Little, a researcher at the University of Nottingham. His university posted an educational video, a cleaver wrapper used to promote research at the university, showing what uranium actually looks like.

Shares of Walter Energy Inc. rose Monday after a Citi analyst began coverage of the coal company by assigning it a "Buy" rating, leading a rally among several coal stocks.

Reuters reports: Shares of Potash Corp and other fertilizer producers ebbed on Monday despite bullish industry data as a decline in U.S. corn and wheat prices signaled weaker demand for crop nutrients. PotashCorp said on its website that potash inventories at the end of June fell more than 270,000 tonnes from the previous month, with North American inventories about 26% below the prior 5-year average.

Atlas Copco SAE has acquired Grupo Electrógenos GESAN S.A. of Spain, a manufacturer of diesel and petrol generators sold through a global distributor network. The deal strengthens Atlas Copco’s product portfolio, especially for customers in emerging markets.

WOLFSBURG Russia is offering Germany closer cooperation on rare earths as well as gas and oil supplies, a Russian official said on Monday ahead of an annual bilateral summit in Germany. Berlin has been trying to improve German industry's access to the

China's Sichuan Hanlong Group made a bid to buy out the shares it doesn't already own in West African iron ore exploration company Sundance Resources, valuing the private conglomerate at A$1.4 billion ($1.5 billion). Last week, Hanlong, which is seeking to expand its reach in global resources, launched a A$144 million takeover bid for Bannerman Resources, which is looking for uranium in Namibia.