BHP Billiton will continue to source workers through external agencies despite a recent legal stoush over a rogue employment scam. The mining giant was forced to take legal action through an arm of the United Nations earlier this year to combat a scam

Ecuador's energy and mining minister Mr Wilson Pastor said that Ecuador will offer new mining concessions in 10 areas in the fourth quarter of this year.

Watch this documentary about two of the biggest draglines ever built. The Captain was the first of the big draglines, built by Marion Power Shovel for the Captain Mine in Illinois. It was then rivalled by the Big Muskie, owned by the Central Ohio Coal Company.

Gold held steady below USD 1,600 on Friday, after the euro zone leaders reached an agreement on a Greece bailout plan, but prices are expected to be rangebound as investors keep an eye on the progress made in US debt talks. Euro zone leaders agreed at an emergency summit on Thursday to give their financial rescue fund sweeping new powers to help Greece overcome its debt crisis and prevent market instability from spreading through the region.

The largest union at Chile's Escondida copper mine voted to "indefinitely" extend a strike at the mine, which is controlled by global diversified miner BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP, BHP.AU), union leader Jose Vidal said Friday. Members of 2,350-strong Escondida Mine Workers Union No. 1 "unanimously voted" to extend the work stoppage, which began Thursday night and was initially slated to end 24 hours later at 8 p.m. EDT on Friday, Vidal told Dow Jones Newswires.

Rio Tinto is disappointed with the Australian government's carbon tax proposal, warning it will inevitably hinder investment and jobs growth in Australia without reducing global carbon emissions. Rio Tinto believes the government's carbon tax will undermine Australia's international competitiveness and hurt the nation's export competing industries.

Reuters reported that Goldman Sachs has started to trade iron ore swaps earlier this year and is preparing to enter the physical iron ore market. Growing liquidity levels in the iron ore swaps market attracted many banks to invest in it and some have also decided to set up physical iron ore desks to strengthen their positions.

China, which became the world’s largest gold producer since in 2007, retained its position again in 2010 by mining 340.88 tonnes, up 8.57 percent year on year, the China Gold Association said Sunday. Increases in gold output will help China hedge against financial risks and inflation, as well as maintain economic security, the association said.

Chinese state-owned company Dafeng Port Group plans to set up a ferronickel industry in Kotabaru, South Kalimantan with a production capacity of 200 million metric tons a year. The president director of Dafeng Port Group Co. Ltd., Ni Xiangrong, said here on Saturday the Dafeng Port Group Co.Ltd. has successfully developed an integrated economic zone in China and plan to build a ferronickel industry and its support industries in Kotabaru.