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Chilean state giant Codelco, the world's biggest copper producer, plans to invest over US$4.3 billion this year, said the company’s president Diego Hernandez said on Tuesday

The mining sector's bellwether companies were all beaten down on Monday after China's premier Wen Jiabao delivered a downbeat outlook for the world's second largest economy adding that there were "new problems" to deal with.

Latin America remained the most popular exploration destination, attracting 25% of global explorations spending in 2011, said to the Halifax-based Metals Economics Group's World Exploration Trends report released on Sunday.

Glencore on Monday expressed surprise over health and environment officials in Zambia's decision to immediately close a Mopani copper operation over complaints from residents of a nearby town. The London-listed commodities giant is also set to appear before a British inquiry over tax avoidance in the developing world.

Ivan Glasenberg, CEO of  Glencore International stands to receive dividends worth roughly $110 million on Monday when the commodities giant announces its maiden full-year payment to shareholders.

Two of Zambia's largest copper mines, Glencore's Mopani and Xstrata's Kansanshi were shut over the weekend; the former over health concerns and the other after workers downed tools.

There's a new appetite for equity financing in the global mining sector, as investors tiptoe back into a market that has fretted about funding for the last six months. Boosted by firm metals prices and a less pessimistic outlook for a still-fragile global economy, many mining companies are again able to sell shares in secondary offerings or tempt investors with an initial public offering.

Copper inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose to their highest in nearly a decade, data showed yesterday, suggesting oversupply in top copper consumer China where demand has been slower than expected.

A new survey by The Economist Intelligence Unit finds when institutional investors interested in frontier markets were asked to choose two regions out of five, two-thirds see Africa – projected to be the fastest growing region on the planet this year – as holding the greatest opportunity.