Finance News Network reports BHP Billiton's CEO Marius Kloppers says the miner will likely stop investing in its "tough" aluminium and nickel divisions and run them as "lean and mean as possible". The comments are fuelling speculation that BHP will lob off the two divisions and come just one week after the company said it would decide by January next year whether to get out of the diamond business altogether.

Gold shipments from Japan, the world’s third-largest economy, are at the highest level since at least 1985 as individuals who purchased jewelry more than 20 years ago are selling it for record prices.

The head of India's biggest iron ore miner says Australia's reputation as a very favorable place to invest has not been dented by the combination of a carbon tax, mining tax and escalating labour costs as the $22 billion group prepares to establish a local mining arm.

Workers at Xstrata’s Ulan Coal project north of Sydney went on strike for 24 hours on the weekend after learning several electrical staff had been dismissed.

Pressured by Asian and European steelmakers not wanting to be locked into expensive iron ore contracts, Vale SA has bent to a new system that would see lower quarterly prices.

Joy Global completed the transfer of its stock listing to the New York Stock Exchange with a bell-ringing ceremony on the exchange floor. Joy Global is a worldwide leader in surface and underground mining products and owns the P&H and Joy Mining equipment brands. The company says the "listing reflects Joy Global's size, record of growth and inherent strength."

Earlier today, Vancouver-based Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE and TSX: RBA), the world's largest on-site and online auctioneer of heavy equipment and trucks, reached and exceeded US$1 billion in online equipment sales for 2011 alone.

Quebec's reputation as a mining-friendly jurisdiction is threatened by revisions to the province's mining code, says a letter released last week by the Quebec Mining Association.

A Chilean civil court told Japanese Mitsubishi today that it has three working days to respond to the lawsuit filed by Codelco in the context of the conflict with Anglo American. Codelco's legal action seeks to annul the $5.39 billion deal between Anglo and Mitsubishi, after the Japanese company sold its 24.5 percent stake in Anglo American Plc’s Sur unit.