Mining Weekly reports mining giant BHP Billiton unveiled plans on Wednesday to increase its iron-ore production in the Pilbara region – the heart of Australia's iron ore mining – to 450-million tons a year by adding infrastructure and building new mines. BHP's current iron-ore production capacity is 155 million tons a year in the Pilbara, while rival Rio Tinto’s capacity is 225 million tons a year. Rio Tinto announced a fortnight ago that it wants to grow output to 333 million tonnes by 2015.

Sandvik Mining and Construction has signed a major contract with Boral Limited, an international Building and Construction materials supplier in Australia. The order includes design, supply, installation and commissioning of a new quarry plant for Boral’s Peppertree site which is situated in New South Wales. The value of the contract is close to 500 MSEK and the project is expected to start during the third quarter of 2011 and to end in the third quarter of 2013.

Orvana Minerals Corp. TSX:ORV has applied for a permit to begin mining its Copperwood project in Michigan. The environmental permit is one of 13 permits needed to mine in Michigan.

Speaking to reporters at an industry conference in Qingdao China, the world's largest iron ore miners said on Wednesday they have seen no weakness in demand from China. Forecasts for China's imports by 2015 now top 1 billion tonnes – up more than 60% from 2010 – due to the relatively high cost and the low quality of its domestic supplies. Firm demand from China's construction sector and a drop off in India's exports have been behind the strength in spot iron ore prices which, at above $170 a tonne, have trebled from late 2008. The big three – BHP, Vale and Rio Tinto – control nearly 70% of the annual iron ore seaborne trade and dominate price talks.

Researchers have discovered a new way to separate gold, silver, copper and other valuable metals from ore using the flotation processing method, reports MEI Online.

Temex Resources (CVE:TME) Wednesday reported additional high grade assay results over significant core widths from surface exploration drilling on the Broulan Reef Mine area of the Whitney Property in Ontario, extending mineralization to the east. Shares in the company were up 14% at 24 cents on the TSX Venture Exchange Wednesday morning.

The Telegraph reported that Alessio Rastani, whose appearance on BBC went viral, is an independent trader of limited means. ". . . Mr Rastani works and lives with his partner Anita Eader in a £200,000 semi in Bexleyheath, south London. The house, complete with a mortgage from Royal Bank of Scotland, belongs to her not him," writes the Telegraph.

Australia’s Green Party wants gold companies to be subject to the country’s proposed Mineral Resource Rent Tax (MRRT), Xinhua reports. The tax, […]

Vale announced this week it is investing $15 billion to expand fertilizer production joining a Canadian merchant bank promoting a $4 billion potash project in the Amazon basin. There's just one problem: the land is owned by Brazil's state oil company Petrobras and they've also found oil there.