Zinc

BHP Billiton reported record annual results and beat analyst estimates in the process, after prices of copper, iron ore and coal reached all-time highs because of demand from China. Profit at the world's biggest miner surged 86% for the 12 months $23.6 billion, a full $1.4 billion ahead of expectations, on the back of earnings from iron ore, its biggest division, which jumped 122% to $13.3 billion.

The economic malaise that had markets pushing deep into the red over the last two weeks hit a bright spot on Tuesday. Copper futures rose the most in over a week, Bloomberg reported, on news of an uptick in the Chinese manufacturing sector.

TSX V-quoted Noront Resources on Tuesday published the results of a prefeasibility study into its Eagles Nest nickel-copper-platinum project in Ontario’s Ring of Fire, outlining a $734-million capital investment for a one-million ton a year mine.

Mining giant BHP Billiton has defended as "effective" its strict office etiquette policy, which bans workers from eating pungent food, throwing jackets on their chairs or leaving Post-it notes on their monitors or keyboards after hours. The company outlined its "Office Environment Standard" in a memo emailed to employees in Brisbane this month.

Canadian company Silvercorp Metals Inc. said Monday it is buying a controlling share in two Chinese mining companies for about $10.4 million, including debt. Silvercorp will hold a 90 percent stake in Zhongxing Mining Co. Ltd. and Chuanxin Mining Co. Ltd. It will pay $4.3 million cash for the two companies and assume $6.1 million in debt. Silvercorp is making the purchase through its majority-controlled Henan Found Mining Co. unit.

Finland's Talvivaara missed Q2 earnings expectations and produced 3,951 tonnes of nickel in the quarter adding that its nickel output for the year will be towards the lower end of its 22,000 to 28,000 tons guidance. The miner warned that the short term outlook for nickel – which has declined to its lowest level in 2011 at around USD 21,000 per tonne – is uncertain and volatility across the base metals complex is likely to remain high. On the other hand, the global nickel market has remained in a deficit throughout the first half of the year with LME nickel stocks currently around their lowest levels since early 2009.

London and Toronto-listed Noventa announced Friday that it placed 73,600,000 new ordinary shares at a price of 25 pence each with institutions and other investors to raise roughly $30.3 million. The specialty metal miner with operations in Mozambique is also extending an offer to shareholders to subscribe for a total of 17,500,000 new ordinary shares to raise up to a further US$7.2 million. In London stock in Noventa duly plunged 24% to 27.75 pence in line with the placing price of 25 pence.

In a surprise announcement Papua New Guinea on Friday introduced a plan to hand state ownership of mineral and energy resources to landowners, a move that may prove disastrous to foreign miners developing massive projects and pushing into new regions of the resource-rich country. The announcement by PNG's new leader comes ahead of elections in 2012 that many observers have warned is bound to lead to civil unrest. The move may also derail PNG's economy which is booming with growth this year expected to reach 11%. The mining industry employs roughly 30,000 people and supplies 80% of export earnings.

The world Zinc surplus for the first half of 2011 has increased by 8% compared to the entire 2010, with the Chinese inventories at historically highest levels reported the World Bureau of Metal Statistics (WBMS)