RANKED: Top 10 copper mining projects in the world

Higher grades boost fourth quarter production despite concentrator fire at Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia.

Japanese scientists have developed a process that uses salmon sperm to mine and reprocess rare earth elements (REEs).

The assets include the coal mines of Berezovskaya and Pervomaskaya, which together produce 700,000 tonnes of coal a year.

The move will see the miner taking control of the Borden Gold project in northern Ontario.

Price volatility, geopolitical turmoil, rising costs, declining grades and a general lack of financing will make of 2015 another challenging year for the sector.

The World Gold Council (WGC) and the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) have signed memorandum of understanding on a comprehensive strategic gold cooperation agreement.

An environmental group is attempting to radically change the way mining projects are assessed with a court case involving Adani's controversial coal mining complex in Queensland.

Over just two days the copper price rout has slashed $134 billion off the value of the reserves of the world's largest producers.

Copper tumbled Wednesday to fresh six-year lows, dipping below $5,500 a tonne. Stocks in miners of the industrial metal are getting hammered.