China strikes back in trade spat, aims tariffs at $3 billion U.S. goods

Gold demand in China may surge as much as 30 percent this year as rising incomes boost consumption, helping the country topple as the world's largest bullion market on an annual basis, according to the World Gold Council.

India could have trouble closing a shortfall in the supply of coal, after the world's largest coal company pulled out of a consortium to help India buy overseas coal reserves, The Economic Times reports.

Chinese authorities added 10,680 tonnes to the country's export allowance this week but it is something of a meaningless exercise because during the first quarter China only exported 26.3% of the initial quota.

Michael Pascoe, writing for the Sydney Morning Herald, hits on a little-reported theme gleaned from remarks by BHP Billiton chairman Jac Nasser this week in Sydney.

China won’t meet its carbon and energy intensity targets unless dramatic changes to its electricity grid are applied, says a study by U.S.-based Energy Transition Research Institute.

According to a new report from Pike Research, worldwide investment by the mining industry on renewable energy and energy conservation will reach approximately $8.4 billion by 2016 and nearly $20 billion by 2020.

Mongolia is capping foreign investment in certain industries, including mining, in an attempt to keep profits inside the mineral-rich nation's borders.

Two business partners have fallen out over attempts to dig up about 60 pristine Spitfires that were put in storage and buried in Myanmar after World War II. Each is worth an estimated $2 million.

BHP Billiton Ltd. (NYSE:BHP) is betting on the iron ore market as one of the forces to drive the mining industry in the next decade, especially as developing nations such as China move from investment-led economic growth to consumption-led economic growth.