Lucapa finds 171-carat diamond at Angola mine

The Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender, known as the ‘Connoisseurs Collection” weighing a total of 44.14 carats and including four Fancy Red diamonds, was internationally popular with winners from 11 countries.

Analysts estimate the accident is likely to keep the the Samarco iron ore mine shut until financial 2019, with clean-up costs exceeding US$1 billion.

Premiums for lump ore which let steelmakers lower pollution and cut costs have shrunk from $20 to just $3 a tonne.

Cliffs CEO heaps scorn on Rio Tinto and BHP living in "an imaginary world" as iron ore falls to second lowest spot price on record.

The stock ignored news from Zambia where President Edgar Lungu said he would not allow the firm to lay off workers at its Mopani Copper Mine, as it mothballs it for 18 months.

The growing practice consists on soliciting small amounts of money from a large number of people in order to fund a project or venture.

The country's government is in the midst of reviewing its mining legislation, particularly mandatory divestment rules and contract extensions.

It all began about 900 million years ago.

In 2011, during the peak of the so-called “mining boom”, the sector was worth nearly US$2.5 trillion.