RANKED: Top 10 lowest cost gold mines on the globe

The proposed end to the licensing system marks something of retreat for Beijing which has made many attempts to wrest control over pricing away from the major producers.

China Minmetals Corp confirmed Tuesday it is considering a bid.

Unfortunately the optimism does not extend to mining services stocks.

The miner also said it would limit production to 11,000 tonnes per year at its Mt. Weld mine.

While the real and rand continues to weaken significantly, the Australian dollar is staging an impressive comeback and dealing damage to Rio Tinto and BHP.

Official documents reveal neither the Australian Federal Police nor the Australian Securities and Investments Commission did enough to investigate the 2008 Beijing Olympics-related claims against BHP.

"The figures follow a tough few weeks for the local gold sector."

Bookrunners are BNP Paribas Securities Corp., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Credit Suisse (USA) LLC and RBS Securities Inc.

World oil production rose about 2.5% last year, from 4,019 million tonnes in 2011 to 4,119 million tonnes in 2012.