Ten countries control 50% of global gold reserves

A gauge of manufacturing activity in top copper consumer China is down six months in a row and at the lowest level since July.

As a result, the Australian company announced an interim dividend of 10 Australian cents per share - last year the company didn't offer this payout.

With credit tight inside the country, China's record-setting copper and iron ore imports and stockpiles are being used for financing deals.

ICBC, China's largest bank, is set to buy Deutsche Bank's seat to join the price-setting process for the benchmark used in the globe's physical gold trade.

The world saw record bar and coin demand last year - 28% higher than in 2012.

Iron ore price up 3.7% from steelmaking raw material's rule-of-thumb level as China stockpiles imports and shuts out low-quality domestic supply.

Another blow to number one iron ore producer Vale's strategy to change dynamics of 1.2 billion tonne seaborne trade.

Evaluating rare earth projects is a tricky business, and the ambiguous reporting methods some companies use don't make it any easier.

More so than other industry executives, mining execs believe that using mobile technology can be a life-saver.