Electric ambition: BHP eyes EV market with speciality chemicals

“Sentiment towards gold is as low as it has been for many years, possibly since the rally started. ... For virtually the first time this cycle, buying gold is a contrarian trade.”

"Wu's death penalty is a setback for the cause of reform in China. Judging from this case, how far are we from the market economy? At least 300 years."

The Tata Group, India's largest conglomerate, is said to be investigating a joint venture with South African coal producer Increase Coal.

None of mining's top companies escaped the carnage on Thursday after a survey of manufacturing in China showed activity slowed for a fifth straight month.

Beijing launched the new spot price platform in January in a bid to shift the balance of power in price negotiations away from the big three.

Takeover activity is poised to heat up in the Canadian uranium sector as energy-hungry China hunts for feedstock to fuel its growing family of nuclear reactors.

"The big infrastructure build clearly will come to some end," Ian Ashby, BHP's chief of iron ore said on Tuesday.

China Molybdenum Co. (HKG:3993), the country’s largest producer of the element by output, plans to launch an initial public offering in Shanghai, which may raise around 3.65 billion yuan (US$579 million), to fund its new alloy project and boost output, according to a statement to the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC).

The global demand for iron ore will double over the next 18 years driven primarily by China's and India's appetite for steelmaking.