Zambia mining industry says new rules to scare investors, deter local processing

Fearing a backlash by foreign investors in the mining sector – the foundation of the country's economy – Mongolian legislators on Tuesday watered down many of the provisions of draft legislation that gives the state greater control and ownership of mining projects.

With huge investments in Peruvian copper, Chinalco Mining, a division of the giant Aluminum Corp of China, follows another Chinese state-owned miner to the Hong Kong market to raise money.

Canadian miner giant Teck Resources Ltd. (NYSE:TCK, TSX:TCK.B) is interested in entering the iron ore industry and would seek to acquire a producing asset rather than develop a mining project, chief executive Don Lindsay told Bloomberg yesterday at the Canada Economic Summit, in Toronto.

The Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines announced today that Cliffs Natural Resources will invest $3.3 billion to build a chromite mine, transportation corridor and processing facility in Northern Ontario's Ring of Fire, generating thousands of jobs and new infrastructure.

Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), the world’s largest platinum producer, launched today the first of five fuel cell-powered locomotive prototypes to be tested at its mining operations in South Africa.

Mesa Exploration Corp. (TSX VENTURE:MSA)(PINKSHEETS:MSAJF) ("Mesa") announces an update on progress at the 100% owned Bounty Potash Project in the Great Salt Lake Desert of western Utah.

At a time when hedge funds are reducing bullish silver bets by the most in two years, analysts predict a rally as manufacturing expands from China to the U.S., boosting demand for the precious metal most used in industry.

Swiss commodities trader Glencore International PLC (LON:GLEN) painted a rosy outlook for the worldwide demand for raw materials this year, as China and the U.S. help offset the impact of the slump in Europe.

While 2011 was a near-record year for mining mergers and acquisitions (M&A), with over 2,600 deals worth $149 billion in the global mining sector, 2012 is not looking so good, at least not for Canada. The value of mining M&A tumbled 50% in the first quarter compared to the prior three months, with only one deal over $1 billion, said KPMG in a report.