Mongolia says Rio Tinto owes $130 million in Oyu Tolgoi unpaid taxes

China's 27 largest steel companies saw a 15.7% decrease in the first-half profits from a year earlier for a combined profit of $1.6 billion, according to the Shanghai-based researcher Wind Info, as soaring iron ore costs squeezed margins. The woes of China's steelmakers, which have been switching to cheaper low grade ore to cut costs as prices top $180/tonne, are in stark contrast to profits at miners. Last week results for BHP Billiton showed its iron ore division accounted for the bulk of its record $22 billion in profits. BHP, Vale and Rio Tinto – control nearly 70% of the 1 billion tonne annual iron ore seaborne trade and dominate price talks.

ABB, leading power and automation technology group, was recently contracted to supply the drive system for a new semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) mill at Neves Corvo, Portugal.

Crosshair Exploration & Mining Corp. (TSX:CXX) has launched a US$12.85 million hostile bid for US uranium assets owned by Australian American Mining Corporation Limited (ASX:AIW). Crosshair has written directly to AusAm shareholders to outline their proposal and call on shareholders to support Crosshair's efforts to "unlock the value in AusAm." Under the proposal, AusAm would receive consideration of US$12.85 million in Crosshair shares, in return for AusAm's uranium assets in Nevada, Texas and New Mexico.

Gold for December delivery rose 2.6% or $46.50 to $1,838.20 an ounce in New York on Tuesday, making up some of the ground the precious metal had lost since coming close to $1,900 last week. An inflation hedge, bullion is up nearly 30% so far this year as cheap money floods markets thanks to the US Federal Reserve's loose policy. This week minutes showed the central bank had considered tying interest rate policy to a specific unemployment level, an unprecedented move. US unemployment was pegged at 9.1% in July versus a post-WWII average of 5.7%.

According to a new MarketResearch.com report coal accounts for over 40% of total global electrical generation – more than 1,700TWh in 2010 – and the installed generating capacity in 2010 was around 1,500GW out of a world total of 4,500GW. Global coal consumption advanced 7.6% last year and at a faster pace than crude oil, natural gas and nuclear, according to statistics published by oil giant BP.

Sinocast reports China's market for rare earths has begun to see negative effects of its crazy growth this year with an increasing number of downstream players finding it difficult to make deals despite price cuts. Prices of certain elements such as cerium used to polish TV screens and lenses are down 10% over the summer after months of break-neck price hikes. Reuters reports China is in the midst of a crackdown on illegal miners and processors and the busy black market trade that have sprung up, but has struggled to impose a REE production cap, with actual annual output exceeding official quotas by 40% to 50% since 2007.

China said on Wednesday that it would appeal against a World Trade Organisation ruling that it illegally restricted exports of certain rare and speciality metals and minerals including bauxite, coking coal, fluorspar, magnesium, manganese, silicon metal, silicon carbide, yellow phosphorus and zinc. The United States, European Union and Mexico argued that the minerals are key inputs for numerous industries and any cut in supplies could lead to sharp spikes in world prices. The complainants fear a similar situation to rare earths where the price of certain elements have tripled thanks to export cuts and China's virtual monopoly on production.

As one of Australia’s largest independent coal producers, Westfarmers Curragh has made further investments into site safety, training and operational efficiency in the way it inducts, trains and up-skills new and existing operators for its Curragh North expansion.

Potassio do Brasil, partly owned by Canadian merchant bank Forbes and Manhattan, is seeking to renew negotiations with Brazil's government over rights to a potash reserve in the Amazon currently held by state oil company Petrobras adjacent to what it called a 'world class' potash discovery last week. The Potassio do Brasil mine will take $4 billion to develop and follows news earlier this month from Toronto-listed Verde Potash which announced a 1.1 billion tonne resource at its Amazon Cerrado Verde project that is suitable for open pit mining. The discoveries come as Brazil readies a new mining royalty regime – in certain instances doubling the rate – which would be managed by government decree. Mining investment in the world's fifth largest economy is also predicted to accelerate to $68.5 billion through 2015.