Copper price boost after China manufacturing jumps to 27-month high

Billionaire iron ore heiress Gina Rinehart is being sued in the NSW Supreme Court by her daughter, Hope Welker. The nature of Welker’s claim is currently unknown, and Rinehart’s legal team is seeking to keep the matter confidential. Rinehart’s barrister, Alan Sullivan, QC, told the court the application had been made because of “the impact on commercial negotiations”.

China will eventually become a net importer of aluminum but the timing of this shift is uncertain, the chief executive of Rio Tinto Alcan said Thursday.

A new study says the oil sands will boost the economy by two trillion dollars and add more than 900,000 new jobs over the next 25 years.

Market research house BMI has over the past quarter made an upwards revision to its forecast for Zambian copper output for this year, increasing it to 913 000 t, up from 877,000 t.

Shares of Primero Minerals (TSX:P) crashed 13% Thursday after a month-long strike and lower-than-anticipated gold grades at its San Dimas silver/gold mine in Mexico forced it to revise its 2011 guidance. The Toronto-based company said it will produce 80-85,000 ounces of gold this year compared to the previous estimate of 90-100,000 ounces. The silver production target remains unchanged at 4.5 to 5 million ounces of silver.

Authorities in Belgium are investigating a case that may turn out to be the country's largest ever fraud. De Tijd this week published some of the names from a list of 170 of Antwerp diamond traders who it claims are being investigated by authorities for spiriting almost $1 billion (€700 million) in unpaid taxes into secret Geneva bank accounts. Approximately 80% of the total world production of rough diamonds is traded by the 185 gem companies operating in Antwerp (pictured) and 50% of the globe's polished diamonds pass through the Flemish town. The Antwerp traders are among a much larger roster of at least 24,000 HSBC Private Bank clients from Canada, India and Germany under investigation by French authorities since 2009.

Amid dire predictions about job losses and the drying up of investment in the sector due to a proposed carbon tax come more bad news for Australia's coal miners. Platts reports New South Wales plans to increase the royalties it receives from coal companies to offset some $400 million in extra costs to the state's coal-fired electricity generators due to the very same federal government carbon levy. Around 95% of NSW's royalty revenue comes from coal mines where rates currently top out at 8.2% of the value of production and is forecast to rise to $2.1 billion in the year ending June 2013 after the hikes come into effect.

The price of December gold added $52.50 or 2.9% to trade at $1,870.30 an ounce in afternoon dealings on Thursday regaining much of the ground lost since hitting an intraday record of $1,923.10 an ounce on Tuesday. During August the metal added 12% as investors sought a safe haven from the slumping US economy and the continuing debt crisis in Europe. The ECB on Thursday decided to keep interest rates at 1.5% and cut forecasts for growth in the euro area while in the US jobless claims came in worse than expected. Bullion was also boosted by comments from the US Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke who all but confirmed a new round of stimulus will be announced at a meeting later this month.

Extending the Neves-Coro mine in Portugal will add $100 million to the net present value (NPV) and push the life of the mine into 2026, Lundin Mining (TSX:LUN) said today. The company released the feasibility results for Lombador Phase 1, which plans to exploit the uppper portions of the Lombador zinc/copper ore bodies.