AFP

Namibia expects investment of $3.5bn in its mining sector over the next five years, with the industry accounting for 15% of its economic output, says a minister.

Soaring commodities prices and strong growth in emerging markets have bolstered the annual profits of global mining giant Rio Tinto.

Anglo-Swiss mining group Xstrata has reported a sevenfold increase in annual net profit in 2010 as it rode the forecast boom in commodities markets and prices.

Chinalco, China’s largest alumina producer, plans to become one of the world’s top five miners in the next decade, state media reports.

Anglo American is considering a plan to take control of De Beers, according to a newspaper report.

Brazil’s Vale will list on the Hong Kong stock exchange as the mining giant looks to boost its presence in key Asian markets, including China.

Shares in New Zealand Oil and Gas, part owner of Pike River Coal, plummeted 30% as the stock resumed trading four days after a mine explosion left 29 men missing.

Gold has soared past the $1 400/oz for the first time after the World Bank president called on bickering nations to bring back the gold standard.

Participants at the London Bullion Market Association annual conference voted that gold would reach at price of $1,406/oz in the coming 12 months.

The diamond industry, under scrutiny after supermodel Naomi Campbell’s war crimes testimony and a crisis in Zimbabwe, must take decisive measures to avoid a potential return of…

Rio Tinto, the world’s second largest iron ore producer, dismissed claims that a proposal to merge its Australian iron ore operations with that of BHP Billiton was “dead in the…

[miningmx.com] — Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP Billiton launched a a hostile takeover bid on Wednesday for Canada’s Potash Corp which values the world’s largest fertiliser…

China has given a spur to the gold market by announcing plans to allow more commercial banks in its borders to trade in gold bars.

Iron ore output fell in 2009 for the first time in seven years despite continued growth in trade to record levels, keeping market conditions tight and prices high until 2012,…

Actress Mia Farrow and her agent will testify in August about a blood diamond given to model Naomi Campbell by Charles Taylor, Liberia’s former premier, now up for war crimes.

Gold has fallen further below $1 200/oz in Europe, extending the previous session’s losses, as a report that China will not make gold a major part of its portfolio undermined…

Zimbabwe’s finance minister says a blockade on diamond exports is effectively ‘punishing the people of Zimbabwe’, and that it should be dropped.

Mining giant Xstrata says it will invest $1.47bn in developing a southern Peru copper mine, a move aimed at extending the life of its existing operations in the region.