News

Global miner Rio Tinto has ceased iron ore price talks with Chinese customers, but it denied a media report the talks had ended because of the detention of its negotiators.

Anglo American says it has found a new zinc deposits near its Skorpion mine in Namibia and the Gambsberg deposit in South Africa.

Copper futures rose 1% on Wednesday, reversing early losses in a choppy trading pattern that is set to continue as investors weigh increasingly positive data against fears the rally is overdone.

UPDATED - Exxaro urgently needs to find extra feedstock for its KZN titanium smelters but the Corridor Sands heavy sands deposit in Mocambique does not fit the bill.

Copper prices will top $6,500/tonne in the fourth quarter of 2009 on the back of increased demand. The outlook for copper is bullish over the next three years.

Democratic Republic of Congo may review its decision to cancel a copper and cobalt project in which First Quantum Minerals is the majority stakeholder.

Copper producer KGHM dropped plans to boost production by some 40% next year because it no longer planned to make a large acquisition of foreign deposits.

Fortescue Metals broke ranks to forge a slightly cheaper iron ore price with Chinese steel mills in exchange for up to $6 billion in funding, giving Beijing's beleaguered industry group a much-needed face-saving win.

Copper prices rose to a new 10 and a half month high on Friday as hopes for an economic recovery held sway and overshadowed concerns prices had gone up too high too soon.

The omens for industrial metals next year are not good because consumer and corporate confidence as well as demand could disappoint.