Caterpillar earnings beat estimates, shares hit five-year high

Mining giant Rio Tinto (RIO.L) said on Friday it would pay the government of Guinea $700 million after reaching an agreement to resolve all outstanding disputes over blocks 3 and 4 of its Simandou iron ore project. The company said in an emailed statement to Reuters that it had signed a settlement to secure Rio's mining title for the southern Simandou blocks, paving the way for some $10 billion in investment and the first shipment of iron ore by mid-2015.

TNG Ltd (ASX: TNG), which recently released a positive scoping study review of Mt Peake said today it had a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a major Chinese engineering and development company. It was also now in discussions with other potential funding/development partners.

Canadian gold miner Anaconda Mining Inc posted a fifth-straight quarterly loss, but expenses were lower from a year-ago levels and production rose sequentially. Net loss for the third quarter was $1.9 million, or 1.5 cents a share, compared with a loss of $2.2 million, or 2.5 cents per share, a year ago.

An $8.5 billion joint venture between Adriana Resources and Wuhan Iron and Steel Co. Ltd. would create the largest iron ore mine in Canada, capable of producing 50 million tonnes of iron ore over 100 years. Nunatsiaq Online reports on a preliminary economic assessment of the project released this week:

Seven days after putting Regent Pacific on notice that it should not withdraw its takeover offer, Regent informed BC Iron yesterday that it had entered into a binding mandate letter with Standard Chartered Bank of Hong Kong and Westpac Banking Corporation for $US155 million debt finance. BC Iron said Regent has now advised it will change its recommendation to its shareholders to vote in favour of the acquisition of all BC Iron shares.

Consolidated Thompson Iron Mines announced that Cliffs Natural Resources has received approval under the Investment Canada Act for completion of the plan of arrangement pursuant to which Cliffs will acquire all the outstanding common shares of CLM. The closing of the Arrangement remains subject to certain other customary conditions, including obtaining approval of the MOFCOM filing with the Anti-Monopoly Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China.

Australian mining giant Rio Tinto has received the green signal to undertake mining activities in India, with the Orissa government granting a proposal for a fresh agreement on Thursday, April 7. State-run Orissa Minerals Development Company (OMDC), a part of the Bird Group of Companies under the Indian government's ministry of steel had been in discussions with the world's biggest mining company, Rio Tinto, for a joint venture in the state for some time now.

Nunavut is attracting the attention of the world's miners like never before, says Scotiabank commodities analyst Patricia Mohr, speaking at a mining summit in the mineral-rich Canadian northern territory. Nunatsiaq Online reports: Pushed by the developing world’s growing hunger for consumer items, civil unrest in many countries, and “random” events like the recent tsunami, earthquake and nuclear power plant disaster in Japan, mining companies around the world are eying Nunavut with far more interest than before.

Hong Kong-based Regent Pacific Group Ltd said it would consider reinstating debt funding for its original bid for Australian iron ore producer BC Iron Ltd. This move follows a decision by Australia's Takeovers Panel declaring a case of "unacceptable circumstances" for Regent's "purported termination" of its takeover scheme with BC Iron.