BHP iron ore output hits new record but copper production tanks

Brazilian mining company Vale has pushed out Chief Executive Roger Agnelli under heavy government pressure and is in discussions to replace him with an executive from within, local media reported on Sunday. President Dilma Rousseff has used the government's influence as a key Vale (VALE5.SA: Quote) shareholder to insist the company remove Agnelli following years of accusations it was not doing enough to bolster Brazil's economic development.

According to RBC Capital Markets, when ArcelorMittal reports mining assets separately, AM Mining could rank as the fifth largest iron ore producer […]

Diversified mining behemoth BHP Billiton is expected to pour billions of dollars into Australia in an effort to expand its iron ore and coal facilities, says a report from AFP: Mining giant BHP Billiton said Friday it would pour billions of dollars into expanding its coal and iron ore operations in Australia, key commodities that are driving the boom in Asian economies.

Ausenco has been awarded a $15 million operations and maintenance service contract for the Tonkolili iron ore project in Sierra Leone. The Optimise phase contract involves the provision of operations and maintenance services to two onsite mobile crushing and screening modules for phase 1A of the Iron Ore Project. The contract commences immediately and runs until July 2012, providing an additional boost to Program Management’s growing recurring revenue base.

Kazakh mining group ENRC (ENRC.L) said underlying profit more than doubled, on record production and demand recovery for its products, and that the global economic outlook is still improving. Underlying EBITDA jumped 118 percent to $3.19 billion, in line with the consensus, as revenue rose 72 percent to $6.60 billion.

Copper and iron ore prices should remain high in the near future because of additional demand for reconstruction in Japan after a devastating earthquake and tsunami, Ivanhoe Mines Ltd Chief Executive Robert Friedland said. The earthquake in northeastern Japan destroyed thousands of homes, levelled buildings and bridges and caused damage estimated at up to $308 billion, according to the Nikkei newspaper.

The W. Australian junior has applied to Australia’s Takeovers Panel to challenge the validity of Regent Pacific’s decision to terminate a takeover […]

Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd submit draft merger proposal Tokyo (Reuters) - Nippon Steel Corp, the world's fourth-biggest steelmaker, and Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd submitted a draft proposal for their planned merger to Japan's

Australian mining firm Sundance Resources said on Thursday recent finds at its Mbalam iron ore project in Cameroon had more than doubled the amount of indicated resources in the area.