Glencore and X2, a company set up by former Xstrata boss Mick Davis, are among the suitors of the Chilean copper assets put up for sale by global miner Anglo American.
The world's largest mining company has scrapped the sale of Nickel West and will continue operating the unit after failing to find a buyer at the right price.
Gold's rout may be far from over, with many analysts and traders surveyed by Reuters predicting prices could fall to $1,000 per ounce by the end of the year, the first time at that level since 2009.
Mick Davis, the former boss of miner Xstrata, has made an offer for Anglo American assets including copper mines in Chile, Brazilian nickel mines and some coal operations, the Sunday Times reported without citing sources.
Kinross Gold Corp has agreed to sell its halted Fruta del Norte gold project in Ecuador to a company belonging to the Swedish-Canadian Lundin family for $240 million, Kinross and the company, Fortress Minerals Corp. said.
The volume of gold sold forward by mining companies jumped 61% in the second quarter after Russia's Polyus Gold added a major new hedge position, an industry report showed on Wednesday.
The shine may soon come off Chile's decade-long copper boom as technical and regulatory problems in getting new mines into production highlight just how hard it will be to keep ratcheting up the supply.
Gold was unchanged on Wednesday as growing concerns over the global economy prompted safe-haven bids, while the return of top consumer China from a week-long holiday also lifted prices.
Copper slipped on Thursday, with prices vulnerable to further pressure from the dollar's recent strength as investors awaited fresh data for further clues on the health of the U.S. economy and the outlook for interest rates
Amara Mining will invest $400 million over the next two years to build one of Africa's largest gold mines at its Yaoure property in Ivory Coast with production due to start in 2017.
