Aluminum

It may reduce the value of its 60% stake in the Samancor Manganese joint venture, as it keeps furnaces shut due to low prices for the commodity.

Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) is reportedly selling its Pacific Aluminum business - a group of smelters in Australia and New Zealand - in a deal potentially valued at $1 billion.

BHP Billiton shareholders have overwhelmingly voted in favour of the South32 demerger, a spin off that creates Australia’s third-largest mining company.

It's estimated that the labour action generated about US$26 million in losses, forcing BHP to declare force majeure last week.

Stanford discovery of an ultrafast, flexible, rechargeable aluminium-graphite ion battery could open up major new demand for graphite, bauxite miners.

They'll hand back more than 175,000 hectares of prime conservation land they have held since 1971 to West Australia, ditching plans to build a bauxite mine and an alumina refinery in the area.

There are a number of challenges South32 is likely to face, including potential Black Economic Empowerment ownership concessions and power price hikes.

In the second half of 2014 the businesses bound for South32 generated $5bn worth of revenue and almost $890m of earnings before interest and tax.

The waiting game is over. BHP Billiton has named its Perth-based spin-off company, appointing Graham Kerr as its chief executive.