Fox Business reports global number one miner BHP Billiton plans to create a new, more transparent system for pricing iron ore called Global Ore by the end of the year or early next year, the chief executive of the company's Ferrous and Coal division said Thursday. BHP, Vale and Rio Tinto control nearly 70% of the 1 billion tonne annual iron ore seaborne trade and dominate price talks. The pricing of iron ore which have shifted from secretive negotiations and annual contracts over the last couple of years to prices linked to the spot market constitutes a “true revolution” say analysts. Firm demand from China's construction sector and a drop off in India's exports have been behind the strength in spot iron ore prices which, at above $170 a tonne, have trebled from late 2008. In August results for BHP Billiton showed its iron ore division accounted for the bulk of its record $22 billion in profits.

FT reports in 2010 the market loved palladium. It was the best-performing precious metal. But, as Barclays Capital points out in a note, 2011 has seen palladium fall off its pedestal. At about $600 an ounce it has shed 25% since the start of the year. Industrial demand – the primary factor determining prices – for platinum and palladium took a severe knock from the Japanese earthquake and tsunami disaster in March but supply disruptions and falling grades in South Africa, the world’s number one miner of the two metals, and ongoing political turmoil in Zimbabwe, the country with the second largest deposits, could provide a floor for the price.

Rio Tinto, the world’s second- largest mining company, said third-quarter iron ore output and coking coal production reached record highs after recovering from disruptions caused by flooding in Australia earlier in the year and continued strong demand from Asia. Iron ore production increased to just shy of 50 million metric tons and hard coking coal production was 55% higher than the second quarter. Analysts say iron ore prices may climb above $200 a ton on the back of supply shortages while metallurgical coal have been trading at record highs of $330 during 2011.

St. Louis Business Journal reports Peabody Energy on Thursday received clearance from the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China to proceed with its and ArcelorMittal’s $4.7 billion takeover bid for Macarthur Coal Ltd. in Australia. The Macurthur deal is good news for the US giant after it recently lost out on a chance to co-develop the world’s largest deposit of high-quality coking coal. Miners are scrambling for coal assets and coal for power-generation has averaged about $130/tonne this year from less than $100 in 2010 while metallurgical coal has been trading at record levels of $330/tonne.

According to data posted on the website of the Chinese General Administration of Customs, the country reported robust commodities purchases in September as traders took advantage of falling prices. Chinese copper imports hit a 16-month high in September after increasing almost 12% from a month earlier to 380,526 metric tons as domestic stockpiles were reduced by almost half since March. Copper imports have now showed gains for the fourth month in a row.

Real Gold, which halted trading in its shares on May 27. is under investigation by the Securities and Futures Commission for corporate governance breaches. The miner's announcement to the Hong Kong stock exchange late on Thursday said it was lookin...

Australian underground hard rock miner Barminco has received two national training awards in the past month in recgonition of their commitment to […]

The Australian Institute of Geologists (AIG) and EduMine will establish an 'online campus' which provides geologists access to development resources.

According to AIG president Andrew Waltho, "there are a wide range of courses available, covering technical topics spanning a variety of geoscientific fields, to issues becoming increasing important to geoscientists particularly in the exploration sector such as building relationships with community stakeholders and earning a social licence to operate.

Republican senators and members of congress introduced a bill to counter an effort by the Department of the Interior to remove mining rights from a region in northern Arizona, which borders Grand Canyon National Park. U.S. Senators John McCain (R-AZ), Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Mike Lee (R-UT) and U.S. Congressmen Trent Franks (AZ-02), Rob Bishop (UT-01), Jeff Flake (AZ-06), Paul Gosar (AZ-01), David Schweikert (AZ-05) and Ben Quayle (AZ-03) unveiled the Northern Arizona Mining Continuity Act on Wednesday.