A dividend hike and a possible share buyback on the cards when global miner Rio Tinto releases its earnings early next month, after finalising deals to raise as much as $US3.8 billion from asset sales in recent months.
BHP has boosted output of iron ore to record levels while prolonging its curtailment of oil and gas output in the US as it waits for prices to improve, its latest production report shows.
The Queensland government has revived an eight-year-old Bligh government plan to release a parcel of land for gas exploration to be used only for Australian-supply.
Shares in Rio Tinto surged from the opening bell with sentiment cheered by the sale of a further suite of coal mines which raises the odds of a buy-back or dividend hike.
An arm of the Chinese government has snapped up Rio Tinto coal mines in NSW for $US2.5 billion
Aluminium climbed to a 20-month peak after reports of potential capacity cuts in China while zinc touched a five-week high.
BlueScope shares surged Tuesday thanks to a surprise profit upgrade as steel prices remained stronger than anticipated
Garry Jones stepped down as chief executive officer after a three-year stint steering the world's biggest metals bourse.
BHP Billiton and its partner in the deadly Samarco mine venture Vale are facing a fight with its bankers after a class action was filed in New York.
The President of Guinea is disputing public statements made by Rio Tinto about the firing of a senior executive for a $US10.5 million payment made to the president's friend Francois de Combret.
Axiom Mining not daunted by recent upheaval in the nickel as Indonesia has eased export bans while the Philippines ramps up moves to force some producers to close.
Swiss prosecutors will question Beny Steinmetz in Geneva amid an inquiry into allegations of bribery involving a $US20 billion mining project in the Simandou hills in the west African country of Guinea.
Guinea President Alpha Conde said the firing of Alan Davies was the result of a feud over succession within Rio Tinto.
The destiny of iron ore prices may lie in the hands of miners scattered across China, lured by recent price gains.
Capital management will improve at the next earnings season but the rewards might not be the windfall investors think.
A controversial $900 million expansion of Queensland's Acland open-cut coal mine is a step closer after receiving federal government approval.
The owners of the soon-to-be closed Hazelwood power station have conceded the bill to rehabilitate the mine and demolish the ageing plant will run to almost three-quarters of a billion dollars.
Aluminium retreated from a 20-month high on expectations that its rally will be brought to a halt by increasing supply.
Chinese steel and iron ore futures fell for a second session as demand for the commodities turned tepid.
BHP, Vale and Samarco will initially provide $US681 million to support compensation and remediation from the impact of the fatal dam failure.
Gladstone's Boyne Island aluminium smelter is set to shed jobs and cut production, thanks to soaring Queensland power prices.
Rio Tinto Group and its largest shareholder Aluminum Corp of China have terminated a joint venture to find copper deposits.
The Brazilian mine owned by BHP and Vale will "probably" be operating again in two months, the country's mines minister said.
Chinese iron ore futures pulled back from a three-year high as steel prices retreated in volatile trading.
Stronger December output of iron ore in the December quarter enabled Rio Tinto to recoup some of the lost momentum in the division which had led it to trim full year production estimates in October.
Gold climbed to its highest in more than seven weeks on buying fuelled by Donald Trump's comments on NATO and China.
Copper eased as a stronger US dollar prompted some investors to cash in gains after the metal touched a five-week high.
Iron ore has carried last year's bullish momentum into the start of 2017, with prices rallying to a two-year high.
Copper hit a five-week high on Friday while aluminium climbed to its highest in nearly 20 months.
Iron ore imports by China surged to a record last year amid unexpectedly strong steel production and lower local mine output.
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