VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Shares of BHP Billiton, a mining and petroleum firm in Melbourne, started chasing oil prices very closely as they entered into the horrible downturn period in the oil industry. Analysts expect the miner to rally by nearly 50% in the coming months.

The largest mining company's shares dropped as nickel and metal price plunge, following order reduction from China. Last week, nickel reached its lowest price in 13 years.

Iluka Resources said it will cease production in zircon operation at Jacinth-Ambrosia project in South Australia following fall in zircon prices. The company's decision will positively impact the global market.

Freeport-McMoRan said that it has planned to trim up to $10 billion debt through earnings from joint venture transactions and asset sales. The mining group also reported a loss of $4.1 billion for the fourth quarter.

BHP Billiton said on Tuesday it would slash its iron ore production cost further and cut spending to better withstand a downturn in commodity prices that is testing even mining industry heavyweights.

Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton are amassing vast copper holdings in a push to capture a greater chunk of the $140 billion world market, apparently aiming to squeeze out high-cost producers just as they did in the global iron ore business.

The U.S. Congress has cleared the way for global miners Rio Tinto (RIO.L) (RIO.AX) and BHP Billiton (BHP.AX) (BLT.L) to swap land with the government, which will allow them to build a long-delayed $6 billion copper mine in Arizona.

A second day of weak German data sent European markets into retreat on Tuesday with stocks, the euro and periphery euro zone government debt all knocked by the mounting evidence of an abrupt slowdown in the bloc's economic engine room.

Rio Tinto (RIO.AX) rejected a merger approach from smaller rival Glencore Plc (GLEN.L) to create a $160 billion mining and trading giant in August just as the price of its most profitable product, iron ore, hit a five-year low.

China's steel consumption dropped this year for the first time since at least 2000 due to slower economic growth, leading to a surplus of iron ore in the country and a more than 40 percent plunge in prices of the steelmaking raw material.

Melbourne, Victoria-based diamond mining firm Merlin Diamonds raised $2 million by selling 26 million of its shares at $0.75 apiece to Singapore-based investment holding firm Blumont Group for the development of its diamond mine in the Northern Territory of Australia.

As the second-biggest mining company in the world, Rio Tinto Group, struggles against the drop in mineral prices, the company resolved to reduce its capital spending to around USD8 billion in 2015.

Major mining operation disruptions this year in the British-Australian mining company Rio Tinto had reduced investor interest in copper on the London Stock Exchange.

The International Coal Ventures Ltd consortium is interested in purchasing Rio Tinto.

The Aluminum Corporation of China Ltd or Chalco had announced the sale of its shareholdings in the Guinea venture with Rio Tinto.