COPPER

Chinese importers are buying less spot copper as it has become more difficult to secure U.S. dollar letters of credit and on sufficient domestic supply, traders said on Friday.

After a series of tightening measures by China's central bank choked off bank loans to small- and medium-sized companies (SMEs), many resorted to importing copper and other commodities as a way to get cheap loans.

Zambia's new government unveiled an expansive 2012 budget on Friday, with big increases in social spending and farming subsidies to be paid for by a rise in mineral royalties and a debut $500 million Eurobond.

Peru said on Friday that it will crack down on violent anti-mining protesters after clashes with police injured 40 people, the first skirmishes since President Ollanta Humala took office vowing to defuse conflicts over natural resources.

Asian shares rebounded on Friday and the euro clawed higher, with European stocks also expected to make gains after brighter corporate news lifted U.S. stocks and debt-laden Italy was able to fund itself at a bond auction.

Asian shares rebounded Friday and the euro clawed higher, with European stocks also expected to make gains after brighter corporate news lifted U.S. stocks and debt-laden Italy was able to fund itself at a bond auction.

Sitting in China's copper and steel warehouses is a hidden risk to the world's second-largest economy -- banks' indirect exposure to a property market that is showing signs of stress.

Zambian finance minister Alexander Chikwanda is expected to unveil a pro-poor budget on Friday, reflecting the shift in political priorities in Africa's biggest copper producer since opposition leader Michael Sata's September election upset.

Investors stuck with gold exchange-traded products (ETPs) in October, but most other commodities ETPs saw outflows as investors remained cautious about the outlook for economic growth.

Asian stocks fell sharply Thursday after soaring Italian borrowing costs stoked fears the debt crisis in the euro zone's third biggest economy will overwhelm its financial defenses, raising the risk of a break-up of the currency area.

A four-hour power cut hit Zambia's capital and main mining region on Wednesday, although it was not clear what if any impact there was on output from Africa's biggest copper producer.

A one-day protest by communities in the northern region of Cajamarca on Wednesday against Newmont's $4.8 billion Conga gold project was peaceful and did not hurt mining operations, the government and the company said.

Toronto's main stock index looked set to open lower on Wednesday, hurt by weaker commodity prices as doubts about Italy's ability to tackle its debt problems persisted even after Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi pledged to resign.

Canadian federal regulators have ruled that Taseko Mines' revised Prosperity copper-gold project will be reviewed by a federal review panel.

Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc's union in Indonesia will consider almost halving its pay demand if the firm agrees an extra pay hike when workers are promoted, the union said on Tuesday, taking the near two-month strike a step towards resolution.

Kazakhstan plans to begin construction of a third gold refinery next year to process an expected increase in volumes of the precious metal, the country's Industry Ministry said on Monday.

In a rundown patch of Detroit, enclosed by a cyclone fence and barbed wire, stands an unremarkable warehouse that investment bank Goldman Sachs has transformed into a money-making machine.

A magnitude-5.8 earthquake shook northern Chile early Saturday, but there were no immediate reports of any damage to property or copper mines in the area, emergency and mine officials said.

U.S. authorities seized a valuable painting of Christ from a Florida museum on Friday. The painting is believed to have been stolen by the Nazis during World War II.

Here is a list of the 10 biggest gold mines in the world, starting with the biggest.

Police failed to lift road blockades stopping fuel and food reaching Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold's mining operations in Indonesia's Papua region, after clashes with striking miners and local tribesmen on Friday.