Vale, one of the world's largest iron ore producers based in Brazil, said on Friday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with China Baowu Steel Group Corporation Limited.

Vale, one of the world's largest iron ore producers based in Brazil, said on Friday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with China Baowu Steel Group Corporation Limited.

BHP has signed a three-year tripartite research collaboration agreement with China's HBIS Group Co Ltd and University of Science and Technology Beijing to support research in low-carbon iron and steel making technologies.

BHP has signed a three-year tripartite research collaboration agreement with China's HBIS Group Co Ltd and University of Science and Technology Beijing to support research in low-carbon iron and steel making technologies.

Tata Steel will take some of its Port Talbot rolling mills off line for maintenance on December 3-22.

"We will be carrying out planned maintenance in some of our mills during this period, although there will be no impact on customers," a company spokesperson said.

Australian iron ore mining firms Fenix and Fe Limited are using hedging to keep operating, with most of their unhedged rivals having stopped production or development with the reality of a more than halving of the iron ore price over the past four months.

Philippines-based mining group Nickel Asia reported a sharp rise in its net income during the first nine months of the year.