Xstrata boosts profit sevenfold with commodities boom

Mining group Xstrata (LON:XTA) saw revenues soar by 23% to $16.8 billion (£10.3 billion) in the first six months of the year as demand for its commodities continued to surge. The Switzerland-based group said that operating profits had grown by 23% to $2.9 billion and that robust operational momentum in the second quarter would deliver “a substantially stronger second half”.

Glencore International Plc Chief Executive Officer Ivan Glasenberg criticized his recently departed mining CEO peers for swamping the industry with new mines that led to a surplus in metals and trimmed profits. “The big guys really screwed up,” Glasenberg, 56, told investors Monday in a presentation. “We’ve always been wanting to keep building and keep putting the cash which we generate into new assets. That’s what we’ve got to stop doing as a mining industry. We’ve got to learn about demand and supply.”

LONDON — Anglo-Swiss mining group Xstrata PLC announced plans Tuesday to merge with commodities trading giant Glencore International PLC in a deal that will create the world’s fourth largest natural resources group.

Swiss mining group Xstrata is to invest about 6.0 billion dollars (4.4 billion euros) in the production of iron in Mauritania, the country's mining minister has said."This mining giant ... has decided to invest more than 6.0 billion dollars in Mauritania, which shows the role our country is called on to play in the global mining sector," Mohammad Abdallah Ould Oudaa said during a mining conference in Mauritania that ended Thursday.

Anglo-Swiss mining group Xstrata announces a $90bn merger with Glencore, the world's largest commodity trader.

Demonstrators from the Occupy London movement stormed a building housing the diversified Anglo-Swiss mining giant Xstrata on Wednesday, police and protesters said.About 60 protesters got inside Panton House, in the heart of the British capital's West End theatre district, Occupy London said.Police said they were already making arrests."At approximately 3:50 pm (1550 GMT) a containment was put in place outside Panton House... to prevent disorder by a group of protestors outside the building," Scotland Yard said in a statement.

Anglo-Swiss mining group Xstrata reports a jump in full-year profits thanks to stronger commodity prices.