Rio Tinto shares predicted to surge

Rio Tinto shares have taken on a certain degree of predictability in the 30 months since Sam Walsh became CEO, according to the Australian Financial Review.

The price of the company's most important product line, iron ore, has been extraordinarily volatile during Walsh’s reign but despite that the stock has acted the same each February and August.

That’s because since the Walsh era began, dividends have been as much a driver of the stock as the iron ore price.

Trading in iron ore in China rises to record high

Trading of iron ore derivatives on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange advanced to a record last month amid increased volatility, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Volumes surged 54% in July from a month earlier to 32.4 million contracts, or 3.2 billion metric tonnes, according to bourse data. The previous record was in May, when 24.9 million contracts traded. Volumes more than tripled from a year earlier.

Rio wants exploration collaboration to discover next big seam

Well-known West Australian explorer Mark Bennett has queried whether a plan by Rio Tinto to reinvigorate exploration in Australia through partnerships with junior mining companies will work as intended, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Rio has used its first presentation at the Diggers and Dealers conference in eight years to call for collaboration in exploration in order to find the next major mineral discovery in Australia.