The Australian Senate has pushed through into law a 30% tax on iron ore and coal mining companies. The tax will raise A$10.6bn (11.2bn dollars) over three years from major companies including BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Xtrata.
Peru has reached an agreement with mining companies that will raise the industry’s annual payments to the government to about one billion dollars, the government said on Thursday, fulfilling a campaign promise by President Ollanta Humala.