With $1 trillion spent on projects to feed a commodity boom since 2002, the world's mining firms have a lot riding on China.

Diamonds are so hard to find that explorers have pretty much given up trying.

Tugboat crews are threatening to disrupt shipments from the world's biggest iron ore port as they negotiate for increased wages.

If Meridian Energy had already floated, it's a fair bet that its share price would have dropped after the Opposition unveiled its electricity policy a week ago.

Crucial face-to-face talks between the owners of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter and Meridian Energy resume in Wellington today, and could take the rest of the week.

Prospects of keeping the Tiwai Pt aluminium smelter open in the long-term are grim, with Meridian Energy saying it is still in the dark.

The Government and its flagship asset sale programme will not be held hostage by Rio Tinto over the mineral giant's threat to close the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter, Prime Minister John Key said yesterday.

Rio Tinto isn't going to get a deal out of the Government and is likely to shut down the Tiwai Pt aluminium smelter potentially at the cost of thousands of jobs over the next five years.

Negotiating with Hollywood moguls must now feel like a bit of a doddle for John Key compared to mixing it with the cold-blooded, razor-wielding gang of cost accountants from Rio Tinto.

Contact's share price dropped this morning, partly in response to uncertainty over the future of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter.

Prime Minister John Key says the government has "put its best foot forward" and will offer Rio Tinto no more than the short-term subsidy offered last week.

Rio Tinto is doubtless more than happy that the Government has stepped in to try to broker a deal over the electricity supply contract for the Tiwai Pt aluminium smelter.

The Government has opened discussions with Tiwai Point aluminium smelter's ultimate owners Rio Tinto in a bid to broker a deal after talks between the smelter and Meridian Energy reportedly broke down.

Tiwai Pt aluminium smelter's owners have contradicted a report from Meridian, saying they think a power deal can be agreed on.

It is folly to press on with the partial privatisation of the state-owned power companies when the future of the Tiwai Pt aluminium smelter is unresolved, writes Brian Fallow.

This month's toll of job losses is striking - but it's a reflection of a slowing of the Chinese economy. It's time to look for jobs that have a future.

Rio Tinto's attempt to renegotiate New Zealand's largest electricity contract, for its aluminium smelter at Bluff, comes as the company's chief executive warns of "difficult decisions" ahead.