BHP considers new, smaller, London office

BHP Billiton, the world's biggest mining company, is close to signing a lease for a new London office which would be about half the size of its current premises, according to two people familiar with the matter, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

The company, which is being advised by broker Cluttons LLC, plans to rent 2323 square metres at the Nova South project in London's Victoria district, the people said, asking not to be named because the information is not yet public. The project is being developed by Land Securities and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

Harding commits to Rio iron ore after missing out on CEO job

Rio Tinto's iron ore chief Andrew Harding says he is committed to the business, despite not winning the top job at the major miner in a recent leadership change, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Perth-based Harding was overlooked for the chief executive's role when Rio last week announced Jean-Sebastien Jacques, the chief of Rio's copper and coal division, would replace Sam Walsh in July.

Palmer's bid to sue Chinese for QNI's trouble thrown out

Clive Palmer's attempts to drag Queensland Nickel into his long-running royalty dispute with the Chinese government-owned CITIC Pacific have been thrown out of the Supreme Court, according to the Australian Financial Review.

The legal loss is another blow for the resources tycoon turned federal MP as administrators failed to sell his sprawling Central Queensland cattle station under the hammer in Rockhampton on Wednesday afternoon to help pay for $110 million in debts accrued by his Townsville refinery.