The world’s largest mining company profited from improvements in its iron ore, coal and petroleum businesses, with profit from the former rising by 60 percent, powered by production from its Western Australia mines which produced a record of 108 million tonnes.

Pedro Camacho is an entrepreneur with real vision. 16 years ago when he founded Blue Sky Satellite Communications, the industry was distinctly niche in character, though even then it was becoming obvious that it was going to be a key to growth in Africa. With very little in the way of fixed telecoms infrastructure on the continent, and that but poorly maintained and unreliable, cellphones quickly became the enabling technology, and Africa started to lead the innovative ways it is used today, famously making mobile finance mainstream.

Founded by current CEO, Clifford Elphick, in July 2005, Gem Diamonds has made significant strides in the years that followed to become a leading global producer of high value diamonds. The company is the majority owner of the well-known Letšeng mine in Lesotho and is also in the process of developing its 100 percent owned Ghaghoo mine in Botswana.

Located in La Rinconada El Salto, in the province of Huechuraba next to the new Financial District of Santiago, Ciudad Empresarial is the largest business park in Chile. “The concept for the business park came together in 1995,” explains Project Director, Benjamin Labra. “At the heart of this concept was a vision to create a neighbourhood of offices, residential space and retail services, the integration of which would become a milestone moment for Santiago and Chile as a whole.”

Whichever side of the C-Suite you look at, senior management is seeing its isolation ebbing away. This is a positive development. It creates a more agile business that can maintain its competitive advantage in the face of a quickly shifting marketplace.

The CFO can no longer ignore the CIO. They must work together on transformative projects to ensure return on investment and long-term value. COOs and heads of HR need to unite across change projects, otherwise new processes and procedures fall on deaf ears and impact staff morale.

Measuring two and three-quarter miles across and with a depth of approximately three-quarters of mile, the Bingham Canyon Mine was for many years the largest man-made excavation on Earth. It is from here, southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah, in the Oquirrh Mountains that Rio Tinto Kennecott sources almost a quarter of the total copper needs of the United States.

Third time most definitely appears to be the charm for the auction, with two previous attempts at selling the licences in November 2012 and March 2013 both failing to reach even the lowest of estimates. This latest round of bidding however far exceeded the Indian government’s target of £1.8 billion.

The government stands to receive $3 billion initially, with companies required to pay up to a third of the winning price now, with the rest to follow by 2026. The money will be used to help shrink the country’s budget deficit.

The world’s second largest mining firm has reported a full year net income of $3.7 billion, reversing a $3 billion loss in 2012. As a result it is increasing its annual payout to shareholders by 15 percent to $1.92 per share.

"These strong results reflect the progress we are making to transform our business and demonstrate how we are fulfilling our commitments to improve performance, strengthen the balance sheet and deliver greater value for shareholders," Rio Tinto chief executive Sam Walsh said in a statement.