This might have been the general trend, but China Molybdenum’s (HK:3993) 12.5% boost was more to do with its own corporate housekeeping.

The copper, cobalt, molybdenum, niobium, potash and tungsten producer last year went on a buying spree, acquiring Anglo American’s (LN:AAL) niobium and potash business in Brazil and a 56% stake in the Tenke Fungurume copper-cobalt asset in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

These two transactions set the company back just over US$4 billion and it has been looking to restore its balance sheet ever since.

Last week, the company issued just over 4.7 billion new shares and pocketed around US$2.7 billion of net proceeds as part of this.

Mining investors are hoping the financing is more than just a balance sheet reset and that the company is readying for more M&A.

Speaking of balance sheets, Anglo rose 12.4% in the past week as it gave investors much to cheer about with its half-year results.

Stronger production from its iron ore, diamonds and platinum division, on top of unexpectedly strong metallurgical coal sales prices, saw the company generate EBITDA of $4.12 billion and attributable free cash flow of $2.7 billion over the period.

This helped it cut net debt to $6.2 billion, ahead of its year-end target of $7 billion and, more importantly to investors reinstate its dividend policy six months in advance of expectations.

The company, which issued a $0.48 per share payment for the first half, said it now intended to pay out 40% of underlying earnings.

Vale (BZ:VALE5) posted a respectable 6.3% increase in the past week as it, too, released production results for the June quarter and first half of 2017.

Its results did not go as well as Anglo’s, with net revenue dropping 15%, quarter on quarter, to $7.2 billion and EBITDA coming in 37% lighter at $2.8 billion.

Still, rising iron ore, nickel and copper prices – up 2.4% to $68.7 per tonne, 7.2% to $10,156/t and 5.4% to $6,296/t, respectively, last week – was enough to move its investors into the positive camp.

All of the other leaders in the top 10 posted positive gains, with Coal India (IN:COAL) the only let down.

The Indian coal miner fell 3.6% in the past week, in line with the 4.9% drop in European import thermal coal prices.

• [Editor:Wang Linyan]