Bolivian mining export revenues fell 14.3% year-on-year in 2012, to $2.07 billion, according to preliminary figures from the country´s statistics institute, INE.

2013 is shaping up to continue last year’s story of exchange consolidation, price discovery in Asia and growing ties between east and west, if recent weeks are anything to go by.

International negotiators have concluded a global treaty aimed at reducing mercury pollution and use of mercury in mining and industry, which will be signed in Japan in October.

Eurometrec, the EU scrap recyclers’ federation, has voiced its support for an EU regulation determining when copper scrap ceases to be waste, but remains hopeful that a review of the criteria will address concerns about a controversial foreign material limit.

It was unusual to hear Bureau of International Recycling director-general Francis Veys saying that European secondary copper producers are protectionist, after they lobbied the European Commission to set a very tight limit on the types of scrap that can be considered products, as opposed to waste.

This first part in ten decade-long episodes in the life of Metal Bulletin is a short one – 1913-1919.

Here are a few of Metal Bulletin's predictions for 2013.

The metal industry's year was dominated by two big takeovers.

Global scrap metal exports were valued at $124.8 billion in 2011, marking a “banner year for global scrap demand”, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) said in a report.

This year, nickel has been a shocker, losing 30.4% of its value in the space of six months between February and August. But Metal Bulletin Research sees reasons why nickel could be a top performer in 2013.