Mining stocks tumbled on Monday on fears the global financial crisis would spark a deeper downturn, hitting demand from China, and after a stake in iron ore producer Ferrexpo was sold at a big discount. 
   Resources stocks were the biggest losers in Europe, with the DJ DJStoxx basic resources index down 10.5% and the UK mining index off 11.1% in afternoon trade.
   Worries about softer demand hammered industrial metals prices, as benchmark copper fell almost 8% to its lowest level in nearly 20 months. 
   "Metals prices have much further to fall if global growth continues to slow," said analyst John Meyer at Fairfax investment bank in London.
   Fourth-quarter contract prices of ferrochrome, a key ingredient of stainless steel, fell by 9-10% in Japan and Europe. 
   Kazakh mining groups Kazakhmys and ENRC, a major ferrochrome producer, were the biggest losers in the FTSE 100, falling 21.8% and 20.8% respectively, while Mexican silver producer Fresnillo shed 14.2% and India-focused Vedanta lost 14%.
   Analyst Michael Rawlinson at Liberum Capital said investors were probably worried after Ferrexpo`s owner sold a 20.8% stake at a 30% discount due to JP Morgan calling in a loan, for which the shares were held as collateral. "In some of these emerging market plays, this margin call is the latest area of worry. It`s got everyone worried about potential forced sellers of assets."
   Big diversified mining groups were not immune to the selling.
   The world`s biggest miner, BHP Billiton, slid 8% while its hostile bid target Rio Tinto lost 11.3% and Anglo-Swiss Xstrata fell 16.6%.
   The major mining groups have been saying they were confident that China would be much less affected by any global downturn, but now investors seem to be having second thoughts about those reassurances.
   China has been fuelling the big commodities boom in recent years as it gobbles up metals to build infrastruture.
   "I think what`s been a surprise to some is how the Chinese newsflow is deteriorating. Supposedly we were getting ready for a post-Olympic bounce, turning back on the steel mills, and now it didn`t happen," Mr Rawlinson said.
   In China, four large steel firms have been in talks to reduce their crude steel output by a total 20%, the official Xinhua agency said late on Friday.