BUZZ-Mining stocks: Icahn stake in Freeport-McMoRan lifts sector

** Mining stocks, battered by a rout in commodity prices, get hefty boost from activist investor Carl Icahn disclosing a stake in diversified miner & energy producer Freeport-McMoRan

** Stocks also rallying on the back of extended rebound in China

** Lonmin (LSE: LMI.L - news) , which also comments on costs a day earlier, sharpest gainer among FTSE miners & FTSE midcaps & up c.8.5 pct

** Glencore (Xetra: A1JAGV - news) up c.4.9 pct, top gainer on FTSE-100 with fifth of daily avg volume traded through in first 30 mins

** BHP Billiton (NYSE: BBL - news) , Kaz Minerals (LSE: KAZ.L - news) , Vedanta Resources up 2-3 pct

** Vendanta also moved up gains in unit company Vedanta Ltd in line with wider gain in India's BSE index

** Vedanta Ltd up c.6 pct with entire daily volume having gone through & on track for sharpest two-day gain in over 15.5 mnths after already being boosted this week by NCDs issue

** Anglo American (LSE: AAL.L - news) , Antofagasta (Other OTC: ANFGF - news) , Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO.L - news) , Randgold Resources up 0.8-1.5 pct

** Up to Thursday's close London's mining index has lost c.29 pct YTD with commodity companies cutting jobs, slashing capex and having to make deep cost-cuts to survive commodity slump (RM (LSE: RM.L - news) : esha.vaish.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)