Net profits at the world's 40 biggest mining companies leapt to $110 billion in 2010, an increase of 156% over 2009, consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers said in a mining sector study Tuesday.

Sales at the companies surveyed rose 32% to a record $435 billion last year, while operational cash flows jumped 59% to more than $100 billion, PwC said in the study. The figures were boosted by rising mineral product prices rather than production levels, which grew just 5%, the study said.

The high level of available cash has led the sector to forecast new investments totaling more than $300 billion, of which around $120 billion is planned for 2011, double the sector's capital expenditure in 2010, PwC said.

The report highlights the emergence of differing performances between mining companies in developed and emerging nations.

"Over the past four years, average returns on net worth for companies in emerging markets has been double that of traditional mining nations," said the PwC report, titled "Mine: The Game Has Changed."

The report lists Australia, the U.S., Canada, South Africa and the U.K. as traditional mining nations.

Today, 45% of the world's top 40 mining companies are based in emerging nations, according to the PwC report.

-By Diana Kinch, Dow Jones Newswires; +55 21 2586 6086; diana.kinch@dowjones.com

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