Cecilia Jamasmie , Senior Editor

Employees who had staged an illegal sit-in at the mine returned to work Wednesday after management and authorities reached a deal with them, the company said.

While companies face different outlooks and challenges depending on the commodity they mine and their size, Deloitte says they should all should be looking for the answer to one common question — “Going forward, where should we play and how can we win?"

Strike could begin as early as Friday, but will likely be postponed for a five-day government mediation to attempt a resolution.

It has decided not to finance any greenfield thermal coal mining or coal-fired plants and it will also reduce its existing exposure to the sector.

The private space exploration firm has enough money to hit the moon by the end of 2017.

Spot gold climbed 0.4% to $1,200.00 per ounce in early trade, while April Comex bullion was last up $10.20 an ounce at $1,206.30.

The project, which has existing infrastructure, a camp and a diamond processing plant in place, is located just 5km from Letšeng, the highest dollars-per-carat kimberlite diamond mine in the world.

Rainbow Rare Earths plans to restart the Gakara mine, which operated for 30 years until 1978, and that still holds high grade of the coveted elements.

Government is considering to extend the miner a temporary permit, valid for up to six months, which would pave the way for Freeport to resume exports from Grasberg.

Brendan Bell, who has also resigned to Dominion's board, has agreed to stay on as CEO until June 30 to ensure a smooth transition.