Cecilia Jamasmie , Senior Editor

Chile’s state-owned copper giant Codelco will make a decision on the construction of an underground mine at its Chuquicamata operation before the end of this year, said CEO and Executive President Diego Hernandez.

Chile’s copper exports fell 6.5% to US$10.5 billion in the first three months of 2012 from $11.2 billion in the same period last year, according to figures compiled by the country’s Central Bank.

London-listed diversified miner Vedanta Resources (LON:VED) announced today a significant drop in its full-year iron ore output, attributed to both a mining ban in India’s southern state of Karnataka and logistical bottlenecks in nearby Goa, which hurt one of its key profit generators.

Mining investment in Chile, the world's largest copper producer, would reach US$ 100 billion between 2012 and 2020, the National Mining Society (Sonami) said on Monday.

Two or three days longer than anticipated could take rescuers to get to the nine Peruvian miners trapped 200 metres below ground since last Thursday, told reporters Oscar Valdes, cabinet chief to Peru's President Ollanta Humala.

Brazilian miner World Mineral Resources (WMR) has found a large reserve of neodymium, one of the 17 rare earth elements, in the western Bahia state, which could bring US$8.4 billion to the country.

Sanctions against Mali's military junta were lifted on Sunday after the country's coup leaders agreed to step aside, allowing a provisional authority to organize elections within 40 days.

In a move to curb the rampant domestic illegal mining of rare earth, as well as to regulate its rare earths players, China launched on Sunday its industry association for the precious metal commodity, as MINING.com anticipated last week.

Zimbabwe's Black Empowerment Minister, Saviour Kasukuwere, announced today it has taken majority ownership of foreign-owned mining firms, which had not already given a controlling stake to black Zimbabweans.

Canadian Lake Shore Gold (TSX:LSG) announced it has resumed operations at its Timmins West Mine in Ontario, where a worker died on Tuesday, and reported a fall in its quarterly production.