Frik Els , Editor

Shares of Sunridge Gold rose a brisk 7% in Thursday morning trade after the junior explorer gave an update on drilling at its zinc-gold-copper deposit in the Horn of Africa only to end the day down 2.8%. Near triple the usual number of shares changed hands on the Toronto venture exchange. Investors in the the Vancouver-based company, which apart from its flagship Asmara project in Eritrea also has assets in another paragon of political instability, Madagascar, have enjoyed a wild ride over the more than ten years the company has been listed – an unlucky few snapped up shares in the company at $6.40 in 2003 and those who saw value in the company at $1.30 at the start of 2011 would have lost almost half that investment.

Al Gore's latest blog entry reads: The leaders of the top environmental groups in the country, the Republican Governor of Nebraska, and millions of people around the country – including hundreds of people who have bravely participated in civil disobedience at the White House – all agree on one thing: President Obama should block a planned pipeline from the tar sands of Alberta to the Gulf of Mexico. The tar sands are the dirtiest source of fuel on the planet...

Papua New Guinea’s new prime minister Peter O'Neill and the country's Investment Promotion Authority have moved to quell concern about proposed changes governing ownership of resources in the country saying it needs further discussion and acknowledging genealogical problems. Among sweeping changes promised for the impoverished country, PNG's new mining minister introduced a plan to hand state ownership of mineral and energy resources to customary landowners forcing mining companies to renegotiate permits and contracts. Last week O'Neill guaranteed the support of 80% of MPs he needs to preserve his majority ahead of 2012 elections by expanding his cabinet by a third.

Quebec minnow Century Iron Mines (CVE:FER) said Wednesday that China's Wuhan Iron and Steel (WISCO) will invest $120 million over two years in three joint ventures to explore and develop the company’s Duncan Lake, Attikamagen and Sunny Lake projects in Quebec. The joint venture agreement was signed on Tuesday in Beijing with the premier of Quebec in attendance. Century Iron hardly trades but on Wednesday the company enjoyed a tenfold increase in volumes on the Toronto exchange with 44,000 shares exchanging hands. It ended the day flat at $2.60 with a market value of less than $1 million.

Shares of Canada's Gabriel Resources have climbed 16% in the week since plans by its 80%-owned Rosia Montana Gold Corp to build a massive gold mine in Transylvania received public backing from the Romanian president. Gabriel first obtained the concession in 1999 and has already spent $500 million advancing the project and has another $175 million left, but needs several more environmental approvals to establish an open-cast mine (pictured) which once in production will be Europe's largest producing 500,000oz/year.

Business Day reports De Beers expects its South Africa unit to produce 6.5 million carats this year, 1 million less than last year as the effects of mine disposals filter down. De Beers has since 2007 sold several of its South African mines including Cullinan, Jagersfontein, Namaqualand and Finsch. The board is expected to sign a potential R15bn ($2 billion) investment to extend the life of its flagship Venetia mine when a feasibility study ends next year – it would be the company’s biggest South African investment in decades.

Valued at twenty times the price of a white diamond, pink diamonds are also extremely rare with only around 50 or so put out to tender each year. Pink diamonds comprise 0.03 per cent of global diamond production and 90% come from the remote Argyle mine in Australia, owned by Rio Tinto. For every million carats of rough diamonds produced at Argyle, less than one carat will be suitable for the tender which this year will include the three-heart shaped Argyle Semper Suite (pictured).

London-listed Gem Diamonds announced Wednesday it has found the world’s 15th largest white diamond at its Letšeng Mine in Lesotho, which is fast-becoming the richest source of large diamonds in the world. The company  said the type II D 553 carat colour diamond diamond is being analyzed in Antwerp at the moment and has not been named.  Without the occasional large diamond find, the Letšeng pipe would probably be a marginal deposit, but the mine, 30% owned by the King of Lesotho, has also yielded the 603 carat Lesotho Promise turned into a $12.4 million necklace (pictured). The 493 carat Letšeng Legacy sold for $10.4 million in 2007 and the 478 carat Light of Letšeng went for $18.4 million in 2008.

China's 27 largest steel companies saw a 15.7% decrease in the first-half profits from a year earlier for a combined profit of $1.6 billion, according to the Shanghai-based researcher Wind Info, as soaring iron ore costs squeezed margins. The woes of China's steelmakers, which have been switching to cheaper low grade ore to cut costs as prices top $180/tonne, are in stark contrast to profits at miners. Last week results for BHP Billiton showed its iron ore division accounted for the bulk of its record $22 billion in profits. BHP, Vale and Rio Tinto – control nearly 70% of the 1 billion tonne annual iron ore seaborne trade and dominate price talks.

Gold for December delivery rose 2.6% or $46.50 to $1,838.20 an ounce in New York on Tuesday, making up some of the ground the precious metal had lost since coming close to $1,900 last week. An inflation hedge, bullion is up nearly 30% so far this year as cheap money floods markets thanks to the US Federal Reserve's loose policy. This week minutes showed the central bank had considered tying interest rate policy to a specific unemployment level, an unprecedented move. US unemployment was pegged at 9.1% in July versus a post-WWII average of 5.7%.