Vancouver-based Pan American Silver Corp said on Friday it will speed up the development of its Argentina gold project this year after the Rio Negro provincial legislature lifted the ban on the use of cyanide, crucial in the extraction process of gold.

Northern Gold Mining Inc. (TSX VENTURE:NGM) and the Wahgoshig First Nation jointly announced on Friday that a strong cooperation and working relationship has developed since Northern Gold first began working on the Garrison Gold property two years ago.

IDEX News reports BHP Billiton's Ekati diamond mine produced 481,000 carats in the last quarter of 2011, a 29% decline compared to a year ago. 80%-owner BHP Billiton wants to sell the mine, but Ekati could fetch only $300 million to $500 million a new report shows.

Stans Energy Corp announced the submission of documentation for the licensing requirements to the Kyrgyz Government for the Kutessay II Heavy Rare Earth Deposit and the Kalesay Beryllium deposit, news agencies reported.

Bloomberg reports Chile's state-owned firm Codelco, the world's largest copper producer, plans to invest $5 billion in 2012 on capital projects, more than twice the $2.3 billion it allocated last year. Also on Friday a Santiago court blocked Anglos from selling any more shares in its Sur subsidiary while it battles Codelco over an option to acquire 49% of its Chile operations.

Taseko Mines on Wednesday announced it is going ahead with its Gibraltar capital program and is planning to spend $134 million to complete the project by the end of this year. The investment will increase Taseko's share of copper production capacity to 140 million pounds per year. Taseko owns 75% of Gibraltar, located in British Columbia.

US Labor Department figures released on Wednesday show the country's mining sector added more jobs in 2011 than at any other period since the early 1980s.

Hedge fund genius John Paulson had the worst year of his career in 2011. The FT wonders if he will start dumping gold onto the market in a dash for cash.

Hard Assets Investor reports precious metals ETFs enjoyed solid $5.9 billion inflows last year that brought total assets in the sector to just under $98.5 billion; a figure that represents just under two-thirds of all exchange-traded products including energy and agriculture.

The National Mining Corporation (NMiC), an Ethiopian private company, announced the discovery of the largest ever gold and base metal reserves in Oromia and Tigray regional states. NMiC estimates that the 550,000 kg gold reserve at Dawa Okote, in Oromia Regional State is worth almost $US 5 billions.