Canadian miner A-OK despite U.S. sanctions against Russian companies

There has been a significant paradigm shift in public activism in Canada and a growing hostility toward mining and dogmatic opposition by environmentalists and social action groups toward virtually all mining and energy projects.

Last year, Africa was the region that witnessed the strongest growth in gold-mining operations. In an exclusive interview with The Gold Report, Nana Sangmuah, managing director of research with Toronto-based Clarus Securities, expects that trend to continue and suggests some immediate smart investments in Ghana, Mali, Liberia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

‘When gold fundamentals no longer apply, review the fundamentals'. The physical gold market is seeing enormous changes and this will have to feed through in terms of hugely rising prices.

Labor shortages in the mining industry may constrain future gold output and have bullish implications for prices, said HSBC, a London based multinational bank, in a commodity research note.

Scott Wright of Zeal Intelligence made some illuminating comments this week in his post about the dwindling supply of gold.

While the precious metals sector has consolidated and struggled to find a bottom, an important development has taken place. First, let's harken back to 2007-2008.

Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives by mining companies operating in emerging markets in South America, Africa and Asia have become a crucial part of doing business as “above-ground risks are quickly gaining equal footing to traditional geological and engineering considerations for mining projects.”

Felix Salmon, blogger for Reuters and gold skeptic, decided to find out if gold really is currency and went shopping with one gram of bullion in New York City.

Statistics Canada revealed today that the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan led the country in economic growth in 2011, buoyed by the extraction and exploration of their natural resources.