Congo’s Gécamines urges Gov’t to revise 16-year-old mining code

Quebec's reputation as a mining-friendly jurisdiction is threatened by revisions to the province's mining code, says a letter released last week by the Quebec Mining Association.

Based on new research by investment bank Macquarie titled India’s Fatal Attraction, the FT asks if India’s weddings are destroying its economy given the huge importance of gold in the culture – especially between October and January, when festival season turns into wedding season and some 20 million Indians tie the knot.

Barron's Deal Journal reports John Paulson's gold fund is the one bright spot in his portfolio year to date, but even it is lagging other gold ETFs.

Vancouver-based Rubicon Minerals has passed a key hurdle in its plan to develop the Phoenix gold project in Red Lake, Ontario.

It is a sad but indisputable fact that in today's mining industry there are countries that still allow labour practices that belong in Dickensian England rather than a modern economy.

Vancouver-based Barkerville Gold Mines (CVE:BGM) has received approval to build an open-pit gold mine at its Bonanza Ledge property in northern B.C. The stock was changing hands at 97 cents on Tuesday, up 8% on more than double average volumes.

Gold is still the king of commodities when it comes its role as a diversifier and foundation asset in the portfolios of euro-based investors, says the new report "Gold as a strategic asset for European investors," commissioned by The World Gold Council (WGC).

The London Metal Exchange said Tuesday it has completed a major upgrade to its electronic trading platform to cope with record volumes and high frequency trading. A takeover of the 134-year old exchange – one of the last bastions of open outcry trading – appear to be in the offing as its major shareholders jockey for position and competition from Asia intensifies. Over the last 7 years electronic trading has grown from 2% to over 70% of the LME's market volume.

Investment gurus Jim Rogers and Marc Faber in recent interviews seem to agree on the dynamics in the gold market. Rogers says he's not selling his gold and Faber says there is no bubble. But that doesn't mean bullion is not still in a correction phase.