South Africa’s mining industry fortunes improving, but challenges remain — PwC

Late last month Ivanhoe Mines received $502 million from Rio Tinto following Rio’s decision to exercise all remaining share-purchase warrants that it holds in Ivanhoe Mines. Assembly of open pit equipment has started - in this case Komatsu dozers. Image of the Oyu Tolgoi complex by Ivanhoe Mines Ltd.

A treasure of gold, jewelry and diamonds worth over $24 billion by some estimates has been unearthed from the vaults of a temple in India. Image is from YouTube news report on the same story.

Canada's biggest precious metals stocks were up an average 5.5% in late afternoon trade on Tuesday led by Endeavour Silver and Silvercorp Metals which both added around 12%. First Majestic Silver was up 9% and Silver Wheaton 6%. The index with an average market capitalization of US$7.7bn was outperforming a lacklustre broader market with bellwethers Barrick and Goldcorp also making substantial gains. Weak economic news from Europe, lingering concerns about the Greek debt crisis and media reports that China may raise interest rates have lured investors back to precious metals.

Canadian gold explorer Romarco Minerals, which has been pioneering the possible re-opening of South Carolina as the potential location for a significant gold mining area, has received something of a setback in a U.S. Corp of Engineers requirement that it submit an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a portion of what the company describes as "the low-functioning and impaired wetlands and streams onsite" at its exciting Haile gold mining project there. Image of the Haile gold mining area, by Romarco Minerals.

Investigators plan to pry open the final vault hidden deep under a centuries-old Indian Hindu temple as police guarded round the clock the shrine where billions of dollars worth of treasure has been discovered. Over the last week a seven-member team of investigators has broken into five of the six secret subterranean vaults piled high with jewels that have lain untouched for hundreds of years.

According to reports more than 7,000 workers from Freeport McMoRan's massive gold and copper mine in Indonesia's western Papua region started a week-long strike on Monday to demand better wages. The Grasberg mine is the richest gold and third largest copper mine in the world and and the US company's local subsidiary is the largest single taxpayer to the Indonesian government.

South Africa's Pilanesberg Platinum mining operations remain halted more than a week after employees of a contractor disrupted operations through intimidation of supervisors, industrial action and damage to property and equipment. The company said in a statement released on Monday its concentrator has operated at full capacity throughout and produced a record amount of metal in June. Platmin has lost a tenth of its value on the Toronto bourse since halting operations and is down more than 40% over the last twelve months. The mid-tier producer has a market capitalization of some $510m.

Canadian miner High River Gold Mines Ltd said it received a 20-year mining license in Burkina Faso to explore and construct a gold mine at its Bissa gold project in West Africa. The company, which has properties located mainly in Russia and Burkina Faso in Africa, said the license could be renewed.

Widely respected economist in China, Li Yining of Peking University, has joined a chorus of advisers urging the Chinese government to increase the country’s gold reserves as a hedge against inflation of foreign currencies. “China should increase its gold reserves appropriately, and China must take every chance to buy, especially when gold prices fall,” Li told China’s Xinhua news agency.