Brazil’s president revokes decree allowing mining in Amazon

The Middle Eastern market, which has seen sustained interest in large denomination bullion bars from high-net-worth individuals, has a new ally. Heavy buying from expatriates from the Asian subcontinent, notably India, has spurred sales of the precious metal.

Canadian gold miner Kirkland Lake Gold Inc said its quarterly gold production rose 56 percent. Quarterly gold production rose to 23,466 ounces, from 14,995 ounces, a year earlier. The Ontario-based company said it produced a record 10,175 ounces of gold for the month of April. Image by Kirkland Lake Gold

The Australian: Australia is facing a critical skills shortage in mining and other industries, and India seemed like the perfect place to get skilled labour. However with new projects opening in India, the question is arising as to whether India can spare that labour.

The Australian government this month announced it would fast-track 457 temporary migrant visas for mining companies seeking foreign recruits for positions they can't fill from the domestic labour pool. Austrade is championing the idea of Australian vocational training courses in Indian workplaces and institutions, and eventually an India-based Australian mining and engineering college, with the capacity to train as many as 100,000 Indian workers annually.

BHP Billiton has dissolved a partnership with Blackthorn Resources to develop a mine in Zambia, according to a report in The Post Online: World's largest mining company BHP Billiton has finally withdrawn from the Mumbwa Iron Oxide Copper Gold project, aborting expectations that Zambia was to herald a new era of top tier miners. Its joint venture partner, Blackthorn Resources, announced that BHP Billiton had pulled out of a copper venture but would retain the right to a two per cent production royalty on any metal mined from the area.

South Africa's National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said on Monday it would seek a 14 percent rise in salaries from the country's gold and coal miners in upcoming wage talks. "We are asking for a 14 percent (increase) across the board for companies in gold mining and coal mining," said spokesman Lesiba Seshoka, adding that more details would be provided later.

Alto Group Holdings, a mining and commodities trade company headquartered in New York, announced on Monday the acquisition of the Great Excelsior Mine in Washington State. The Great Excelsior Mine, located in Washington State, was a gold-silver producer which was forced to close in 1918 due to falling metal prices and a shortage of supplies. This mining property has been explored by numerous mining companies over the years.

Gold demand surged in the first quarter of this year as purchases of the precious metal for investment climbed 11% to 981.3 tons in the first three months according to the latest World Gold Council report. Much of the increase was as a result of buying of the physical metal – purchases of gold bars and coins shot up 52% year on year to 366 tons, representing a virtual doubling in value to $16bn. The report from the association of gold producers comes as the biggest producers sound warnings on Monday that any major pullback in the metal’s price below $1,000 could jeopardize the primary supply of gold.

Kinross Gold Corporation (TSX:K)(NYSE:KGC) said today that a brief work stoppage at its Tasiast gold mine in Mauritania on May 19th had ended. Normal operations at the site have resumed and all unionized workers are back to work following the resolution of certain issues related to working conditions and pay. Constructive dialogue with the union is continuing with the aim of improving working conditions to Kinross standards, and to negotiating a collective agreement with unionized employees. Production at Tasiast was not affected by the work stoppage, which lasted less than a day. In the first quarter of 2011 Tasiast produced 51,321 gold equivalent ounces.

Oraco Resources, Inc. (“Oraco”) announced today that it has acquired the contractual rights for the disposition of diamonds, gold, and any other minerals recovered in both the Zimmi Town, Pujehun District and the Gbense Tailings No. 5 reserve in the Koidu Town, Kono District of Sierra Leone through the acquisition of 100% of the ownership of Oraco Resources, Inc., a Canadian corporation (“ORI”), and Jyork Industries, Inc., a Sierra Leone company (“Jyork”). “Oraco’s main focus in Sierra Leone is to locate, prospect, and mine for diamonds, gold and other natural resources, while at the same time purchasing and exporting rough gem quality diamonds for sorting, polishing, cutting and sale”