BHP needs 120 new workers at its Olympic Dam in Australia

China’s massive appetite for commodities is creating concerns for the global economy, the environment and workers in other countries. In a series of reports, VOA is looking at the economic power modern China wields. Chinese government and company officials are signing agreements at a dizzying pace around the world, including in places where few other foreigners invest.

Canada’s Bear Creek Mining Corp. threatened legal action Monday after the Peruvian government cancelled the company’s plans for a silver mine in the country’s southern highlands. The Vancouver-based company said it hoped a political solution could be found, but that it would "vigorously defend" its rights.

La Mancha Resources reports that a fire partially damaged two electrowinning cells at its Hassaï mine, in Northeast Sudan, over the weekend. Although the site is continuing its normal mining and crushing activities, gold production will be partially impacted over the next few weeks until the two electrowinning cells have been replaced.

Rio Tinto is comfortable with the company's multibillion-dollar project budgets in Australia, where labour, input and services costs were all increasing, Chief Executive Tom Albanese said on Tuesday. "I'm comfortable that our budgets in Australia are being managed appropriately," Albanese said at a business lunch.

Zijin Mining Group Co Ltd said it plans a $280 million U.S. dollar-denominated bond issue, raising capital to acquire copper concentrate overseas for a smelter project of its unit. In a filing to the Hong Kong bourse on Tuesday, Zijin Mining said the bonds would have maturity of five years and a fixed interest rate of 4.25 percent per year during its term with interest payable semi-annually.

CGA Mining ( ASX: CGX , TSX: CGA ) is ramping up exploration at the Masbate Gold Project in the Philippines by allocating a US$20 million exploration budget for financial year 2012, almost triple the current years spend.

Australian stocks are set to open higher on Tuesday, following a firm finish on Wall Street, on growing optimism that Greece will avoid a debt default. Stock index futures rose 1.1 percent to 4,491.0, a 29.2-point premium to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index . The benchmark fell 1 percent on Monday.

A merger between Quebec-based ECU Silver Mining and Golden Minerals of Chicago announced on Friday had investors scrambling for the exits on Monday with the two companies at one point trading down 3.9% and 7% respectively on a generally bad day for silver stocks. The combined company worth over $600m with extensive assets in South America will keep its headquarters in Golden, Colorado and the Golden Minerals name and will be headed by Golden CEO, Jeffrey Clevenger.

Investment site Motley Fool says gold stocks such as Newmont, Goldcorp and Freeport-McMoRan are trading as though gold has lost its luster entirely and slipped back below $1,250 per ounce and that this latest bout of weakness in the gold mining shares – occurring when quality producers are awash in record cash flow and cozy profit margins – has yielded valuations remarkably depressed.