Victoria Gold wants Eagle Gold Project to reach full production by 2018

Hedge funds have placed major bets on silver due to expectations that the precious metal will outpace gold in the wake of expansionary measures by the world's central banks.

Australia's Dragon Mining announced the discovery of a promising new area of gold deposits in Kuusamo, Finland, only hours after the country was announced as the top destination for mining and oil investment by a trade magazine.

Gold, copper and silver producer Anglo Asian Mining posted Thursday pre-tax profits of $10.5 million for the six months to the end of June - down from $14.2 million a year ago.

BHP Billiton, the world's number one miner, has put its $30 billion Olympic Dam copper-uranium expansion back in the spotlight by asking South Australia state for a 46-month extension for the project.

Famed money manager Stephen Leeb says the upside for both gold and silver after the price correction is immense.

A bullion insider claims JP Morgan is accumulating huge volumes of physical gold and silver despite short positions against the precious metals on paper.

Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista, number one on MINING.com's list of the world's wealthiest miners, is about to get even richer as the tycoon is in talks to sell a 49% stake in his gold mining company, AUX, to Qatar Holding, the investment arm of that country's sovereign wealth fund.

Analysts argue that silver is set for a sustained rise following a 30% surge since July.

When Leily Omoumi, a gold analyst with Scotiabank in Toronto, turns her engineer's eye on a mining company, she can translate insight into profits for investors.