CHART: Stop panicking about Chinese growth

Nautilus Minerals (TSX:NUS)(AIM:NUS) is to raise approximately US$100 million (C$98.1 million*) through a private placement of common shares to fund the development of its first project, Solwara 1, in the Bismarck Sea of Papua New Guinea. The placing will involve the issue of approximately 39 million shares to a number of investors at a price of CAD$2.52 (US$2.58) per share. Nautilus President and CEO Steve Rogers said the private placement would provide funds for the construction of the seafloor resource production system, which initially will be deployed at Solwara 1 – the company's first deepwater copper and gold project.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Aug. 30, 2011) - Empire Mining Corporation (TSX VENTURE:EPC) ("Empire") is pleased to provide an update on the Demirtepe Project in western Turkey where drilling by Empire has consistently encountered significant grades and intervals of copper-gold-silver and molybdenum skarn mineralization in the Main Zone, including Discovery Hole DTH-001 which intersected2.02% copper, 0.96 g/t gold and 21.64 g/t silver over 47.35 m from 112.2 m to 159.55 m, including 8.0 m of 9.1% copper, 4.68 g/t gold and 95.3 g/t silver.

MOUNT PEARL, NEWFOUNDLAND--(Marketwire - Aug. 30, 2011) - Cornerstone Capital Resources Inc. ("Cornerstone") (TSX VENTURE:CGP) (FRANKFURT:GWN) (BERLIN:GWN) (PINK SHEETS:CTNXF) announced today preliminary results for the ongoing exploration program at the La Fortuna copper-silver project located in the Valparaíso Region of central Chile, approximately 100 km north of Santiago.

Shares in Ivanhoe mines closed up just over 5% in Toronto on Monday outperforming the broader market and bringing the counter's gains to 23.2% over the last week. At a time when many miners across the developing world struggle to preserve their social licence, the impact of Ivanhoe's Oyu Tolgoi on the people of Mongolia stands in stark contrast: the mine will contribute a third of the country's GDP when it goes into full operation, will be mined until at least 2060 and increase the average earnings of Mongolians by 60% according to a new CNN report.

Silvercorp Metals has achieved record silver production and record sales from its Chinese operations for the first quarter of the 2012 financial year. The company recorded 1.6 million ounces of silver production, up 15% from the same period a year ago. Revenue was US$69.7 million which was 90% more than the same quarter last year. The silver figures were achieved from the four mines at the Ying Mining Camp in Henan Province. The company is well on track for the fiscal year 2012 production guidance of 5.6 million ounces.

Ollanta Humala, President-elect of Peru, fulfilled a campaign promise Thursday in announcing his government's intention to hit mining companies with higher royalty taxes. Humala, who was elected in July, campaigned on a promise to tax mining company profits and distribute them to the poor — a development that had investors and mining company CEOs running for cover in a country that is the world's second largest producer of copper and the sixth biggest gold miner. Companies now pay between 1% and 3% in royalties.

Reuters reports 50,000 protesters battled police in Chile's capital on Thursday, the second day of a two-day strike against unpopular President Sebastian Pinera. A recent poll put the right-wing leader's approval rating at only 26%, below even that of dictator General Pinochet, who ruled the country for 17 years from 1973. The protests follows recent strikes in the copper sector over pay and a campaign against a massive coal mine on an island in Patagonia amid accusations that billionaire Pinera’s shareholding in the developer, Copec, constitutes a serious conflict of interest.

One of the largest mining companies operating in northern Peru says that a 7.0-magnitude earthquake that hit Peru Wednesday didn't interrupt operations. Roque Benavides, chief executive of precious metals mining company Compania de Minas Buenaventura SA (BVN, BUENAVC1.Vl), said in an email message he wasn't aware of any damage from the earthquake on its operations in northern Peru.

Gold futures dropped for the first time in more than a week on Tuesday as global equity markets posted gains, buoyed by better-than-expected data from China. Gold for December delivery fell $19.80 or 1% to $1,873.50 an ounce at the start of trade in New York's Comex. On Monday the December contract rose $39.70, or 2.1%, Monday to settle at $1,891.90. Bullion is up 16% in August, heading for its best monthly performance since September 1999. Silver for December delivery in New York declined 1% to $42.94 an ounce after earlier touching $44.295, the highest price since May 3. It’s up 39% this year.