Peru's domestic molybdenum and iron ore production experienced strong growth last year even as the country's precious and base metals production declined.
Was Molycorp's promotion of the Mountain Pass mine-attracting the attention of U.S. lawmakers and the international business community to looming domestic rare earths shortages-little more than hype?
Gold prices had a great time of things in January but, as Joel Anderson reports, both bulls and bears are out in full force when it comes to predicting its next move.
Comment from Jeff Nichols suggests that Chinese gold production and consumption may be considerably higher than the statistics released by the country would indicate.
Gold rose 11% in January, the largest one-month gain since August 2011 and the best for the month of January since 1980, as the euro rebounded following upbeat German economic data.
China's gold output rose again in 2011 confirming its position as global No. 1 producer, but is it surreptitiously taking all its domestic production into its reserves?
Scotiabank economist, Patricia Mohr, suggests the gold bull run is intact with Scotiabank's Commodity Price Index price forecast revised up to an average of $1,750 for 2012.
Environmentalist demonstrators have taken to the streets in Romania against the Rosia Montana gold mine, while local tonwspeople have rallied in support.
While current market conditions are affecting the junior mining space, they are also helping investors to identify low-risk opportunities. Gold Report interview
As major miners scour the globe for ever-rarer multi-million ounce gold deposits, Exeter's Caspiche deposit in Chile makes it a "tantalizing prospect".