Three miners have died in two separate incidents at platinum mines in South Africa.

International Business Times reports that the Afghan mining ministry is leaning heavily towards two state-owned Indian mining firms to develop the country's massive Hajigak iron ore mine: "Afghanistan's minister of mines Wahidullah Shahrani said Steel Authority of  India  Ltd. (SAIL) and mineral giant NMDC Ltd. were leading the pack of overseas companies from Canada, US and Iran. A third Indian company, Ispat Alloys, was also included in the shortlist."
The article says a SAIL-led consortium has bid for all four Hajigak iron ore blocks, and that the Karzai-led government is giving preference to companies that could set up a steel plant. The contract is estimated to be worth some $6 billion.

Calgary-based Laricina Energy said Friday it is seeking regulatory approvals for a 150,000 barrel-per-day expansion at its Germain oilsands project in northern Alberta. The three-phase expansion would add to the 5,000 bopd Germain Commercial Demonstration Project for a total production capacity of 155,000 bopd of bitumen from the Grand Rapids Formation.

The continued surge in the gold price amid financial market turmoil is seeing a dramatic shift in the pattern of gold buying and selling at the world's central banks. The Globe and Mail reports that after two decades of being net sellers of gold, central banks are now buying gold at a record pace reflecting deep concerns about the viability of the US dollar and the euro as stores of value: Official net purchases of gold exploded in the third quarter, totalling 148.8 tonnes, more than double the entire amount of government buying in 2010, the World Gold Council, a London-based industry association, said in a new report Thursday. “We are seeing what now looks like unprecedented levels of central bank buying,” said Marcus Grubb, managing director, investment, at the Gold Council. “We do believe this is a long-term trend. This is not just short-term, tactical buying.”

Production was halted temporarily at Hecla Mining's Lucky Friday silver mine due to an accident involving two contractors who were constructing an underground rock bin. The company said the accident occurred Thursday during construction of the #4 Shaft at the mine in northern Idaho.

A major expansion to an existing coal mining operation near historic Bryce Canyon National Park is getting a frosty reception in tourism-friendly Utah, reports Steel Guru. Alton Coal Development LLC and partner Kane Mining want to expand their reserves at the Coal Hollow Mine — Utah's only coal strip-mine — just one year after the mine opened. The expansion to more than 3500 acres requires the approval of the US Bureau of Land Management. But opponents are already lining up against the proposal, with one online petition signed by over 21,000 people.

Australian legal firm Minter Ellison predicts that lifting the ban on Australian uranium exports could present significant opportunities for mining companies in Australia, as Indian and other foreign state-owned enterprises look for uranium exploration opportunities in that country. Mineweb quotes the firm's Energy and Resources partner Andrew Thompson: "This reversal comes as welcome news to Australian mining companies that are currently restricted by the policy. It will see an increase in uranium export markets, as well as opportunities for foreign direct investment and increased capital for Australian uranium projects. "Australian uranium explorers and producers would benefit from India's increasing use of nuclear energy, which is expected to grow from 3% to 40% of total domestic electricity consumption by 2050."

Anglo American's $5.4 billion sale of its 24% stake in Codelco to Mitsubishi — Japan's largest trading house — is just the beginning of further rounds of competition between Japanese trading houses for the red metal. According to Reuters, Japan's top trading houses are flush with cash and ready to compete for copper assets, which they see as good prospects as demand for the metal rises and supply tightens: The competition is likely to drive up asset prices for potentially lucrative properties holding the base metal, with the trading houses jostling for the prize of becoming the top supplier for the world's fifth biggest copper market and to tap surging demand in China and other emerging markets.

The prices of rare earth elements, which have enjoyed a three-year run, are dropping rapidly, reports New York Times. The reason, says The Times, is on the manufacturing side, as big companies in the US, Europe and Japan that use REES in manufacturing move operations to China, draw down inventories, and look for lower-cost substitutes: International prices for some light rare earths, like cerium and lanthanum, used in the polishing of flat-screen televisions and the refining of oil, respectively, have fallen as much as two-thirds since August and are still dropping. Prices have declined by roughly one-third since then for highly magnetic rare earths, like neodymium, needed for products like smartphones, computers and large wind turbines.

Shares in Jaguar Mining (NYSE:JAG) surged 46% today on news that a Chinese gold producer is bidding $1 billion for the Brazil-focused company. The Globe and Mail reports that Shandong Gold is offering $9.30 per share in cash, which is a 73% premium to Jaguar's closing price Tuesday on the NYSE. The shares were changing hands at around $7.89 Wednesday afternoon in New York.

Alberta is poised to become a major player in Canadian mining, says The Mining Association of Canada. The Edmonton Sun reports that half of the country's $140 billion in mining activity over the next five years will be centred in Alberta, with 12 projects slated for development by 2016:

Pro-and anti-mining forces are clashing once again over a proposed copper-gold mine in northern BC. On Monday Taseko Mines, the proponent of the New Prosperity mining project, said it has started legal action against people it alleges have obstructed preparations at the minesite. In response, the Tsilhqot’in Nation filed an injunction against the company "to halt its plans for extensive road-building, drilling, excavation of test pits, and timber clearing in support of its unprecedented and controversial resubmitted bid for approval of its soundly rejected Prosperity Mine project," the Tsilhqot’in, which represents six First Nations, stated in a press release.