Gold is in the midst of a 20-year upward climb, according to The Great Super Cycle Author David Skarica in this interview with The Gold Report.

While gold is clearly a monetary asset and will, if anything, extend its influence as the only non-fiat currency (especially following developments in Europe last week), it is clear that in recent weeks it has been moving more closely in line with the rest of the commodities sector than with currencies or other financial instruments.

The $7.1 billion merger of coal miners Massey Energy Co (MEE.N) and Alpha Natural Resources Inc (ANR.N) should be blocked or Massey's board will avoid responsibility for their reckless management, a shareholder attorney told a court on Thursday. Several pension funds that invested in Massey have sued to block the vote next week by shareholders of the two companies.

China's biggest rare earth producer, Baotou Steel Rare Earth (Group) Hi Tech , has won local government approval to start an exchange to trade the increasingly lucrative metals used in many high-tech goods, state media reported on Friday. The regional government of Inner Mongolia, where the Shanghai-listed company's mining and processing operations are based, gave the "green light to the establishment of a rare earth exchange in the city of Baotou," the Xinhua news agency reported, citing city officials and an earlier statement from the Baotou Steel Rare Earth (Group) Hi Tech.

Minmetals Resources Ltd , a unit of China state-run China Minmetals Corp, said it would net $150.4 million from the sale of its entire stake in Equinox Minerals Ltd after it withdrew its its bid for the Africa-focused copper miner. In a filing to the Hong Kong bourse late on Thursday, Minmetals said it had disposed of all its 37.27 million shares in Equinox on May 25 for about $310.5 million under an offer by Barrick Gold Corp .

Orezone cut higher grades of gold in near surface oxides and deeper sulphides in a 15,000 metre round of drilling at the Bomboré project, Burkina Faso. "If the trend continues we can expect an increase in the size and grade of the oxide resources, with the potential to lower strip ratios and improve economics," said Rob Little, Orezone president and CEO, in a prepared statement.

Copper rose to its highest in three weeks on Friday, reversing losses in the previous session, as a weaker dollar boosted prices. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 traded at $9,213 tonne at 1243 GMT, from Thursday's close of $9,020. The metal hit $9,238, its highest since May 4, as the euro climbed to a session high against the dollar. However copper prices were on track for a third monthly loss.

Zambia has approved the proposed takeover of Equinox Minerals by Barrick Gold on condition the government keeps its 2.2 percent stake in Equinox, a regulatory body said on Friday. The Zambia Competition and Consumer Protection Commission granted final conditional authorisation of the acquisition as the deal did not raise any competition concerns, it said in a statement.

Chinese gold demand could rise over 22 percent in the next three years and sharply outpace domestic production, the head of the country's largest state-owned gold miner China National Gold Group said on Thursday, signalling room for a strong ramp up in imports. Gold production should reach 400 tonnes by 2014, a gain of nearly 19 percent from 2010, but consumption is set to grow by nearly a quarter to 700 tonnes, Sun Zhaoxue, president of the group, told reporters at the sidelines of a conference in Shanghai.

A Conference Board of Canada report says high energy and metals prices "are prompting resource companies to invest billions in iron ore projects, nickel processing and offshore oil developments" in Newfoundland and Labrador, generating the largest growth in real GDP this year of all the Canadian provinces." The board's Provincial Outlook - Spring 2011 report issued Wednesday also forecasts that Saskatchewan "will benefit from tax breaks and a hot mining industry."

Executives of Massey Energy Co (MEE.N) believed President Barack Obama had a secret agenda to bring down the coal company after 29 men were killed in an accident at one of its mines last year, a lawsuit shows. The charge came in a class action suit by investors who seek to block Massey's pending $7 billion takeover by Alpha Natural Resources Inc (ANR.N) as they press their claims for about $1 billion in losses from alleged Massey mismanagement.

Australia's Fortescue Metals said on Thursday that due to weak credit market conditions it had dropped plans to proceed with a previously announced $1 billion unsecured term loan facility. The loan was launched in the United States on Monday by JP Morgan , according to Loan Pricing Corp, a Reuters news service. It was syndicated in the range of 375-400 basis point over London Interbank Offered Rates (Libor), it said.