Orvana Minerals announced the commissioning of its El Valle-Boinás/Carlés ("EVBC") gold-copper mine in northern Spain by Kinbauri España S.L.U. ("Kinbauri"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Orvana. EVBC initiated the start-up and commissioning of the mill May 31, 2011, with the first shipment expected in June. EVBC will initially produce at 70% capacity, increasing to its full annual target production levels of over 100,000 ounces gold, 3,900 tonnes copper and over 150,000 ounces of silver once the shaft is completed in early 2012.

Mammoth Energy Group, a lithium and alternative energy mining company, announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary Compania Lithium Investments Limitada of Chile has signed a Letter of Intent to acquire six concessions for a total of 2471 acres (1000 hectares) of lithium concessions located in the Salar de laco in northeast Chile. "The Salar de laco is approximately 10 miles from the border of Argentina and approximately fifty miles away from the Salar de Atacama, Chile's largest mined lithium reserve," said William Lieberman, President of Mammoth Energy Group.

Grande Cache Coal announced its financial and operating results for the three and twelve months ended March 31, 2011. Net income for fiscal 2011 was $27.7 million ($0.28 per basic and diluted share) representing a 38% increase from $20.1 million ($0.21 per basic share and $0.20 per diluted share) in fiscal 2010. Fourth quarter net income was $5.1 million ($0.05 per basic and diluted share) compared to $1.4 million ($0.01 per basic and diluted share) in the same period last year.

Cliffs Natural Resources announced Thursday it will reduce its outlook from 6.5 million tons of coal this year to 5.1 million tons, citing severe weather damage at its Oak Grove mine in Alabama and carbon monoxide hazards in its Pinnacle mine in West Virginia. The company also said its newly acquired Bloom Lake operation will yield 4.8 million tons of iron ore concentrate this year.

Joy Global Inc. had a successful second quarter. The mining equipment manufacturer reported net income of $162 million for the second quarter of 2011, or $1.52 per share, compared to $120 million, or $1.15 per share, for the same period last year. Second quarter bookings were up 46% to $1.5 billion, while net sales jumped 19%. "We had another outstanding quarter, reaching record levels of performance in order bookings, shipments, operating profit margins and earnings per share,” said Mike Sutherlin, President and Chief Executive Officer. Sutherlin pointed to Joy Global's recent $1 billion acquisition of LeTourneau Technologies as an important complement to its rope shovel capability, by expanding into the wheel loader and drilling products markets. Image by Joy Global Inc.

Traditional Aboriginal owners in the Pilbara stand to receive more than $2 billion over 40 years under a watershed agreement with Rio Tinto that sets a new standard for negotiations between miners and indigenous Australia. Seven years in the making, the land-use agreement with five Aboriginal groups will allow about 40 new iron ore mines to proceed in an area of 70,000sqkm

Gold slid more than 1 percent on Thursday to post its biggest one-day decline in a month as the yellow metal was sold along with other commodities. "With the discussions in the market about lower commodity prices if China's slowing. And we've also had an outright decline in crude oil as well as base metals. I think that has sapped some of the vigor from the bullion market," said HSBC metals analyst James Steel in New York.

Canada's Sabina Gold & Silver Corp said on Thursday it would sell its Hackett River property and certain claims on the Wishbone Greenstone Belt in Nunavut, Canada to Xstrata Zinc Canada for C$50m in cash and a silver production royalty, lifting its shares almost 5% in early Toronto trade. In addition Xstrata has agreed to incur not less than $50m on exploration and other expenditures on the properties over a four year period. The transaction could take up to six months to complete and will position Sabina as purely a precious metal player.

Merrex Gold announced on Thursday a private placement worth $1.75m with Iamgold, its earn-in partner on the Siribaya Gold Project in Mali, which is potentially a 5m ounce deposit. Merrex's agreement with Iamgold will see the company take a 50% stake in Siribaya with Iamgold spending $10.5m on exploration over four years. In a note to investors Merrex said that spending on the 800 square km Mali project which kicked off in 2005, is being accelerated.