Copper

As commodities prices including precious metals were plummetting Thursday on more bad economic news, the Premier of British Columbia provided a glimmer of hope for the BC mining industry. In unveiling the province's job-creation strategy, Clark said the government plans to capitalize on high demand for minerals, especially in Asia, by opening up eight new mines in the next four years and expanding nine more by 2015.

December gold suffered another day of steep losses, dropping $82 an ounce, or 4.7%, to $1,659.50 in New York in noon trade on Friday, as investors were forced to raise cash to cover losses suffered on global stock markets this week. Copper extended its sharp declines on the London Metal Exchange falling as much as 7.3% to $7,115.75 a metric ton. Prices declined for a sixth day in a row losing 14% this week and have now slumped 26% from the record high of $10,190 set in February. Silver was hardest hit on Friday, plummeting 11.2% to $32.48. One metals analyst summed up the day this way: “We’re in a downward spiral, and no one knows when it’s going to end."

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Sept. 23, 2011) - Dorato Resources Inc. ("Dorato" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:DRI)(OTCQX:DRIFF)(FRANKFURT:DO5) announces receipt, from Minera Afrodita, of final drill results from the first phase of drilling at the northern-most anomaly at Cobrecon. Results indicate the presence of a large and pervasive mineralized porphyry system, drill-tested over an area of 2km x 1km (Figure 1). Grades can be considered sub-economic at 0.1% to 0.2% copper, but the presence of such a large and pervasive mineralized system is encouraging for the two remaining drill targets (Cobrecon Sur and Cobrecon Este), which are defined by larger, more intense surface geochemical anomalies. Drilling on the remainder of the targets is subject to Minera Afrodita's permitting process.

Canadian Press reported Thursday on the merger of US Gold Corp. (TSX:UXG) and Minera Andes Inc. (TSX:MAI) to form a new corporate entity called McEwen Mining.

Teck Resources Limited (NYSE: TCK) will invest $210 million at its Trail Operations to increase its capacity to recycle end-of-life electronic waste and $475 million in a mill modernization project at Highland Valley Copper. Both operations are located in British Columbia. The No. 4 Furnace Project at Trail Operations includes the construction of a new slag fuming furnace and settling furnace that will integrate into the existing lead smelting process. Construction on the project will begin in 2012 with completion scheduled for 2014.

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Sept. 22, 2011) - Franco-Nevada Corporation (TSX:FNV)(NYSE:FNV) ("Franco-Nevada") and Lumina Royalty Corp. ("Lumina Royalty") have entered into an arrangement agreement whereby Franco-Nevada will acquire all of the common shares of Lumina Royalty by way of a court approved plan of arrangement for US$60 million in Franco-Nevada common shares and US$6 million in listed Franco-Nevada warrants ((TSX:FNV.WT.A) with a C$75.00 exercise price, expiring June 16, 2017). Under the arrangement, Lumina Royalty shareholders will receive 0.03487 Franco-Nevada common shares and 0.01917 Franco-Nevada warrants for each Lumina Royalty common share held.

World markets tumbled overnight as bad news mounts and investors turn pessimistic. The Hang Seng fell 4.95%, the S&P ASX was down 2.63% and the Shanghai composite index is down -2.78%. Even gold, the traditional fear trade, was off three percent and trading at $1,739.

News that the Mongolian government is rethinking a 2009 deal that gave Ivanhoe Mines and Rio Tinto a 66% stake in the massive Oyu Tolgoi gold and copper project has sent the shares of Ivanhoe down more than 9.5% in Toronto on Wednesday afternoon, while Rio's ADRs gave up over 6% in New York trade. The bad news appears to have led to a bust-up between the two companies, with Ivanhoe founder and CEO Robert Friedland saying on Wednesday Rio's senior management has been making "unauthorized and incomplete" statements about Oyu Tolgoi and that he will take the matter up with the world's number three miner. Ivanhoe is closely tied to Mongolia where it also controls SouthGobi, a producing coal mine. SouthGobi plummeted 10% on Wednesday.

Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold reported on Wednesday that the strike at its Grasberg operations in Papua, Indonesia, which began Sept. 15, is costing the company about 3 million pounds of copper and 5 thousand ounces of gold for each day of the work stoppage. The company says that it is negotiating a two-year extension of its bi-annual collective labour agreement, which is scheduled for renewal on September 30, 2011.