"As the fifth-biggest consumer of diamonds, a stake in a diamond mine would be interesting," the CEO of Swatch Group, Nick Hayek told the Finanz und Wirtschaft newspaper on Saturday. The world's largest watchmaker, which apart from cheap and cheerful Swatches, also owns luxury brands Breguet, Blancpain, Glashütte (pictured), Omega and Tiffany & Co, said demand for watches studded with diamonds has increased explosively and the desired quality are only available in small quantities. According to IDEX research global polished diamond prices rose sharply during the second half of June, and are showing no signs of a pull-back.

Rescue work in a flooded coal mine in Guizhou Province has been terminated, 14 days after a flood trapped 23 workers underground. The rescue work in Niupeng Mine, located in Pingtang County, was halted at 4 p.m. Saturday. The miners were very unlikely to be alive, according to an assessment by rescue experts. Twenty one workers remain missing while two bodies have been retrieved from the mine. The area where the miners are believed to be has been completely submerged. While 406,000-cubic meters of water had been pumped out during the past 14 days, flood water was still pouring into the pit.

Mines Minister Obert Mpofu has rejected the monitor nominated by civil society to oversee operations at the Chiadzwa diamond fields, saying the appointment is null and void. The proposed watchdog is part of ongoing efforts to legitimise Zimbabwe's diamond trade, which was suspended in 2009 over human rights concerns at the Chiadzwa diamond fields. These concerns are still high with ongoing reports of rights abuses and rampant smuggling, all at the hands of the military, which maintains tight controls of the entire area.

A FATHER-of-two has been jailed after trying to collect £730,000 of gold bullion for a criminal gang to clear his drug debts. James Rea, 45, walked into a precious metal merchants in London with a forged driving licence and utility bill in the name of

Rescuers have brought to surface the first miner, trapped underground as a result of a landslide that occurred at a coal mine in Russia's republic of Komi, Vorkutaugol spokesman Yevgeny Sukharev said on Sunday. Three miners had been trapped underground as as a result of a landslide that occurred at a coal mine in Russia’s republic of Komi on Saturday, emergencies services said. Seventy miners out of the 73 who were working at the Severnaya mine when the landslide occurred.

After rejecting a deal reached by fellow tribesmen, hundreds of Marri tribesmen backed by their chief blocked transportation of coal from Chamalang in Balochistan Pakistan to other parts of the country on Saturday. The blockade follows weeks of deadly skirmishes for control of the coal fields that hold recoverable reserves more than 500 million tonnes. The high-quality Chamalang coal mines were first discoverd in 1885 (see historic map) when the country was under British rule and a 30-year bloody war between the Pashtoon Luni and Marri tribes over the recoverable reserves were ended only after the Pakistan Army intervened in 2006 and mining could restart. The latest dispute is between the Marri leader who signed the peace treaty with the Luni and the leader of the separatist movement in Balochistan.

It’s not just on the financial markets where people are looking to protect their wealth. In Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, traders have been buying and selling gold since 1461, the early days of the Ottoman Empire. Its shops attract between 250,000 and half a million visitors daily. One Moroccan tourist on a visit to the market told euronews (check video after the jump) the quality of gold varies from one store to another, but the prices are usually good. “Nevertheless, I always negotiate,” he said. An estimated 22 billion euros worth of gold is traded at the Grand Bazaar each year. (Image by Faraways / Shutterstock.com is of an unidentified salesman lining op bracelets at the Grand Bazaar on June 9, 2011 in Istanbul.)

Three miners have been trapped underground as as a result of a landslide that occurred at a coal mine in Russia's republic of Komi on Saturday, emergencies services said. Seventy miners out of the 73 who were working at the Severnaya mine when the landslide occurred at around 6 pm local time (14:00 GMT) during a shift change. The three trapped miners are alive, an emergencies services official said. "Rescuers have established connection with one of the trapped miners," he said. "We know for sure that he is alive. He made it clear by rapping that his two colleagues are also alive."

In 2001 palladium reached $1,080/oz when gold was only $300/oz and platinum $715/oz. Three factors will help fuel palladium to surpass its 2001 high and well beyond says Market Oracle: Chinese auto production is expected to go from 18 million units in 2010 to a staggering 30 million vehicles by 2020. A vehicle's catalytic converter requires about 1/20th of a troy ounce of palladium and/or platinum and since platinum costs 124% more than palladium ($1,735 vs $776) it is reasonable to assume automobile manufactures will elect to use cheaper palladium. Secondly the looming palladium supply deficit and thirdly the exemplary success of pure palladium ETFs which already have over $1 billion in assets representing roughly 1.3 million oz of palladium taken off the market.