Azimut Exploration Inc. ("Azimut") (TSXV: AZM) reports excellent results from its 100%-owned Eastmain West property located in the James Bay region,Quebec. Chromium grades up to 39% Cr2O3 and platinum group element (PGE) values up to 1.9 g/t PGE have been obtained within a 4-km-long ultramafic intrusion on the property. These new data further confirm the strong chromium-PGE exploration potential of the project.

Bloomberg reports on Thursday that GVK Power & Infrastructure, a builder of airports and utilities controlled by Indian billionaire GV Krishna Reddy, is in talks to borrow as much as $850m to fund the purchase of two Hancock Prospecting coal mines according to people with knowledge of the negotiations. GVK will use the money to pay Hancock $500m for equity in the mines and another $350m as compensation for costs incurred by the Australian company for running them.

Mitchell Adam, President and CEO of Vancouver-based Pan Terra Industries announced on Thursday it has entered into a deal to acquire 80% of Namibia’s Congo Namibia Trading, a private gold and copper exploration company. Under Thursday's letter of intent, TSX-Venture listed Pan Terra will pay C$300,000 in cash and issue 3m shares as well as 3m share purchase warrants priced at C$0.73. Congo Namibia Trading holds 100% interest in five exclusive prospecting licenses in the Tsumeb Copper Belt in Namibia as well the rights to acquire 51% stake in an Angolan and a Zimbabwean gold joint venture.

Reforms by Guinea's first freely elected government are needed to clean up a mining sector in disarray after decades of political turmoil, but they risk scaring off investors if they go too far too fast. The world's top bauxite supplier and a new frontier for iron ore, Guinea is rewriting its mining code, probing joint venture deals, and has dealt tough blows to major firms since the election of President Alpha Conde last November.

During 2010, London- and Johannesburg-listed Central Rand Gold (CRG) produced 9,321 ounces of gold. This is the company that categorically stated in its 2007 annual report that it is "intended that CRG will begin gold production in early 2009 at an annualized rate of 100,000 ounces. This production rate is forecast to increase to around one million ounces a year by 2012."

Commodity Online reports that copper markets were in surplus of 118,000 tonnes during January — March this year according to the World Bureau of Metal Statistics. The market was in surplus 43,000 tonnes for the whole of 2010. Stocks of copper by end of March 2011 were 138,000 tonnes higher than by the end of 2010. Refined copper production was 4.76 million tonnes in Jan-March 2011, up 1.8% compared to the first quarter of 2010.

Last year's death of 29 miners in one of the worst mining disasters in US history "could have been prevented," a panel concluded Thursday, blasting the owner for lax safety at the Upper Big Branch mine. The report into the West Virginia blast, the deadliest US coal accident since 1970, also found that Massey Energy Co. miners lacked adequate training in safety and called for tougher enforcement powers for US federal and state mine inspectors.

now been notified by its customer, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., to suspend overburden removal activities at the Horizon oil sands project near Fort McMurray, Alta. The suspension is being taken while Canadian Natural undertakes repairs to its primary

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- International Coal Group (NYSE:ICO) hit a new 52-week high Thursday as it is currently trading at $14.52, above its previous 52-week high of $14.51 with 6.9 million shares traded as of 1:21 p.m. ET. Average volume has been 13