Mt. Burgess has identified a large zinc soil geochemical anomaly on its Kihabe-Nzuu base metals prospect in Botswana. Mt Burgess Mining NL (ASX: MTB), which has been actively exploring Botswana and Namibia for more than a decade -- initially for diamonds

Professor Barry Brook, chairman of the Sir Hubert Wilkins Chair of Climate Change at the University of Adelaide, told the final day of the Paydirt 2011 Uranium Conference in Adelaide that change in supply dynamics would require a large-scale but prudent expansion of nuclear energy infrastructure.

Gold Fields (GFIJ.J: Quote), the world's fourth-largest listed gold miner, said on Tuesday it had offered to buy out the remaining shares of its Peruvian unit to boost the group's total production of the precious metal.

KGHM (KGHM.WA: Quote), Europe's second biggest copper producer, has launched the sale of its telecoms arm Dialog as part of its plans to shed some non-core assets, sources close to the deal told Reuters late on Monday. "Teasers have been sent," one of the sources said, referring to a document presenting the company to potential buyers.

China's exports of rare earth metals burst through the $100,000-per-tonne mark for the first time in February, up almost ninefold from a year before, while the volume of trade stayed far below historical averages. China's squeeze on rare earths, which are used in a wide range of hardware including precision-guided weapons, hybrid car batteries and iPads, has forced prices up dramatically since July last year, when each tonne fetched a mere $14,405 on average.

Canadian base metals miner HudBay Minerals Inc raised its stake in Augusta Resource Corp to 14.3 percent by buying 5.4 million more shares in the company for C$21.3 million. HudBay now holds 20.2 million shares of Augusta Resource, up from about 14.8 million earlier, the company said on Monday.

Cameco Corp (CCO.TSX) remains confident that the long-term outlook for uranium is solid despite global anxiety over radiation from an earthquake-crippled nuclear plant in Japan, Chief Executive Jerry Grandey said on Monday. Speaking to Reuters in an exclusive interview at the Mining and Steel Summit, Grandey said that while the so-called nuclear renaissance will be slowed by the crisis in Japan, more uranium will be needed in the next few years to fuel reactors already online and under construction.

Aurion Resources Ltd. (TSX-V:AU) has acquired two new gold properties in Nevada, both of which are prospective for Carlin-type gold deposits, the Newfoundland-based precious metals explorer announced on Monday.

Canada's AuRo Resources agreed to buy two mines and a majority stake in a third mine in Colombia from Minerales Del Puerto for up to $1.3 million and not exceeding 6.5 million shares.