About 150 000 South African coal workers seeking 14% wage increases plan to walk off the job from Sunday in a strike that could dent exports and hurt power supplies in Africa's largest economy. Hundreds of thousands of union workers have downed tools in recent weeks, or are threatening to do so, seeking raises double or triple the 5% inflation rate in the mid-year bargaining session known locally as "strike season".

A large Queensland pastoral farm used for wagyu cattle breeding is set to become a coal mine after Australian Agricultural Company (AAC) agreed to sell a property to mining company Xstrata. The global miner will pay $21.6 million cash for the 17,474-hectare Meteor Downs property without any cattle or machinery. Image is from Cyrille BERNIZET

The largest union at Chile's Escondida copper mine has voted to "indefinitely" extend a strike at the mine, which is controlled by BHP Billiton. Members of the 2350-strong Escondida Mine Workers Union No 1 "unanimously voted" to extend the work stoppage, which began on Thursday night and was initially planned to end 24 hours later at 8pm on Friday, union leader Jose Vidal said.

BHP Billiton will continue to source workers through external agencies despite a recent legal stoush over a rogue employment scam. The mining giant was forced to take legal action through an arm of the United Nations earlier this year to combat a scam

Ecuador's energy and mining minister Mr Wilson Pastor said that Ecuador will offer new mining concessions in 10 areas in the fourth quarter of this year.

Watch this documentary about two of the biggest draglines ever built. The Captain was the first of the big draglines, built by Marion Power Shovel for the Captain Mine in Illinois. It was then rivalled by the Big Muskie, owned by the Central Ohio Coal Company.

Gold held steady below USD 1,600 on Friday, after the euro zone leaders reached an agreement on a Greece bailout plan, but prices are expected to be rangebound as investors keep an eye on the progress made in US debt talks. Euro zone leaders agreed at an emergency summit on Thursday to give their financial rescue fund sweeping new powers to help Greece overcome its debt crisis and prevent market instability from spreading through the region.

The largest union at Chile's Escondida copper mine voted to "indefinitely" extend a strike at the mine, which is controlled by global diversified miner BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP, BHP.AU), union leader Jose Vidal said Friday. Members of 2,350-strong Escondida Mine Workers Union No. 1 "unanimously voted" to extend the work stoppage, which began Thursday night and was initially slated to end 24 hours later at 8 p.m. EDT on Friday, Vidal told Dow Jones Newswires.

Rio Tinto is disappointed with the Australian government's carbon tax proposal, warning it will inevitably hinder investment and jobs growth in Australia without reducing global carbon emissions. Rio Tinto believes the government's carbon tax will undermine Australia's international competitiveness and hurt the nation's export competing industries.