Employees of diamond mining company De Beers are set to go on strike on Friday after wage talks broke down on Wednesday. The workers follow tens of thousands of others in South Africa's coal, metals and petroleum industries who have been on strike for weeks. The strikes come at a time when the country's mining output is slowing and new investment in the industry is drying up amid uncertainty about state ownership, taxation, an ever-changing regulatory environment and corruption. A recent ranking of top global mining investment destinations that puts Alberta at the top relegates South Africa to number 63 alongside Zimbabwe, Guatamala and Venezuela.

South Africa's Environmental Affairs department on Wednesday defended granting Coal of Africa approval to resume construction at the controversial Vele opencast project near Mapungubwe, saying science, not emotion, was behind the decision. Mapungubwe is a World Heritage site and home of the golden rhino figurine (pictured) that dates back to around 1000 AD when Southern Africa's earliest kingdom flourished. Construction of the mine were halted in August last year when it was discovered the Australian company did not comply with aspects of environmental management laws.

OPTI Canada, a bankrupt oil sands producer, has agreed to sell itself to a wholly-owned subsidiary of the China National Offshore Oil Corporation, in a deal worth $2.1 billion, the company said on Wednesday. Cnooc, as the Chinese oil giant is known, has been an active deal maker as it seeks to feed China’s ravenous demand for energy.

Black Range Minerals announced on Wednesday that the indicated and inferred resource for the combined Hansen/Taylor Ranch Uranium Project comprises of 68.9 Mt at 0.060% U3O8 for 90.9 million pounds of U3O8, representing a 51% increase in the number of pounds of U3O8 previously reported for the Taylor Ranch Uranium Project.

Curis Resources Ltd. (TSX: CUV) ("Curis" or the "Company") reports a formal update on activities at the Company's flagship advanced stage Florence Copper project in central Arizona, USA.

Latin American precious metal producer Hochschild Mining said output fell 13 percent in the first half, as expected, and that it was on track to meet its full-year target. It produced 11.1 million silver equivalent ounces in the first half due to lower grades at the company's two main Peruvian operations, declining output from its two ageing Ares and Moris mines, and industrial action at its San Jose mine.

The recent Chilean mine disaster has sparked new fresh debate in China regarding work safety and rescue work in the domestic mining industry. China has made huge steps to improve mine safety in recent years, reducing the number of deaths to approximately 2,600 in 2009 from 7,000 in 2003 even though coal output has more than doubled.

India's coal ministry has warned a group of six companies, including the local unit of the world's largest steel producer ArcelorMittal (MT.AE), to expedite work on developing a coal block jointly given to them, or face having the allocation cancelled.

Western Japan's electricity supply will fall 1.2 percent short of forecast peak demand for August, as five regional utilities' efforts to boost supply could not offset unplanned shutdowns this month of a nuclear reactor and a coal-fired plant, Japan's trade ministry said on Wednesday. Image of Fukushima Daiichi NPP in 2002 is from KEI.