There are conventionally 2,080 work hours in a year. Thus somebody earning a wage of $20 an hour gets the equivalent of a salary of about $42,000. Considering the mine manager makes about $100,000 to $150,000 a year, it is interesting to take a look at actual wages paid to miners in the United States in 2011.

58% of the world’s refined copper is now stockpiled in China, an increase of 40% in just six months. Traders say the country may hold as much as three quarters of the “spare” stock that is actually available to the market.

Yamana Gold (TSX:YRI) announced that net earnings increased 15% to $170 million, $0.23 per share in first quarter of 2012.

Allana Potash (TSX:AAA) surged 9.8% on Tuesday on higher than usual trading volumes, after upping the resource at its Danakhil project by 90%.

Japan and India have reached a basic agreement to jointly develop rare earths, used in the production of several high-tech goods from weapons to cell phones, and supply Tokyo with about 14% of its rare earth needs.

Blaming severe weakness in U.S. thermal coal markets, Arch Coal, Inc. (NYSE: ACI) today reported first quarter 2012 net income of $1.2 million, or $0.01 per diluted share, compared with net income of $55.6 million, or $0.34 per diluted share, in the prior-year period.

Bella Ideale Diamonds, a company that sells jewellery and provides strategies for diamond investing, claims that certain high quality diamonds exceed investment returns of traditional investments and are second only to gold in price appreciation over the past 10 years.

The Globe and Mail notes that rules for the second environmental review of Taseko Mine’s Prosperity project has been tightened up, and […]

Birks, one of Canada's main manufacturers and retailers of fine jewellery since 1879, is bringing the largest collection of yellow diamonds ever to be exhibited in the jeweller's history to its Toronto location. A collection of pieces worth $10 million will be showcased at Birks on Bloor from May 2 to 6, 2012.