Gold dropped more than $57 or 3.4% an ounce in early afternoon trade while ever volatile silver tanked more than 6%. Platinum crashed through the $1,600 an ounce level and palladium fell almost 4%.
Over $3 billion and near 15,000 job positions. That is the cost to Honduras, the third poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, as a result of a lack of rules for mining companies operating or wishing to explore in the country.
Ian Hannam, better known as the "king of mining" after advising on some of the biggest deals in the past two decades, including BHP's London listing through its merger with Billiton, is fighting to save his reputation.
Peru's Minister of Energy and Mines Jorge Merino Tafur said the government is working hard on creating social programs for the communities and towns of La Oroya, which has been severely affected by the closure of Doe Run’s metallurgical complex three years ago.
As families and friends of dead miners mark the second anniversary of the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster in West Virginia on April 5, the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration announced it would issue its final set of rules for inspecting underground coal mines on Friday.
Australian coal mines owned by BHP Billiton (ASX:BHP) and Mitsubishi Development Pty Ltd (TYO:8058) in the Bowen Basin area voted to resume their strike, momentarily stopped this morning, right after Easter.
While speculation about the Supreme Court's upcoming ruling on the Affordable Care Act has been getting all the attention, there is a little known provision in the law that reinstates an old protection, an expansion of benefits for victims of black lung.