Equipment Journal: The Construction Sector Council has declared in a new report that in order to meet upcoming construction labour needs in mining and other industries around British Columbia, worker mobility and training will need to increase.

“Industry will need to meet labour demand requirements through worker mobility, including regional moves by workers within the province - south to north and potentially workers from outside our province or country to meet peak demands,” added [President of the Construction Labour Relations Association of BC, Clyde] Scollan. “Both short- and long-term worker training will have to be a focus to help meet the labour demand on the industrial and engineering projects in remote areas.”

Rio Tinto Northparkes Mines has established a professorial chair in geotechnical engineering at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) to enable underground mining and block caving research, reports Australian Mining. Head of UNSW School of Mining, Bruce Hebblewhite, explained that "this partnership recognises the importance of geotechnical engineering as a core element for successful and safe underground mining. "[Block caving] is the lowest cost underground mining method available and is growing rapidly around the world….and there is a significant shortage of people with skills in these areas," Hebblewhite added.

South Africa's Impala Platinum Holdings (Implats), the world’s second-largest platinum producer by volume, has agreed to transfer 51% of Zimplats, its subsidiary in Zimbabwe, after long-drawn-out negotiations with the government of that country.

UK Coal's (LON:UKC) shares plunged by more than 28% in late afternoon trading after it revealed it was considering closing a coal mine in Warwickshire.

Japanese JX Nippon Oil & Energy acquired a 25% of diversified miner Xstrata Coal operations in Western Canada for US$435 million, creating a joint venture that will build the business and market coal in Japan.

A respected diamond expert says that an influx of "recycled" diamonds entering the market could depress prices of the precious stones and hurt diamond miners.

Improving U.S. economic sentiment bringing prospects of an interest rates rise ahead have strengthened the dollar and meantime weakened the gold price while platinum is again showing a premium over gold.

Woulfe Mining was off 8.5% to trade at 32 cents on the Canadian venture exchange today despite delivering a preliminary economic assessment for its Muguk gold project in Korea.

China's annual gold production continues to grow comfortably maintaining its position as the world's biggest gold miner assuming official statistics tell the full picture - which they may not!