CNBC's Mark Koba on Thursday has a critical look at US presidential candidate Ron Paul's ideal world – one without a Federal Reserve and a return to the gold standard.

Japanese companies such as Samsung, Toyota, Mitsubishi and Sumitomo are evaluating the recently opened option to tap into the lithium industry in Chile, local newspaper Diario Financiero published on Thursday.

Record annual earnings of more than $2 billion released today by key global copper producer Southern Copper Corp (NYSE:SCCO), were overshadowed by the company’s decision of pushing back the beginning of its operation at the $1 billion Tia Maria project until 2015.

Canada’s nuclear-energy industry generates some $6.6 billion in annual revenue, $1.2 billion in exports each year and employs roughly 31,000 people according to Harper's office.

BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP), the world’s largest mining company, expects to increase production at its Escondida copper mine in Chile to over 1.3Mt/y in the 2015 financial year, said CEO Marius Kloppers yesterday in a webcast to discuss fiscal H1 results.

Canadian miner giant Teck Resources (TSX:TCK.B) reported Thursday a record annual profit of $2.7 billion, up by half from 2010, fuelled mainly by higher coal prices.

A northern BC miner has hit the proverbial jackpot.

BHP Billiton may shelve diamond mining for at least two decades to concentrate on larger aspects of its business, CEO Marius Kloppers said today.

Gindalbie Metals has announced the award of the magnetite ore mining contract for the Karara iron ore project in Western Australia to Downer EDI Mining. With a total estimated value of approximately A$570 million over a duration of six years, the contract is one of the largest single operational contracts for the Karara project.