A wage agreement between De Beers Consolidated Mines and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has been signed, the diamond producer said on Thursday.

AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (ANG), which owns the world’s deepest mine, will within two years trial new mining methods in South Africa to access almost $118 billion worth of gold lying more than three miles underground as it expects gold prices to keep rising from this year’s record. The world’s third-largest gold producer wants to gain access to an estimated 70 million ounces of gold more than 3.1 miles below the surface to extend the lives of its South African mines. The metal is worth $117.6 billion at current prices.

Australian shares have fallen to levels not seen since the GFC as investors reacted to the carnage on Wall St and European markets overnight. The local market shed more than $50 billion on Friday, and around $100 billion in the week, the worst performance since November 2008. RBS Morgans private client adviser Bill Bishop said developed economies had reached a point where there appeared no clear way to avoid an economic downturn.

Peabody Energy Corp. is leaving the door open for a rival bidder to step in for Macarthur Coal Ltd. by offering less for the Australian mining company than it did last year, even as profit is projected to double.

Bloomberg reports palladium and platinum fell today as amid concerns that the global economic recovery may stall.

Talon Metals has cranked up the resource estimate for its Trairão iron ore project in Brazil by 60%, the company said today, which puts the inferred resources at over a billion tonnes. Talon, based in British Virgin Islands, added another 414 million tonnes with an average grade of 33% Fe to its existing two target areas, bringing the total amount of iron ore to 1.102 billion tonnes.

Regal Resources, via its 50% owned entity UCTL Pty, has retained Stanford University in California, one of the world’s leading research universities, to conduct Phase Two Proof of Concept Testing of its UCTL technology.

Russia's Uralkali, who together with Belaruskali and North-American producers represented by Canpotex, control almost 60% of world production, said on Thursday its trading company raised prices for India by 32%. Uralkali's export arm will supply 1.2 million tonnes to India at $490/tonne (up from $370/tonne) through the end of March 2012. On Wednesday arduous negotiations between Canpotex and India ended in a two-step deal that increases the export price to $470/tonne for the fourth quarter and adding another $60/tonne next year. India has some 55 million small farmers and is the world's number one importer at over 6 million tonnes per year.

Australian Mining reports: a new Australian government partnership with the mining industry focussing on education, employment and business development is working towards developing opportunities for indigenous Australians.

“The size of Queensland’s resource sector will ensure Indigenous Australians have access to real job opportunities and skills that are transferable in an industry in need of skilled workers,” [says Mark Arbib, minister for indigenous employment and economic development].