The board of Polyus Gold , Russia's biggest gold producer, approved on Tuesday its development strategy, which, once implemented, will see it become one of the world's top five gold miners in 2020.

Copper hit its highest since mid-April on Tuesday as a weaker dollar and hopes Chinese demand will remain firm helped offset investor anxiety over US and European sovereign debt concerns. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) traded at $9,800.25 a tonne by 0825 GMT compared with Monday's close of $9,694 a tonne.

Diamond producer Petra Diamonds on Tuesday reported a 24% increase in gross mine revenue to US$220.6 million for the year ended June 2011, mainly due to the steady increase in rough diamond prices from October 2010. Revenue of US$90.0 million in the

Prime Minister Julia Gillard is reassuring NSW coalminers her carbon tax will not stop their sons from following in their footsteps. Ms Gillard is spruiking her carbon price package in the NSW Hunter Valley today. Image is from MystifyMe Concert Photography (Troy).

Coal Services today announced a reduction of 2.78% to workers’ compensation premium rates for the New South Wales coal mining industry, with the target premium rate set at 3.5% (3.6% in 2010/11). This is the latest in a series of reductions that have seen premium rates fall from a high of 11.5% in 2002/03 to the current rate of 3.5%, equating to almost a 70% reduction over 8 years.

The largest glut of ships in history means the cheapest freight rates relative to iron-ore prices in at least a decade, helping Rio Tinto Group and BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) to generate record profit. The cost of transporting iron ore to China from Brazil, the biggest route, is now equal to 10 percent of the value of the commodity used by steelmakers, compared with 64 percent in 2003, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Copper and gold miner OZ Minerals will return up to $200 million to shareholders through an on-market buyback, as booming prices for its products continue to generate cash. Photo of copper concentrates being loaded, by OZ Minerals.

RAEM high-efficiency anti-vibration mounts from Trelleborg Industrial AVS have been chosen by Saito Separators of Japan for installations that require an exceptional level of isolation and a low noise signature.

Uranium is often seen and many other forms, but few know the metal's actual appearance, says Steve Little, a researcher at the University of Nottingham. His university posted an educational video, a cleaver wrapper used to promote research at the university, showing what uranium actually looks like.