Rising inflation in China and India's tenth interest rate hike since March 2010, is set to take a toll on consumers preference for the yellow metal, according to analysts and traders. ``Gold and silver will surely get pummelled in the near term with signs of a stronger US dollar and yet another rate hike in India. Investors have very little savings these days and prefer not to invest in gold,'' said Manoj Maheswari, bullion analyst at a brokerage firm here.

Lithium One Inc. announced on Wednesday the commencement of a pumping test program at its flagship Sal de Vida lithium-potash brine project in Argentina (pictured), one of the largest and the highest-grade lithium and potash brine projects in the world. The TSX Venture-listed company traded little changed on the news and like shares in other juniors in the sector is very volatile. Lithium One is down over 10% so far this year and has not been able to reach the record high it hit back in August 2009 when the Argentina project was first acquired.

Qinghai Salt Lake Industry signed a letter of intent with Zhongchuan Mining to jointly turn a salt lake in Saskatchewan, Canada, into a potassium chloride production base, with total investment of $3.2 billion, reports National Business Daily, citing a company filing. The government will contribute $2-2.5 billion of the total investment amount, according to the filing.

In April/May, Peel Mining Limited (ASX:PEX) undertook an 18 line kilometre IP survey over the historic Tulloch silver mine and Rockvale arsenic mine areas in preparation for an upcoming drill programme. Peel is pleased to report that multiple zones of strong shallow chargeable anomalism have been identified, many of which are coincident or proximal to known historic workings. These chargeable IP responses are interpreted as areas of possibly concentrated sulphide mineralisation and will be high-priority targets for future drill programmes.

Heatherdale Resources announced that it has closed the previously announced non-brokered private placement of 11,314,255 units of its capital at a price of $0.83 per unit for gross cash proceeds of $9,390,831. Each unit consists of one common share and one warrant entitling the holder to purchase an additional common share at a price of $1.20 for a period of 18 months from the closing of the private placement. The common shares and warrants comprising the units are subject to a four month hold period from the closing date, which hold period expires on October 15, 2011.

Sulliden Gold announced positive results from feasibility-level metallurgical test work focused on the oxide-bearing gold and silver material at its 100%-owned Shahuindo Project located in Peru.

Utah News reports: industrial safety expert Thomas Hethmon has been chosen by the University of Utah to occupy the Western Mining Presidential Endowed Chair in Mine Safety, a new faculty position funded by Barrick Gold of North America and CONSOL Energy.

“The University of Utah is uniquely positioned to influence industrial safety and health management in the U.S. and abroad,” said Hethmon in a prepared statement. “The [U.] College of Mines has an international reputation for academic excellence, a long and positive relationship with the industry, and its administration is completely supportive of our plans for the chair,” says Hethman.

Unemployed people in Wilcannia, New South Wales, Australia, will be given the opportunity to train for certification in resource and infrastructure work preparation, ABC News reports. The goal is that employment in the region's new mining projects will follow.

"There's jobs there, and there's going to be lots of jobs in the near future, and fortunately we've got a lot of people interested in that industry. That was one of the main reasons why we picked this type of course to run out there."

To answer some of the community's questions about their Eagle Mine project, Kennecott Minerals has opened a new education center in downtown Marquette, Michigan.

Visitors will see models, videos and exhibits relating to the Eagle Mine operations. The goal of the center is to strengthen their relationship with the community and to provide a place where residents can learn about sustainable and responsible mining.