Winnipeg Free Press reports: Harry Winston Diamond Corp. (TSX:HW) expects sales of its luxury jewelry and timepieces to reach $1 billion per year in the next decade as the number of wealthy individuals continues to climb. "There is an enormous concentration of wealth around the world," Frederic De Narp, head of Harry Winston's retail segment, said at the company's annual general meeting Thursday.

Australia moved closer to introducing a contentious 30 percent mining tax being eyed by other countries, releasing draft laws and seeking reaction from resource companies to legislation expected to be passed later this year. The government unveiled the mining tax over a year ago but modified its plan before last August' s elections after global miners including BHP Billiton , Rio Tinto , and Xstrata launched a public campaign against it. Big miners and minority lawmakers are now broadly supportive and the legislation is expected to pass parliament and take effect on July 1, 2012.

Metso will supply crushing equipment to Fortescue Metals Group in Australia. The delivery will be completed by May 2012. The value of the order is approximately EUR34 million. The order comprises 13 units of MP1000 secondary cone crushers. Three units will be delivered to Fortescue’s Christmas Creek iron ore site, and another ten units will go to the Solomon iron ore mine site. Both sites are located in the Pilbara region in Western Australia. The crushers will be supplied to the sites in pre-assembled, modularised form. Metso will also be providing installation and commissioning assistance of all units.

iverstone Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE:RVS)(OTCQX:RVREF)(FRANKFURT:3RV) is pleased to report further results from the drill program on the company's Karma Project in Burkina Faso, West Africa (see map on website: http://www.riverstoneresources.com/i/maps/110608-100504_GG1_2_Cartoon.jpg). The holes are part of an ongoing RC drill program on the Goulagou I zone of the Karma Project. The program is designed to both fill-in and expand the known mineralization at Goulagou I, which remains open in all directions, especially to the west and at depth. Map of the Karma Project by Riverstone Resources Inc.

Quebec Premier Jean Charest will travel to Europe this month to tout Plan Nord, the Canadian province's C$80-billion plan to boost mining and forestry, AFP reported Friday: The Quebec government unveiled the 25-year plan to develop "one of the last untouched territories of the world, filled with riches" in May. Charest is to meet with politicians and business leaders in London, Brussels, Frankfurt and Munich from June 27 to July 1.

Bloomberg reports: De Beers, the world’s largest diamond producer, is considering an expansion of its South African Voorspoed mine to extend the life of the operation by as much as eight years as prices for the gems climb. De Beers will complete a study this year on a proposed expansion that would prolong the mine’s life to “2026 or 2028,” rather than 2020 as currently planned, Mine Manager Mpumi Zikalala said today in an interview at the site near Kroonstad. It’s too early to estimate the cost of the project, which may include an underground section, she said.

Ethiopia is set to hit its target of more than doubling mining exports to an annual $1 billion ahead of time, the country's mining minister told Reuters, as it promotes gold extraction, but also fertilizer ingredient potash. Ethiopia, though still reliant on commodities like coffee for revenue, is expected to earn around $500 million from mining exports in the financial year to next July, the minister said. It had targeted doubling that over five years from 2010/11.

Canada's benchmark stock index inched up on Thursday, led by gains in the materials sector and better-than-expected economic news south of the border, The Montreal Gazette reported: The S&P/TSX composite index gained 71.95 points, or 0.55%, to 13,255.74 -still well below its highest point so far this year, 14,270.53, posted April 5, but a welcome sight after its longest string of losses since 2006. Saskatchwan PotashCorp led the market uptick, rising 3.39% to $53.98 on news of climbing US. corn futures. Agrium Inc. rose 2.61% to $82.49.

Despite weeks of negotiations, India has yet to reach a potash supply agreement with major potash suppliers, includingCanpotex, and is holding out for a lower price in order to bridge the gap between the international price of potash and the benchmark import parity price fixed by the government.