One of Canada's most successful, historic gold mines is poised for a renaissance following a new resource estimate that outlines 1.26 million ounces of gold. The updated NI-43101, filed Wednesday by Ottawa-based PC Gold, says the gold is contained in 10.15 million tonnes of ore averaging 3.9 g/t Au. The deposit has a higher-grade underground component of 1.1 million ounces averaging 5.4 g/t Au, with almost half — 600,000 ounces — contained in high-grade veins grading 9.3 g/t Au. Image by PC Gold Inc.

South Africa's National Union of Mineworkers' central committee on Wednesday backed the country's Freedom Charter clause on nationalization and the ruling ANC party's resolution of 2010 to look at a greater role for the state in the economy. NUM is the largest union and represents the majority of workers in South Africa's mining industry. Through its affiliation with the Congress of South African Trade Unions it is also part of the country's ruling alliance, which next year will make a formal decision on the nationalization of the resource sector, long the bedrock of the African nation's economy.

Zimbabwe's Newsday reports the National Mine Workers’ Union has complained about the working conditions at Chinese-owned chrome and gold mines dotted around the Midlands region, saying they were inhuman and unsafe. At a meeting to commemorate the death of 427 Hwange miners at the Kamandama underground mine in 1972, national organising secretary Cotten Ndlovu said miners at Chinese-run companies were being forced to work long hours without incentives and protective clothing and accused Chinese mining firms of flouting the country’s labour laws.

Taseko Mines is inviting public discussion on its revised plan for developing a controversial gold-copper mine in British Columbia. Information on the project and a commentary section are found at http://www.newprosperityproject.ca. Taseko announced in February it is taking another run at Prosperity after the federal government rejected it last fall. Under the revisions, the company plans to spend another $300 million, pushing the project's capex to $1.1 billion. Image by Taseko Mines Ltd.

Canada’s Rodinia Lithium Inc. announced on Wednesday encouraging results from its continued reverse circulation drill program at its Salar de Diablillos project located in Salta Province, Argentina close to FMC Corp’s lithium mine, the world’s third largest. Rodinia focuses on lithium exploration and development in North and South America and the commercialization of a significant potash co-product that is expected to be recoverable through the lithium harvesting process. Listed on the TSX-Venture exchanged, shares in the tightly held junior had lost over 4% in afternoon trade.

The Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME) has launched its first online course: Ethics in the Mining Industry by Lee Saperstein. This online course defines ethics, its concepts, its history, and its impact on professional practice. Learn more from the course description on the SME website.

Oil sands mining are not typically associated with Africa and the continent's two mega-projects, one in the Congo Basin and another on the island of Madagascar, are running into trouble. The $3bn deal between the Republic of Congo and Eni, Italy's state-owned oil major, runs out this year amid criticism about its lack of transparency and environmental impact. In Madagascar, the partner of France's Total, Madagascar Oil declared a force majeur after the Malagasy government apparently threatened to seize one of the London-listed company's oil fields.

H2O Innovation, a complete water treatment solutions company providing custom designed high performance systems for the municipal, industrial, and natural resources markets, announces today that it has been awarded a major $9.4 million contract by Fort Hills Energy for the Fort Hills Oil Sands Project operated by Suncor Energy Operations. This contract will see H2O Innovation design, build, install, and commission a water treatment package that will provide potable water for the workers of Fort Hills Project currently in development 90 kilometers north of Fort McMurray, Alberta.

The board of Botswana Diamonds (AIM: BOD) is pleased to announce that its geologists have identified sequences of sedimentary rock layers in several localities in the east of its Cameroon diamond licence. These layers include a distinct conglomerate horizon, which is geologically correlated with the paleo-conglomerate that C&K Mining has identified as being diamondiferous.