Glencore International plc plans to raise up to $12.1 billion in a London and Hong Kong IPO, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters on Thursday, cashing in on a resources boom and giving the trading giant the fire power to grow through acquisitions. The much anticipated initial public offering, set to value the company at up to $60 billion, will mark the end of four decades of closely guarded privacy for the world's biggest commodities trading company.

MiningNews.net reports that the Cut, a simulated underground training mine in Perth, is attracting attention from mining specialists all over the world. Training specialist Barminco is arranging several tours in the next few weeks, with visitors from as far afield as Chile.

"We’ve put a bit of time and money into setting this up," Barminco training co-coordinator Steve Motion said. "From an induction point of view, I think it will be a pretty good idea for putting what we call green people or new people through, just to give them that feeling of what it’s like to go underground and how an underground mine works."

Harmony Gold (HARJ.J: Quote) said on Wednesday that its gold production for the March 2011 quarter would likely be two percent lower than the previous quarter mainly due the impact of the Christmas break. It did not give figures in a brief guidance to investors but it said cash operating costs remained steady and capital expenditure was contained during the quarter.

Australian copper and gold miner Oz Minerals said on Thursday it is on track to achieve its forecast gold output of more than 185,000 ounces despite a 23 percent drop in first-quarter output. "While total gold production was lower this quarter, higher grades expected in the second and third quarters are expected to see production achieve forecast levels for the year of 185,000+ oz of gold," the company said in its quarterly production report.

Magma Metals Limited (ASX & TSX: MMW) (“Magma” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the completion of an A$20 million placement of approximately 71.4 million new fully paid ordinary shares at a price of A$0.28 per share (“Issue Price”) (the “Placement”).

Business Report writes: The eight-month moratorium on granting prospecting licences is expected to be lifted on Monday with the unveiling of an online application system expected to ensure transparency and reduce turnaround times.

Exploration Orbite VSPA has discovered the presence of high-value byproducts such as scandium, gallium and other important rare earth elements in its Grande-Vallée deposit in the Gaspé region of Quebec, all of which offer strong economic potential for the company and for Canada, the company believes.

Cutting some hefty gold intercepts, Revolution Resources is following in the footsteps of Romarco Minerals and its multi-million ounce Haile gold mine in the Carolina Slate Belt. Image by Revolution Resources

Osisko Mining (TSX: OSK) poured its first gold at the Canadian Malartic open-pit gold mine in Quebec on Wednesday, April 13, 2011. The act ushered in not only one of Canada's newest miners, but one of its largest, with production at Malartic planned to hit 600,000 ounces gold a year, over a 12-year mine life.