Zinc may be good for your everyday galvanizing and diecasting, but it may also be good at fighting colds. According to the Cochrane Collaboration, zinc taken as a lozenge or syrup reduced the duration and severity of the common cold in healthy people. "People taking zinc are also less likely to have persistence of their cold symptoms beyond seven days of treatment. Zinc supplementation for at least five months reduces incidence, school absenteeism and prescription of antibiotics for children with the common cold."

Silvercorp announced on Thursday that it received a positive preliminary assessment for its Silvertip silver-lead-zinc project in northern British Columbia. Silvercorp's stock was up 4% on the TSX on Friday. The report prepared by Golder Associates favoured a small mine and mill operating seasonally at 500 tonne per day or 72,000 tonne per year. "The initial capital cost of the project is estimated to be $US49 million with sustaining capital costs over the remaining mine life (21 years) estimated at $US54.2 million. The payback period is estimated at 4 years for the base case and 2 years for the upside case after reaching commercial production."

Market strategist Robert Griffifths reckons that many Western analysts and journalists just don't understand the driving forces behind gold and silver investment

The Brazilian miner said on Friday it will lose 5% of its total nickel production for 2011 as a result of a 16-week shut down of a smelter furnace in Canada Brazilian miner Vale said on Friday it will lose around 5 percent of its total 2011 nickel

Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest may face directorship ban following the overturning of an earlier court case by the Australian Federal Court Today proved to be a day of champagne followed by flat beer for the chief executive of Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:

Compañía Minera del Pacífico has awarded the EPCM contract or its Cerro Negro Norte iron ore mining projects to international engineering firm AMEC International engineering and project management company, AMEC, has been awarded an engineering,

The group announced better-than-expected results for the year on the back of higher prices and said it remains positive about the outlook for commodities markets. Anglo American (AAL.L: Quote) (AGLJ.J:Quote), the world's fourth-largest diversified miner,

The Anglo-Australian company wants to benefit from higher prices for steel-making coal, the business daily said, adding steelmakers oppose the switch, fearing frequent price changes would make production costs more volatile.

The Australian miner said annual sales could fall by around a fifth as a result of the heavy flooding that in the country that affected some of its collieries Australian miner Macarthur Coal's annual sales could fall by around a fifth