On record cash flow La Mancha (TSX: LMA) doubled net earnings in its first quarter to C$7.5 million. La Mancha credited strong gold prices and production for the performance. In the first quarter last year La Mancha produced 21,654 ounces gold, but increased production at La Mancha's Hassai mine in Sudan and Frog's Leg mine in Australia pushed that number up by 50 percent to 32,426 ounces gold.

Hathor Exploration has released a new resource estimate that effectively doubles its uranium deposit in Saskatchewan's Athabasca Basin. The company said Tuesday it has identified over 30 million pounds of uranium oxide (inferred) at the East Zone of the property. That works out to 118,000 tonnes of U308 graded at 11.58%. According to the technical report, exploration consisted of a 21-hole drilling program, with about 368 sample intervals assayed for U308 and other metals, including arsenic, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, nickel and selenium. Image of mineralization in drill core, Far East Zone, by Hathor Exploration Limited

California-based Casablanca Mining reported first quarter results that consolidated the gains made by the exploration and intellectual property rights company in 2010. Total assets increased to $3.8m and net loss declined to $0.01/share. Construction of Sulfatos Chile Copper Sulfate plant using the company’s patented electrolysis extraction process was continued. Casablanca also said it is in negotiation to acquire further gold mining properties in Chile and has some 43-101 technical reports in progress.

Many investors are calling into question billionaire hedge-fund manager George Soros’s commitment to gold. With higher highs no longer a regular occurrence in the gold market, some see Soros’s dumping of gold ETFs as a clear sign that the party is over. But as trading in the first Asian precious metal futures contract opens on Wednesday, bearish investors may want to take a cue from the millions — maybe billions — of investors in India, China, Vietnam and across the region who are pouring money into gold and are willing to pay a premium.

Caledonia Mining increased gold production by 17% and nearly doubled its profit to $5,248,000 compared to $2,815,000 in the fourth quarter 2010. Announcing its Q1 results on Wednesday, the company also said that its average cash cost per ounce of gold produced decreased by 18% to US$648 compared to the fourth quarter 2010. As of March 31, 2011 the company had net cash and cash equivalents of $1,406,000.

Leanne Bellegarde, lawyer, member of the Kawacatoose First Nation in Saskatchewan, and director of aboriginal strategy for Potash Corp of Saskatchewan Ltd., argues that in order to take advantage of the large aboriginal population in Saskatchewan looking for work, mining companies must recognize the needs of their potential employees and engage them in such a way that they develop into suitable workers.

“It would be really easy to say that we have hundreds of jobs, please apply, and walk away,” says Ms. Bellegarde. “It’s another to ask, ‘How many people do you have in your communities . . . and what do we need to work with you to ensure that they will be qualified applicants?’ ... That’s the conversation we get into.”

Preliminary metallurgical test work was conducted on a composite sample of the haematitic saprolite ore from the Nkout Centre area of the deposit. The sample consisted of drill hole intersections from the central part of the deposit and had a head grade of 43.6% Fe. The aim of the test work was to determine the potential to produce a suitable blast furnace feed. The test work was conducted at SGS Mineral Services, Truro, UK.

Billionaire investor George Soros sold most of his holdings in the bullion-backed SPDR Gold Trust and iShares Gold Trust (IAU) funds in the first quarter and bought shares of mining companies Goldcorp Inc. and Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX), a government filing shows. Soros Fund Management LLC held 49,400 shares of SPDR Gold Trust as of March 31, compared with 4.721 million at the end of the fourth quarter, the filing today with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission showed.  Flickr image is from the World Economic Forum.

Global mining company Rio Tinto has raised a total of $2 billion bonds in long-term debt bonds, it said on Wednesday. The offer, registered in the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission, consisted of $700 million in 5-year notes with a coupon of 2.5 percent, $1 billion in 10-year bonds with a 4.125 percent coupon and $300 million in 30-year bonds paying a 5.2 percent coupon.