Five drillholes plugged some wide gaps for Richfield Ventures (TSX-V: RVC) at its Blackwater deposit, showing impressive continuity of deep gold mineralization at its flagship project 100-kilometers south of Vanderhoof, B.C. New Gold (TSX: NGD) will likely be pleased, as in early April it announced an all share takeover of Richfield worth C$550 million and plans on bringing Blackwater into production if the takeover succeeds. Ongoing drilling is part of an aggressive campaign to flesh out and expand Richfield's growing resources.

Northern Tiger Resources Inc. (NTR: TSX-V) is pleased to announce a $7.2 million exploration program, including 12,500 metres of diamond drilling, is planned for its Yukon properties in 2011. The exploration programs are designed to follow up high-grade gold drill discoveries made in 2010 at both the 3Ace and Sonora Gulch projects. Drilling is expected to begin in late May at the company’s 3Ace and Sprogge projects in the southeast Yukon (10,000 metres planned) and in early August at Sonora Gulch in the central Yukon (2,500 metres planned). Click on the full press release for more details.

Coalspur Mines Limited (ASX: CPL, TSX:CPT) is pleased to announce that it has successfully completed its public offering of 24 million ordinary shares of the company at an issue price of C$1.85 per ordinary share for gross proceeds of C$44.4 million. This was announced to the market on April 13, 2011. In addition to the public offering, the previously announced private placement of 6 million ordinary shares at C$1.85 each to raise a further C$11.1 million, before costs , is expected to be completed in June 2011. The private placement is being made to the Highland Park Group, a strategic shareholder of the company.

Fourteen miners in northern Mexico are trapped underground after a gas explosion, BBC News reported Tuesday. According the story, rescuers have been unable to contact the men due to high levels of methane gas in the mine shaft. The accident happened close to the U.S. border at a small artisinal mine in the northern state of Coahuila.

Detour Gold Corporation (TSX:DGC) (“Detour Gold” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the closing of the previously announced agreement with Caterpillar […]

Wildcat Silver Corporation (TSX-V: WS) (“Wildcat” or “the Company”) announces that it has closed the $13 million private placement of 10 million […]

The Pebble Partnership has approved US$91 million of program expenditures this year with the objective of completing a prefeasibility study next year, which will lead to the beginning of permitting for the massive Alaskan copper, gold and molybdenum project under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Activities to be undertaken this year at the Pebble Project include engineering to complete a pre-feasibility project design in 2011, as well as environmental studies to finalize an Environmental Baseline Document in preparation for project permitting.

Connected with the Annual Meeting of the European Federation of Geologists (EFG) this year in Budapest will be a workshop on "Geology at different education levels in Europe" on May 19th. A fieldtrip to the Balaton Lake and the Bakony-Balaton Geopark will also be also offered the following day, including a visit to the area of the catastrophic red sludge spill.

Wayne Swan has rejected calls for a large boost to permanent migration. Instead, he claims that his budget will create 500,000 new jobs and drive unemployment to 4.5 per cent. Short-term shortages in the mining and other industries can be met through temporary skilled migration, he argues, but permanent skilled migration is not the way to go.

"I don't see the need for a dramatic increase in permanent skilled migration," Mr Swan told The Courier-Mail. "I think what we have to do in the first instance is train Australians."