Business in Vancouver reports: In a labour negotiation that has avoided the kind of strikes seen at the company’s Elkview and Coal Mountain mines in recent months, Teck Resources Ltd. (TSX:TCK.A, TCK.B; NYSE:TCK) announced this morning that it has arrived at a tentative collective agreement with the workers at Fording River – B.C.’s largest mine.

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (CLF.N:Quote) reported more than a five-fold increase in first-quarter profit as demand and prices for its iron ore and steel-making coal soared.Net earnings were $423 million, or $3.11 per share, compared with $77 million, or 57 cents per share in the quarter a year earlier. Revenue rose 63 percent to $1.2 billion, the Cleveland-based company said on Thursday.

Agnico-Eagle reported gold production increased from 188,232 ounces to 252,363 ounces for the first quarter this year, despite the March fire that burned down the kitchen at the Meadowbank mine last month.

The months-long saga over the future of Lundin Mining took another interesting twist on Friday, when a consortium of Chinese companies jumped in with a potential bid, according to a story in The Globe and Mail. Lundin has been the target of two takeover bids, the first by Inmet Mining, which recently fell through, and the second by Equinox Minerals, which unveiled a $4.8 billion hostile takeover bid to counter the Inmet offer. That deal was derailed when China's Minmetals Resources tried to acquire Equinox, which has since been acquired by Barrick Gold, which presented a richer offer worth $7.3 billion.

Creso Exploration Inc. ("Creso" or the "Corporation") (TSX VENTURE:CXT)(OTCQX:CRXEF)(FRANKFURT:C3X) is pleased to announce that Hunter Dickinson Resources Ltd. ("Hunter Dickinson"), a subsidiary of Hunter Dickinson Inc., has signed an agreement to acquire up to a 69.95% interest in a portion of the Company's Shining Tree property position (the "Project") in NE Ontario. A binding letter agreement ("Letter Agreement") has been executed and is subject to, among other things, completion of due diligence ("Due Diligence") within 60 days.

Osisko Mining Corporation (TSX:OSK)(FRANKFURT:EWX) (“Osisko”) is pleased to provide a revised summary of the annual mine production plan for its 100%-owned Canadian […]

In an effort to include nontechnical, or soft skills, as part of its new approach to education in mining engineering, the University of Pretoria’s Department of Mining Engineering reports it is currently in the final stage of converting all its undergraduate paper-based mining subjects to instructionally designed modules. These modules will consist of electronic, interactive course notes including videos, animations, photos, mouse-overs and cross-links to improve students’ abilities to acquire and apply their knowledge of the mining industry.

The inclusion of nontechnical skills, which are currently being incorporated as part of the curriculum for the mining subjects, will assist students in better understanding the complexities of mining and can improve their chances of success in the industry.

Greg Hall, managing director of Toro Energy Ltd (ASX: TOE), said the main nuclear power countries are continuing their new build programmes for nuclear power while adapting to lessons learned from the incident. The uranium spot price dropped significantly after the incident but had, by the end of the March quarter, returned to the December 2010 average of $US62.50 per lb of U308.

Namdeb Diamond Corp said on Thursday that it had moved back into profit as the global recovery stoked demand for its luxury product and it was cautiously optimistic about the market picking up further. Namdeb, Namibia's main diamond producer, is a 50-50 joint venture between De Beers, which is 45 percent owned by mining group Anglo American (AAL.L: Quote), and the country's government.