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Commodities giant Glencore says it is buying a majority stake in Peru's Mina Justa copper mine for $475 million. Swiss-based Glencore International PLC said Monday the purchase of a 70 per cent stake in Marcobre SAC from CST Mining Group Limited is subject to inspection of the books and price adjustment.

Carpathian Gold announced that it has concluded an agreement with Barrick Gold Corporation for a CDN$20 Million private placement to purchase 38,461,538 common shares (the "Private Placement" and the "Common Shares") of the Corporation at a price of $0.52 per share. The Common Shares will be subject to a four-month hold period. The proceeds from the Private Placement will be exclusively applied to the Corporation's ongoing exploration and development work on its wholly owned Rovina Valley Project ("RVP") situated in west-central Romania.

Russia will seek to secure a priority right for the explored ocean minefields in the Atlantic says Polar Marine Geological Prospecting Expedition Vladimir Kryukov following the first stage of ore deposit exploration on the Atlantic Ocean floor. The Russian research vessel The Professor Logachev is engaged in exploring copper, zinc, gold and silver deposits in the area of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at about 13 degrees north latitude. Over the last seven years, Russian marine geologists have made a number of discoveries and is now seeking to legally execute its right of exploring them through the United Nations.

Xstrata Zinc Canada has agreed to purchase the remaining 23.6% interest in the Pallas Green property in Ireland belonging to its current joint venture partner in the project, Minco, for $19.4 million. Under the agreement, which is subject to Minco shareholder approval, Xstrata Zinc will become the sole owner of the project at Cahernconlish, Limerick.

An electronics recycling company in Badin, Washington was talking Saturday to applicants for jobs at a facility that could employ as many as 200 people. A building that once was part of Alcoa's aluminum smelting operation is being upgraded to house an outpost of Electronic Recyclers International, said company president John Shegerian. "We use manual labor to take the screens out of the machines, and then start segregating the material," Shegerian said. "Then the carcasses all go into the shredding machine." He said the materials are then sold to manufacturers, which use the plastic, aluminum and copper to make new products. The only thing left to dispose of is a little dust. It's a process Shegerian calls "urban mining."

Supplies in the U.S. copper scrap market remained tight at the start of the third quarter, as a lingering slump in industrial demolition rates made material, especially higher-grade material, harder to come by.

Thousands of workers at one of the world’s biggest gold and copper mines started returning to work Wednesday, ending a nearly two-week strike that brought operations to a standstill. Union chief Sudiro, who goes by only one name, said the decision was made after Freeport-McMoRan’s management agreed to reinstate six fired labor leaders and reopen negotiations about wages and benefits on July 20.

The prospect of mining the ocean floor may seem far-fetched, but China, motivated by its insatiable hunger for resources, has opened its eyes to the idea. According to a story in The Japan Times, China will attempt to plunge the Jialong - the world's deepest-diving manned submersible - 5,000 metres below the surface of the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and North America, exceeding the craft's previous depth of 3,759 metres.

Northgate Minerals announced on Wednesday that it will acquire Primero Mining for $370 million. The new company, which will have a combined market capitalization of approximately $1.2 billion, will be a mid-tier gold producer and will tie together the San Dimas mine in Mexico; the Fosterville and Stawell gold mines in Australia; and the Young-Davidson gold development project in Ontario.