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Top global miner BHP Billiton has moved into the feasibility study stage of preparing a long-awaited expansion of the Olympic Dam copper and uranium mine in South Australia.

Southern Copper, one of the world's largest producers of the metal, has postponed its $1 billion Tia Maria mining project in Peru because of social conflicts, Chief Executive Oscar Gonzalez said on Tuesday. The company (SCCO.N: Quote) will revise the project's viability later this month and consider alternative sites in Argentina and Ecuador in the meantime, Gonzalez told local television.

Lundin Mining and Inmet Mining late Tuesday called it a day regarding their proposed friendly merger with a kindly farewell: "We continue to think very highly of each other's assets and wish each other well."

Strait Gold Corporation (TSX-V:SRD), is pleased to report final assay results from a 2000-metre drill program at its Alicia copper-gold project in southern Peru. Highlights include: - 134.0 metres of 0.29% copper, 0.03 grams per tonne (g/t) gold in hole ALC11-16, including 9.75 metres of 1.27% copper, 0.07 g/t gold and 0.032% molybdenite; and, - 18.5 metres of 1.25% copper, 0.15g/t gold, 13.3 g/t silver and 0.012% molybdenite in ALC11-17. Image from Strait Gold Corporation

A Mexican tribunal ruled in favor of Grupo Mexico in its fight to merge its two railroad units, throwing out a complaint by competition authorities, the company and the antitrust regulator said on Monday. Grupo Mexico (GMEXICOB.MX: Quote), which owns copper mines in Mexico, Peru and the United States, also operates Ferromex, Mexico's largest railroad company. In 2005, Grupo Mexico bought another rail line, Ferrosur, through a subsidiary.

A Preliminary Feasibility Study says adding a sulphide circuit to the Ҫӧpler project will augment mine production by 2.5 million ounces of […]

Ivanhoe Mines announced its financial results for the year ended December 31, 2010. The approved 2011 capital budget for Oyu Tolgoi is estimated at $2.3 billion. Principal components of the 2011 construction program include $561 million for the 100,000-tonne-per-day concentrator complex; $186 million for the initial mining fleet and to start pre-stripping of the Southern Oyu open-pit mine; and $713 million for project infrastructure, electrical power and completion of the process-water supply. The number of workers assigned to the Oyu Tolgoi site recently surpassed 7,000 for the first time. On-site jobs at Oyu Tolgoi are expected to peak at almost 14,000 in mid-2011, with an additional 3,700 Mongolians receiving skills training sponsored by Oyu Tolgoi.

Nevsun Resources Ltd. (TSX:NSU)(NYSE Amex:NSU) is pleased to announce the revised reserve estimate for its Bisha mine in Eritrea. The revised estimate has increased the total proven and probable reserves to 28.3 million tonnes from the previously reported 20.1 million tonnes (2006 feasibility study). The net impact of higher throughputs and lower cut-off grade has resulted in an extended mine life of 13 years, while increasing previously reported robust cash flow.

Western Copper (WRN.TO) has begun engineering studies to determine whether it can modify plans that pushed regulators to reject its request for a water use license at its Carmacks copper project in Canada's Yukon Territory. A recent court ruling in the northwestern territory upheld the Yukon Water Board's decision to reject Western Copper's plans, forcing the exploration company to go back to the drawing board.