World no. two iron ore producer Rio Tinto announced on Wednesday it is suspending operations at two mines in Pilbara, Western Australia following the fatality of a worker. "Operations at Brockman 2 and the adjacent Nammuldi mine site will remain suspended until further notice," the company said in a statement. The 27-year old man was fatally injured shortly after 8:00pm while changing out a hydraulic cylinder on a front-end loader. One other work-mate was with him at the time.

The world's number two miner provided funding and logistical support as far back as March 2010 for Red Dog, a movie about a kelpie roaming the mining towns of the Pilbara region and now finds itself one of the principal investors in Australia's number one hit movie of the year. There is a statue in the cattle dog's memory in Dampier, which is one of the towns in the 1970s to which he often returned in the region where most of Australia's iron ore is mined today. Iron ore exports alone contribute some 3.6% or $50 billion to Australia's economy.

Bloomberg reports the proposed expansion by South Africa's Royal Bafokeng Platinum follows an increase in demand for platinum which has gained 19% in the past 12 months to $1,818/oz. Steve Phiri, RB Platinum CEO said demand is likely to exceed supply in the next three years, while a shortage of palladium, typically mined along with platinum, may rise to 1 million ounces in 2014. South Africa produces more than three-quarters of global supply.

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Aug. 16, 2011) - Kinross Gold Corporation (TSX:K)(NYSE:KGC) announced today that the Company is providing approximately US$1 million in funding for a three year endowment that will provide advanced training to mining engineering students at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). "Education is a major area of focus for Kinross, and we are pleased to support the next generation of mining engineers in Alaska by providing the UAF with a steady source of research funding over the next three years," said Tye Burt, Kinross Gold President and CEO.

Gold for December delivery traded at $1,789.60 in after hours trade on Tuesday after earlier achieving a new record closing price of $1,785 per ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The previous closing record was $1,784.30 last week Wednesday when gold futures contracts hit an all-time intra-day high above $1,800. Reuters reported earlier on Tuesday the largest gold fund players including hedge fund titan John Paulson stuck with their bullion bets in the second quarter, opting not to follow George Soros who further reduced his gold ETF holdings.

The market is expecting BHP Billiton to post record-setting annual profits of $US22.1 billion next week on revenues forecast to be a staggering $71.9 billion. BHP investors, whose stock has hardly moved in a year despite stellar growth rates at the Melbourne-based company, would want to hear if another share buyback will follow the $10 billion round completed in June and any update on its purchase of Petrohawk. The world's biggest miner has a history dating back 150 years and its operations span the globe from potash in Canada (pictured) and coal in South Africa to nickel in Australia and copper in Chile.

Barrick Gold Corp. closed down slightly and outperformed a weak broader market on Tuesday despite a downgrade from CIBC World Markets, which is advising investors to remain cautious as the miner diversifies into copper. Barrick is up some 12% this summer, tracking bullion's spectacular rise, but investors have not welcomed its move into base metals. In April it outbid a Chinese company for Equinox in a $7.7 billion deal, its first real foray outside gold. The global growth outlook has clouded considerably since then and copper – a good indicator of economic activity – is trading at 9-month lows.

Chinese companies mull investing in Romania's nuclear and coal sectors, Mediafax reported after the visit of the Romanian government delegation, headed by PM Emil Boc, to China.

Stellar Pacific Ventures announced that it was awarded by the Ministry of Mines of the Republic of Mali, an exploration authorization for the Namarana area which covers over 132 km2. This mineral title was delivered July 22, 2011 to Stellar Pacific Mail SARL, the company's wholly owned (100%) subsidiary in Mali.