The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), the University of Chile, and the Chile International Centre of Excellence in Mining and Minerals Processing have created a new mining research centre based in Santiago, Chile, reports Australian Mining.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, one of India's largest political parties, forced the resignation on Thursday of B. S. Yeddyurappa, the chief minister of Karnataka. Yeddyurappa was indicted on Wednesday after an investigation found that he had received kickbacks from mine owners in his district.

Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan reported record second-quarter earnings of $0.96 per share or $840 million—the second-highest total for any quarter in the company's history and 81 percent above the $0.53 per share ($480 million) earned in the same period last year. Despite volatility in commodity markets, Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan said that crop economics remained attractive throughout the second quarter, giving farmers the incentive to improve nutrient applications, which resulted in rising fertilizer demand and pricing.

The Huntington News reports Thursday two protesters associated with the portentous Radical Action for Mountain People's Survival Campaign, continue to occupy trees within the Bee Tree surface mine's blasting zone, where they have stopped mining for eight days.   The Bee Tree mine is situated on the aptly named Coal River Mountain in West Virginia and is owned by Alpha Resources, the company that bought the original owners of the mine, Massey Energy which last year was responsible for the worst US mine disaster in 40-years after keeping fraudulent safety records.

Due to rare earth's rising costs and unreliable supply, Japanese researchers built an electrical car that doesn't use any REEs. The proof-of-concept car was built by the Tokyo University of Science, and has an output of 50 kW with 95% plus efficiency. Eschewing rare earth materials did cost the car in some aspects. The car has poorer torque and energy efficiency than cars that use rare earth metals.

Barrick, the word's number one gold miner, reported net earnings for Q2 rose 35% to $1.2 billion ($1.16 per share) from $859 million in the prior year period. Q2 adjusted net earnings increased 36% to a record $1.1 billion ($1.12 per share)1 from $824 million ($0.84 per share) in Q2 2010, reflecting higher realized gold and copper prices and higher gold sales volumes, resulting in an annualized return on equity of about 21%. The company is on track to meet its 2011 operating guidance of 7.6-8.0 million ounces at total cash costs of $450-$480 per ounce and lower expected net cash costs of $290-$320 per ounce

CONSOL Energy, a diversifed fuel producer in the Eastern United States, reported adjusted net income of $174 million or 76 cents per diluted share, in the quarter ended June 30, 2011, an increase of 69% from the adjusted net income of $103 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2010. The financial results were aided largely by the coal division, which posted record revenue of $1.212 billion. This was the fifth consecutive quarter of record revenue for the coal division.

Chile's copper output tumbled 8.5 percent to 426,477 tonnes in June after a contract workers' strike, heavy rains and power outages hit operations at the world's top copper producer, the government said on Thursday.

Great Western Minerals Group (“GWMG”) is pleased to announce that it has contracted DRA Mineral Projects (Pty) Ltd. (“DRA”) of South Africa, a company with a strong track record of utilizing world class standards, for the detailed design of the Steenkampskraal processing plant. DRA is a multi-disciplinary, multi-national organization that specializes in the mining, infrastructure and mineral processing industries. As one of the largest project management enterprises in Africa, the South African-founded group of companies has constructed plants on five continents.