Goldcorp reported Wednesday that adjusted net earnings for the first quarter of this year increased 150% to US$397 million or 50-cents per share, compared to $159 million or 22-cents per share in the first quarter of 2010. Net earnings for the first quarter of this year were reported to be $651 million or 82-cents per share, compared to $232 million or 32-cents per share reported in the first-quarter 2010.

A report handed to Australian Education and Training Minister Chris Evans warns that Australia will fail to capitalise on the mining boom unless it overhauls the national training system and improves workforce skill levels.

Under current arrangements, completion rates are appalling, training often poorly targeted, graduate skills under-used and skill shortages growing, the report says. Meanwhile, at least 1.5 million people are unemployed or under-employed and nearly half the population has poor language, literacy and numeracy skills.

South Africa's Harmony Gold (HARJ.J),the world's fifth-largest gold miner, sees the price of gold rising to $1,800 an ounce in 2012, its chief executive said on Thursday. The spot price of gold has been at record peaks, surpassing the $1,500 an ounce mark, and Chief Executive Graham Briggs said it could even go higher.

India-focused miner Vedanta Resources (VED.L) posted a 29 percent jump in full-year earnings per share, on the back of strong metal prices and a background of robust demand for commodities. Vedanta, with operations in India, Australia and Zambia, said on Thursday basic EPS came in at 283 cents.

Rio Tinto , the world's third-largest miner, expects global markets to remain fragile in the near term and sees itself in a strong position to weather any turbulence, its chairman said on Thursday. The company said that it expected little impact on demand for commodities following the earthquake and tsunami disasters in Japan, and said in the long run demand may increase as Japan moved to rebuild.

Minefinders Corporation Ltd. (TSX:MFL)(NYSE Amex:MFN) today announced updated gold and silver mineral reserves and resources for the Dolores Mine. Fiscal 2010 marked the first meaningful exploration drilling program at Dolores since the commencement of the development of the mine in 2006 and this is the first update of reserves and resources for Dolores since 2008.

Though the hurdles of government approval and project financing remain, Orocobre (ASX: ORE; TSX: ORL) released a strongly positive feasibility study of […]

Mexico massively ramped up its gold reserves in the first quarter of this year, buying over $4 billion of bullion as emerging economies move away from the ailing U.S. dollar, which has dipped to 2-1/2-year lows. The third biggest one-off purchase of gold by any country over the past decade took Mexico's reserves to 100.15 tonnes -- or 3.22 million ounces -- by the end of March from just 6.84 tonnes at the end of January, according to the International Monetary Fund and Mexico's central bank.

NioGold Mining Corporation (TSX-V: NOX) is pleased to report on the on-going exploration drilling program within the southern portion of company's wholly-owned Malartic Block property, located in the Malartic gold camp, Abitibi region of Quebec. The first three holes of the program intersected two important altered, veined and sulphide mineralised shear zones cutting sedimentary rocks.