Zinc

US mine safety authorities on Wednesday ordered Hecla to shut down the silver shaft at its Lucky Friday mine for the rest of the year following a rockburst in December and a string of accidents, two of them fatal, at the Idhaho mine during 2011.

Chile’s state-owned copper giant on Tuesday turned the screws further on Anglo-American in its bitter fight over a 49% stake in Anglo-American Sur, one of the world's richest copper deposits.

China’s Minmetals Resources Ltd has, once again, extended its $1.3 billion takeover offer for Africa-focused copper miner Anvil Mining Ltd (TSX:AVM) to Feb. 16. This is the third time that Minmetals offer has been extended since the deal got the go ahead by the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board, last October.

London copper fell early Monday as concerns over slowing growth in the euro zone strengthened the U.S. dollar, making commodities priced in the unit more expensive in other currencies.

In the midst of mine ramp-up, Mark Cruise, Trevali Mining president, says cash should start flowing from commercial operations in the second quarter this year.

London copper rose on Friday, erasing this week's declines, after jobs data pointed to a recovery in the US economy and offset concerns that the euro zone crisis is dragging demand growth lower.

As protests against the $4.8 billion Conga project in Peru resumed this week, Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE: NEM) has put together a strategic document outlining its community investment projects related to the gold-copper project.

Union spokesman Virgo Solossa said Friday the miners will stop returning to the mine on Saturday if they are not paid salaries owed to them during a recent three-month strike.

First Quantum Minerals, the Vancouver-based copper miner embroiled in a dispute with the Congolese government over expropriation of one of its key assets, has sold its mines in the Central African country.