Zinc

Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc will produce 80 million pounds less copper and 125,000 ounces less gold due to labour strife at the company's Grasberg mine in Indonesia.

Northern B.C. is about to pass Metro Vancouver for economic growth, according to a new forecast by Central 1 Credit Union.

Mining companies face risks in Latin America, from nationalization to skilled labor shortages.

Shares of Chilean miner Antofagasta PLC (LON:ANTO) were down 3.1% this morning after the company disappointed market hopes for a whopping special dividend and announced instead a cut on dividends and an increased spending on growth projects.

MarketWatch quotes  Nomura economist Zhiwei Zhang as saying:  "Overall, economic conditions are getting weaker at a fast pace. The slowdown is happening faster than the government expected."

Caledonia, worth $57 million on the TSX, is up 35% so far this year and ten times the usual volume of 131,000 shares changed hands on Monday.

Great Panther is pleased to report revenues for the year ended December 31, 2011 of $57.8 million, representing a 37% increase over 2010. The Company's gross profit or earnings from mining operations increased by 64% to $26.9 million for 2011, and net earnings increased 8% to $11.5 million. The Company also increased working capital to $53.8 million at December 31, 2011, from $18.8 million at the end of the prior year.

Mining companies in Peru invested US$7.2 billion in 2011, 77% more than in 2010, Mines and Energy Ministry (MEM) reports.

Indonesia surprised the global mining community last week after a new rule – Government Regulation No. 24 of 2012 – was quietly announced on the mining ministry's website. A growing list of nations – and not just radical fringe territories such as Zimbabwe or Venezuela – are pushing for greater control and ownership of the resource sector on top of higher taxes and royalties.