Tiny Oman, the Sultanate perched on the southeast tip of the Arabian peninsula, is setting up for a quantum leap in mining, the Oman Daily Observer reports in an article published Saturday.

Bloomberg reports gold traders are upbeat about the prospects for the gold price for the fourth week in a row after the Fed's interest rate move gave gold the best start to a year since 1980. Gold has risen 10% since the start of the year, rebounding from the first quarterly decline in three years and scaling the $1,700 an ounce level for the first time since December 9.

Global supplies of rare earth elements have been threatened ever since China imposed export quotas in mid-2010. In the aftermath, increased attention was drawn to potential producers like MolyCorp and Lynas Corporation, while the sector was viewed in need of a savior outside of China. Among the juniors aiming to join the fray, Medallion Resources has proposed a unique strategy to gain low-cost production in the very near term.

On the last day of Roundup, Vancouver's mining showcase, Sandy Chim CEO of Canada's Century Iron Mines, flashed a few slides about China, India and the iron ore market that would make gold bugs green with envy.

Teck Resources Limited ("Teck") and BASF SE announced at the World Economic Forum today that they have signed a three year agreement to jointly develop innovative and affordable zinc fortification and supplementation solutions, with the goal of reducing zinc deficiency among 100 million people in developing countries by 2015.

US coal giant Peabody Energy posted its best-ever performance in 2011, with revenues increasing 18% to $7.97 billion and operating profit rising by the same percentage to $1.59 billion.

Management is pleased to report results from the summer and fall soil sampling surveys on certain of Adroit's antimony exploration permits in Grosetto Province, Italy. The surveys and analysis of the samples were carried out by Adroit's wholly owned Italian subsidiary, Risorse dei Minerali Naturali Srl (RMN).

Reality show producers, who have made shows about ice road trucking and underground coal mining in Virginia, have now turned their lens on underwater gold miners that work the waters off Nome, Alaska.

PotashCorp (NYSE:POT), the world's largest producer of potash, announced higher Q4 earnings on Wednesday but also a sharp decline in demand.