Rapid progress on the predevelopment phase of the giant Kibali gold project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is paving the way for the targeted mid-year start of mine construction.

Itaoeste, a mineral research and development company active in São Paulo, Piauí and Bahia, recently announced the discovery of a thallium deposit at Barreiras in Bahia, Brazil. With this new addition, the company’s portfolio, comprising manganese, cobalt, iron, titanium, gold, copper and phosphate, among others, becomes even more attractive and places Brazil in the select group of thallium producers, until now limited to China and Kazakhstan.

Capstone Mining will acquire all the issued and outstanding shares of Far West Mining. Total transaction value will be Can$725 million. Capstone released details of the agreement in a press release on Sunday. On Monday morning, Capstone shares (TSE:CS) were down about 7% to $3.93 a share.

Associated Press reports that rescuers have been trying to reach a miner caught in a cave-in more than a mile underground. The roof of a tunnel at the silver mine in northern Idaho collapsed where the 53-year-old miner and his brother were working.

Clancy Yeates at WAtoday reports on the eye-popping salaries being received by mining and gas project workers in Western Australia as a result of a massive skills shortage.

At an offshore gas project, for example, a welder can pocket more than $300,000 a year, and some are seeking more than $400,000 in the next round of negotiations. On dry land, a worker who makes the beds or cleans at an isolated mining project can also expect a six-figure pay packet. As for the staff at McDonald's in the Pilbara's resources hub of Karratha, many of them are flown in and out by their employer because there aren't enough locals willing to do the job.

Canadian gold miner Anaconda Mining Inc posted a fifth-straight quarterly loss, but expenses were lower from a year-ago levels and production rose sequentially. Net loss for the third quarter was $1.9 million, or 1.5 cents a share, compared with a loss of $2.2 million, or 2.5 cents per share, a year ago.

The Indonesian government said on Sunday that state investment agency Pusat Investasi Pemerintah (PIP) would buy a 7 percent stake in Newmont Mining Corp's Indonesian unit, paving the way for an initial public offering for the unit in coming months.

Tier 1 gold miner Gold Fields has bought nearly all the shares in a Peruvian subsidiary for $382 million to increase its […]

Earth Energy Resources Inc. could be the first to break ground in the Utah oil sands after the Canadian company won the right to excavate, according to a story posted by the Daily Brew: The U.S. could be set to open its first oilsands project after an Alberta-based company qualified for a permit to dig on 25 hectares (62-acres) in Utah. Earth Energy Resources Inc. could be the first to break ground in the Utah oil sands after the Canadian company won the right to excavate, according to a story posted by the Daily Brew: The U.S. could be set to open its first oilsands project after an Alberta-based company qualified for a permit to dig on 25 hectares (62-acres) in Utah.