Anil Agarwal given more time to make firm offer for Vedanta Resources

Over 10,000 of environmentalists took the streets of Raub, in the Malaysian state of Pahang on Sunday, to oppose the use of cyanide at the nearby Bukit Koman gold mine, which they claim has been using the chemical compound to the detriment of their health.

Is the great gold rush over? The price of the precious metal has soared over the last decade, jumping from below $300 (£189) in 2001 to peak at $1,920 (£1,211) in September 2011. But, since then, it has fallen to around $1,660 (£1,047) defying predictions – and the hopes of speculators – that it would continue to hit new peaks during the ongoing financial turmoil.

Political controversy surrounding suspect allocations of coal mining concessions in India threaten to topple Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with chief opposition party the BJP issuing calls for his resignation.

Athabasca Oil Corp. (TSX:ATH) confirmed Friday that it is in the preliminary stages of establishing a joint venture for two of its Alberta oil sands assets, but it declined to identify its partner.

India is already building a rare-earth mineral processing plant in the east coast state of Orissa and will invest $135 million in a new exploration ship and the refurbishing of another vessel to mine minerals under its oceans.

Chinese firms plan to invest up to AUD$8.6 billion in Indonesian smelters to mitigate the impact of a ban on unprocessed ore exports.

Iron ore prices hit the lowest level since November 2009 on Tuesday as the commodity crashed 4.6% closing at $94.80. The dive proved a drag for producers of the commodity, particularly companies investing heavily to expand their production capacity.

Gold producer Newcrest Mining (ASX:NCM) resumed its operations at the Lihir project, in Papua New Guinea, following the resolution of a dispute lodged by the Lihir Mining Area Landowners Association (LMALA).

Australia’s largest listed gold company by market capitalization, Newcrest Mining (ASX:NCM), said Tuesday it had to suspend production at its flagship Lihir mine in Papua New Guinea, as protests from a local landowners’ group keep escalating.