Rio Tinto goes ahead with $5.3 billion expansion of Oyu Tolgoi

Deal is the biggest transaction of its type for a mid-tier gold miner in recent years

State premier gives firm support to uranium mining despite federal approval delays

Tremendous macroeconomic dangers lie in wait over the next year

Excess sub-contractors and outdated construction techniques lead to cost blowouts and project delays

Shares in Canada’s Teck Resources (TSX:TCK.B) (NYSE:TCK) climbed slightly Friday after the company announced that coal sales for the fourth quarter are expected to top its prior outlook of 6.2 million tonnes.

After years of debate, South Africa’s ruling party African National Congress rejected Thursday plans to nationalize the country’s mining sector, but voted in favour of higher taxes in the world’s main producer of platinum and chrome.

Leaked fluid from fracking activities polluted groundwater after a “serious” incident at a well site near Grande Prairie, a city in the northwestern part of the Canadian province of Alberta, in September 2011.

Silver market trader and whistleblower Andrew Maguire told King World News the disconnect between gold and silver futures markets and the physical markets has reached an extreme rarely seen before.

Brazil increased gold reserves for a third month in November to double the country’s holdings since August, reaching levels not seen since November 2000.