Collectors and connoisseurs shine at Rio Tinto’s Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender

Managers, unions and workers at the troubled platinum miner Lonmin's (LON:JSE) Marikana mine, started talks with South African government mediators on Wednesday as thousands of miners continued a strike that has left 44 dead.

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).

Idaho's Silver Valley will need to pay $635 million under a new 30 year plan by the federal government to clean up over a century's worth of mining pollution in the region.

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.

Shares of Eco Oro Minerals Corp. (TSX:EOM) plunged over 50% on Tuesday to $94 cents in early trade after Colombia’s national mining agency scrapped most of its concession on environmental grounds.

The president of Venezuela's national mining chamber (Camiven), Luis Rojas, called the country leader Hugo Chavez to boost the local gold industry, as bullion production levels are close to historic lows.

Gold miner Perseus Mining (ASX & TSX:PRU) reported Tuesday a maiden profit of A$52.4-million for the 12 months ended June, after the company reported its first half year of commercial production.

South Africa's gold mining companies have been hit by union demands for wage hikes but the industry has little room to budge as current collective agreements do not expire until the middle of next year, the country's chamber of mines said.

Paragon Diamonds (LON:PRG) has signed a financing agreement for its Motete Dyke project in Lesotho, paving the way for production to start in 2013.