Vedanta forces 133 of its Zambian workers to take paid leave

Potentially gold-bullish developments this weekend include fresh economic data from China and shocks emanating from Europe as Spain attempts to shore up its banking system.

The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) has condemned unions, saying they are running a nonsensical "race-based" campaign.

Copper dropped sharply on Friday after China's decision to cut interest rates suddenly revived fears of a slowdown in the world's second largest economy.

The Dominican Republic is soon to become more than just a sunny destination. Data published by the country’s geology society claim the Central American nation is sitting on nearly $58 billion of unexplored reserves of minerals and metals.

Announced yesterday, the government of Nunavut is in favour of uranium mining on the condition that the radioactive ore be used for peaceful and environmentally responsible purposes only.

The South African diamond industry faces serious challenges upstream and downstream, where job creation, wealth creation and the beneficiation of raw diamonds are not concerns for regulatory authorities, says diamond polishing company African Romance CEO Mohseen Moosa.

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero Wacik has denied any plans to tax thermal coal exports after hinting at the move last May.

Diamond miner and retailer Harry Winston (TSX: HW) (NYSE:HWD) says its earnings for the first quarter of fiscal 2013 tripled to $11.6 million, as sales in both its rough diamond and luxury goods segments had more lustre than a year earlier.

With the shift in research and development (R&D) policies – more grants and fewer tax breaks – announced in March by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, the latest report from Deloitte & Touche LLP says Canada is putting the future of its oil sands industry at risk.