Iron ore prices hit by fresh evidence of looming surplus

Kimberley Process leader Gillian Milovanovic has proposed a new definition of conflict diamonds to include acts of violence during his presentation at the opening of the 8th World Diamond Council (WDC) meeting in Vicenza, Italy.

There was a strong reaction last week to the elevated debt crisis in Europe, with commodities and equities being indiscriminately sold. Gold fell 3 percent this week, losing its safe haven status as the dollar grew stronger and the 10-year government note headed lower.

Last week's media headlines focused on how the election results in France and Greece reflected a wave of rising public resistance across Europe to the austerity programs being championed by Germany, the IMF, and the EU.

White Tiger is applying to the Toronto Stock Exchange for exemption under the exchange's "financial hardship" provisions.

It has been a difficult week for precious metals, as gold and silver both experienced their lowest closes of the year.

Osisko Mining investors were unimpressed by the fire yesterday at the company's Canadian Malarctic mill. The stock (TSX:OSK) closed down a buck, or 12.94%, on the Toronto main board Friday as Osisko assessed the damage.

Molycorp was forced to sell rare-earth oxides from Mountain Pass for 20% cheaper than during the December quarter last year. The company's stock is now worth 60% less than this time last year and all the gains from the Neo Material takeover have evaporated.

The balance of the US coal industry may be tilting in the direction of the MidWest from Appalachia.

When Kim got involved with Kazakhmys (then called ZhezkazganTsvetMet) during the 1990s the Soviet era the state company was in complete disarray and debt laden. He turned Kazakhmys into a $6 billion company and amassed a personal fortune of $3.5 billion along the way.