Half of South Africa’s gold mines operating at loss — report

Bad news slammed the markets today as worries about Europe caught up to traders.

Canadian diamond producer Lucara Diamond Corp announced today that production from its recently inaugurated Karowe mine in Botswana could be available for sale in June.

Forget about carbon emissions and greenhouse gases (GHGs) emitted by humans. Sauropods — the long-necked, long-tailed dinosaurs that included some of the largest terrestrial animals ever known— could have been the first to warm the Earth's climate thanks to their massive amounts of methane-producing flatulence, says Tuesday's edition of Current Biology.

A total of 242,000 tonnes of iron ore were traded on the first day of business on China’s first physical iron ore trading platform, China Beijing Mining Exchange (CBMX) said in a press release.

Giant miner Rio Tinto (LON and NYSE: RIO) says the automation technology being rolled out in driverless trucks and trains in the Pilbara will soon move to the Bowen Basin, the major coal producing region in Australia.

Canadian Oil Sands companies are asking the government to upgrade the section of Highway 63 north of Fort McMurray, in the province of Alberta, which leads to several oil sands projects.

Australian junior Elemental Minerals (ASX, TSX: ELM), which is developing a potash project in the Republic of Congo, announced it has increased measured and indicated resources at its Kola deposit by 265% to just under one billion tons.

South African gold producers are expected to report lower quarterly earnings with production knocked across the board as output-disrupting safety stoppages continue to sting, a Reuters poll of 7 analysts showed.

Finning International Inc. (TSX:FTT) announced that its U.K. and Ireland division has secured a seven-year mining equipment and service contract with Hargreaves Services for a total value of approximately $96 million Cdn.