Putin seeks to boost Russian diamond trade through India

Tropical cyclone Heidi hit the west Australian coast early on Thursday packing winds up to 120 kilometres per hour, forcing seaside residents to flee rising tidewaters and closing the world's biggest iron ore export terminals.

Listed Nickel Asia Corp. (NAC) hit a record high in shipment volumes last year amid strong demand from China, a disclosure to the local bourse showed yesterday.

Taseko Mines on Wednesday announced it is going ahead with its Gibraltar capital program and is planning to spend $134 million to complete the project by the end of this year. The investment will increase Taseko's share of copper production capacity to 140 million pounds per year. Taseko owns 75% of Gibraltar, located in British Columbia.

Aurizon Mines (TSE:ARZ) was down 1.82% today despite announcing a record year for gold production and strong growth prospects.

US Labor Department figures released on Wednesday show the country's mining sector added more jobs in 2011 than at any other period since the early 1980s.

US mine safety authorities on Wednesday ordered Hecla to shut down the silver shaft at its Lucky Friday mine for the rest of the year following a rockburst in December and a string of accidents, two of them fatal, at the Idhaho mine during 2011.

The richest woman in the world, Gina Rinehart, on Tuesday handed her daughter Ginia (sic) directorships of three companies, including Hancock Prospecting which controls her $10 billion empire. Ginia who is 25 years old is the only one of Rinehart's four children who are not currently suing her in court in a bitter dispute over control of the family fortune.

According to a report released today on BullionStreet.com, gold dealers in Vietnam are feeling the pinch of export restrictions levied at the end of 2010. Due to regulations regarding the purity of bullion and jewelry, these dealers are being squeezed by a 10% export duty that’s imposed on gold bullion with a purity of 99.99% and gold jewelry with a purity of 80%.

Chile’s state-owned copper giant on Tuesday turned the screws further on Anglo-American in its bitter fight over a 49% stake in Anglo-American Sur, one of the world's richest copper deposits.