Top forecaster: Gold investors ‘putting aside fundamentals’

Gold jewellery demand in India, a major global market, is estimated to have risen 5 to 7 per cent in 2011 and is set to grow a further 10 to 15 per cent this year with bullion prices falling back after recent gains, the head of Gitanjali Gems, India's biggest jewellery retailer said on Sunday.

Novinite reported that on Saturday, miners at Bulgaria's state owned Maritsa Iztok Mines launched a symbolic protest, warning that effective strike was in store, after talks failed Friday.

APART from being an employment provider for most people in the Northern Division, the bauxite mine in Bua also generated farming ideas for villagers.

Details emerging from investigations into Areva's purchase of African uranium miner UraMin are beginning to resemble a spy novel.

Elissa Resources ("Elissa" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:ELI)(OTCQX:ELSRF)(PINKSHEETS:ELSRF) reports that drilling has commenced at its 100%- owned Thor heavy and light rare earth element (REE) project in Nevada. Multiple diamond core drill holes will initially target the Lopez Trend, a 1.6-mile (2.6-km) long REE-bearing monazite structure that is coincident with a prominent magnetic anomaly.

Gold traders are the most bullish in two months after mainland China imported the most metal ever from Hong Kong and investors bought US bullion coins at the fastest pace in more than two years.

The Globe and Mail reports that Canadian one- and two-dollar coins, known as "loonies" and "toonies", will this spring be made from steel, replacing the more expensive nickel they are currently made from:

The Wall Street Journal reports Peru on Friday announced a programme of social and infrastructure investments in its poor Cajamarca region aimed at winning over local protesters who have brought to halt Newmont Mining's $4.8 billion Conga project over environmental concerns.

Caterpillar is building on its Bucyrus acquisition with the recent signing of another contract to deliver an automated longwall coal plow system to Chinese company Gasification Co part of Lvliang Dongyi Group. The system marks the 11th plow system from DBT/Bucyrus/Caterpillar for delivery to Chinese mines. The system will be delivered in the first quarter of 2013 and will go to work in the Xinyan mine in Shanxi province