France’s Areva expects uranium prices to rebound

SYDNEY, Aug. 31, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Vice President of Litigation BHP Billiton, Mr Damian Lovellhas today welcomed the introduction of the new ACICA Arbitration Rules designed to speed up the resolution of cross border and international commercial disputes. Mr Lovell, who is responsible for the dispute resolution strategy for the world's largest diversified mining company, said it is standard practice for BHP Billiton to include arbitration clauses in its cross border contracts:

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Aug. 31, 2011) - Spanish Mountain Gold Ltd. (the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:SPA) is pleased to announce the commencement of a Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS") for the Spanish Mountain Gold Project (the "Project"). The PFS will refine the estimates of capital and operating costs that were the basis for the Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) completed by the Company in December 2010. The Company currently has ongoing resource definition, geotechnical, metallurgical and power supply studies underway, the results of which will form part of the PFS.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Aug. 31, 2011) - Gem International Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE:GI) has entered into an option agreement with Mr. Anderson Fred Temu, Mr. Pascal D. Nestory and Mr. Benard Beatus (the "Optionor"), to acquire a 100-per-cent interest in the Mvomero Gold Project, located in the Mvomero and Kilindi districts of Tanzania. The project encompasses Prospecting Licenses PL7138/2011 and PL7147/2011, containing a total area of 234.75 square kilometers and is located 35 kilometers west-southwest of Canaco Resources Inc.'s Magambazi Hill Project.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Aug. 31, 2011) - Nevsun Resources Ltd. (TSX:NSU)(NYSE Amex:NSU) is pleased to report the assays from the forty-three diamond drill holes at the hanging wall copper zone within its Bisha mining license in Eritrea. The hanging wall copper zone is immediately west of the Bisha Main deposit and partially within the current open pit limit but it is not included in the current resource or reserve estimate for Bisha.

Strike action involving 4000 BHP employees has nothing to do with money, a union boss says. Workers employed at seven BHP mines in Queensland will walk off the job this week after enterprise bargaining negotiations stalled.

Iron ore could soon become a leading economic indicator in emerging markets such as China, since the absence of speculative froth makes the sandy steelmaking raw material a better gauge of demand than industrial metals like copper.

The capital city will cap its annual coal consumption at 20 million tons by 2015, as part of its plan to release less carbon and further reduce air pollution, the municipal commission of development and reform said on Monday.

Universal Coal (ASX: UNV) has secured the Donkin licence area, adjacent to the Somerville coking coal project in the Limpopo Province of South Africa, on a farm-in basis. Based on historical drilling data, the farm Donkin 72MS property has a Inferred JORC Resource of 42.4 million tonnes, covering the northern extent of a farm area of 1,178 hectares, with the potential for coking coal and open pit access.

A government panel is working on a strategy to encourage discovery of rare earth elements in India, Economic Times has revealed: "The committee will look into the current availability of rare earth and energy critical elements and decide the strategy for production to ensure long-term raw material security. It will also encourage the recovery of ECEs which can be found as byproducts in the production of other minerals."