After winning the silver fix, CME goes for the gold

Peru's government and miners are discussing the implementation of at least two different rate scales for a new royalty payment system

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Aug. 30, 2011) - North American Nickel Inc. ("NAN") (TSX VENTURE:NAN)(OTCBB:WSCRF) (CUSIP: 65704T 108) is pleased to announce that it has commenced a field campaign to evaluate prospective areas within its 4,841 km²exclusive mineral exploration licence. Electromagnetic anomalies, identified from a recent re-interpretation of a 1995 GeoTEM fixed wing survey, along with other areas of interest derived from compilation of previous work and satellite imagery will be ground checked in order to prioritize areas for helicopter borne time domain electromagnetic (TEM) surveying planned for September and October.

When it comes to energy, America is lucky to be next to Canada, whose proven oil reserves are estimated by Oil and Gas Journal at 175 billion barrels. This ranks just behind Saudi Arabia (260 billion) and Venezuela (211 billion) and ahead of Iran (137 billion) and Iraq (115 billion).

Australia's Macarthur Coal has backed a slightly sweetened A$4.9 billion ($5.2 billion) takeover offer from Peabody Energy and ArcelorMittal . Peabody and ArcelorMittal raised their offer by 3 percent to A$16 a share and will also add Macarthur's A$0.16 a share dividend, for a total offer value of A$16.16. Macarthur bowed to the higher offer after fending off four takeover attempts over the past three years.

China Daily reports local land and mineral resource officials in the Qinghai province estimate that the Dachang gold mine in the Tibetan autonomous prefecture of Yushu is likely to become one of the largest gold mines in Asia with 300 tonnes in proven reserves. The geological exploration was conducted jointly by Qinghai mining development bureau and TSX-listed Inter‐Citic Minerals with a total investment of $31.3 million. The project is at an elevation of approximately 4,500 meters and consists of five exploration licenses covering some 279 square kilometers. Tiny Inter-Citic says it allocated $6.3 million in exploration expenses for this year.

Mining Review reports Impala Platinum ‒ the world’s second-largest producer of the precious metal ‒ may invest as much as $10 billion in Zimbabwe to expand production if the government backs down on its controversial indigenization policy. Earlier this month Zimbabwe's government gave foreign companies including miners and banks a 14-day ultimatum to submit plans on how they propose to transfer majority stakes to local owners or risk losing permits. Impala is already the biggest investor in Zimbabwe's mining sector.

Woulfe Mining announced Monday it is fast-tracking the evaluation of its Muguk gold project in South Korea, the largest gold mine in South Korea until its premature closure in 1997 due to low gold prices. The TSX-listed company says it is now able to focus on Muguk as its Sangdong tungsten-molybdenum project, is progressing at a rapid rate with production scheduled to commence in early 2012. The mine, believed to be one of the largest in the world, would produce about 4,000 tonnes of tungsten worth $180 million per year.

Shares in Ivanhoe mines closed up just over 5% in Toronto on Monday outperforming the broader market and bringing the counter's gains to 23.2% over the last week. At a time when many miners across the developing world struggle to preserve their social licence, the impact of Ivanhoe's Oyu Tolgoi on the people of Mongolia stands in stark contrast: the mine will contribute a third of the country's GDP when it goes into full operation, will be mined until at least 2060 and increase the average earnings of Mongolians by 60% according to a new CNN report.

According to a new report by GIA the global market for heavy-duty diesel (HDD) catalysts is forecast to reach $2.6 billion by the year 2017, spurred by rigorous emission control regulations for heavy-duty on-road and off-road vehicles across the world. Catalysts with a high palladium content are fast replacing platinum catalysts in gasoline exhaust systems, while demand for platinum increased due to its increasing usage in catalysts for diesel exhaust systems.