Palladium price hits fresh highs: record deficit predicted

Miners voted Friday to end a two-week long strike at the world's largest copper mine, La Escondida in northern Chile, approving an agreement struck by their union and management. Escondida employees accepted a management offer of a special production bonus for 2010, a year in which the mine had record earnings, a spokesman for the mine's largest union said. Image of the Escodida mine, by BHP Billiton.

The Economic Times reports Botswana is the world’s biggest rough diamond producer by value in 2010. According to statistics release by the Kimberley Process, a UN certified scheme, despite Russia producing more rough diamonds in 2010 at 34 million carats worth around $2.38 billion, Botswana’s 22 million carats mined in 2010 were worth around $2.59 billion — $210 million dollars more than Russia.

The Navajo Nation's allegations that a coal mining company conspired with others to cheat the tribe out of as much as $600 million in royalties was settled in federal court on Thursday. The tribe sued what is now Peabody Energy in 1999. The terms of the agreement are confidential. The US Supreme Court ruled against the Navajo in a similar lawsuit filed against the federal government. Peabody has operated through a business partnership with the Navajo Nation and the Hopi Tribe for more than 40 years in Northeastern Arizona.

Mining companies are expected to invest more than $116-billion in Canada over the next five years, an industry body said on Thursday.

Canada's Northgate Minerals reported a wider quarterly net loss of $13 million hit by lower production and higher costs, and it lowered its full-year production forecast. Revenue fell 45% to $67.4 million. In July, Northgate Minerals said it would buy Primero Mining to form a new mid-tier gold producer, which will have a combined market capitalization of approximately $1.2 billion and will tie together the San Dimas mine in Mexico; the Fosterville and Stawell gold mines in Australia; and the Young-Davidson gold development project in Ontario. Investors shrugged off the news and the Vancouver-based company's shares opened barely changed in Toronto at C$3.15 on Friday giving it a market valuation of some $920 million.

According to a new report by Research & Markets high uranium prices, paralleled by growing global demand for energy, will result in Namibia doubling its uranium production to approximately 12,000 tonnes by 2015 from the 5,300 tonnes the country produced in 2009. Namibia's extensive uranium deposits, coupled with the expansion of existing mines, will result in the country's uranium production increasing sharply in the short to medium term.

BioteQ Environmental Technologies, a leader in the treatment of industrial waste water, has come to an agreement with Minera México, a subsidiary of Grupo México, to provide water treatment solutions that support Minera México’s commitment for the sustainable development of its mineral resources.

Toronto’s main stock index closed down 435 points Thursday as Japanese intervention in the yen and concern over the spreading sovereign-debt crisis sent the U.S. dollar soaring, and oil and materials prices falling.

A wage agreement between De Beers Consolidated Mines and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has been signed, the diamond producer said on Thursday.