BHP Billiton a step closer to selling-off non-core operations

Reuters reports central banks of emerging market countries such as Korea and Thailand have added more than $10 billion of gold to their reserves this year in a sign of waning faith in the West's benchmark bonds and currencies like the dollar and the euro. International Monetary Fund data for June on Wednesday showed Thailand bought gold for the second time this year, raising its reserves by nearly 19 tonnes to over 127 tonnes, while Russia bought another 5.85 tonnes, bringing its reserves to 836.7 tonnes, the world's eighth largest official stash of the metal.

Global production of diamonds increased 10.8% in 2010 compared to 2009, and its value soared by 45.2%, as the world economy improved and demand for diamonds restored. The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, which tracks production and trade of rough diamonds to end trade in conflict diamonds, released on Wednesday the latest annual data, covering 2010. According to the KPCS data, global diamond production in 2010 totaled 133.1 million carats worth $12 billion.

One protesters associated with the Radical Action for Mountain People's Survival Campaign has been arrested after climbing down from a tree platform he has been occupying at Coal River Mountain West Virginia since July 20. Becks Kolins (pictured on the left) was arrested by state police. Kolins and Catherine-Ann MacDougal climbed the trees to protest operations at the Bee Tree surface mine owned by Alpha Natural Resources, the company that bought Massey Energy following a deadly blast at one of its coal mines. McDougal says she's staying put.

The internet is fast growing into one of the Australia's strongest economic drivers, with a new report commissioned by search giant Google showing it had contributed more than $50 billion towards the country's gross domestic product last year. That sum equates to 3.6% of the economy, putting it on par with the economic value of iron ore exports according to the survey. While impressive, the figure is still dwarfed by the sums involved in iron ore mining in Australia and elsewhere, something Gina Rinehart can attest to. Rinehart, 57, is set to become the world richest person as her wholly-owned mines go into production in a couple of years, netting her a tidy $10 billion in annual profits.

December gold futures traded at another record high hitting $1,664.50 in after hours trade on Tuesday on news that US consumers spent less in June, the first decline in more than two years. On top of that personal incomes gained only slightly and most consumers were using that money to pay off debt. Some 70% of the US economy is reliant on consumer spending therefore any belt-tightening has ripple effects across the globe. The Dow Jones blue-chip index ended down more than 2% or 266 points extending its losing streak into an eighth day – the worst performance since October 2008.

Vancouver's Mesa Exploration said on Tuesday that Utah state officials granted the company a 640-acre potash lease, sending its stock up 6.5% by the close of trade. Mesa announced the lease will be incorporated into its Whipsaw potash project in Grand County that now totals 18,608 acres or 29 square miles and where thick potash beds have been intersected in gas wells at depths between 3,300 and 4,200 feet.

Mountain Province Diamonds announced on Tuesday that the Gahcho Kué environmental impact study – all 11,000 pages of it – has been cleared and the review process – expected to take another two years – can now commence. Gahcho Kué, a joint venture between Mountain Province and De Beers, is the world's largest and highest grade diamond development project. It consists of a cluster of four diamondiferous kimberlites, three of which have a probable mineral reserve of 31.3 million tonnes grading 1.57 carats per tonne for total diamond content of 49 million carats.

Silver Falcon Mining announced on Tuesday it had cast 17 troy ounces at War Eagle Mountain, making it the first report of precious metal smelting in over 100 years at the historic Idaho site. Stock in the tiny company rose as much as 24% on triple the usual volumes on the news bringing its gains for the year to over 72%. Silver Falcon said it will now switch focus from processing the old tailings and commence with exploration activities now that weather inaccessibility is no longer a problem.

Suriname's only commercial gold mine, the Rosebel Gold Mine which is majority owned by Canada's Iamgold, has been shut down by a strike by 1,100 workers protesting new longer shift hours. Rosebel is located some 118 kilometers south of Paramaribo (pictured), the capital of the South American nation. The mine produced 395,000 ounces in 2010 at cash cost of $484 per ounce. While Rosebel is the country's only commercially operated mine, there are believed to be thousands of small scale miners operating in the tiny, impoverished country.