Venezuela is said to default on gold swap with Deutsche Bank

With nearly 6 million tonnes mined each year, Chile is the world’s chief copper producer. Now, it turns out the country could someday become a leader in gold production as well, giving its neighbour, Peru, a run for its money.

Chile's Compañía de Acero del Pacífico (CAP) will invest nearly US$700 million this year to develop its iron ore projects in the country, president Roberto de Andraca told reporters attending Expomin, one of the world's most important mining exhibitions, in Santiago.

Using the dismal science to make forecasts and taking risks with real money are two very different things. And the Brazilian giant is definitely putting its money where its mouth is.

Peruvian company Grupo Brescia announced today that it is going ahead with plans to further diversify its investments by mining for copper in neighbouring Chile, reports Portal Minero.

More than one billion people watched the rescue of 33 Chilean miners from a collapsed mine in 2010. Today, one of them has decided to venture underground for the first time since the accident during a tour to a Saskatchewan potash mine.

Anglo American Plc (LON:AAL) will spend over US$ 2 billion this year at its Minas-Rio 5.8-billion ton iron ore project in Brazil, the world’s second-largest exporter of the steel-making ingredient.

The nine miners trapped in a high altitude underground copper mine in Peru since last Thursday are well and with their families, after they were freed this morning (12:00 GMT).

The Vancouver company earned a profit of $26.4 million on $133.5 million in revenues for the year, up 145%, after drilling an astonishing 585,900 meters for minerals and a further 444,400 meters for energy last year.

Peru’s long-running Conga mine dispute is about to reach a turning point as international consultants appointed by the government in February finalize their environmental report on Newmont Mining and Buenaventura's US$4.8 billion copper-gold project.