Iron ore thunders higher as mine dams closed, exports collapse

President Hugo Chavez has signed a decree formalizing the nationalization of Venezuela's gold mining industry. The move Tuesday is aimed at giving the government total control over gold produced in the South American country.

While Venezuela President Hugo Chavez may have little to gain from seizing the half he did not already own of the only private gold miner left in the country, bringing home the 211 tonnes of gold reserves, worth $12.3 billion, held overseas, is a different story altogether. CTV news reports bullion traders are preparing for one of the largest transfers of physical gold in recent history – about 17,000 standard 400-ounce bars – from Europe back to the South American state. While billions of dollars worth of gold is traded every day, only a tiny proportion of it moves from vaults in London, New York and Zurich.

Great Panther escaped the mayhem on the markets and ended Thursday up 3.6% on the TSX after announcing it shipped 100 tonnes of silver-gold pyrite concentrates from its Guanajuato operation to a new buyer in Mexico. Last week the company disappointed the markets with quarterly results that showed a drop in revenues due to the shipping delays and lower silver production as a result of falling grades. The volatile stock is down almost a quarter over the last month.

BHP Billiton today announced approval of a US$437 million (BHP Billiton share) investment to expand the Cerrejon Coal mine in La Guajira, Colombia. BHP Billiton’s investment represents one third of the US$1,311 million expansion to be undertaken by Cerrejon Coal, with joint venture partners Anglo American and Xstrata contributing equal investment in the project. The expansion, known as the P40 Project, will enable Cerrejon Coal’s saleable thermal coal production to increase by 8 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to approximately 40mtpa.

Chile is proceeding with a massive coal mine on an island in Patagonia near the southern tip of South America despite a high-profile viral video protest campaign and accusations that billionaire President Sebastian Pinera's shareholding in the developer Copec constitutes a serious conflict of interest. A similar campaign last year forced Pinera to reconsider a thermoelectric plant close to another wildlife attraction and a recent poll put his approval rating at only 26%, below even that of dictator General Pinochet, who ruled the country for 17 years from 1973.

Impact  Silver Corp.  announced  on Wednesday additional drill results for the planned open pit Capire mine in the 200-square-kilometer Mamatla Mineral District, in central Mexico. Production plans at Capire are to first install a 200-tonne-per-day pilot plant (already purchased) to optimize mining and processing parameters toward planning for a larger operation in the future.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez (pictured) said on Wednesday he will nationalize the gold industry, from mining through to processing, and move bullion reserves held in Europe to Venezuela's central bank. Toronto-listed Rusoro is the only large gold miner operating in Venezuela and the country does not feature in the top 20 global gold producing states. In late afternoon trading Rusoro had lost 6.67% in above average volumes. Rusoro holds a 50% interest in the Isidora gold mine that produced some 100,000 ounces last year. The Chavez government holds the rest.

Iberian Minerals Corp. (TSX VENTURE:IZN) today announced financial and operating results for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2011, with comparative figures for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2010. The Company reported net income of $47.80 million for Q2 2011, representing $0.13 per share.

Reuters reports Peru's mining firms have agreed to pay higher royalties in an overhaul of the current system, sources on both sides of negotiations between companies and leftist President Ollanta Humala's government said on Tuesday. Under the new system, companies would pay royalties based on their operating profits, not sales and will be be similar to the system used in Chile. The new royalties rates still need to be defined, but they would likely be higher than the current rates of 1% – 3% charged on sales. The initiative comes as mining companies in Peru plan to invest $42.5 billion over the next decade, mainly in copper and gold projects. Peru is the world's largest miner of silver and the second-largest miner of copper.