Peru native groups use new legal strategy to push back on oil, mining plans

Hecla Mining Company ("Hecla") HL +3.79% announces that it has reached an agreement with its lenders to increase the amount available under its undrawn secured revolving credit facility to $100 million from $60 million. The amendment is effective immediately and represents a new three-year term on the facility. The financial covenants and interest rate at LIBOR plus 2.75% to 3.5% depending on the leverage ratio of the Company, remain unchanged. The lenders for the credit facility are Scotia Capital and ING Capital LLC.

First Majestic (TSE:FR) announced that its Q3 silver production was 4% lower from the prior quarter and 6% lower from the same quarter in 2010. The company produced 1,708,865 silver ounces in Q3 compared to 1,780,379 in Q2. In early morning trading, the company's stock was up 20 cents to $17.69 a share. The company believes that silver production should increase due to operational improvements at La Parrilla, its Mexican mine. First Majestic completed a new 1,000 tpd flotation circuit, which will replace an old 425 tpd flotation circuit and will allow silver production to ramp up in the fourth quarter.

Endeavour Silver Corp. (TSX:EDR)(NYSE:EXK)(FRANKFURT:EJD)announced today that silver and gold production from the Company's two operating silver mines in Mexico, the Guanacevi Mine in Durango State and the Guanajuato Mine in Guanajuato State, continued to rise year-on-year in the Third Quarter, 2011. Silver production was up 8% to 858,738 ounces (oz) and gold production was up 7% to 4,926 oz compared to the Third Quarter, 2010. Revenues jumped 93% for the quarter to US$38.8 million thanks to both higher silver and gold production and higher realized metal prices.

Crystallex International Corporation (TSX:KRY)(OTCQB:CRYXF) ("Crystallex" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that a wholly-owned subsidiary (the "Issuer") proposes to complete a best efforts private placement offering (the "Offering") of up to 120,000 units (the "Units") at a price of US$1,000 per Unit for aggregate proceeds of up to US$120 million. Each Unit will consist of one face value US$1,000 principal amount senior secured note (the "Notes") bearing simple interest at a rate per annum to be determined payable on maturity or redemption and one contingent value right (the "CVRs").

The International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes has advised Crystallex International Corp. that proceedings in its $3.8 billion case against Venezuela for nationalizing gold-mining assets has begun. The Toronto-listed company's main asset is its interest in the Las Cristinas gold project located in Bolivar State, Venezuela. Crystallex also holds interests in the Tomi and La Victoria mines in Venezuela and on Friday closed down 70% from its 52-week high. The stock was delisted in from the New York Stock Exchange earlier this year. Toronto-listed Rusoro is the only large producing gold miner operating in Venezuela and the country does not feature in the top 20 global gold producing states.

Centaurus Metals (ASX:CTM) slipped back to 72 cents after rising to 78 cents Thursday, on news of a positive resource estimate from its flagship Jambreiro iron ore project in Brazil. Perth-based Centaurus reported a 65% jump in iron ore from Jambreiro, to 117.5 million tonnes grading 26.8% Fe.

A new report from research firm TNS could have implications for mining. A survey of affluent households around the world — defined as greater than $100,000 — found that 80% of the world's wealthy live in Western countries.TNS's Global Affluenty Investor study conducted interviews across 24 markets including China, Brazil and India.

Brazil is offering a carrot to encourage domestic production of fertilizer while at the same time, reaching a little deeper into the pockets of iron ore miners. A Mining Ministry official from the South American powerhouse said Thursday that Brazil plans to boost taxes on iron ore while cutting the levy on fertilizers as part of a plan to overhaul mining regulations, Bloomberg reported: The government is studying a plan to double the royalty on iron ore to 4 percent of gross revenue from 2 percent of net sales now, Claudio Scliar, the ministry’s secretary for geology and mining, said today in an interview. The levy on fertilizers may be reduced from 3 percent to prompt producers to increase domestic output of the crop nutrients, he said, declining to specify the size of the cut.

Shares in London-listed Antofagasta, the copper giant controlled by Chile’s Luksic family, jumped 7% in afternoon trade on the FTSE, one of the best performers on a good day for miners. CEO Marcelo Awad earlier told Dow Jones Newswires the slump in copper prices in the last few weeks is a market overreaction and it hadn't seen any of its customers cancel or delay shipments. Copper has slumped over 30% since peaking at an all-time high of $10,190/tonne in February and Awad added that European customers of Antofagasta – after Thursday's move upward worth £10 billion again – are nevertheless reluctant to commit to 2012 orders thanks to all the uncertainty in the eurozone. The Luksics could do with a bit of a boost: analysts say Chile's richest family may have lost their way after buying control of Latin America’s largest container shipping company last month.