Stock sell-off puts mining sector’s future in question

Top global miner BHP Billiton has moved into the feasibility study stage of preparing a long-awaited expansion of the Olympic Dam copper and uranium mine in South Australia.

A four-day-old strike has paralyzed Bolivia's San Cristobal mine, which produces silver, zinc and lead and accounts for about half the country's mining exports, the government said on Monday. San Cristobal is the world's third-largest producer of silver and the sixth-largest producer of zinc, according to Japan's Sumitomo Corp (8053.T: Quote), which fully owns the mine.

Ivanhoe Mines announced its financial results for the year ended December 31, 2010. The approved 2011 capital budget for Oyu Tolgoi is estimated at $2.3 billion. Principal components of the 2011 construction program include $561 million for the 100,000-tonne-per-day concentrator complex; $186 million for the initial mining fleet and to start pre-stripping of the Southern Oyu open-pit mine; and $713 million for project infrastructure, electrical power and completion of the process-water supply. The number of workers assigned to the Oyu Tolgoi site recently surpassed 7,000 for the first time. On-site jobs at Oyu Tolgoi are expected to peak at almost 14,000 in mid-2011, with an additional 3,700 Mongolians receiving skills training sponsored by Oyu Tolgoi.

Yellowhead Mining has raised $20 million through bought-deal financing, the B.C.-based company exploration company announced earlier this week. Under the deal, Yellowhead is selling 13.8 million shares at CDN$1.45 per unit, with each unit including a common share and one-half of a warrant. The warrants may be exercised at a price of $2.00, for two years after the deal closes.

Endeavour Silver Corp.(TSX:EDR)(NYSE Amex:EXK)(DBFrankfurt:EJD) announced today record earnings, cash-flows and revenues for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2010, […]

Eurasian Minerals Inc. has completed the final tranche of its CAD$17.875 million private placement by the sale of 3,039,000 units for proceeds […]

A new educational video on how silver is formed and mined has been commissioned by Canadian miner Endeavour Silver and the first […]

Gold rose on Thursday, sustained by a rise in ETF holdings, stronger physical demand and a weaker dollar, but investor selling to […]

Shares in Great Panther Silver rose after it said it expects to produce 1.94 million ounces of silver in 2011, up from the 1.5 million ounces it produced in 2010.