PIC OF THE DAY: Merc long-hauler carries open pit dump truck

India's Tata Steel , the world's No 7 steelmaker, will hold on to its stake in Africa-focused Riversdale Mining , its vice chairman said on Monday. "We will continue to hold on to our stake," B Muthuraman told reporters.

Geodex has acquired by staking the Jake Lee project covering approximately 3800 hectares located 80km south of Fredericton. Geodex will conduct an exploration program focused on the rare earth elements ("REE") potential with a secondary focus on gold and base metals based on the geology and supported by regional government sampling and assessment report data.

Russia's top gold digger said it produced 323,000 ounces of the yellow metal in Q1, 60% more than the same period the year before Russia's top gold producer Polyus Gold (PLZL.MM: Quote) said on Wednesday its output in the first quarter of this year was

At least four capesize cargoes of South African coal have been sold back to the original sellers by Chinese buyers during the past month and all are coming to Europe, said sources familiar with the deals. The South African coal is being stockpiled in Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp and at power plants either for sale into Europe or to be burned at the main buyer's own power plants.

Russia's biggest gold miner Polyus Gold (PLZL.MM: Quote), KazakhGold KZJq.L and the Assaubayev family have settled all legal claims brought against the Assaubayevs, all parties said on Monday.

The US$89 million shares-and-cash acquisition of Estonia's AS Silmet by Colorado's Molycorp means both rare earth companies "will be able to take advantage of the very robust price situation in the market right now," Molycorp CEO Mark Smith said during a conference call with analysts Monday.

Kinross Gold, recently cashed up from its stake sale in Harry Winston Diamond Corp., has now agreed to pay $350 million for full ownership of the Kupol mine in Russia. The mine would account for about 17% of Kinross' gold equivalent production in 2011. Reuters reports: Gold miner Kinross Gold Corp. said it signed an agreement to buy the stake it does not already own in Chukotka Mining and Geological Co for about $350 million, giving it full ownership of the Russian mining company.

Using a gold price of $1,000 per ounce, the Kumtor open-pit LOM plan has been used to project the net cash flow for the open pit operations for the period of January 1, 2011 to 2021. Total gross revenue from the sale of gold and minor silver credits are estimated to be nearly $5.0 billion while direct operating costs are estimated to be $1.9 billion or $385 per recovered ounce of gold produced.

EMED announced that the provincial government of Andalucia has unblocked the process required to grant the mineral rights for the Rio Tinto Mine to EMED Tartessus, the company’s wholly-owned Spanish subsidiary. Further, the government has made a decision on the tailings dam issue and ruled that EMED will assume formal responsibility for its maintenance and operation.