Vedanta Ltd. reported a 61% jump in quarterly profit as a one-time tax benefit countered lower metal prices and slowing demand.

The more than 2 million directly employed in small-scale mining in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have become a source of financing and recruits for Islamist militants in the region.

The oil and gas explorer aims to boost revenue from its mining business to $100 million annually within three years.

De Beers sold the most diamonds since June after the biggest price cut in years, but sales still remained lower than normal for this time of year.

As coal prices tumble and bankruptcies rise, a few US miners are still pushing ahead with plans to expand.

Gold Fields on Friday raised South Deep’s output targets for this year and next as the company implements the mine’s fifth turnaround plan since its acquisition in 2006.

The purchase of the claims by the Mimosa mine, which is jointly owned by Impala and Sibanye Gold, could be finalized by the end pf the year.

The quota for six dominant producers, including China Northern Rare Earth Group High-Tech Co., was set at 132,000 tons for 2019.

The company controlled by Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote will mine an estimated 2 billion tons of phosphate in nearby Togo.

The metal dropped 3.7% this week, the most since November 2016.

It’s a particular challenge for Russia’s economy, which is heavily dependent on oil and gas production and mining.

There are certainly reasons for investors to be hopeful.