Diavik is supposed to transform into an underground operation this year and Harry Winston's partner on the project, Rio Tinto, wants to exit diamond mining, but the luxury retailer could not provide any guidance on the way forward. Investors responded by giving Harry Winston a 5% kicking.

ABC News reports that two amateur rockhounds, Libby and Kevin Barrieault, found a 50.5 carat emerald in North Carolina.

The amount of first-year students studying at the Wits School of Mining Engineering at the University of Witwatersrand has dramatically increased due to donations from the London Metal Exchange (LME), reports International Mining.

Professor Fred Cawood, head of the Wits School of Mining Engineering, aims to increase the percentage of sponsored students in the school to provide opportunities for those drawn from a disadvantaged socio-economic background and the donation from LME fulfilled this exact purpose. “Our objective is to identify students who are needy - students coming from poor families who cannot afford to study, and deserving - those who have a realistic chance of success if their money problems are resolved,” says Professor Cawood.

Due to an oversupply in the Atlantic region, the world's third-largest producer of aluminum, Alcoa, announced that it was cutting 390,000 tonnes of production of alumina.

Zimbabwe's Black Empowerment Minister, Saviour Kasukuwere, announced today it has taken majority ownership of foreign-owned mining firms, which had not already given a controlling stake to black Zimbabweans.

A recent study published by Canberra-based think tank The Australia Institute calls for a slowdown in mining investment.

Malaysia's Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) has postponed granting a temporary rare earths mine operating license (TOL) to Australian miner Lynas Corp. (ASX:LYC) until an outstanding appeal by residents to the science, technology and innovation minister has been completed.

Negotiations between protesting miners and regional authorities resulted in an agreement to create a high-level commission to investigate the continued closure of the La Oroya mining complex in Peru.

Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. (NYSE: ANR) announced today that it plans to permanently close the Upper Big Branch (UBB) mine near Whitesville, W.Va.