Finnish mineral processing company Outotec more than doubled its profits for the first half of 2011.

The Zimbabwe Independent quotes finance minister Tendai Biti (pictured) on Friday as saying the reality of Zimbabwe's situation is that there is no connection between Zimbabwe’s income from diamonds, its output and international prices adding the country's resources are in danger of turning into curse rather than a blessing. Zimbabwe exported 716 958,50 carats from its alluvial diamond mines but only $103,9 million of diamond export shipments was accounted for in the first half of the year. The military seized control of the rich diamond fields in Chiadzwa in 2006 and most observers believe an international ban on these gems are being widely flouted.

Lundin Mining Corporation reported on Friday net income of $57.7 million for the second quarter of 2011, up 36% from the same quarter last year. The numbers were below management expectations after lower than expected metal production and higher unit costs at its flagship Neves-Corvo copper mine in Portugal north of the city of Faro (pictured). Lundin said the Tenke Fungurume mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo, its first venture beyond Europe, should start contributing to cash flows in the third quarter.

Madagascar has given French oil major Total a one-year extension of an exploration licence for the Bemolanga block shared with Madagascar Oil and expanded it to include conventional oil, a senior official told Reuters on Thursday. Madagascar Oil and Total announced earlier this month that it is scuttling plans to develop a 1.2bn barrel oil sand deposit on the island after three years of extensive work. The Bemolanga bitumen deposit was first drilled in the late 1800s and would have cost upwards of $8bn to bring into operation.

Wales Online reports mining at the historic Tower Colliery in Wales could begin again as soon as Christmas after a £30m scheme to regenerate the site was given the green light by councillors of the nearby town of Rhondda Cynon Taf earlier in the week. Tower Colliery was the oldest continuously worked pit coal mine in the United Kingdom at the time of its closure by British Coal in 1994 with a history dating back to at least 1805. It was bought out by the laid off miners and re-opened the next year before finally shutting down in 2008.

Balkan Insight reports that thirty miners have fasted for the last three days in a gallery 1,400m below the surface and 260m below sea level inside the chromium mine in the town Bulqiza, Albania. The hunger strike is an escalation of a three-week shutdown, as roughly 700 miners press Albanian Chrome, the largest employer in the country, to meet their requests of a 20% wage hike. The Bulqiza chromium deposit has been continuously mined since 1948. The Balkan state has the lowest GDP per capita in Europe.

December gold futures traded at a record $1,633 on Friday morning before pulling back to the $1,625 level by early afternoon lifted by 11th hour political wrangling about the US debt plan, news that Great Recession in that country was deeper than previously thought and the Euro debt crisis spreading to Spain. Silver tracked gold with September contracts adding 48 cents, or 1.2%, to trade at $40.28 an ounce early on before slipping back to below $40 by early afternoon. The S&P 500 was poised to drop for a third straight month, the longest slump since 2008.

The United States Congress still can't pass legislation to raise the nation's debt ceiling, but a Yale Law professor suggests that President Obama could sidestep lawmakers and ensure that bills keep getting paid by minting platinum coins—about $2 trillion worth. Writing for CNN, law professor Jack Balkin outlines three ways that President Obama could keep paying the bills while congress dithers.

Investors rewarded Centerra Gold on Friday after the company reported it more than doubled net profits at $71.1 million on revenues of $243.8 million, up over 60% compared to the same quarter last year and announced a special and annual dividend payment of $99.3 million. Centerra Gold, which owns gold properties in Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia and has earn-in agreements in Nevada and Turkey, added 1% by midday Friday and was one of the few gainers among precious metals miners. Sector heavyweights Goldcorp and Kinross lost over 1.5% while Barrick was also trading weaker despite a rampant gold price.