World No. 1 copper producer Codelco said on Wednesday it was preparing to halt its Ventanas smelter after a court ordered it to do so following an environmental complaint.

Newcrest said in a brief announcement today that it has suspended operations at the Bonikro gold mine "as a precautionary measure" and evacuated expatriates to neighbouring Ghana. This is not the first time Bonikro has had to be closed - a mine gained late last year with the takeover of Lihir Gold with its much larger prize of the Lihir Island gold project in Papua New Ginea.

Canada's Kinross Gold (K.TO: Quote) will invest $1.1 billion in Ecuador's Fruta del Norte gold project until 2016 and could begin digging an underground mine next year, a company executive said on Wednesday.

SouthGobi Resources Ltd. (TSX:SGQ)(HK:1878) announced today that new, independent estimates prepared by Minarco-MineConsult ("MMC"), have updated coal resources and proven and probable mineral reserves contained at the company's Ovoot Tolgoi Complex, (comprised of the Ovoot Tolgoi Coal Mine and the Ovoot Tolgoi Underground Deposit). Independent estimates for coal resources have also been updated by MMC for the company's Soumber Deposit (comprised of the Soumber Field and the Biluut Field).

Grande Cache Coal Corporation (TSX:GCE) ("Grande Cache Coal") has reached an agreement with Westshore Terminals Limited Partnership to exclusively handle Grande Cache Coal's annual coal tonnages that it ships through a West Coast port from April 1, 2012 to March 31, 2022. The commercial terms of the agreement are confidential.

Vancouver-based Crowflight Minerals (TSX: CML) says it will resume operations at its Bucko Lake Mine in April. The company expects to mine 220,000 tonnes of ore in 2011, with the goal of producing about five million pounds of nickel. With nickel trading at $12 a pound, the operation would yield a $20 million cash flow in 2011, Crowflight stated in a news release Wednesday.

BHP Billiton today announced approval for the Escondida Ore Access project (EOA), the first of a number of development options that will underline Escondida’s status as the world’s premier copper operation. The EOA project will relocate the crushing and conveying facilities currently located inside Escondida’s main pit to improve access to higher grade ore and thereby support higher production from 2013. The project is expected to cost US$554 million (US$319 million BHP Billiton share) and will be completed by mid calendar year 2012.

Sherwin Iron Limited (ASX: SHD) says that fresh metallurgical testwork on the oolitic hematite from its Roper River Iron Ore Project in […]

Barker Minerals Ltd. (TSX-V:BML) reported results from the 2,000m trenching program on its silver/gold/lead Black Bear project. The 100% owned project on China Mountain is located 74 km northeast of Williams Lake, in the Cariboo region of British Columbia.