World number one miner BHP Billiton on Wednesday bought additional exploration plots near its Olympic Dam mine and $30 billion expansion project.

During May 2012 the price of gold dropped over 6% and investors withdrew over €1 billion from gold ETPs.

The takeover still requires the Canadian government's approval, and a competition review of Glencore's side deals to sell some assets to Agrium and Richardson International Limited will begin after Glencore's transaction closes, Agrium CEO Mike Wilson told the company's investors in Chicago.

Sustainable Wealth Management has become the latest company to partner with Exchange Traded Concepts to debut an ETF, announcing this week the launch of the North American Oil Sands ETF (SNDS).

Asset manager at JPMorgan, Neil Gregson, says mining companies should pursue more takeovers as escalating costs prompt them to slow spending on expansions.

We continue to collaborate closely with our suppliers and advisers, the regulatory authorities of the Government of Andalucía and the project financiers with a view to triggering the Rio Tinto Copper Mine by the end of 2012.

There are better days waiting ahead for copper and nickel in the field of electronics with the new invention of copper-nickel nanowires, which will be a perfect choice for printed electronics, developed by researchers in Duke University.

According to Kazakhstan's deputy central bank chairman, the central bank plans to boost the share of gold in its gold and foreign currency reserves to 20% from 14-15%

As diamond traders continue to express concerns over undisclosed lab-made diamonds, a Hong Kong firm is offering a low cost way to identify them. Their solution is a $200 laser pen.