The world's biggest mining company will expand its manganese operation at Groote Eylandt in the Northern Territory.BHP Billiton announced the $254 million expansion of the GEMCO mine in a statement this morning. The company says this expansion will increase production from 4.2 to 4.8 million tonnes of ore a year.

NMDC Ltd, India's largest iron ore producer and exporter in the public sector, said on Thursday it plans to open a new iron ore mine in Chhattisgarh.

Some 100,000 South African gold miners went on strike Thursday, but fuel workers ended a stoppage that had slowed commerce and caused panic buying.

BHP Billiton Ltd. has declared force majeure on exports from the world’s biggest copper mine, as a mine workers’ strike entered its eighth day. The strike at BHP’s Escondida mine in Chile, which supplied 7 per cent of the world’s copper last year, comes in a month of widespread mining strikes from Indonesia to South Africa. BHP's Escondida mine (pictured) has been the site of an 8-day strike in Chile.

Silver Wheaton, the global number one silver streaming firm, announced on Thursday that it is revising its 2011 attributable silver equivalent production guidance from 27 to 28 million silver equivalent ounces to 25 to 26 million silver equivalent ounces. Stock in the company on the Toronto exchange ended little changed on Thursday, but is down 9.5% so far this year which means investors have taken more than a $1 billion knock. Silver Wheaton expects its 2015 attributable production to grow by 17 million ounces.

Diversified miner Teck Resources doubled its quarterly profit on higher copper and coal prices, the company announced on Thursday. Teck said it brought in $756 million in profits in the second quarter of 2011, a 90 percent increase from the same period in 2010, or $1.12 a share compared to 59 cents per share in Q2 2010. President and CEO Don Lindsay attributed the doubling of profits to higher prices for coal and copper — the company's chief commodities — along with a US$2 billion rights offering in July that cashed up the company to the tune of $3.4 billion. Photo of Teck's Elkview operation in southeastern British Columbia, by Teck Resources Limited.

Reuters reports high crude prices have dented global oil demand in the second quarter according to oil majors BP, Shell and ConocoPhillips, in a trend likely to be repeated in the second half of the year if prices stay high. Brent oil prices spiked to $127 a barrel in April, close to the all-time high of $147. However, the price oil sands exporters receive weakened further against the global benchmark on Thursday with West Texas Intermediate fetching $97 as the first of 60 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve reach markets.

Federal regulators say they issued citations for safety violations at 12 coal mines in June.

China’s Wing Hing said on Thursday that it planned to buy up to 87% of South African gold company Taung Gold for $580-million to take advantage of the surging gold price. Gold continued to hit record highs above $1 620/oz this week as concerns over the prospect of a US debt default grew, prompting investors to buy the precious metals as a haven from risk.