Norway’s $1 trillion fund resumes investing in miners, oil and Walmart

Great Panther escaped the mayhem on the markets and ended Thursday up 3.6% on the TSX after announcing it shipped 100 tonnes of silver-gold pyrite concentrates from its Guanajuato operation to a new buyer in Mexico. Last week the company disappointed the markets with quarterly results that showed a drop in revenues due to the shipping delays and lower silver production as a result of falling grades. The volatile stock is down almost a quarter over the last month.

BHP Billiton today announced approval of a US$437 million (BHP Billiton share) investment to expand the Cerrejon Coal mine in La Guajira, Colombia. BHP Billiton’s investment represents one third of the US$1,311 million expansion to be undertaken by Cerrejon Coal, with joint venture partners Anglo American and Xstrata contributing equal investment in the project. The expansion, known as the P40 Project, will enable Cerrejon Coal’s saleable thermal coal production to increase by 8 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to approximately 40mtpa.

Chile is proceeding with a massive coal mine on an island in Patagonia near the southern tip of South America despite a high-profile viral video protest campaign and accusations that billionaire President Sebastian Pinera's shareholding in the developer Copec constitutes a serious conflict of interest. A similar campaign last year forced Pinera to reconsider a thermoelectric plant close to another wildlife attraction and a recent poll put his approval rating at only 26%, below even that of dictator General Pinochet, who ruled the country for 17 years from 1973.

Impact  Silver Corp.  announced  on Wednesday additional drill results for the planned open pit Capire mine in the 200-square-kilometer Mamatla Mineral District, in central Mexico. Production plans at Capire are to first install a 200-tonne-per-day pilot plant (already purchased) to optimize mining and processing parameters toward planning for a larger operation in the future.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez (pictured) said on Wednesday he will nationalize the gold industry, from mining through to processing, and move bullion reserves held in Europe to Venezuela's central bank. Toronto-listed Rusoro is the only large gold miner operating in Venezuela and the country does not feature in the top 20 global gold producing states. In late afternoon trading Rusoro had lost 6.67% in above average volumes. Rusoro holds a 50% interest in the Isidora gold mine that produced some 100,000 ounces last year. The Chavez government holds the rest.

Iberian Minerals Corp. (TSX VENTURE:IZN) today announced financial and operating results for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2011, with comparative figures for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2010. The Company reported net income of $47.80 million for Q2 2011, representing $0.13 per share.

Reuters reports Peru's mining firms have agreed to pay higher royalties in an overhaul of the current system, sources on both sides of negotiations between companies and leftist President Ollanta Humala's government said on Tuesday. Under the new system, companies would pay royalties based on their operating profits, not sales and will be be similar to the system used in Chile. The new royalties rates still need to be defined, but they would likely be higher than the current rates of 1% – 3% charged on sales. The initiative comes as mining companies in Peru plan to invest $42.5 billion over the next decade, mainly in copper and gold projects. Peru is the world's largest miner of silver and the second-largest miner of copper.

Wealth Minerals Ltd. (the "Company" or "Wealth") (TSX VENTURE:WML)(FRANKFURT:EJZ) announces the completion of the first phase of diamond drilling at its Rodeo de los Molles ("Rodeo") Rare Earth Element ("REE") Project in San Luis Province, Argentina. The Phase I drilling consisted of 26 drill holes (975.5 metres) targeting outcropping, high-grade REE mineralization confirmed by channel saw sampling results (see Wealth News April 11, 2011 and July 7, 2011).

The mine operated and controlled by BHP Billiton Limited said that the 15 day illegal strike at the Escondida copper mine in Chile didn't have a relevant impact. As Escondida produces roughly 1.09 million tonnes of copper a year, press reports estimated