Frik Els , Editor

China Daily reports local land and mineral resource officials in the Qinghai province estimate that the Dachang gold mine in the Tibetan autonomous prefecture of Yushu is likely to become one of the largest gold mines in Asia with 300 tonnes in proven reserves. The geological exploration was conducted jointly by Qinghai mining development bureau and TSX-listed Inter‐Citic Minerals with a total investment of $31.3 million. The project is at an elevation of approximately 4,500 meters and consists of five exploration licenses covering some 279 square kilometers. Tiny Inter-Citic says it allocated $6.3 million in exploration expenses for this year.

Mining Review reports Impala Platinum ‒ the world’s second-largest producer of the precious metal ‒ may invest as much as $10 billion in Zimbabwe to expand production if the government backs down on its controversial indigenization policy. Earlier this month Zimbabwe's government gave foreign companies including miners and banks a 14-day ultimatum to submit plans on how they propose to transfer majority stakes to local owners or risk losing permits. Impala is already the biggest investor in Zimbabwe's mining sector.

Woulfe Mining announced Monday it is fast-tracking the evaluation of its Muguk gold project in South Korea, the largest gold mine in South Korea until its premature closure in 1997 due to low gold prices. The TSX-listed company says it is now able to focus on Muguk as its Sangdong tungsten-molybdenum project, is progressing at a rapid rate with production scheduled to commence in early 2012. The mine, believed to be one of the largest in the world, would produce about 4,000 tonnes of tungsten worth $180 million per year.

Shares in Ivanhoe mines closed up just over 5% in Toronto on Monday outperforming the broader market and bringing the counter's gains to 23.2% over the last week. At a time when many miners across the developing world struggle to preserve their social licence, the impact of Ivanhoe's Oyu Tolgoi on the people of Mongolia stands in stark contrast: the mine will contribute a third of the country's GDP when it goes into full operation, will be mined until at least 2060 and increase the average earnings of Mongolians by 60% according to a new CNN report.

According to a new report by GIA the global market for heavy-duty diesel (HDD) catalysts is forecast to reach $2.6 billion by the year 2017, spurred by rigorous emission control regulations for heavy-duty on-road and off-road vehicles across the world. Catalysts with a high palladium content are fast replacing platinum catalysts in gasoline exhaust systems, while demand for platinum increased due to its increasing usage in catalysts for diesel exhaust systems.

Confirming details leaked to the Washington Post on Wednesday the US State Department said on Friday a proposed $7 billion extension of the Keystone pipeline to US Gulf Coast refineries would not likely boost the amount of crude produced from Alberta's oil sands, suggesting it would have limited impact on the environment. A final decision on the controversial pipeline could come as soon as the end of the year. The news comes as demonstrators in front of the White House continue being arrested in efforts to convince President Barack Obama of Keystone XL’s dangers. The price Canada can charge for crude exports to the US is falling further behind the international benchmark because of a glut in the Midwest and some hedge funds have started to bet that the spread could go as high as $50/barrel leaving Alberta producers millions of dollars out of pocket per day.

In a sign that consolidation in the uranium sector is gathering pace, world number one uranium producer Cameco announced on Friday it is extending a $527 million cash offer to shareholders of Hathor Exploration, after talks with the board of the junior explorer failed to result in a deal.

Oilsands Quest stock was trading below the rights offer price of 20c at the open on Friday after announcing it was extending a rights offer to advance its Axe Lake oil sands project in Saskatchewan a second time. The company is attempting to raise $60 million after it was forced to go it alone following a fruitless 11-month quest to find a partner or buyer.

Reuters reports 50,000 protesters battled police in Chile's capital on Thursday, the second day of a two-day strike against unpopular President Sebastian Pinera. A recent poll put the right-wing leader's approval rating at only 26%, below even that of dictator General Pinochet, who ruled the country for 17 years from 1973. The protests follows recent strikes in the copper sector over pay and a campaign against a massive coal mine on an island in Patagonia amid accusations that billionaire Pinera’s shareholding in the developer, Copec, constitutes a serious conflict of interest.

FT reports iron ore prices hit a three-month high above $180 a tonne on Thursday as supply outages and strong demand from China underpinned the steelmaking commodity. Started in 2008, derivatives trading in iron ore is up fourfold this year after setting a record in July, but he world’s top three miners – BHP Billiton, Vale and Rio Tinto – control nearly 70% of the 1 billion tonne annual seaborne trade and dominate price talks. BHP this week announced record profits on back of earnings from iron ore, its biggest division, which jumped 122% to $13.3 billion and CEO Marius Kloppers said unlike the situation in coal, global iron ore supplies are being 'overestimated'.