USA and Canada

Created under intense heat and pressure, and delivered to the earth’s surface by volcanic action, diamonds are being mined in the icy reaches of northern Canada. Gay Sutton looks at the development of the Diavik Diamond Mine, the role of the luxury jewelry brand Harry Winston, and the positive legacy it intends to leave for the Aboriginal people.

Alan Swaby talks to Brent Thompson, senior vice president of the Mining & Minerals practice of a global based engineering business that puts almost as much effort into differentiating itself from the opposition as it does on the engineering itself.

When the Diavik Diamond Mine went into production in January 2003, it had already achieved amazing feats of engineering. VP operations Marc Cameron tells Gay Sutton how the mine has rebounded from the 2008/2009 global financial crisis and is now completing a major investment to migrate from open pit to underground mining.

Uranium Energy Corp and Concentric Energy Corp have completed their stock-for-stock merger, giving UEC 100 percent ownership of the Anderson Property in Arizona.

The Anderson Property is a 7,581-acre mineral claim block with a previous history of small-scale uranium production, located in Yavapai County, Arizona, approximately 75 miles northwest of Phoenix.

"With the acquisition of the Anderson project, UEC is now the leading uranium player in Arizona, as well as in South Texas,” said President and CEO Amir Adnani.

Manuel E. Bonilla, president of the Barrick Pueblo Viejo gold mining complex, talks to Jayne Alverca about the environmental, economic and social implications of the biggest single investment ever made in the history of the Dominican Republic.

Agricultural and construction equipment retailer Titan Machinery Inc, has reported its financial results for the second quarter and first six months ended July 31, 2011.

Boosted by the acquisitions of Carlson Tractor and Equipment Inc and St. Joseph Equipment Inc, second quarter revenue increased 48.3% to $310.8 million from revenue of $209.7 million in the second quarter last year.

Carlson Tractor and Equipment, Inc. consists of two New Holland Construction locations in Rosemount and Rogers, Minnesota. The acquisition was completed on May 13, 2011.

Owens Corning and Solexel have been awarded $13 million in funding from the United States Department of Energy for projects that will help shape the next generation of solar energy technologies.

The funding is part of the DOE's SunShot Initiative which seeks to make solar energy systems more affordable and sustainable for homeowners.  

Flint Energy Services Ltd. has entered into a definitive agreement to Carson Energy Services Ltd, a privately held energy services company based in Saskatchewan, Canada. 

The purchase price to be paid at closing is comprised of $112 million in cash and 2,121,212 Flint common shares, plus up to an additional $30 million earn-out spread over the next three years, subject to closing adjustments. Payment of the earn-out portion of the purchase price is dependent upon Carson meeting EBITDA targets of $40 million per year.

The concentrated solar power industry (CSP) is gearing up for its second annual conference in San Francisco, California next week.

The 2nd CSP Plant Optimization Summit USA will take place on the 7-8th September at the Parc 55 Hotel in San Francisco. The event will bring together leading technical experts throughout the CSP industry and will tackle the immediate roadblocks faced in the design, engineering and operation of large-scale CSP plants.

Subjects on the agenda include: