LONDON, July 1, 2008 (AFP) - An Irish mining group said Tuesday it had discovered the biggest gold mine ever found in Britain or Ireland, with upwards of one million ounces (28,350 kilograms) of the precious metal.

FRANKFURT, July 1, 2008 (AFP) - The European Central Bank said Tuesday that it had recently sold 30 tonnes of gold, on top of 42 tonnes sold in late 2007 under a central bank agreement.

JOHANNESBURG, June 3, 2008 (AFP) - Gold production in South Africa fell 16.8 percent in the first quarter of the year following widespread power cuts, figures from the chamber of mines showed on Tuesday.

A civil society group in Ghana has accused gold mining companies of killing agriculture, displacing local populations and damaging the environment, saying that life for mining communities is 'hell'.

GEORGETOWN, May 20, 2008 (AFP) - French President Nikolas Sarkozy's efforts to rid French Guiana of illegal gold miners has forced the precious metal hunters into neighbouring Suriname, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said here Tuesday.

WASHINGTON, May 6, 2008 (AFP) - The International Monetary Fund board of governors Tuesday approved a new program that calls for the sale of 403.3 tonnes of IMF gold reserves as part of a wide-ranging financial overhaul.

The plan would create an 'endowment' that helps provide a steadier source of income to the international organization that has drastically scaled back on lending.

WASHINGTON, May 6, 2008 (AFP) - The International Monetary Fund board of governors Tuesday approved the sale of 403.3 tonnes of IMF gold reserves as part of a financial overhaul that helps boost its sagging coffers.

The plan would create an 'endowment' that helps provide a steadier source of income to the international organization that has drastically scaled back on lending.

JOHANNESBURG, May 6, 2008 (AFP) - Mining in two South African gold mines, suspended last week after nine miners were killed when their lift cage plummeted down a shaft, has resumed, a company spokesman said on Tuesday.

'Operations started on Monday in Kloof and Driefontein. Operations will resume in the third mine, South Deep, on Thursday,' Andrew Davidson told AFP.

JOHANNESBURG, May 6, 2008 (AFP) - Two South African gold mines, which suspended operations last week after nine miners were killed when a lift cage plummeted down a shaft, have resumed operations, a company spokesman said Tuesday.

SYDNEY, May 5, 2008 (AFP) - South African mining company Harmony Gold Mining Limited has shut down two of its operations in Papua New Guinea over disputes with local landowners, reports said Monday.