Rio Tinto PLC, Pan African Resources PLC, Greatland Gold PLC…

 () rose on Wednesday after hiking its total dividend 26% to 557 cents per share as it added a special payout of 93 cents to the full-year dividend of 464 cents. The total payout, amounting to US$9bn, represents 72% of underlying earnings.

 ()() boosted gold production 5.9% to 98,386 ounces in the six months to December 2020. It leaves the company on track to deliver on its full-year production guidance of approximately 190,000 ounces of gold.

 () said it finished 2020 in a net cash position for the first time in eight years thanks to higher precious metals prices and strong free cashflow generation.

 () told investors it has unearthed new high-grade veins across the Arzu North area of the Kiziltepe joint venture gold-silver mine project in Turkey. Some 1,190 metres of strike length of new gold-silver veins were identified within the limits of the current Arzu North and Derya open-pits.

 () confirmed the closing of its share placing, with the nickel mine developer raising £18mln in total. Some 162.7mln new shares were issued each priced at 7.5p each, 

 () has lodged an application for a new exploration licence in the Paterson Region. The Canning exploration licence application comprises an area of 114 square kilometres and is located approximately 175 kilometres south east of Havieron.

BHP PLC () increased its interim dividend by 55% as its iron ore operations in Western Australia and Escondida copper mine hit record production levels. Revenues in the half-year to end December rose 15% to US$25.6bn, helped by higher metal prices, the increased iron production and record throughput at Escondida.

 () said it managed to retain flat earnings in 2020 despite a sharp decrease in revenues over the year amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In results for the year to December 31, the blue-chip miner reported adjusted earnings (EBITDA) of around US$11.6bn, flat year-on-year, despite a 34% decline in revenues to US$142.3bn.

 () told investors it is now assessing a staged development for its Khemisset potash project, in Morocco, with a move that would reduce upfront costs whilst significantly expanding the envisaged life-of-mine production volumes.

 () confirmed overnight it has raised £3.5mln of cash to complete further drilling at the BAM Gold project in Ontario and undertake further studies. The placing was at a price of 30p per share

 () noted an announcement by investee Jupiter Mines () which said that the board of Tshipi has declared a final dividend. Shareholders will receive a total of 1.1bn South African rand (ZAR), which corresponds to £54mln, with Jupiter receiving ZAR521.5mln (£25mln).

 () has engaged law firm Fasken to advise it on a potential dispute with the Republic of India. The bone of contention is the Bhukia joint venture project. 

 PLC () said the next stage of its exploration and drilling programme has started across its primary flake graphite projects in Madagascar.

Empire Metals Limited () has reported further results from the second phase of reverse circulation drilling at the Eclipse gold project in Western Australia. The AIM-listed explorer said that a total of 4,589 metres of drilling in 44 drill holes was completed during the second phase, 

 () said an independent desktop remote sensing study has identified gold targets at its 90%-owned district-scale licence package in central Cameroon. The AIM-listed company said the study covered the entire 3,592 square kilometre area, with an initial 12 priority gold targets identified for follow-up.

 PLC () said it is taking steps to enable distributions such as special dividends to be made to shareholders in future.

 ()() has raised £4mln via a placing of just over 9.5mln new shares at 42p each. The money raised will be used to advance the La India gold project in Nicaragua further towards production.

BASE Resources PLC () has passed an important milestone in its bid to increase the mine life of…