Los Angeles-based law firm Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP said last week it had filed a class action lawsuit in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of those who acquired Barrick shares between February 16 and April 24 this year.

The complaint alleges that Barrick made materially false and/or misleading statements during the period about the situation at the Veladero gold mine in Argentina.

Barrick hopes to have Veladero back to normal operations in June after the third spill of cyanide solution within 18 months at the mine on March 28.

A number of US lawfirms are encouraging investors with losses to contact their various firms to join the class action before the July 10 deadline to appoint a lead plaintiff.

This week’s list of the global top 10 miners by market cap, and their one-week share price moves, is below.

Meanwhile BHP Billiton (AU:BHP) rose 2% for the week as it announced plans to change its name to just BHP as part of a global image overhaul.

BHP has mostly shed the assets it picked up in its merger with South African company Billiton in 2001 and now will also drop Billiton from its name.

The “Think Big” campaign, which aims to show the importance of BHP’s role in the economy and community, will be rolled out globally into other markets where BHP is located.

Vale SA (BZ:VALE5) went the opposite direction, posting the biggest loss among the majors this week of 1.4% amid plans to transform its shareholder base.

Its board last week approved a definitive swap ratio of 0.9342 common share per preferred stock as part of a plan to transform the world’s number 1 iron ore producer into a company with dispersed share ownership, Reuters reported.

Finally the gold price has risen to US$1,231.10 today following a North Korean ballistic missile test over the weekend and weaker than expected US economic data on Friday.