Osisko Mining Corporation will begin next year digging the streets of the town of Malartic in Quebec, which holds what is considered the largest gold deposit in North America. Previous drillings made by the mining firm in 2005 placed the volume of gold deposits at 6.28 million ounces, plus another 3.65 million ounces on a nearby property.

To be affected by the digging are about 200 homes, a church, schools and a daycare and senior facility which are being relocated to a new community two kilometers to the north. Some of the affected residents protested against the digging, considered Canada's largest open-pit gold mine.

A British retail chain on Thursday kicked off sales of a virtually indestructible mobile phone that passed such tests as being stepped on by an elephant, roasted in an oven and dropped from a building.

Tesco started offering the Land Rover S1 to customers, particularly construction workers, for $407 apiece and comes with a three-year warranty and a $41 monthly service contract with telecommunications operator Orange.

A man fell down a 16th floor shaft at a New York construction site and sustained only minor injuries after a tangle of ductwork broke his fall.

George Saguay, a welder, slipped while working about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday on the 16th floor of a construction site, the UPI reported.

Thieves in Ireland lifted a car carrier filled with 11 BMWs, only to set it on fire about five miles away after only making off with one car.

With a total value of about $1.3 million, eight new BMWs and two used cars were destroyed in the fire, The Irish Independent reported.

A judge in California sentenced a 49-year-old woman to six years in prison for causing a fatal car accident by sending text messages while driving.

Deborah Matis-Engle was convicted in March of gross vehicular manslaughter for slamming into the back of another car that was stopped due to a construction on California's Highway 44 in 2007. The crash killed 46-year-old Petra Winn, local CBS affiliate KHSTV reported.