Cecilia Jamasmie , Senior Editor

Not very often you hear about a company moving from exploration into production, but Canadian Tirex Resources (CVE:TXX) is doing just that. The Vancouver-based firm announced Monday it has received official notification from Albania's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Energy (METE) relating to its applications to transition six areas from exploration licenses to 25 year mining permits.

Petaquilla Minerals Ltd. (TSX:PTQ) has rejected as inadequate an unsolicited, the latest takeover bid by Inmet Mining Corp. (TSX:IMN) presented Friday, which was 25% cent higher than the $112-million Inmet originally offered.

Canadian authorities revealed Sunday plans for the final portion of tar ponds clean-up in the province of Nova Scotia, which will see $17 million spent on a park, sports field and an outdoor stage and amphitheatre, as part of a project to revitalize an area where a former steel mill left behind contaminated soil.

Bolivia has passed this month the world's first ruling that grants all nature equal rights to humans. The “Law of Mother Earth,” agreed by politicians and grassroots social groups, redefines the South American nation's mineral deposits as "blessings" and is supposed to lead to radical new conservation and social measures to reduce pollution and control industry.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) research published Friday confirms what farmers seem to have known for hundreds of years: that manure helps restore soils, even those highly damaged post-mining landscapes.

With only about 21 months remaining until publicly-traded U.S. component manufacturers are forced by law to disclose their usage of conflict minerals to the federal government, the industry appears to be unprepared, says information and analytics provider IHS (NYSE: IHS).

Where there is smoke… After several reports of Anglo American’s (LON:AAL) shareholders disappointment at both the company’s overall performance and her CEO, Cynthia Carroll, she has finally left the company.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has accumulated vast wealth during his time in power, but reports of his $2.7 billion fortune —and the influence of his wife, Zhang Beili, the "Queen of China's Diamonds"— have been blocked in China.

Shares in London-listed African Barrick Gold (LON:ABG) were falling by over 4% on Friday after rising costs and dipping production impacted the miner’s Q3 profit.

Canadian gold miner Petaquilla Minerals Ltd. (TSX:PTQ) confirmed late Thursday it is studying an upgraded and final takeover offer by Inmet Mining Corp. (TSX:IMN), which is now offering about 25% more than $112-million it previously proposed.