Frik Els , Editor

Based on a study looking at five major solar markets – Germany, Italy, France, Spain and Britain – the Brussels-based European Photovoltaic Industry Association, the biggest of its kind, said competitiveness with conventional forms of energy such as coal could be reached by 2020, but in certain markets it could take just two or three years. The report notes the output of producers more than doubled in 2010, reaching a world-wide production volume of 23.5 gigawatts of photovoltaic modules. This is a more than 500-fold growth since 1990 and the pace of growth is not expected to slow. Predictions are for investments in PV technology to double from €35-40 billion in 2010 to over €70 billion in 2015. Governments have also been cutting back on subsidies for the industry to ensure a speedier reduction in costs.

EthicalOil.org, which stated goal is countering inaccurate and unfair criticisms of the oil sands, this week launched their first television ad as debate about the Keystone pipeline intended to carry Canadian crude to refineries on the US Gulf coast intensifies. The treatment of women in Saudi Arabia is the focus of the new ad running exclusively on the Oprah Winfrey Network in Canada and comes on the heels of demonstrations in front of the White House where celebrities had themselves arrested to persuade President Barack Obama, who has the final say, of oil sands' dangers and influential environmental voice Al Gore calling oil sands the "dirtiest fuel on the planet."

Bloomberg reports Mongolia is likely to sell a stake in its Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi coal-mining company to the public next year, raising more than $3 billion. The Tavan Tolgoi deposit – mined since the 60s – in the South Gobi desert is the world's largest with a 6 billion tonne resource of high-quality coking coal used in steelmaking. Metallurgical coal has been trading at record levels of $330/tonne this year. Tavan Tolgoi is the second largest mining investment in Mongolia behind the Oyu Tolgoi gold-copper mine being built by Canada's Ivanhoe Mines.

With the spot price for uranium falling below $50 – levels last seen immediately after the nuclear accident at Fukushima – U3O8 producers and explorers dropped across the board on Tuesday. Not even Hathor Exploration, the subject of a hostile takeover by industry bellwether Cameco, managed to get into in positive territory and the sector as a whole has lost more than 40% its value since the 11 March earthquake off the coast of Japan. And the near term outlook for the sector is not rosy either with a new study by Resource Capital Research indicating market price expectations looking out 3 to 6 months points to further downside, with a spot price expectation of $45.95/lb.

MarketWatch reports Mexico has overtaken Peru as the world's top silver producer as output in the Andean nation has seen a sharp decline during the first six months of 2011. In the January-to-June period, Mexico turned out 1.88 million kilograms (60.4 million ounces), compared to 1.63 million kilograms in Peru, according to government figures.

The Globe and Mail reports on Friday that MEG Energy, a small oil sands developer partly owned by China's CNOOC, has ponied up $100 million to join another Chinese state-owned firm Sinopec as financial backers of a planned pipeline from the oil sands to the northern British Columbia coast. Slowing demand in the US is adding pressure for a go-ahead on the Northern Gateway pipeline that will stretch for more than 1,100km at a cost of $5.5 billion affording Canada world prices for its oil, currently priced against heavily discounted US crude. Regulatory hearings are scheduled to start in January.

Silvercorp Metals was forced on Friday to react to an anonymous letter also sent to the Ontario Securities Commission, presumably from a shorter of the company's stock that alleges a “potential $1.3 billion accounting fraud” at the company. The firm with projects in China and Canada closed down just shy of 10% after five times the usual number of shares changed hands. It had lost as much as 14% of its value earlier in the day after the company also said someone had built up a short position of some 23 million shares over the last two months. The Vancouver company has 175 million shares outstanding and is worth $1.3 billion. Silvercorp is the latest in a string of Canadian companies with Chinese backing and operations being accused of fraud.

Gold for December delivery rose $50.10, or 2.7%, to $1,879.30 an ounce in midday trade in New York — within striking distance of the metal's $1,891.90 settlement record set a week and a half ago. The jump comes after data showed the US added no jobs in August sparking renewed fears that the world's biggest economy is heading back into recession. Gold benefited because the weak numbers could lead to new policy-easing initiatives by the US Federal Reserve – a previous round of stimulus injected $600 billion into markets. Not even talk of gold sales by European central banks to ease their massive debt burden could dampen the enthusiasm for bullion. Between them Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain hold some 3,233 tonnes of gold, worth around €130bn.

Beating already rosy expectations new Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show mining companies intend to invest $82.1 billion this financial year on new and expansion projects, representing 55% of total capital expenditure in the country's economy. The spending spree by the resources sector – mostly in Western Australia and Queensland – represents a whopping 70% increase over last year. Mining firms spent 14.4% more last quarter, led by a 22% jump in plant and machinery purchases, and projections show further increases in the future. The positive capex news, accompanied by robust retail spending numbers saw the Australian dollar rise above 107 US cents.

The Columbus Republic reports opponents of a planned nickel and copper mine in Michigan's Upper Peninsula are asking a judge to put a state-issued permit for the project on hold ahead of initial blasting expected later this month. Four organizations have asked a judge to issue a stay while considering an appeal of the Department of Environmental Quality's 2007 decision to grant Kennecott Eagle Minerals, a subsidiary of Rio Tinto, a permit. Kennecott Eagle is targeting an underground ore deposit that would be the only US mine where nickel is the primary mineral generated instead of a byproduct. The mine could yield up to 300 million pounds of nickel and about 200 million pounds of copper.