Frik Els , Editor

Interfax reports a few dozen people protested Tuesday outside Romania's Culture Ministry in Bucharest against its approval of the archaeological discharge certificate for the Carnic Mountain, where extensive tunnels used by Roman miners during the rule of emperor Trajan (pictured) still exists. Rosia Montana Gold Corporation, controlled by Canada's Gabriel Resources which first obtained the concession in 1999, needed the permit for its project to establish an open-cast mine in the area believed to hold some 300 tonnes of gold, one of the largest deposits in Europe.

Alberta should establish an independent agency to monitor the environmental impact and pollution from oil sands development, an independent panel told the provincial government in a report released Tuesday. The Alberta Environmental Monitoring Panel was formed in January under pressure from environment groups when questions emerged over the quality and comprehensiveness of environmental reporting on the oil sands. Canada's oil sands also come under fire recently when it was revealed that the federal government deliberately excluded data indicating a 20% increase in pollution in a climate change report to the UN.

Oilsands Quest stock was trading down around 15% in early afternoon trade on Tuesday after the company announced it was hoping to raise $60 million in a rights offer to advance its flagship Axe Lake oil sands project in Saskatchewan. The company is offering existing shareholders 300 million rights at a 40% discount to the share price last Friday, a day on which Oilsands Quest rocketed more 61% on 10-times usual volumes after Saskatchewan converted its Axe Lake permits to 15-year leases. The company has been forced to raise money and go it alone after a fruitless 11-month quest to find a strategic partner.

When a 4.5% jump in stock price with 15 million shares changing hands on news of the acquisition of three new concessions is considered a dull trading day then you know you're dealing with a volatile stock. Portage Resources has gone from 2c to 65c a share in the matter of three months but the Peruvian explorer has certainly not been a one-way bet – the stock's 52-week high is $1.24. The company based in Miraflores, Lima (pictured) has been snapping up silver properties in Peru, but after announcing silver reserves worth $2.3 billion at one of them the stock has been unstoppable.

BHP Billiton's friendly $12 billion takeover of the US gas company Petrohawk is the group's largest in six years, and its most ambitious foray into the controversial business of shale gas extraction through a process called hydraulic fracturing or fracking. While the transaction is a coup for Petrohawk – its shares duly rose 65% to match the takeover price – analysts are skeptical about the prospects of BHP Billiton, the world's most valuable miner, making a success of the deal considering its poor track record with acquisitions, its relatively limited experience in the fracking business, environmental concerns and warnings that it is again buying at the top of the cycle.

"As the fifth-biggest consumer of diamonds, a stake in a diamond mine would be interesting," the CEO of Swatch Group, Nick Hayek told the Finanz und Wirtschaft newspaper on Saturday. The world's largest watchmaker, which apart from cheap and cheerful Swatches, also owns luxury brands Breguet, Blancpain, Glashütte (pictured), Omega and Tiffany & Co, said demand for watches studded with diamonds has increased explosively and the desired quality are only available in small quantities. According to IDEX research global polished diamond prices rose sharply during the second half of June, and are showing no signs of a pull-back.

Rescue work in a flooded coal mine in Guizhou Province has been terminated, 14 days after a flood trapped 23 workers underground. The rescue work in Niupeng Mine, located in Pingtang County, was halted at 4 p.m. Saturday. The miners were very unlikely to be alive, according to an assessment by rescue experts. Twenty one workers remain missing while two bodies have been retrieved from the mine. The area where the miners are believed to be has been completely submerged. While 406,000-cubic meters of water had been pumped out during the past 14 days, flood water was still pouring into the pit.

After rejecting a deal reached by fellow tribesmen, hundreds of Marri tribesmen backed by their chief blocked transportation of coal from Chamalang in Balochistan Pakistan to other parts of the country on Saturday. The blockade follows weeks of deadly skirmishes for control of the coal fields that hold recoverable reserves more than 500 million tonnes. The high-quality Chamalang coal mines were first discoverd in 1885 (see historic map) when the country was under British rule and a 30-year bloody war between the Pashtoon Luni and Marri tribes over the recoverable reserves were ended only after the Pakistan Army intervened in 2006 and mining could restart. The latest dispute is between the Marri leader who signed the peace treaty with the Luni and the leader of the separatist movement in Balochistan.

Australian iron ore developer WPG Resources said on Friday it will bring forward its Buzzard direct shipping ore project at Hawks Nest in South Australia. Drilling at the site has already commenced so that the mine can operate in parallel to its flaghship Peculiar Knob project (pictured) growing output to 5 mtpa. WPG stock received a lift on the news and ended Friday's trading in Sydney up more than 4%, bringing its gains for the year to 24%.

Neighbour South Africa's influential Business Day reports as Zimbabwe’s shaky unity government inches ahead with extensive electoral reforms ahead of fresh elections now expected next year, the prospect of the country’s army seizing power looms large. In recent weeks, the military’s top brass has taken on a visible role in the country’s political affairs and has been brazenly opposed to security sector reforms. The military seized control of Zimbabwe's rich diamond fields in Chiadzwa in 2006 and most observers believe an international ban on these gems are being widely flouted.