Frik Els , Editor

Rhodium will climb as much as 35% to $2,800 an ounce by the end of the year on increased carmaker demand and production difficulties for mining companies in South Africa where the metal is produced as a byproduct of platinum mining, according to a report by Standard Bank released on Monday. Mainly used in emissions reducing converters and in the chemical and glass industries rhodium is down 14% this year after three annual surpluses but jumped 21% in the week after Deutsche Bank introduced a physically backed exchange-traded product at the end of May. The price of rhodium hit an all-time record high above $10,000 in 2008.

The Financial Post reports according to a new outlook from the Construction Owners Association of Alberta, the expected future labour need for 2011 is up significantly from this time last year. At the same time, the Construction Sector Council recently published a forecast that suggests that future trades industry labour supply will be limited. An 2011 report by Peters & Co., an oil sands investment house, predicted investment in Alberta's oil sands was set to reach a staggering $180bn over the next decade – 20% more than was spent during the height of the last boom.

Stock in Allana Potash Corp jumped by more than 10% to $2.14 with almost 3m shares changing hands – more than double the daily average – by noon on Monday after the company announced it has intersected three zones of potash mineralization - one of which returned the highest grade potash on the project to date – in the southwest portion of the company's land position. Listed on the TSX-Venture exchange Allana's major focus is on a previously explored potash property in Ethiopia with among others the backing of the World Bank. The counter is up close to 200% so far this year and most of the assets at the company's 160 square km Dallol project are still being quantified.

South African mining output rebounded strongly in April, rising by 12.4% year-on-year, after contracting 1.4% in the previous month, a report by Statistics South Africa showed on Thursday. Year-to-date production increased by 5.2%, on the back of surging output of nickel, manganese, platinum group metals and copper but gold production continued to lag, only managing a 1.5% increase. Analysts warned that the outlook for the rest of year was clouded by scheduled wage negotiations across the industry that could lead to strikes and a strong currency which hampers competitiveness.

South Africa's National Union of Mineworkers' central committee on Wednesday backed the country's Freedom Charter clause on nationalization and the ruling ANC party's resolution of 2010 to look at a greater role for the state in the economy. NUM is the largest union and represents the majority of workers in South Africa's mining industry. Through its affiliation with the Congress of South African Trade Unions it is also part of the country's ruling alliance, which next year will make a formal decision on the nationalization of the resource sector, long the bedrock of the African nation's economy.

Canadian oilsands firm Sunshine Oilsands Ltd aims to raise $1bn in an initial public offering in Hong Kong, Ming Pao daily reported on Tuesday, citing market sources. The company, which owns 1.14 million acres of oil sands reserves in Athabasca in Canada, earlier this year received funding from Chinese investors to the tune of $236m. Toronto-listed oil producer Husky Energy, controlled by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, said last month that it was exploring a potential secondary listing of its shares on the Hong Kong bourse.

Oil sands mining are not typically associated with Africa and the continent's two mega-projects, one in the Congo Basin and another on the island of Madagascar, are running into trouble. The $3bn deal between the Republic of Congo and Eni, Italy's state-owned oil major, runs out this year amid criticism about its lack of transparency and environmental impact. In Madagascar, the partner of France's Total, Madagascar Oil declared a force majeur after the Malagasy government apparently threatened to seize one of the London-listed company's oil fields.

Toronto and London listed exploration and development company EMED Mining said on Tuesday it found significant potential new copper deposits near its Cerro Colorado open pit operations in Spain (pictured), sending its shares up over 5% in afternoon trade. In May the Cyprus-based company announced Andalucia, one of Spain's autonomous regions, gave approval for the plans to restart its flagship Rio Tinto copper mine, which was placed on care and maintenance in 2000. Production is scheduled to start in 2012 following further approvals.

Industrial Info reports the German government is facing a major legal battle over its planned early exit from nuclear power as energy giants E.ON AG want billions of euros in compensation. E.ON made its intentions clear this week when it outlined plans to take legal action against the government's decision to continue demanding its controversial nuclear tax, despite shutting down the oldest nuclear plants. In March, RWE announced that it would take legal action against the government's closure o those seven nuclear plants.

Cash-strapped ex-Soviet republic Belarus is negotiating the sale of its most prized asset, the potash producer Belaruskali, under the terms of a $3bn bail-out loan agreed this month with Russia, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. Responsible for one-third of the worlds potash fertiliser production, Belaruskali could be worth as much as $20bn. A frontrunner for a takeover is Russia's top producer Uralkali owned by billionaire Suleiman Kerimov. The combined group would easily push Canada's Potash Corp. from the top producer spot.