Australia recovers lost ground, named world’s top mining investment destination

Australian Resources Minister Martin Ferguson says the onset of an era of low commodities prices does not spell the end of the country's China-backed mining boom.

The international benchmark sits at $107 a barrel, while US oil fetches $85.

Alberta's oil sands will positively affect all Canadian provinces and will lead to billions of dollars of jobs and investment across the country, says a Conference Board of Canada report released Wednesday.

AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (NYSE:AU), South Africa's largest gold miner by output, said Wednesday it has began to dismiss about 12,000 of its striking workers, joining this way an increasing list of mining companies that have sacked workers in an effort to end crippling strikes.

Natural gas titan Encana Corporation (TSX: ECA) (NYSE: ECA) posted Wednesday a $1.24-billion net loss in its third quarter, driven mainly by lower natural gas prices over the past year, but it said it was still on track to meet its financial guidance for the full year.

Teck Resources Ltd. (TSX:TCK.B and TCK.A),(NYSE:TCK) said Wednesday it is deferring about $1.5-billion in capital it had expected to spend this year and in 2013, adding its third quarter profit dropped by more than half.

A 32-year-old Australian lawyer for a Rio subsidiary has been prevented from leaving Mongolia by local police following allegations of corruption.

Canada’s provincial government of British Columbia is investigating allegations that Chinese workers applying for jobs may have been requested to pay fees to apply for mining positions in B.C.

Thousands of people jammed the front lawn of Canada’s British Columbia parliament on Monday to oppose the controversial Enbridge's proposed $5.5-billion pipeline from the Alberta oil sands to the country's West Coast.