Anglo American officially out of the Middle East

Brazilian tycoon Eike Batista just got richer. CCX, a division of the billionaire’s EBX Group energy arm MPX, announced it has completed a study of coal reserves in the San Juan underground mines in Colombia, discovering a 672 million tons reserve, the fifth largest coal deposit in the world.

India is not China when it comes to successful acquisitions of foreign mining companies, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Humpback whales may be the main victims of Australia's thriving coal industry, according to a study published on the May issue of the Marine Ecology Progress Series journal.

Recent news that President Obama's re-election web page on energy policy didn't include coal on the list of "all of the above" energy sources sparked outrage in coal-producing states like Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Canadian company Cameco, the world's largest uranium miner, has signed a deal to buy Nukem Energy, a German company that trades nuclear fuel products and services, for $136 million in cash plus debt.

Australian mining billionaire Clive Palmer is threating to sue the Sydney Morning Herald, one of the most respected daily newspapers in Down Under, for $50 million over "totally false and improper claims" about his China First coal mine.

Teachers are being offered all-paid, six-day field trips to experience the Alberta oil sands.

Maybe the Republicans will have fun with this one.

It has been a difficult week for precious metals, as gold and silver both experienced their lowest closes of the year.