‘Coal is no longer marketable’ – EPA Administrator

Cenovus last week shipped 250,000 barrels to China, locking in relationships with refiners there, as the Northern Gateway pipeline project in Northern BC languishes in regulatory review.

Rising costs could make any interested buyer baulk at the idea though. Cash costs in South Africa at its Ezulweni mine has rocketed to $2,143/oz and were up 20% at Mine Waste Solutions although at $613/oz there you could still turn a profit .

Sydney Morning Herald reports that between 3500 and 4000 miners have walked off the job at BHP Billiton's coal operations in Queensland.

Republicans in the US Congress are once again attempting to force through the approval of the Keystone XL project, while the pipeline's backers TransCanada says it could receive approval early in 2013.

The Australian mining industry's determination to reach its goal of zero harm is reflected in the latest safety performance statistics released by the Queensland Government and reported by the Queensland Resources Council. Lost time injury frequency rates for the State of Queensland fell again from 3.8 to 2.9 injuries per million hours worked in 2010-2011. Days lost to injuries were down from 14,325 days to 11,027 days while the lost time injury plus disabling injury duration rate fell from 34.4 days to 27.4 days per injury.

Xstrata Plc is looking to offload a portion of its $6.4 billion Wandoan coal project in Australia, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Uranium exploration in Australia’s eastern state of New South Wales (NSW) may soon become a reality after Premier Barry O'Farrell's cabinet checked off on a proposal to reverse a 26-year-old ban, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

The Fukushima disaster reminded us all of the dangers inherent in uranium-fueled nuclear reactors.

Fortescue Metals was up 5% Monday on rumours that Canadian coal and copper/zinc miner Teck Resources is making a play for the third-largest iron ore producer in Australia.