About 80% of Colombia’s gold output comes from illegal miners — Gov’t

The Sydney Morning Herald reports in a major policy victory for Australia's Gillard government's controversial carbon pricing scheme has passed parliament with Labor and the Australian Greens forcing the 18 so-called clean energy bills through the Senate. The laws – fiercely opposed by the country's mining sector which says it will lead to more than 20 mine closures and cost thousands of jobs – will force Australia's top 500 polluting companies to pay a tax of $24.50/tonne on carbon emissions from July 2012. On top of the carbon tax set to kick in mid-2012, Australian miners also have to contend with the new minerals resource rent tax set at an effective 22.5% rate on the so-called super-profits of the extractive industries.

Just a few weeks ago analysts thought the jobs – 20,000 during the building phase alone – and economic benefits would easily outweigh environmental concerns and push the Obama administration to approve Keystone XL. But now, after a summer of protests culminating in Sunday's 10,000 strong White House encirclement and on top of Nebraska's vow to force a rerouting, the US State Department’s inspector general on Monday ordered a "special review" of the Obama administration’s handling of Keystone XL following complaints from members of Congress that the process has been tainted by conflicts of interest.

The CourierMail reports fly-in, fly-out "working girls" travelling from as far away as New Zealand to the remote mining regions of Queensland and Western Australia are making as much as $2,000 a day from mine labourers who have lots of cash but are deprived of female company for weeks on end. Fifo prostitution is just the latest concern for rural communities in the country's mineral-rich states who are becoming increasingly unhappy about mining firms like BHP that set up self-contained mining towns cut off from locals or let miners fly in and out without ever investing in existing communities.

Cameco (TSE:CCO), the world's largest uranium producer, said Q3 earnings were 30% higher at $104 million or 26 cents a share compared to the same quarter last year. However, losses on foreign exchange derivatives have driven up costs for the year. Net earnings for the first nine months of 2011 were $186 million or 47 cents per share diluted. In 2010 net earnings were $311 million or 79 cents per share. The company also said that lower earnings and higher prices were weighing on all three sets of businesses: electricity business, uranium business and fuel services business. Cameco's stock opened on Monday 2.66% lower at $21.08 per share.

If you thought it had slipped onto the backburner, you'd be wrong. The Keystone XL pipeline is back in the news, this time courtesy of prime time TV actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus, better known as Jerry Seinfeld's witty ex-girlfriend in the '90s blockbuster sitcom. Louis-Dreyfus is the latest Hollywood star to go public against TransCanada's $7-billion project to transport Canadian oilsands crude from nothern Alberta to Texas refineries. Her appearance this week in a Youtube video by environmental group Tar Sands Action follows similar public appearances by Daryl Hannah, Robert Redford, Mark Ruffalo and other celebrity activists.

A proposed uranium mine in Virginia is attracting its share of proponents and detractors. The state has upheld a ban on uranium mining since 1982, but the ban is being reconsidered in light of a proposal by Virginia Uranium Mining to extract 119 million pounds of the nuclear fuel from what would be the world's seventh-largest uranium deposit. On Thursday a day-long forum was held to weigh arguments on either side of whether the private company should be allowed to (mostly underground) mine the Coles Hills deposit.

The cash at the world's top six mining companies is estimated to top out at $144 billion by end 2013 and M&A activity this year is already up 67% over 2010. The gold sector has been leading the frenzy and the stock market is where they will be looking to find additional ounces.

India's largest business group is considering making a bid for New Hope Corp. (ASX:NHC) in what could be the largest coal deal since Alpha Natural Resources (NYSE:ANR) bought Massey Energy in January for around $7 billion. According to Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the plan, the acquisition would involve a joint bid between Tata Steel and Tata Power for Queensland-based New Hope which is valued at $A4.9 billion. Indian steelmakers and power plants are struggling to secure coal to run their plants in the face of supply shortages.

Top management and eight shareholders who control 73.9% of the outstanding shares of TSX-Venture listed Sino Vanadium on Friday announced that they are taking the tiny firm private. The company first listed in June 2009. The share tripled on Friday to 21c and 108,200 shares changed hands compared to the usual 1,000. The company is offering 27c to shareholders who turn in their shares over the next month, so some investors appear to be cashing in early. Sino Vanadium owns 100% of a project in China's Shaanxi Province in the feasibility stage which it says could produce 14% of world vanadium supply.