Alrosa’s biggest diamond mine goes underground

Late last week Ivanhoe Mines (TSX:IVN)(NYSE:IVN)(NASDAQ:IVN) and Rio Tinto received a letter from a representative of the Mongolian Cabinet inviting the companies to discuss potential changes to the Oyu Tolgoi Investment Agreement. The changes related to the conditions under which the Mongolian Government may negotiate with Ivanhoe Mines to acquire, on mutually agreed terms, an additional 16% interest in the project and the application of a sliding-scale royalty to the project. In response to this letter, Ivanhoe Mines and Rio Tinto have formally advised the Mongolian government that the companies are not prepared to renegotiate the investment agreement.

Tom Scholl, CEO of Keystone Industries, told CNBC that he could put more people to work but the U.S. federal government is standing in the way. Scholl said the states are working "pretty close" with the mining companies. It is the federal government that is holding up mining and not working fast enough on permitting. Scholl singled out the US Army Corp of Engineers as creating the slowdown. "We are the Saudi Arabia of coal in the United Stats. It is a great export commodity. And any time you export it it is going to create a lot of jobs."

The Renewable Energy Accountability Project has developed some hit and miss advocacy ads. The latest attempt at producing a viral video takes aim at coal. Renewable Energy Accountability Project is lobbying for greater use of renewable energy sources.

Arch Coal (NYSE:ACI), one of the world's top five coal producers, declined 5.14% on Friday after lowering guidance. Arch Coal expects earnings to be $900 million to $1.0 billion range and adjusted earnings per diluted share to be in the range of $1.00 per share to $1.40 per share. "The reduction in earnings guidance resulted largely from lost metallurgical coal production at the Mountain Laurel complex," said the company in a statement.

KTWO reports that Cameco plans to hire 70 full time workers for its in-situ Gas Hills project in Wyoming. Cameco is currently waiting for its environmental assessment from the Bureau of Land Management before it begins work. It expects to receive clearance and begin work by 2013. Gas Hills is estimated to have total proven reserves of 10.6 million lbs of U3O8.

The price of US crude oil crashed through the $80/barrel level on Friday afternoon bringing its losses to more than 10% in September and suffering its worst quarter since the 2008 recession. At the same time the discount on Western Canada Select widened to $10.50/barrel meaning oil sands producers now sell some of the cheapest fuel on the planet. The international benchmark for oil was pegged at over $102 on Friday. Canada exports 2 million barrels of oil per day and a lack of pipelines means all of it goes to the US Midwest, the pricing point for US crude.

The Thiess Sedgman Joint Venture (TSJV) has been awarded a A$85 million contract to design, procure, construct and commission a Coal Handling and Preparation Plant (CHPP) at the Codrilla coal mine on behalf of Macarthur Coal (C&M Management), the manager of the Coppabella Moorvale Joint Venture (CMJV).

A draft law approved by the Indian cabinet today directs miners to share their profits with people displaced by mining. The Wall Street Journal reports that the law, which has been pending for over two years, would have mining companies pay a royalty to create a fund to help for those displaced by mining and related industries. Coal producers would pay a 26% tax on profits. A regulator has also been set up to monitor illegal mining and prosecute violators, in a direct response to recent scandals in the states of Karnataka and Goa respecting the illegal export of iron ore.

Business Insider reports that the heart of the American coal industry, Central Appalachia, could soon be a shadow of its former self. According to the US Department of Energy, the amount of Appalachian coal will be less than half that mined in 2008 within the next three years, says Business Insider, because most of the easy-to-reach resources have been exhausted.