Australian company developing new B.C. anthracite mine

Canada's number one coal producer and world-leading nickel miner, Sherritt jumped 10.2% on Wednesday after reporting a doubling of quarterly net earnings and good progress at its massive Ambatovy project in Madagascar. Sherritt will start production at Ambatovy in the first quarter of next year. The company has already spent more than 90% of the planned $5.5 billion to build what will be the world's biggest nickel mine with the capacity to produce 60,000 tonnes of nickel and 5,600 of cobalt a year. Sherritt and its Asian partners have made the largest investment in the island's history and will make nickel the country's number one export for the next 27 years.

In the last decade spending on exploration in British Columbia has increased 20 fold. It was another bright spot for British Columbia's mining sector, as covered in PricewaterhouseCoopers' industry survey. "The estimated total economic output, value added GDP employment generated from exploration and development activities are $352 million, $168 million and 3,017 jobs respectively," wrote the survey authors.

Legislation introduced in the Queensland state parliament could have a negative impact on mining. The bill, the first of its kind to be introduced in Australia, bans mines that would make land unusable for farming, the Courier-Mail reported Wednesday: "The resources sector is growing in Queensland, but our government's commitment is to sustainable growth supporting mining in the right places, while ensuring best agriculture land is protected for future generations," (Environment Minister Rachel) Nolan said in a statement.

According to a new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC), direct mining expenditures in British Columbia mining crested $5.2 billion in 2010. An additional $3.7 billion was spent in secondary and support industries and services resulting in a total of $8.9 billion of economic activity across British Columbia. The Economic Impact Analysis report commissioned by the Mining Association of British Columbia (MABC) and compiled by PwC measures direct, indirect and induced economic impacts of mining in terms of output, Gross Domestic Product, employment and government tax revenues.

Facing strong resistance from local constituencies, Nebraska governor Dave Heineman says he'll meet with state lawmakers to consider challenging the proposed route for the Keystone XL pipeline, CBC reports: Pipeline opponents, including a coalition of environmentalists, ranchers and landowners, sought the special session to consider a proposal that would have given the state control over the pipe's route. Lawmakers, however, said last week that the measure wouldn't likely survive a court challenge. The issue is expected to be addressed during the special session beginning Nov. 1.

Vancouver-based Titanium Uranium Inc. (CVE:TUE) and Toronto-based Energy Fuels (TSE:EFR) announced merger plans on Tuesday. Under the deal, outlined in a letter of intent, Energy Fuels will acquire all of Titan's outstanding common shares. Upon completion, Titan shareholders will own approximately 42% of EFR's issued and outstanding common shares.

Reuters reports ArcelorMittal has pulled out of its joint $5 billion bid with US giant Peabody Energy for Australian coking coal miner Macarthur, just days after the target's top shareholder accepted the offer and left the Indian steelmaker with a higher than expected cost. Some observers were skeptical when Peabody and Arcelor raised their bid at at time coking coal prices have been falling and according to a new report could pull back to $240/tonne towards the end of next year. Now that it is flying solo Peabody may have to raise cash to fund the transaction. The deal also comes amid the planned introduction of an onerous carbon tax next year and rising labour costs in Australia thanks to the strong Aussie dollar.

Despite global economic uncertainty, resource-rich Saskatchewan should offer significant salary gains for its workers in 2012, seeing an average 3.9% increase in wages. The Conference Board of Canada's compensation outlook was released on Tuesday. Saskatchewan is the world's largest exporter of potash and uranium. It also has a significant oil and gas sector. Saskatchewan leads all provinces in wage increases, followed by Alberta at 3.6 per cent.

In an object lesson on the fickle nature of junior explorer investment, dismayed investors took a huge chunk out of Viper Gold's stock on the Toronto Venture Exchange after trade resumed Monday afternoon. Viper lost 18% of its value to trade at 13c after it reported results for the verification sampling at its Campbell Lake property showed none of the high grade gold values – up to 10 grams a tonne – announced a fortnight ago. The initial grades sent the shares of the tiny Ontario explorer soaring to almost double of what it is worth now. The company said it is investigating the huge discrepancies after weakly anomalous values were found in 5 samples and the remaining 12 were "below detection level." Viper, which is also looking for gold in Peru, hit a high of 47c early this year.