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

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.

A recent journal article says that coal-fired power is harming the US economy more than it is helping it. The article in the American Economic Review, titled “Environmental Accounting for Pollution in the United States Economy,” essentially states that coal plants are responsible for a quarter of gross external damages (GED) to the US economy, measured in terms of sickness and death caused by major pollutants such as sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, ammonia and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Russian mining group Severstal plans to boost production of coking coal and expects iron ore mines in Liberia and Brazil to come online by 2017, the company said Thursday in a presentation to investors in London. CEO Vadim Larin predicted the price of both materials used in steelmaking will remain high and forecasts limited supply growth as current market turmoil delays new projects, Platts reported:

Enterprise Products Partners and Enbridge on Thursday announced a proposed new 800 kilometre (500 mile) pipeline from Cushing, Oklahoma – the pricing point for US crude – to the Gulf of Mexico. The Wrangler Pipeline would have the capacity to carry up to 800,000 barrels of crude oil a day. Although the glut at Cushing has eased this year it is the main factor behind US crude trading near a record discount of $25/barrel to the international Brent benchmark. Canadian heavy oil from the oil sands – all of which goes to the US – sells for $10+ less than US crude, meaning oil sands developers have to deal with an effective oil price of $60-$70 a barrel. Unlike the controversial Keystone XL, Wrangler does not cross international boundaries and won't have to be approved by US president Barack Obama.

With the price of coal off about $5 a metric tonne, coal-mining companies are looking more tempting to acquirers. The Australian reports that Yancoal Australia, fresh from purchasing Wesfarmers' Premier Coal Mine in Western Australia for $297 million last week and Syntech Resources last month for $202.5 million, could buy more coal mines.