US thermal coal exports targeted by campaigning BC premier

An explosion on Wednesday in a coal mine in northern Mexico killed seven miners, officials said, highlighting lax safety conditions in small mines that are often poorly regulated.

The diversified miner suffered lower realized prices across the board with copper down 14% to $3.57 a pound, its realized coal price was 26% below Q2 2011 at $202 a tonne. Zinc (-15%), silver (-24%), lead (-22%) and molybdenum (-18%) prices all declined.

Escalating costs and economic instability may be the two main reasons why mining companies worldwide are acquiring existing projects instead of starting their own, shows the latest report from global firm Ernst & Young.

One of Australia's leading intellectuals and a former adviser to the country's incumbent Labor Party has called for far-reaching reforms to the resource giant's mining tax and GST.

In an effort to stimulate mining exploration in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, the local government has started offering grants of up to $100,000 to mineral prospectors and exploration companies.

There is no end on sight to the mining boom in Australia, a country which mineral resources sector value is expected to reach $122.6 billion by 2016, growing at an annual average rate of 4.3%, reveals a study published Saturday.

Following a series of recent protests and other problems affecting mining companies with operations in Colombia, coal workers for the local unit of Glencore International went on strike late Thursday, causing the immediate halt of the company's operations in the country.

Japanese investors are becoming increasingly anxious over industrial relations in the Australian mining sector, in the wake of a long-standing dispute involving Mitsubishi and BHP Queensland coal operations which has now entered its 19th month.

Look no further than rail traffic totals to see that the US is ditching coal and embracing natural gas.