First glimpse of potential Nullarbor treasures

China's ICBC has announced a reduction in its lending to Australia's resource sector due to concerns that the mining boom is nearing an end.

Brad Wall, premier of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, says the negotiation of a nuclear agreement between Canada and China could lead to huge exports of uranium from the prairie province to the PRC. Wall made the comments during an interview with Canada's CBCin Hong Kong during a group visit to China with other Canadian premiers for the purpose of boosting business ties. According to Wall the Canadian prime minister's negotiation of the Nuclear Cooperation Agreement with China could enable Saskatchewan to export $3 billion into what he refers to as the "most robust nuclear power program in the world." Wall extolled the benefits of trade with China for Saskatchewan, saying China's food and energy needs will serve as an immense boon for the province's potash and uranium exports.

For Saskatchewan there's a great importance here. We've seen our exports to China from Saskatchewan triple from 2006. We've moved past Ontario and Quebec in terms of the exports to China specifically. In the first half of this year we're up 103% over the first half of last year and typically our best exporting months come at the back end of the year.

Image courtesy of the Saskatchewan Premier's channel via Youtube

InformedTrades looks at the economic hole Japan has dug itself, especially since it gave up nuclear energy and started importing energy.

With record low natural gas prices and utilities switching to coal to take advantage, MINING.com asked Uranium Energy’s (NYSEAMEX:UEC) CEO Amir Adnani last month whether uranium is also struggling under the fracking revolution.

Sinking global commodity prices have negatively impacted Canada’s North near-future mining outlook, but longer-term prospects for the industry in the three territories remain strong.

BHP Billiton (ASX:BHP) has scrapped plans to purchase exploratory land in the area adjacent to the Olympic Dam project.

Recently we sat down with Amir Adnani, CEO of Uranium Energy Corp. ($UEC), an American uranium mining company, for a conversation on the nuclear industry eighteen months after the catastrophe at Fukushima which devastated both Japan and most uranium miners’ share prices.

Shares of nuclear medicine company Nordion dove close to 40%, down $3.93 at $6.53 in Toronto on Monday.

China is showing further signs that stimulus spending to prop up its slowing economy could well be on the way with President Hu Jintao evincing a commitment to economic growth at the APEC summit over the weekend.