While there is much discussion in the gold industry currently as to whether gold stocks are undervalued in relation to the seemingly unstoppable run on the gold price, one company that appears to be bucking the trend is Newmont Mining (TSX:NMC).

The Hindustan Times reports that Goa's mining minister, Digambar Kamat, is being accused by the BJP party and members of his own party for participating in illegal mining. The website says the Congress is considering various options to avoid a similar situation to what happened in neighbouring Karnataka state, where the ruling BJP party was forced to dump its chief minister after a damning report accused him and other politicians of corruption in the illegal export of iron ore.

An $85 billion expansion of the iron ore industry in Australia will not depress the price of the crucial steelmaking ingredient because the major producers will simply curtail their outputs. Martin Place Securities head of research Greg Burns told AAP the current wave of Australia-wide expansions that could effectively double current capacity of 465Mt to one billion tonnes by December 2016 will not have an upward effect on prices because the major producers will simply pull back on production to tighten up supply. Nor will some of the planned projects get off the ground, he predicts. Sky News reports:

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez followed through on a promise he made last month to ban the export of bullion under a broad scheme to nationalize the country's gold industry, The Wall Street Journal reports (sub required): Under guidelines published in the Official Gazette on Monday, the government said "all gold that is obtained through mining activity within national territory will be handed over to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela." The decree also gives companies 90 days to form joint ventures for gold mining, in which the government will hold a 55% stake.

Lakeland Resources (TSX-V:LK) was up nearly 30% at the close of trading Tuesday, after the company said it made a new gold discovery on its Midas property in Ontario, Canada. A 1500-metre drill program returned grab sample values ranging from 2 g/t to 130 g/t, Lakeland said, with one non-assayed sample containing 5.92 g/t gold over 4.70 metres.

Astur Gold's Salave gold project in northern Spain got a boost last week when National Bank initiated coverage on the Vancouver-based junior explorer.

The Indian state of Goa is looking to technology as a way to prevent the illegal transport of iron ore. The Times of India reports that the Goa government is examining the possibility of installing radio frequency identification (RFID) tags on mining trucks to track the vehicle's movement carrying iron ore, as a part of the measures to curb transportation of illegal iron ore in the state.

Reuters reports BHP Billiton will face work stoppages at all its Queensland, Australia coal mine operations next week ahead of an employee vote on a contract, a workers union said on Monday. The world's largest miner has reached an impasse with the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) over wages and job security provisions; the union approved work stoppages at mines operated by the BHP Billiton- Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) in June.

Stillwater Mining Company (TSX:SWC.U) is offering $300 million in senior notes to help fund its acquisition of Peregrine Metals Ltd., the company announced today. Stillwater, the only platinum and palladium producer in the U.S., bought Peregrine Metals in July for US$487.1 million.

Acadian Mining (TSX:ADA) shares were up 32% in mid-day trading on Monday after the company announced strong drill results from its Fifteen Mile Stream gold project in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Alexco Resource Corp. (TSX:AXR) posted a banner year in silver production and sales, as the Vancouver-based company made the successful transition from mine developer to producer. With production starting on January 1st at its Bellekeno silver-lead zine underground mine in Canada's Yukon Territory, Alexco managed in the first six months to produce 5,059 tonnes of lead-silver concentrate and 2,788 tonnes of zinc concentrate, leading to sales of 7,956 tonnes of concentrate and revenues of $38.269 million.

A Zimbabwe government official says a law forcing foreign companies to surrender 51 percent stakes to local people was "an aspiration," not a hard target, Reuters is reporting: "This is a negotiated process, it is not an issue that is dictated to companies. It is more to deal with evaluating and negotiating with each company," Prince Mupazviriho, the permanent secretary in the mines ministry, said during a mining conference on Thursday. The new position by the government is a change from the previous hard-line edict suggesting the 51% requirement was set in stone.