A new report from research firm TNS could have implications for mining. A survey of affluent households around the world — defined as greater than $100,000 — found that 80% of the world's wealthy live in Western countries.TNS's Global Affluenty Investor study conducted interviews across 24 markets including China, Brazil and India.

Scientists have found that the moon contains rich titanium deposits. Mark Robinson from Arizona State University and Brett Denevi from John Hopkins University, who were expanding on previous studies, used spectrum analysis to determine the chemical composition of the lunar surface using images taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and Hubble Telescope. They found that lunar mares, dark basilic plains caused by ancient volcanic eruptions, have titanium abundances ranging from one to 10 percent.

West Virginia University will receive $300,000 from Arch Coal to research mine safety, a grant that will potentially be doubled by the state Research Trust Fund, Forbes reports.

WVU's Academy for Mine Training and Energy Technologies trained nearly 10,000 miners last year. It offers certification courses for new miners and mine foremen, along with training in mine rescue, mine fire safety and emergency preparedness.

Aggregates Manager reports: On November 2, Catamount Consulting LLC is hosting an MSHA Supervisor Training Seminar in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania on prevention, motivation, leadership skills in health and safety, and more.

In a difficult economy, businesses face many challenges, particularly around how to most effectively allocate resources. Traditionally, one of the first budgets to get cut is training. However, the principals of Catamount Consulting believe that training leads to higher performance, stronger leaders, improved safety and increased productivity. Catamount Consulting seminars are designed to provide a cost-benefit to attendees and promote greater on-the-job safety.

Senator Lindsey Graham, a senior Republican senator representing South Carolina, urged the Obama administration to support the Keystone XL oilsands pipeline. Graham, who was speaking at a political event on Wednesday, said that if the U.S. rejects the pipeline, it would be ". . . one of the biggest energy policy blunders in our history." The senator said that the pipeline has the potential to create thousands of jobs, and rejecting the development would have serious consequences for Obama's chances at re-election.

Poor geological conditions in Sichuan region, which frequently suffers landslides and flooding due to the precipitous slopes and poor ground stability, are now facing worse conditions due to mining.

Aurcana Corporation ("Aurcana" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:AUN)(OTCQX:AUNFF)(PINK SHEETS:AUNFF) is pleased to report silver production for Q3 2011 of 244,243 ounces that is based on just 80 days of mill production at La Negra. Year-to-date ("YTD"), silver production has increased 26% to 742,026 ounces, compared to 587,057 ounces in 2010. As anticipated, Q3 2011 silver production was slightly lower than 2010's 250,953 ounces as a result of the La Negra ball mill being down nine mill days in order to upgrade a ball mill. Due to this maintenance, total mill feed of 119,772 tonnes was 4% lower than the 125,050 tonnes for Q3 of 2010.

Canasia Industries Corporation ("Canasia" and the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:CAJ)(PINK SHEETS:CANSF)(FRANKFURT:45C) wishes to announce that it has increased its rare earth acreage in the vicinity of the Eldor Discovery in Quebec. 3,600 additional acres were acquired through Gestim, which now brings Canasia's total to 7,198 contiguous acres prospective for rare earth. On September 28, 2011, Canasia announced that the bulk sample program on the Clone Gold Prospect had been completed for the 2011 season.

The US coal industry scored a victory in court Thursday after a federal judge ruled that the Obama administration did not have authority to tighten oversight of permits used by coal mining companies that do "mountaintop mining." The ruling by the U.S. District Court says the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) "exceeded its authority under the Clean Water Act when it issued tougher environmental guidelines related to fill material dumped into streams after the tops of mountains are blasted off to extract underlying coal seams," reported The Wall Street Journal. The National Mining Association sued the EPA last year over the issue.