Mark Hislop, editor of the Calgary Beacon, poses the question many in the oilsands are asking these days as the future of both the Keystone XL pipeline and the Northern Gateway project continue to lack certainty.

Eighty percent of gold company executives expect gold to continue rising in 2012 and peak at $2,000, according to the results of a new survey by PwC.

Reuters reports spot iron ore was trading close to seven-week highs after a cyclone closed down the world's largest export terminal in Australia and heavy rains in three Brazilian states halted Vale's shipments.

AFP reports about 500 protesters blocked a coal train line in Mozambique in a dispute with Vale over housing.

South Africa’s black-controlled diversified mining company Exxaro Resources is putting the Republic of Congo (RoC) on the map as a new African iron-ore development frontier with its R3-billion (A$338-million) cash takeover offer of African Iron.

The Washington Post reports in a move reminiscent of the crackdown on lead in toys, more than a dozen major retailers including Target, Saks and Gap, are voluntarily halting sales of jewelry that contain more than trace levels of cadmium, a byproduct of zinc mining.

Mining graduates have to be prepared for a drastic change in lifestyle when they enter the mining industry, and one TAFE mining course in South Australia is preparing them for it, reports ABC.

Education manager for mining in SA Lyndon Giles says this [training] includes shift work and moving away from home. "It's not all beer and skittles when they talk about $100,000 a year, there's a lot of challenges, particularly working in isolated areas, a long way away from family, all them come into play when you look at a career change so we try and get these people accustomed to what they are going to expect."

The BDG (German Professional Association of Geoscientists) Academy in Germany and the ICOG School of Professional Geology in Spain have announced their trianing programmes for 2012. For more information, see the BDG site (in German), and the ICOG calendar (in Spanish).

Reuters reports the London Metal Exchange has been approached by several   potential bidders and will consider takeover proposals in late February according to its CEO. The LME handles some 80% of global trade in metals futures and a takeover will help the the 134-year old trading floor to compete against rapidly-expanding Asian metal trading hubs.