London-listed Gem Diamonds announced Tuesday it has sold the world’s 14th largest white diamond discovered at its Letšeng Mine in Lesotho two months ago for $16.5 million in cash. Gem will also share in the profit of any polished diamond cut from the 550 carat Letšeng Star. Letšeng is fast-becoming the richest source of large diamonds in the world and without the occasional large diamond find, the Letšeng pipe would probably be a marginal deposit, but the mine, 30% owned by the King of Lesotho, has also yielded the the 478 carat Light of Letšeng that went for $18.4 million in 2008 and two other big rocks.

According to a new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC), direct mining expenditures in British Columbia mining crested $5.2 billion in 2010. An additional $3.7 billion was spent in secondary and support industries and services resulting in a total of $8.9 billion of economic activity across British Columbia. The Economic Impact Analysis report commissioned by the Mining Association of British Columbia (MABC) and compiled by PwC measures direct, indirect and induced economic impacts of mining in terms of output, Gross Domestic Product, employment and government tax revenues.

Stock boards were buzzing on Tuesday as traders tried to figure out why Western Potash Corp. was soaring 18.2% without any news about the $200 million firm that would drive the share higher. Despite having nothing to go on, speculators had swapped 2.3m shares by 3pm in Toronto, 1.5 times usual volumes. The junior player in Saskatchewan’s potash industry is in the pre-feasability stage of its 940 million tonne Milestone Project, but some doubt if WPX would be able to muster the finances and logistics to go up against the giants operating in the province.

Facing strong resistance from local constituencies, Nebraska governor Dave Heineman says he'll meet with state lawmakers to consider challenging the proposed route for the Keystone XL pipeline, CBC reports: Pipeline opponents, including a coalition of environmentalists, ranchers and landowners, sought the special session to consider a proposal that would have given the state control over the pipe's route. Lawmakers, however, said last week that the measure wouldn't likely survive a court challenge. The issue is expected to be addressed during the special session beginning Nov. 1.

Vancouver-based Titanium Uranium Inc. (CVE:TUE) and Toronto-based Energy Fuels (TSE:EFR) announced merger plans on Tuesday. Under the deal, outlined in a letter of intent, Energy Fuels will acquire all of Titan's outstanding common shares. Upon completion, Titan shareholders will own approximately 42% of EFR's issued and outstanding common shares.

A more efficient way to install filter cloths on a recessed chamber plate.

Reuters reports ArcelorMittal has pulled out of its joint $5 billion bid with US giant Peabody Energy for Australian coking coal miner Macarthur, just days after the target's top shareholder accepted the offer and left the Indian steelmaker with a higher than expected cost. Some observers were skeptical when Peabody and Arcelor raised their bid at at time coking coal prices have been falling and according to a new report could pull back to $240/tonne towards the end of next year. Now that it is flying solo Peabody may have to raise cash to fund the transaction. The deal also comes amid the planned introduction of an onerous carbon tax next year and rising labour costs in Australia thanks to the strong Aussie dollar.

Despite global economic uncertainty, resource-rich Saskatchewan should offer significant salary gains for its workers in 2012, seeing an average 3.9% increase in wages. The Conference Board of Canada's compensation outlook was released on Tuesday. Saskatchewan is the world's largest exporter of potash and uranium. It also has a significant oil and gas sector. Saskatchewan leads all provinces in wage increases, followed by Alberta at 3.6 per cent.

FairStar Resources (ASX:FAS) will spend $300 million to build a a mining operation at its Steeple Hill iron ore project in Western Australia. The company, which made the announcement on Monday, plans to recover alluvial iron ore deposits in phase one of the project, followed by a drill and blast operation for hard rock hematite in phase two and the recovery of magnetite in phase three. The company says it will not seek joint venture partners.