Australia’s plan to impose a 30 percent tax on its booming iron ore and coal sectors cleared its biggest political hurdle on […]

A new study is casting doubt on the viability of undersea mining, despite recent success by Vancouver-based Nautilus Minerals (TSE:NUS) in obtaining the first-ever permit to mine the seafloor off the coast of Papua New Guinea. The Canadian-led study, published in the journal Geology, states that "the possibility of mining sea floor [deposits] has stirred debate about the sustainable use of this new resource and whether commercial development is worth the risk.” The Vancouver Sun quotes Mark Hannington, the University of Ottawa's Goldcorp Chair in Economic Geology and lead author of the study, saying that while there may be vast mineral deposits under the ocean, they cannot hope to meet the world demand for metals:

Zimbabwe's efforts to declare its "blood-stained" diamonds clean is bordering (no pun intended) on the ridiculous, writes Tangai Chipangura, a columnist at News Day.

Africa's largest mining and investment show, Mining Indaba, gets underway in Cape Town, South Africa.

The Business Standard reports a senior official from India's state department of fertilizers says so far the country's effort to secure potash imports at a better price by aiding Indian companies to acquire assets abroad has not made any breakthrough. The global potash market is controlled by about 10 mainly Canadian companies and a couple of Russian producers. With no local producers, India imports more than 6 million tonnes of muriate of potash a year for its 50 million small-scale farmers. Current pricing is around the $500/tonne level and Scotiabank recently said demand is weakening and after two years of steady price hikes 2012 will see no growth.

Aecon Group, Canada largest construction firm, announced Monday it has signed a letter of intent with the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan for a project valued at over $250 million to install the interior of a new process mill at the PotashCorp mine site near Rocanville, Saskatchewan. The project will create approximately 800 jobs at the construction site said Aecon in a press statement.  Site preparation is expected to begin in early 2012 and this portion of the project is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2013. Monday's deal brings the total value of projects announced by Aecon since September to over $850 million which has given its share price in Toronto an almost 30% boost over the period.

A study on training in the United States finds that a majority of US workers believe that it is their own responsibility to update their skills, reports domain-b.com. David Smith of Accenture Talent & Organization warns that in a time of skills shortage, employers shouldn't assume that workers have the resources or the knowledge to upskill on their own.

Smith explained, "Our study shows that workers are prepared to improve and expand their skills, but they're not receiving sufficient support to develop those skills. In addition to investing in training, employers will have to become more transparent about their talent requirements and more creative about leveraging the skills they already have within their organizations."

Gold for December delivery lost over $39 an ounce, or more than 2%, to trade at $1,685.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday on Monday. The losses were on top of a 3.6% slide last week and brings the decline in the metal from its November high to $110/oz. Bullion jumped to a record $1,921.15 an ounce on Sept. 6 and has now shown 11 consecutive years of price gains, but volatility in the gold market is increasing and the gap between gold’s highs and lows this year have reached more than $600, the largest since the 1960s. Gold has averaged about $1,705 so far this quarter and $1,563 in 2011, figures compiled by Bloomberg show.

Reuters reports copper hit its lowest in nearly a month on Monday as investors, already mired in worries over Europe's debt, digested news that US plans to combat debt are in disarray and took in warnings from China about gloomy global growth prospects. While US politicians' inability to reach consensus on tackling the country's debt problems was greeted with little surprise and the Europe crisis has been foremost in investors' minds for months, the statements by China's Vice Premier overnight really knocked sentiment. Wang Qishan said that a long-term global recession is certain to happen and China must focus on domestic problems. China is the world's top copper consumer, taking in about 40% of the world's copper versus Europe that accounts for 19% of demand.