British Telecom on Friday had to talk down the value of its 75 million miles of copper cables criss-crossing the United Kingdom after an analyst at investment bank Investec calculated that the scrap value of the copper is £50 billion ($77 billion) at today's prices – almost $50 billion more than BT's market cap.

Job growth in mining and mining-related work in Australia is expected to increase by over 100% by 2031, outpacing other sectors of the economy, The Courier-Mail is reporting. The website says the total mining workforce is tipped to more than double in the next 20 years, from an estimated 693,000 who are now directly and indirectly employed to 1.45 million staff Australia-wide:

Bloomberg reports the London Metal Exchange which handles some 80% of global trade in industrial metals futures, told members it may get a takeover offer after multiple approaches from potential bidders. The 134-year-old exchange is owned by the trading houses and banks like Barclays and JP Morgan that trade on the market which keeps fees low. Despite talk of an $1.2 billion offer as far back as 2008, it is unclear how receptive they would be to selling out after a senior executive of the exchange told Reuters in March it had no plans to change its independent status despite increasing competition, particularly in Asia.

The election of Michael Sata to president of Zambia is not sitting well with copper miners who fear the 73-year-old, known as "King Cobra" for his aggressive style, will pick the pockets of mining companies, Bloomberg reports. Sata swept to power this week on a promise to create jobs and to extract more money from the mining industry in Zambia, Africa's largest copper producer. His win on Sept. 20 ends two decades of rule by the Movement for Multiparty Democracy.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Sept. 23, 2011) - Cardero Coal Ltd. ("Cardero Coal") is encouraged by the Government of British Columbia's announcement on Thursday regarding the BC Jobs Plan, as well as the stated commitment to reduce the time it takes to get decisions on mineral exploration and mining approvals and permits. "BC has a rich history of mining and Premier Clarke's recognition of the sector and the role it plays in the provincial economy indicates her understanding of what needs to be done to ensure our province benefits fully from the valuable resources we have in the ground," says Michael Hunter, Cardero Coal's President.

CTV reports a US federal appeals court threw out an antitrust class-action lawsuit accusing seven companies of engaging in a global conspiracy to raise the price of potash since 2003 on the grounds that it could not rule on the alleged wrongful conduct on markets in India, China and Brazil. The defendants included Agrium, Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Mosaic Co., and four companies that conduct mining operations in Russia and Belarus: Uralkali, Silvinit, Belarusian Potash and International Potash. Together the groups produce some 70% of the world's potash.

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Group President and Chief Financial Officer Ed Rapp wants a lower corporate tax rate […]

After a three-week hunt Canada's Silvercorp Metals on Friday found the alleged short-sellers behind an effort to drive down the company’s stock price. The company is suing two New York-based websites – Chinastockwatch.com and Alfredlittle.com – for spreading false information. While Silvercorp was trading down 1.4% in early afternoon trade losses among silver heavyweights were much deeper with bellwether Silver Wheaton skidding 11% as the precious metal plummeted 17.7% to barely above $30/oz. Silvercorp is up 0.6% over the last two trading days against the S&P TSX index which has bled 7%. It was the worst trading day for silver in decades.

As commodities prices including precious metals were plummetting Thursday on more bad economic news, the Premier of British Columbia provided a glimmer of hope for the BC mining industry. In unveiling the province's job-creation strategy, Clark said the government plans to capitalize on high demand for minerals, especially in Asia, by opening up eight new mines in the next four years and expanding nine more by 2015.